Murder By Moccasin by Jim Riley

Author:Jim Riley [Riley, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gumshoe - A Next Chapter Imprint
Published: 2020-11-22T22:00:00+00:00

23

Wade and Felipe stopped fifty yards short of Doc Wilder before being motioned closer.

“How’s the patient?”

“Better than yours.” Doc motioned toward the butchered elk in the back of the ATV.

Wade laughed. “Must have been our lack of a good bed-side manner. I bet you could smell us from here. We won’t be able to use that stand for weeks.”

“Don’t worry, Boss. The coyotes will clean that up tonight. I saw some today that were as big as wolves. You’re feeding them too well.”

“Another problem when I can get to it. First, I’ve got to figure out what to do about Woody.”

“Hey, Boss.” Felipe pulled his knife from its sheath. “My ancestors had an answer for almost any problem.” He gently stroked the sharp edge of the blade.

“I only wish. Would serve him right for gut-shooting two animals and leaving them to die.”

Sam nodded. “I almost agree with you, but even Woody deserves his day in court.”

“But after he is found guilty,” Felipe continued to stroke his knife gently. “He doesn’t have much hair, but my ancestors had a solution for that. Woody will sing soprano in the prison choir every Sunday.”

Wade’s mood became more serious. “When would your ancestors stab them in the ribs with a ceremonial knife and leave the knife in the victim?”

Felipe paused. “Are you talking about John?”

Wade nodded.

Felipe continued. “I did not know John very well. But if someone that has studied the ceremonial knife and the rituals of the Apaches’ treatment of their most respected enemies, then whoever stabbed him paid him an honor of utmost respect. That would have been restricted to the chiefs of our most highly regarded foes. It was extremely rare.”

“Would that explain why there were no defensive wounds on John’s hands and arms?”

“Only if John was aware of the ritual, which would be doubtful. We didn't share our rituals with the pale face, even when you plied us with cheap whiskey. Also, John would have to have been an extremely brave man, which from the little I was around him, did not seem to be the case.”

“I’d agree with you on that. Bravery was probably not in his top ten unless he was seducing an innocent young lady. That seemed to have been more his style. He left the warrior work to others that were better suited. He stayed behind to protect the squaws and take advantage of them if he could.”

“Sounds like a typical lawyer to me, Wade.” Sam chimed in.

The three men laughed.

Doc was the first to respond, “Most lawyers are actually good people. They just get caught up in the adversarial environment they practice, and most of them think they’re the smartest person in the room. That leads to some quirky behavior.”

Wade rubbed his nose. “Quirky isn’t the way I would describe it, Doc. Obnoxious, maybe. Condescending, maybe. But not quirky. Quirky is for musicians, writers and artists, not lawyers.”

Sam, riding in the front seat of the ATV with Wade, asked, “So what do we do about Woody?”

“My guess is that he’ll keep doing what he did today until he’s caught.

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