“The sheriff is going to be here soon,” Aiden said. “He’s going to want to talk to you about what you saw or heard.”
“No, sir. This is reservation land. I don’t have to talk to the sheriff.”
“Joseph Lefthand will be here, as well,” Tab said. “It’s important to help them. There’s been a murder.”
“I know.” Wally popped up. “I got close enough to see the dead man, and then I turned around. None of my business.”
“Did you know the man who was killed?” Aiden asked.
“I might have seen him before. Once or twice. I see a lot of things. People don’t much notice me.” He looked directly at Tab. “Not that I go out of my way to spy on people. I mind my own business.”
Aiden stepped closer to Wally and looked him straight in the eye, compelling his attention. “Bad things have been happening on or near the rez. Young girls from Henley and Billings are going missing. At least one of them was murdered. Have you seen or heard anything that could lead to the killer?”
“The man who was killed was here with a girl. She had hair like a golden waterfall.”
“If you saw her photo, could you identify her?”
Wally stroked his beard and considered. “It was after dark, and I didn’t really see her face. She was wearing a baby-blue sweatshirt.”
That item of clothing could help identify David Welling’s companion. “Did you hear them talking?”
“He said her name.” Wally tugged harder on his beard. “Ellen or Elizabeth. It was something like that.”
David might have a connection with one of the missing women. And David had been murdered. If Wally stepped forward as a witness, it could put him in danger. He shouldn’t be camping out here by himself.
Aiden patted him on the shoulder of his buffalo robe. “Until this is over, you might want to come and stay at the ranch. My mom has some work for you. She’s going to be putting up Christmas decorations.”
“I’ll come after the weather gets colder,” Wally said. “Right now, it’s nice and warm. The river is low and slow. I go swimming in it every day. Keeps me young.”
Aiden hoped Wally’s outdoor skills would also keep him alive. He hated to think of anything bad happening to the eccentric old man.
AFTER TAB RETURNED TO HER grandma’s house, she took care of Shua and fed the horse in the barn beside the corral. By the time she transferred her medical supplies from the saddlebags into the back of her van, the dusk had turned into dark—a still, calm night. The deep solitude soothed her. Not that she would forget the murder, the threat of a serial killer and the potential of jail time for pregnant Misty. Tab was involved, truly involved, and she was committed to doing whatever she could to help.
But not right this minute. For now, she needed to clear her mind. She inhaled. The cold night air swept into her lungs and refreshed her mind and her spirit.
A few months ago, when she moved back here, she’d been worried that she’d be bored to death. Though the Crow half of her DNA connected her to this land and the traditions of her tribe, she’d spent most of her life in cities like Billings and Missoula where there were things to do and places to go. Not that her social life had ever been a whirlwind of parties and dates. Instead, she’d kept herself busy with her schooling and with work. After graduating from nursing school in Missoula, she’d been part of a midwife clinic that also offered prenatal and postnatal care. She’d learned so much from the other midwives.
Now, she worked alone. She was the expert.
Outside her grandma’s house, she looked up at the moon and the millions of stars that spread their silvery light across the hills and distant cliffs. A couple hundred yards away, she saw the lights from other homes where the Martins and the Tall Grass families lived. The only sound was the rustling of wind across the prairies and the winged swoop of raptor birds hunting in the night.
Light shone through the windows in her grandma’s kitchen where Maria Spotted Bear was probably preparing dinner and not wearing her wrist brace. Though the cast had been removed, Tab wanted Grandma Maria to protect her injured wrist until she was full strength. Twice a day, they performed therapeutic exercises. Every night, her grandma wrapped her wrist in herbal poultices. The same combination of Western medicine and Crow healing practices applied to the pills Grandma took for her heart condition.
As soon as Tab came through the front door, she heard Grandma singing in the kitchen. The stereotype of the stoic tribal elder didn’t hold true for her grandma who always seemed surrounded by music and happy chatter.
Entering the kitchen, Tab saw her grandma remove a tray of cornbread from the oven. The wrist brace was nowhere in sight.
“Don’t worry,” Grandma said as she set the cornbread in the center of the kitchen table. “I can lift this. It’s not too heavy.”
“Smells good.” Tab wasn’t in the mood to argue. She hugged the rounded shoulders of the small woman whose long white hair was fastened at her nape with an ornately beaded barrette. “Do you know the one they call Buffalo Man?”
“A crazy old badger. He lives down by the river.”
“Just to warn you, I kind of invited him to drop by anytime for dinner.”
“That’s my Tabitha.” Her grandma chuckled. “From the time you were a little girl, you were always bringing home strays.”
“His real name is Wally, and he’s willing to work for his supper as a handyman. Having him drop by might be useful. The barn roof needs patching.”
“How did this new friendship happen?” Grandma sat at the kitchen table. “You left the house to deliver a baby, and you picked up an old man in a buffalo robe.”
“Long story.”
“The stew can simmer for a while.”
Not holding back, Tab told the whole story of Misty and the murder, the possible serial killer connection, the chopper and Aiden. When she mentioned his name, she heard a breathless change in her voice. She pictured the tall, lean cowboy, and a rush of excitement went through her. In an attempt to hide that reaction, she turned her back on Grandma and opened the refrigerator door to take out a pitcher of cold water.
“Aiden Gabriel,” her grandma said. “He’s a handsome man.”
“Is he?” Her tone pitched to a higher octave. “I didn’t notice. I was more concerned about his sister.”
“You don’t fool me. When you were a girl and spent the summer at the Gabriel ranch, you liked him, liked him very much.” She sang a little song about sailing away with the man of her dreams. “Didn’t you ask me for a totem to cause a man to fall in love with you?”
Tab didn’t deny it. “I was a silly teenager then.”
“And now, you’re both grown up. Could be good timing. From what I hear, Aiden broke up with his long-time girlfriend. She lives in California and doesn’t care about ranch life.”
Tab poured cold spring water into a Mason jar and took a sip. People who lived on the rez seemed isolated, and yet the gossip grapevine relayed information more quickly than cell phone texting. “How do you know so much about Aiden’s love life?”
“His mother and I see each other often. I bring her baked goods, and Sylvia gives me beef. She’s happy about the blessing of a new baby.”
“It doesn’t bother her that Misty is so young and so unmarried?”
“If anyone understands about unexpected pregnancy, it’s Sylvia Gabriel.”