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Ryan had found everything about this day interesting. From the apple and alder wood he and the Elwood boys had cut up for the fire, to the way everyone had known their jobs and set about doing it without being directed.
He’d planned to join Shandra after delivering the last load of wood but the placing of the salmon around the fire had drawn his attention. Then Coop grabbed him and they headed to one of the teepees.
“What are we doing in here?” Ryan asked. Several old trunks with what looked like buckskins and feathers flowing out of them stood along one side. Flamboyant headdresses and staffs hung from leather thongs on the tent poles.
“Finding you something to dance in tonight.” Coop smiled at him and headed for one of the trunks.
“I’m not sure others would like that,” he said.
“You’re marrying Shandra. That makes you family. You’ll dance with the rest of us.”
“Why do we need clothes? All of your family are wearing clothes that seem right for dancing.” Ryan had noticed the colorful shirts and dresses on Shandra’s family members and others who had come to the event.
“This is a ribbon shirt. It is our contemporary way of dressing traditionally.” Coop pulled out what looked to be a breechcloth.
“I’m not wearing that. I’ll find a ribbon shirt.” Ryan pointed to the tanned leather.
Coop laughed. “I should dress you in this. Then the others would laugh, but I’ll be nice. Ays?”
“Why are you digging out the clothing now? The dancing won’t happen until after we eat.”
“If we don’t pick out your clothing now, you may end up in only a breechcloth.” Coop handed him the two garments. “Take these to my pickup until it’s time to change. It’s closer than yours.”
Ryan nodded and ducked out of the tepee, heading toward Coop’s pickup parked over where they’d cut the wood. He glanced to his right in time to see Shandra wandering through the parked cars behind the food tables.
He changed course. Who was she following and why? With the bundle of clothes under his arm, he kept an eye on Shandra’s cowgirl hat as she ducked between vehicles.
He lost sight of her and rounded a pickup. Her hat came into view seconds before he tripped over her. Shandra crouched at the bumper of the pickup.
“What are you doing?” he asked in a low tone.
She jumped and spun, looking up at him. “I’m following Tripp and Wendy. Get down.”
He knelt behind her. “Why?”
“Because they snuck away.” Her tone insinuated it made perfect sense.
“You are becoming a stalker,” he said light-heartedly.
She shook her head. “I’m protecting my cousin.”
“We don’t know who killed Nelly and I doubt whoever did would kill Wendy. The only thing they have in common is Tripp.”
“The reservation playboy.” Shandra pivoted back around. “They’re gone.” She stood.
Ryan stood and grasped her hand. “The people we need to talk to are Coop and Sandy. I have to put these clothes in Coop’s truck. Maybe we’ll find them in the process.”
Shandra put a hand on the breastplate. “What are these for?”
“According to your cousin, I’m dancing tonight and have to wear the costume.” He liked the way her eyes lit up at the notion.
“Really? We’re both dancing?” She hugged his arm. “I can’t wait.”
They put the clothing in Coop’s pickup and returned to the feasting area. Coop stood beside the tables laden with food. Ryan thought it would be a good time to get Coop and Sandy off somewhere to talk before things became too crazy. He led Shandra over to her cousin.
“I wish those fish would finish cooking,” Coop said, picking up a handful of potato chips and staring at the cooking salmon.
Shandra grabbed a handful of chips as her stomach grumbled. “I agree.”
The smell of the cooking fish made Ryan’s stomach remember it had been a long time since breakfast. He grabbed a bag of chips and nodded. “We’d like to visit with you and Sandy.”
Coop scanned the area. “She’s over there. Talking to Ruby. I’ll get her.”
Ryan held the chip bag out to Shandra as Coop’s long legs covered the space between them and Sandy quickly.
“Where are we going to talk?” Shandra asked, grabbing a handful of the chips. “It’s getting too hot to stand out here in the sun.”
Coop returned with Sandy’s hand clasped in his. “How about we walk down by the creek.”
“Sounds good to us,” Ryan said, offering the bag of chips to the couple.
They each took some and led the way toward the line of trees about seventy-five yards from the feast.
Ryan moved up beside the two. “How well did you both know Nelly Bingham?”
Coop didn’t look at him, but Sandy’s head swiveled on her neck.
“You want to talk to us about Nelly?” she asked.
“Not just Nelly but Pim Solomon and Tripp Talman,” Ryan held the bag out again.
“You pretty much know all there is to know about Nelly. She used her body to get boys and men to start using for Duke Waters.” Coop shrugged. “She was someone you pitied but stayed away from because of the rumors or lies that would be spread.”
“What do you mean by that?” Shandra asked as they entered the shade of the trees.
“If a guy so much as came within a hundred yards of Nelly, if she thought you could be coerced into using or selling drugs, she’d start rumors you and her were an item to get you to do what she wanted.” Coop scowled. “She tried that on a couple of my friends. But we managed to beat the rumors down.”
Shandra stopped and stared at her cousin. “She was that manipulative to help Duke Waters?”
Sandy nodded. “If you were a girl, she’d spread rumors about you that would get you in trouble with parents or the school or a boyfriend if you had one. She would stoop to anything to get a person selling or using.”
“I don’t know what Duke gave her when she pulled someone in, but she worked her ass off for him.” Coop sat down cross-legged in a grassy spot by the stream.
Shandra and Ryan sat across from him. Sandy sat in the circle of Coop’s legs.
“We heard that Nelly stole Tripp from Pim when you were all in high school. What do you know about that?” Ryan asked, taking a handful of chips and placing the bag in between them.
Sandy looked up over her shoulder at Coop. He shrugged. “Kind of the usual. Pim didn’t put out and Tripp found someone who did.”
Shandra shook her head not liking the way Tripp came across and knowing he was sweet-talking her innocent cousin somewhere. “Was Tripp selling or using then?”
“I don’t think so. I think Nelly went out with him to make Duke jealous.” Coop grabbed the bag and offered it to Sandy.
“It wasn’t long after that Nelly was pregnant,” Sandy added.
“Nelly swore Duke was the father, but when he requested a paternity test, she refused. Any thoughts on that?” Ryan asked.
“Rumors back then were that Tripp had offered to marry Nelly and she’d turned him down, saying the baby was Duke’s and he would take care of them.” Sandy put a chip in her mouth and crunched.
Shandra sat up straighter. “What do you two think? Is Tripp Fawn’s father?”
Coop stared in her eyes. “I hope not. Mom is too attached to that little girl to have some bad influence like Duke or Tripp take her away.”
She had the same thoughts and feelings. But if Tripp was the father, had he been putting the money in the mailbox all these years? “What does Tripp do for work?”
“He works construction around the reservation and at The Dam,” Coop said.
“Has he had a job since school?” If he was the father, what would Nelly possibly have had over him that he didn’t want coming out? That he was the father? Was he afraid Wendy would reject him if she knew the truth?
“Yeah, he’s always had a knack for finding work,” Coop said.
“His only flaw is not being able to stick with a girl once he conquers her,” Sandy said.
“What do you mean by that?” Shandra had a notion she knew but wanted to be sure.
Coop’s face flushed. “He’s known to pick good girls and get them to fall for him. Then he takes them to bed and the next thing you know he has moved on to another one.”
Shandra stared at him. “And Wendy?”
“So far she’s kept him in line and kept her dignity,” Sandy said.
“But you think once he talks her into taking their relationship further, he’ll move on?” Shandra didn’t like Tripp as much as before.
“The only way he’ll stay is if she gets him to marry her before that happens.” Coop played with Sandy’s hair. “And I think he’s wily enough to not fall for that, because one thing about Tripp, if he is with a girl, he’s loyal until he moves on. If he were bound to her by marriage, he’d be obligated to stay.”
Shandra found the young man’s ideals conflicting. He was loyal, but once he got what he wanted or won the prize, she guessed in his eyes, he ended the relationship and moved on to a new conquest or game. “Do you think that’s what Wendy has in mind? Getting Tripp to marry her first?”
Coop shrugged. “Who knows. She’s Velma’s daughter and that woman has strange ideas.”
Ryan laughed. “That I can agree with.”
Shandra nudged her shoulder against Ryan’s. “That’s my family you’re talking about.”
He sobered. “I know. What more can you tell us about Duke Waters back then and now? Especially, how did he treat people who wanted out of the business?”
Coop glanced down at Sandy. She fidgeted with her hands in her lap. “We’re not sure, but we think Nelly might be the one who got Butch started selling drugs.” Coop wrapped an arm around Sandy. “Back then it didn’t take much to get Butch into anything. He was always looking for a thrill.”
Shandra could see it was hard for Sandy to think about her brother as a drug dealer. But it had been Sandy who had helped the FBI crackdown on the drugs coming into the reservation. It was her finding and turning over Butch’s ledger that slowed the drug trade for a while and put her brother in jail.
“Do you think Butch would have any information on who he thinks would have wanted to hurt Nelly?” Shandra asked.
Sandy shook her head. Staring Shandra in the eyes she said, “Butch is pretty mad at me. I don’t think he’d talk to anybody who knows me.”
Coop wrapped his arms around Sandy. “It’s not your fault he got into drugs. He was old enough and smart enough to know better. You did the best you could.” He glanced up at Ryan and Shandra. “Are you thinking Duke had something to do with Nelly’s death?”
Ryan gave a dismissive shrug and glanced at Shandra. She studied Ryan. Would he tell these two all he knew?
As if he read her thoughts, Ryan studied Coop and Sandy and grabbed the potato chip bag. “At this point we’re not sure who could have killed her. I’ve been kept out of the loop because I’m not part of the tribal police or an FBI agent. We had a little talk with Duke. I don’t believe anything he said. However, unless he can be placed at the agency or near the Community Center at the time of Nelly’s death, we don’t have anything on him. We do know he was mad because she had told him she wanted out and was headed to school in Spokane.”
Coop nodded his head. “Duke didn’t like anyone quitting on him. The only reason Billy Crow got out of selling was because he became a drunk. Duke couldn’t rely on him to bring back the correct amount of money for the drugs he sold.”
Sandy straightened. “I’ve wondered if Duke had anything to do with Wesley Tibble’s death.”
“Wesley Tibble?” Ryan asked, handing the potato chip bag to Shandra.
Sandy looked over her shoulder at Coop. “Remember how we were all trying to figure out how Wesley could have drowned in the lake when he was an excellent swimmer?”
“Yeah, we heard that he had worked for Duke. And he’d wanted to marry Pim Solomon, but she wouldn’t marry him as long as he sold drugs.” Coop’s eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. “Do you think she had something to do with Nelly’s death?”
Shandra was having the same thought as her cousin. Pim seemed to have a lot of pent-up anger in her. And she could see the young woman taking revenge. She was bright enough that she would’ve tried to pin it on someone else.
“This does make me wonder about Pim,” Ryan said. He glanced at Shandra. “Do you know if Pim was invited to the party?”
“I don’t know who was invited.” Shandra peered across the open space between them and her cousin. “Do you have any idea?”
“The only person who can answer that question would be Velma,” Coop said.
Ryan stood and held out his hand to Shandra. “Don’t talk to anybody about what we said. We don’t need another death on this reservation.”
Shandra stood and nodded. “I’m looking forward to the dinner and the dancing tonight.” She glanced between Coop and Sandy. “Are you two dancing?”
Sandy’s cheeks reddened, and she nodded. “We are. Velma picked us to show you the courting dance.”
Shandra smiled down at the pair. “I’m so glad it will be you two.” She looked over her shoulder at Ryan and smiled. “This is going to be the best night of my life.”
Ryan led her away from the other couple and said under his breath, “I hope it is.”