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not to frighten the horse, she gently raised his foot. The hoof, chipped and splitting on the outer edge, needed attention. Sadie put the hoof
back down and continued to stroke the horse’s back.
She’d seen this horse’s hoofprint before, near the fence that divided
her land from the Chuculate land. Grover had been there to check on
his property, she guessed. Did he know Angus had stolen title to it?
Her mind raced. Did Grover kill Angus? Tears welled in her eyes as she
quickly dismissed the thought, then she promised herself to help Becky
restore her rightful title to the land.
She gathered herself and glanced at the other three horses. They all
needed their hooves trimmed. Knowing that Becky had a lot to handle
right now, she would call a farrier for her. When Grover passed, Becky
was going to have a lot of decisions to make, and one would involve the
future of his horses.
She climbed back over the fence and walked toward Lance. One of
the singers looked at her and said, “He’s with his ancestors now.” She
turned and watched as the horses walked away together.
★
Three days later, Sadie and Lance stood in the Eucha cemetery at
Grover’s graveside, listening to a Cherokee preacher read from the Bible
and then pray in both Cherokee and English. There was no American
flag, no taps, and no twenty- one- gun salute— all at Grover’s request.
To Sadie’s surprise, Brad Newsom stood quietly behind Becky. Once
the small crowd had streamed by and offered condolences, the people
slowly dispersed. After the plain pine casket had been lowered into the
ground, Sadie walked with Becky toward Brad’s car while two Indian
men, the same men who had sung for him in his final hours, began to
shovel dirt into the grave.
“I’m going to help close the grave,” Lance whispered to Sadie.
Sadie turned and watched as he broke away from the sparse crowd,
walked to his truck, and retrieved Grover’s rifle. She left Becky with
Brad and joined him as he carried the rifle to the grave and let it fall on top of the casket.
“There are a few things a man takes to the grave with him,” Lance
said. “He wanted to be buried with his rifle.”
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The two men nodded their approval.
“Osda,” one man said. “Good.”
Lance nodded.
Sadie wiped a tear from her eye as the men began to shovel the rest
of the dirt into the grave.
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Chapter 36
Sadie straightened files on her desk while Lance sat across from her,
reading travel brochures.
“Maui,” Lance said. “I think we should go to Maui.”
“Yes!” Sadie couldn’t contain her excitement. “I’ve been trying to
get you to myself for a long time.” Then she laughed. “I love it. Once we get there, you’ll have no choice but to lavish all your attention on me and ignore every call from the sheriff ’s department. They’ll have to learn to survive on their own for a change.”
Lance grinned. “But the question is, can you handle me for a solid two weeks?”
Beanie burst through the door with a newspaper tucked under her
arm. “Wait until you read this,” she said.
“What is it?” Sadie said.
Lance glanced at Beanie, and then returned his attention to the
travel brochure.
“The Cherokee Nation is purchasing the Buffalo Ranch to expand
their buffalo herd there.”
“Really?” Sadie said.
“I’m not surprised,” Lance offered.
Beanie flopped down in her chair. “I’m afraid so,” she said, and
stuck out her lower lip.
“Come on, Beanie,” Sadie said, turning her attention to the young
girl. “You knew it was a long shot for the Three Sisters to get the Buffalo Ranch for back taxes.” Sadie started handing more Maui brochures to
Lance.
“I know,” Beanie whined. “But with the Buffalo Ranch being sold,
Lucy loses her house and that little piece of land that Angus promised to 220
her and Jason. That just breaks my heart. After all, she was married to their son. Shouldn’t they have given it to her?”
Lance spoke up. “You know, the court had to sell everything, Beanie,
including the animals, to pay off Angus’s debts.”
“So why did Angus kill that Sanders guy, anyway?” Beanie asked.
“I’m not sure we’ll ever know for sure, but I’d say it was because he
knew too much about Angus’s illegal operations,” Sadie explained. “He
probably wanted money to keep his mouth shut, and Angus thought it
was easier to kill him.”
“Do you think we’ll ever know who killed Angus?” Beanie continued.
“God only knows,” Lance said, his head still buried in a travel
pamphlet.
Sadie carefully glanced at Lance and then continued sorting
brochures.
Beanie looked up from the newspaper. “It says here the Cherokee
Nation is going to tear down all the buildings except one barn, and
that the buffalo that’s there will remain where they are.” Beanie turned
to Sadie. “Didn’t that attorney, Eugene Hawk, steal them from the
Cherokee Nation to begin with?”
“Yes,” said Lance, “that, along with a lot of land from unsuspecting
people.”
“What’s going on with that?” Beanie asked.
“The court has contacted all of the heirs,” Lance said, “and the land
is being restored to the rightful owners. When that happens, the Buffalo
Ranch won’t be as big as it once was.” Lance dropped the brochures on
Sadie’s desk. “Did you know that the Cherokee Nation attorney general
dropped the embezzlement charges against Hawk?”
“You’re kidding,” Beanie said, with surprise in her voice.
“No,” Lance said, “and from what I hear, Chief Greenleaf and
Councilman Hawk are best buddies again, just like nothing ever hap-
pened. They swept everything under the rug and kept right on going.”
He shook his head. “It’s amazing.”
The door opened and Becky walked in. “Hello, Beanie. Hi, Sadie, Lance.
Wanted to drop by and tell you that I’m not going back to California.”
Sadie smiled. “That’s good news, Becky. How have you been?”
Becky pointed at the newspaper on Beanie’s desk. “I can’t tell you
how glad I am that the Cherokee Nation is restoring that land to its
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original state. I’m ashamed to say, I hoped the whole ranch would be wiped off the earth. I guess this is close enough.”
“You know if you need anything,” Sadie said, “all you have to do
is call.”
“I know. But you’ve done enough already. It’s time for me to spend
some time alone and get my head straight.”
“Alone? I saw you with Brad in the grocery store. Remember?”
Becky’s face brightened. “Brad has been wonderful, but it’s going to
take me a while before I can think about getting into a serious relation-
ship again.”
Sadie nodded.
“He’s been helping me deal with Dad’s estate.” Becky looked at the
floor. “I had no idea there was so much paperwork to do when some-
one dies.” Then she smiled. “I discovered that Dad had a life insurance
policy. It will give me enough money to start over, and even share with
others. I’m going to rebuild on Dad’s place, where the house burned,
and Brad’s going to help me.”
“It seems like Brad is good for you,” Lance said.
“I hope it works out,” Sadie said, “and when it does, I’m giving you
two a free trip to Maui.”
Becky blushed. “You’ve done so much for me. I don’t know what
to say.”
Sadie got up and hugged Becky. “Just say you won’t be a stranger
around here.”
“That goes without saying, Sadie.” Becky wiped a tear from her eye.
“Anyway, Brad and I are off to lunch. Thank you for everything, Sadie.
I’ll be in touch.”
Becky left and the three sat in silence, as if digesting all that Becky
had told them. A few minutes later Beanie’s cell phone rang.
“What?!” Beanie yelled into the phone. “She did what?” Beanie
put the phone to her chest as tears spilled onto her cheeks. “Oh, Sadie.
Becky is buying that little corner of the Buffalo Ranch and giving Lucy
her house and land, free and clear. Can you believe it?”
“Yes,” Sadie said. “I can.” She began to laugh and cry all at the
same time.
Lance smiled and nodded. “Osda,” he said. “As Grover would say,
‘It’s good.’”
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About the Author
Sara Sue Hoklotubbe, a Cherokee tribal citizen, is the author of the
award-winning Sadie Walela Mystery series, which also includes
Deception on All Accounts, The American Café, and Sinking Suspicions. She is the winner of the WILLA Literary Award, the New Mexico-Arizona
Mystery Book of the Year Award, and the Wordcraft Circle of Native
Writers and Storytellers Mystery of the Year Award. She and her hus-
band live in Colorado.
Document Outline
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
About the Author