DeShay was paced around her vehicle, trying to remain calm when the first police officer arrived.. Detective Hawke had been with the tribal police for many years. Now he reigned as their lead detective.
“DeShay, what have you found?” Hawke asked.
She smiled at him. On the reservation, everybody called him Hawke, but off the rez, he was well known for his stubbornness and of course his handsomeness. Straight shoulder-length black hair, held by a feather at the back of his neck, set his features. Although he possessed a slender built, his muscles jutted out, revealing his toned body. A proud Native, who turned heads wherever he went.
“Well, I know it is a girl’s body.”
“Show me where she is.” He reached into his car and withdrew his crime scene investigation kit.
DeShay walked beside Hawke, eager to show him what she’d found. His demeanor turned more intense as they got closer to the sacred butte by their people in search of a vision quest.
“Hawke, will you have to call in the feds?”
He spared her a glance. “Yes, they are on their way. I hope you have a permit.”
“Of course, I do. Do you know of anybody missing from around here?”
Detective Hawke stopped and bent over to pick up a rock, examining it as he spoke. She suspected this as his way of putting the other person at ease, distracting them a little with his movements. “Well, Abby Winters’ mother reported her missing about a week ago, but there’s nothing to lead us to believe foul play was involved. We could never find anything linking her disappearance to a criminal act so we just thought she had run away from her home.”
DeShay nodded. “I remember the Winters family. They fought long and hard for the sacred sites. I recall the fight over Mato Paha, Bear Mountain, or Bear Butte. They went against a power of unknown proportions.”
Detective Hawke smiled. “Where’s s this site located?”
“Well, Bear Butte is just northeast of Sturgis. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places. A tourist trail leads all the way to the summit. Most of our people do not use it anymore because there are so many public visitors.”
“So many of our places are taken from us.” He sighed and dropped the stone. “Well, let’s keep going.”
***
The sun beamed down upon the butte. The bag DeShay had taken with her sat upright just steps away. She stopped at it and then pointed. “Okay, Hawke, over there in the tall grass.”
As he approached the scene, he scanned the surrounding area and made deliberate steps, careful not to disturb any evidence. The young woman’s body was supine with the knees bent. She clasped something in her right hand. It appeared to be a medicine wheel keychain.
“DeShay, we must be careful. I want you to recall everything you saw when you pulled up to the site.”
“Everything appeared normal, I mean if you’re wondering if there any vehicles around, no the area was deserted .”
“So, you did not see anybody around or leaving?” He crouched and focused on the body.
“No, Hawke, nothing.”
Hawke nodded. realizing this young woman’s life ended in a homicide. He hated to think about telling her mother. Facing the family and telling them their loved one no longer walked upon this earth was the hardest part of his job. Their grief and deep pain always drained him.
“Okay, DeShay. this appears to be a murder and, it’s Abby Winters. Please stand over by the sunflowers, now. We’d best wait for the feds to show.” He removed his camera from his kit and snapped several pictures of the body. Where he saw tire tracks, he jammed small yellow flags on wire posts into the ground. “Let’s head back to the main road until they arrive.”
They headed toward their vehicles parked on the dirt road steps away from the dead body and silence ensued. Obvious by the hardness of his eyes and the set of his jaw sadness enveloped Hawke’s heart. He stopped. DeShay watched as he closed his eyes. She realized he offered a prayer to the spirits and made a promise to catch the killer.
He whispered, “Mita Kuye ayasin, we are related. I will find who took your life. Toksha ake wacinyuanktin, Ktelo, I shall see you again.”
Both of their hearts heavy for the emptiness of a life lost for nothing. She died a horrific death and the family denied the keeping of the soul ceremony, Nagi Gluhapi Na Nagi Gluxkapi. Their custom meant they would wait four days before the relative was laid to rest. Keeping of the soul rite ensured the deceased crosses over in peace to meet the Great Spirit. It also helped to give the family some closure and to honor and celebrate the life of the deceased.
DeShay into her pocket. “Hawke, I almost forgot. Just before I found the body, I found this.” She handed him the feather.
He studied the item and the area. “Thank you, DeShay. It could belong to the killer.” A red-tailed hawk flew in his path. It delivered a message from the heavens. The feather, brownish-gray with some stains on it, and the presence of the hawk meant one thing, connection. All things were connected. Just like the circle of life, all things remained as one, even in death.
He glanced closer. There a spot or some kind of dark stain on the feather, maybe blood? He put the feather into a plastic evidence bag, marking it.
“I will get the feather to the lab today. It could hold the key to our perpetrator’s identity. This is a horrible crime and the spirits are upset. I sense this.”
The spirits told him… more to come, a lot more. Dread seeped into his soul. How could he help his people? He would wait for the FBI to arrive then the search of the entire area could resume. His clenched fists revealed he vowed justice would be served for the person who lost their life here as if they’re garbage.
DeShay could feel the sadness at the site. She felt the presence of Abby Winters and the ancestors who stood with her. It was normal when a person dies so violent for them to roam Mother Earth until they could get justice for their death. DeShay realized Abby’s presence , standing beside them in total disbelief. She shook her head; the girl was so young to die so violently, away from her loved ones.
“Hawke, I knew Abby. She’s a very good person with a gentle spirit. Always trying to help anyone, she could. I know she enjoyed writing.. She planned on writing a book and becoming famous. I remember her mother telling her she could do anything as long as she put her heart into it.”
Hawke stared at the sky. “I know this is Abby, and I hate to have to tell her mother she is dead. The hardest part is knowing she met her demise in such a horrible manner. Having to tell the parents and watch, them break down and cry. Well, I just hate having to do it.”
DeShay eyed the ground, taking in all the words from a gentle, caring man. She hoped he would find some way to ease the pain in his heart. His job carried many responsibilities and often much emotional pain and anger.
She reached out and touched his arm. “I know you will find the words when it is time to face the mother. The Creator walks with you, Hawke.”