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There were two more who stood up and spoke. A quick glance at the clock on the gymnasium wall said it was nearing noon. Shandra had never been to such a long church service.
When no one else stood and the elder rang his bell signaling another song, Shandra grabbed Velma’s sleeve and pulled her out the nearest door. It happened to be on the downward side of the building, facing the sweat lodge.
“What are you dragging me out here for?” Velma accused.
“What is Old Moses’ last name?” She had to find the reason for him to go after Nelly, Duke, and Tripp.
“Tibble. Why couldn’t that wait until after the services?” Velma placed her fisted hands on her ample hips and glared.
Tibble! “Any relation to Wesley?”
“His father. Why?” Velma’s glare had softened into interest.
“Remember the day he came to the office and said Nelly had been stabbed?”
“Yeah, but I’d rather forget it.” Velma’s nose scrunched in distaste.
“When we walked down to the sweat lodge, could you tell if she’d been stabbed?” Shandra asked. Velma had to see what she’d discovered.
Her aunt stared up at the sky and shook her head. “No.”
“Then how do you think Old Moses knew?” She peered at her aunt like a parent waiting for a child to spit out the correct answer.
“You have to be wrong. He’s never even thrown litter out a window,” Velma said.
The sound of an engine coming around the side of the building caught her attention. A dark green fender, followed by the body of an older pickup came into view.
“That’s Old Moses,” Velma whispered, grabbing her arm to haul her back into the building.
“You go and call Ryan. Tell him what I think.” Shandra wasn’t afraid of the man. He’d killed the others because they had harmed his son. She hadn’t even known his son.
“He’s not going to like this,” Velma said, disappearing into the building.
“Miss Shandra, what are you doing out here?” Old Moses asked, stepping out of the vehicle and coming around the front toward her.
“I was falling asleep and wanted some fresh air.” She waved a hand toward the door.
He cocked his head. “You left a service before it finished?”
Not knowing how much he knew about the service she said, “I waited until all the stories were told and they started singing again. I’m afraid not knowing the language, I’m at a disadvantage of knowing what they are singing about.”
He smiled. “The songs are about how the earth nurtures us and the animals sustain us. Hasn’t Velma taught you what the Seven Drums religion is about?”
“Only bits and pieces. We aren’t together enough for her to have taught me as much as I would like to learn.” She nodded to the sweat lodge. “Has the area around the sweat lodge been purified?”
He didn’t glance that direction. His gaze remained on her. “Why do you ask?”
“Aunt Jo said Ryan and I had to do a purification sweat before the wedding. I was just making sure we won’t have to postpone the wedding.”
His shoulders relaxed. “Your aunt can perform the purification ritual. You should talk to her.”
“Aunt Velma?” She found it odd her aunt hadn’t mentioned it to her.
He nodded. “She performed the ritual after Wesley was killed in the lake. No one could swim or fish until she had.”
“Wesley? Was that a son?” She wanted to keep him talking until Ryan arrived. And maybe she could also get him to confess.
“My only son. He was a good boy. He and Pim were talking about getting married. But he’d fallen for Nelly’s wicked ways.” The older man’s eyes narrowed and hatred surged in their dark depths.
“I don’t understand?” She shook her head, hoping she appeared as lost as she was faking.
He turned the hatred on her. “How could you give someone with such evil in her heart a means to leave this place?”
Shandra took a step back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The scholarship. You were giving her a ticket out of here. She didn’t deserve it. There are so many other young women who don’t prey on young men’s hormones that should have received it. Not that whore.” This Old Moses was nothing like the old man who shuffled his feet and barely said anything.
“I didn’t know all of this about her.” Shandra held up her hands submissively.
“Velma knew. She should have warned you.”
“She did in a way, but I thought what she said was just because she didn’t like Nelly, not because she was really a bad person.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
Old Moses heard it too. He hurried into his pickup and backed it up.
Shandra didn’t know whether to follow him or go into the building. Before the vehicle started forward, it had two tribal police cars in front of it.
Old Moses put his head on the steering wheel.
Logan sprang out of one police vehicle and another tribal policeman and Ryan leaped out of the other car. The tribal policemen went after Old Moses.
Ryan sprinted over to her. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. “He wouldn’t hurt me. I didn’t hurt his son. I feel sorry for him. He could have handled things differently. Murder will put him in jail.”
“When people are seeking revenge, they don’t think about what will happen after they have their revenge.” Ryan held her tight.
“Why were you with a tribal policeman?”
“That is Samuel Red Cloud. When he told me who Duke talked to at the celebration and that he’d witnessed Old Moses near Tripp, I asked him Moses’s last name.” Ryan released her and clasped a hand, leading her around the building.
“Tibbles,” she said.
“Yes. Samuel remembered Wesley had a pickup he’d been working on when he died. We went to the Tibble residence and found a primer gray pickup with red streaks on the right front fender. Samuel had just called it in when Velma called me.”
“How did Logan get here so fast?” Shandra asked as they climbed the short ascent to the front of the building.
“He’d had a conversation with Tripp, without Wendy around, and discovered that Old Moses had threatened him after Wesley died. Saying he knew that Tripp had given his boy the drugs that caused him to drown.” Ryan scanned the parking lot. “We need a lift to my pickup so we can go home.”
She nodded. “Here comes Velma.”
~*~
Shandra had her bag packed and stood on the back porch with Aunt Jo, waiting for Ryan to get off the phone. “Be sure to give that scholarship packet to Pim. I want her to be able to get registered for the fall term.”
“I’m sure Velma will see to it. That is if she can get over the fact she didn’t know Tripp at all.” Jo laughed and Shandra joined in. When Velma had discovered Tripp wasn’t a drug dealer, she went into hiding for several hours.
“I’m glad you discovered who Fawn’s father is,” Aunt Jo said, watching Andy and Fawn riding horses in the corral.
“I’m glad he took responsibility for her when she was born by giving Nelly money. And I understand Nelly hoping one day Duke would give in and say Fawn was his and marry her.” Shandra did understand that Nelly had been so besotted with Duke that she had built up a fairytale of sorts about how he would come to his senses and love her and Fawn.
“What saddens me is that no one realized how much anger Old Moses had stored up since Wesley’s death and his wife committing suicide.” Jo hugged her arms to her body. “It’s scary to know anyone could break and do such a horrific thing as kill another person.”
“I know. Having been involved with Ryan and several murders, I’m becoming nearly as cynical as he is.” Shandra watched Ryan stroll toward them, putting his phone away.
“What did Logan have to say?” she asked when he stopped at the porch.
“Tibble admitted he told Nelly that Duke wanted to meet her by the sweat lodge. He knew that was the one person she’d do anything to meet. He’d taken the knife from Tripp’s pickup to scare her into telling him who all had taken part in killing his son. When she’d just laughed at him and told him he was crazy, he snapped and stabbed her.”
“But he didn’t have any blood on him,” Shandra said.
“He went to his truck, drove home, changed, and then came back and walked into the office.” Ryan shook his head. “The time difference is my fault. I never did ask the time of death.”
“And Tripp?”
“He figured since he and Nelly were always seen partying, that Tripp had to have something to do with Wesley getting hooked on drugs. But without confronting Tripp and getting his anger up, he attempted to stab him, only to have his conscience not go through with it.” Ryan picked up her bag. “When he couldn’t go through with Tripp’s stabbing, he worked himself up that it was all Duke’s fault and he should be the one to die. He pulled Wesley’s vehicle out of the garage and waited for Duke to leave the police station. He said with Duke gone he was at peace.”
Shandra shook her head. “He’ll never be at peace with all that on his conscience.”
“I agree.” Aunt Jo hugged her. “See you in two weeks.”