Belknap and Beyond

By Curtis Helvey

Belknap And Beyond is a work of fiction based on experiences I had teaching near the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana.

The story is about a Native family who has a member in jail from a meth murder. The youngest son has to help the older brother who is in prison even though he never trusted him before. It is about people recovering from modern problems and Native American culture.

There is also another character introduced after a family tragedy who relocates to Bozeman. If you enjoy real life experiences this book is for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984519764

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 by Curtis Helvey.

Library of Congress Control Number:            2018904166

ISBN:                  Hardcover                             978-1-9845-1978-8

                           Softcover                              978-1-9845-1977-1

                           eBook                                    978-1-9845-1976-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 06/21/2018

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Contents

Fort Belknap Reservation

Great Falls

Back to the present- Great Falls

Fort Belknap

Poplar

Harlem

Billings

Poplar

Harlem

Lodgepole

Fort Belknap

Fort Belknap

Great Falls

Harlem

Great Falls

Cascade County Adult Lockup

Harlem

Billings

Great Falls

Harlem

Hardin

Belknap

Great Falls

Belknap

Great Falls

Hays

Great Falls

Harlem

Great Falls, Points North

Belknap

Shelby

Belknap

Billings

Belknap

Billings

Still In Billings

Shelby

Billings

Belknap

Billings

Shelby

Harlem

Holmes Ranches

Harlem

Lodgepole

Late Fall Billings

Lodgepole

Harlem

Billings

Holmes Ranches

Harlem

Shelby

Billings

Holmes Ranches

Poplar

Livingston

Shelby

Holmes Ranches

Belgrade

Holmes Ranches

Belgrade

Shelby

Belknap

Malta

Belgrade

Harlem

Belgrade

Holmes Ranches

Harlem

Harlem

Shelby

Belknap

Holmes Ranches

Harlem

Small House

Holmes Ranches

Belgrade

Shelby

Holmes Ranches

Harlem

Ron at Belknap

Shelby

Belgrade

Holmes Ranches

Harlem

Shelby

Shelby Ranch

Belgrade

Belknap

Holmes Ranches Spring

Belgrade

Shelby

Harlem

Holmes Ranches

Belknap

Holmes Ranches

Summer at Belknap

Shelby

Harlem

Belgrade

Harlem

Shelby

Harlem

Belgrade

Harlem

Near Turner

Harlem

Holmes Ranches

Harlem

Belgrade

Lodgepole

Harlem

Holmes Ranches

Montana Weather

Shelby

Holmes Ranches

Montana after the Storm

Harlem

Holmes Ranches

Belgrade

Harlem

Holmes Ranches

Shelby

Harlem

Lodgepole

Holmes Ranches To Harlem

Shelby

Lodgepole

Belgrade

Shelby

Harlem

Shields Valley

Shelby

Harlem

Holmes Ranches February

Gallatin County

Belknap and Musselshell

Gallatin County

Belknap

Shelby

Belknap

Holmes Ranches

Gallatin Valley

Montana Highway 241 Initial Scout

Chinook

Shelby

Gallatin/ Shields Valley

Blaine County

Malta

Near Turner

Shelby

Gallatin/ Shields Valley

Seattle

Belknap

Shelby

Near Turner

Chinook 4:45 pm

Northeast of Turner 5:30 pm

Meanwhile

2355 Mohair Road 6:25 pm

At The Colony

About Six Miles North

Meanwhile

8 pm

Meanwhile

Shelby

Lodgepole

Gallatin/Shields Valley

Blaine County

Shelby

Harlem

Shelby

Later at CCC

Chinook

Cascade County

Gallatin/ShieldsValley

Holmes Ranches

Shelby

Belknap

Shelby

Belgrade

Nixon, Nevada

Reno To Great Falls

Shelby

Great Falls

Later in Great Falls

Shelby

Deer Lodge To Florida

Shelby

Holmes Ranches late winter

Gallatin Valley

Shelby

Belknap

Musselshell County to Harlem

Shelby

Life on the Reservation in an isolated place…

The modern problems of drug abuse and how people are recovering. Drug laws that don’t make sense and a society falling apart at the seams…

A comparison of different cultures…

Thanks to Diane, Ray, Tina, Daryl, and Willie

The Cascade County Parole Office and Juvenile Detention Center

Fort Belknap Reservation

Sam Small woke to the steel gray dawn along the North Branch of White Bear Creek. It was another Blaine County morning. He looked through the duct taped frame of a scratched window on the trailer to see his horse, Polie in the corral. The colt was a Tobiano gelding - a gift from Uncle Honas on his last birthday. It was the focus of his life, a young Assiniboine boy in a single parent family with an older brother named Junior who was riding the meth highway. His father Ronald hadn’t visited for more than a couple years. The last time Sam saw Ron was at the Phillips County Fair - drunk as usual.

Sam’s Mom, Rachel yelled at him to get up for the bus but he was already on the way to the bathroom, his hair sleep -twisted like a ravens wing. He watered and brushed it down and went back to his room to slip on a pair of Wranglers and tennis shoes. The smell of bacon and hotcakes filled the kitchen as he entered.

Wash your hands Rachel said as he slid in and poured some oj. She asked him if he’d done his math homework and he said I don’t get them fractions Mom. He dug in to the cakes and had a good piece of well- done bacon.

Well you better find out how to do them today because I couldn’t help you last night with the Cultural Meeting.

Are you guys getting Alan Jackson for the Fair?

No –some Native rapper I never heard of she paused. I wonder where the hell Junior is?

Haven’t seen him for a couple days, Mom. Sam said earnestly.

That sonofabitch is cruisin for a bruisin she exclaimed. Notice how I dissed myself? She smiled at him.

He returned the smile with Yeah that was pretty funny, Mom…You’re not bitchy very often though. Hey, I have to go with Grandpa and Honas to Chinook on Friday to get Polie his shots. he said through a mouthful of pancakes.

OK, they can feed you then.

He gave her a hug and she reminded him he was the best part of the family. Sam was out the door with the AC/DC backpack and a snack for school.

On the bus, he sat alone and watched for deer and birds. Occasionally, he would see big birds cruising slowly way up high. He knew they were golden eagles. They always fascinated him and he remembered fancy dancers who had mimicked their movement at Powow. It was amazing that some eagles could live to forty years or more.

Sam was in 7th grade at Harlem and as the bus turned off the Highway toward the school, he felt a familiar anxiety associated with the social and academic world. He was in Resource Math and Science. Art, Social Studies, Shop, English and PE were also part of his schedule. His Resource Teacher, Mrs. Trent, handed him his Math assignment and he stared at it for awhile. She tried to help him, but he was thinking about riding his horse after school.

When he got into Art, Ms. Curtis had to wake him from another daydream and told him he couldn’t afford to waste time on his drawing. He worked on the background, but couldn’t make the buffalo look right.

Sam didn’t really want any help. His brother Junior could draw like a master without any training.

He remembered the last Parent-Teacher conference when Rachel came and talked to the teachers. She wasn’t very happy that he had low D’s in Math and Art. His other grades were a little better - mostly C’s. Shop was his best class where he had a B average.

After all the bad news at Conferences, he had taken her to the shop to show her the bow he was making for his nine year old cousin in Billings. Rachel met Mr. Hale and they got along well together. She thought it would be hard for one teacher to control a class of about a dozen seventh grade - mostly Native boys. Hale smiled and said Sam was a good kid. Sam showed her the bow. It was made of some strong willow that he and his Grandpa had found.

Sam had always been a loner at school since his days at Harlem Elementary. There were a couple boys who picked on him, but other kids were nice and he liked his teachers, He was good at basketball and chicken dancing. And like many Native kids, loved horses. It was kind’ve like he didn’t trust anyone else. And he did better on his own.

At lunch, he always sat by himself and other kids sat around him. As Elijah and Jacques went by, Elijah made a weird face at Sam and the two boys laughed at him. A girl named Michelle was polite and asked him how the spaghetti was. He replied my Mom’s is so much better. She smiled back at him.

After lunch, he sat and read his book about Navajo Code Talkers. It was interesting but he didn’t know some of the words like counter intelligence.

The bell rang and he headed for shop, his favorite class. Hale was funny, but he could get real serious in a hurry too. He was an older, bald guy with a gravelly voice and a real good teacher.

Hale was a farmer from Lewistown. He had a challenge with all those wild boys off the Rez whom Hale sometimes called a bunch of nit wits. Victor ran by Sam and did a drive by coup.

Sam smiled, but Hale yelled alrite you little farts, if yer gonna play grab ass ..we’ll just get out the books and sit in the classroom… what’s it gonna be?

The boys got quiet and Hale was able to get them working on their projects. Of course they needed a lot of individual attention. Sam went to work on his cousin’s bow. He started sanding it and found himself spacing off again. Hale helped him drill the holes in the ends and test the bow for strength. The sinew was elk gut that Honas had given him.

After school, he anxiously rode the bus home and ran out to his horse. Without changing out of his school clothes, Sam gave Polie a mouthful of oats. He put a bridle on the colt and rode bareback. They went up a ravine to the fenceline which was about 500 yards away. He hadn’t been this way for awhile. Their land was bordered by the 3M Ranch. This was a parcel his Mom and Dad had bought when they were married. Ron just gave it to her because he felt bad about not paying child support. Rachel did ok keeping food on the table. Junior was hardly ever home lately anyway.

Sam rode Polie up the fence to the corner and came back in kind of a half circle. This time he smelled something dead - maybe an animal. But the horse had shied at the site of an Adidas tennis shoe sticking out of the ground near a juniper bush. The shoe had a leg attached to it.Holy shit Sam said and got off his horse to inspect.

He had to hold onto the reigns tight while trying to get a better look. What the fuck is this? he said to himself. He led Polie a short ways away and let him stand while he went back and did his best to wipe away their prints with his shoes. Finally he just jumped up on Polie and rode away, looking back over his shoulder.

Where did this come from? What was he going to do about it.? I Bet Junior had something to do with it…

He put Polie away and went into the trailer and raided the fridge of mac and cheese and Pepsi. Sam turned on the TV and watched a little of People’s Court to distract him from the shoe by the bush. He should probably tell his Mom and the cops. But he didn’t want her to worry and she might freak out and destroy the evidence. She had a lot on her plate. He’d probably call the tribal cops tomorrow at school - ask to use the phone in the office. The boy really had no one to help him with this. Grandpa and Honas were always helping them out and he didn’t want to bother them.

He was certain that if Junior was involved he would pay. It just wasn’t right to bury a body on his Mom’s land in secret. Sam cautiously walked down the hall in the three bedroom trailer to Junior’s room, looking for more evidence. He called out his brother’s name just to be sure Junior wasn’t there and received no answer.

In Junior’s room, there were piles of dirty clothes and shoes strewn about, along with X Box equipment. His brother, who was 17, had worked as a Tribal Firefighter briefly the previous summer and made enough money to acquire a few things. Junior eventually got fired for smoking pot on the fire line.

Sam went through some pants pockets and found nothing except some gas receipts from Great Falls- what was Junior doing in Great Falls? He was ready to give up the search, but looked under the bed and saw nothing except a tin foil wrapper in the corner. It was dirty under there and he had to stretch to get the wrapper. He carefully opened it up and inside was an off white powder in the corners. I wonder if this is meth?

Sam knew his brother ran around with Tristan, who was pretty nice and had a car. He had seen a couple girls he didn’t know in the car as well.

Great Falls

Junior woke on the floor of some place he wasn’t sure of at first. Then he remembered, as he saw Charlene’s long Native hair swirling next to him in sleep. They had spent the night on the floor at her brother’s in Great Falls. Mike would be at work at the refinery now. Junior hadn’t been eating or sleeping much since they had been on an ice binge for a few days now. He was thirsty more than anything and knew he should eat something too. He quietly made his way to the kitchen and looked in the fridge for bottled water, but there was none and he remembered the argument he had with Charlene’s brother last night. He closed the fridge with a bang.

Mike Cochrane was a Normal Native who worked and had an apartment. He drank a little and maybe smoked pot but that was it. Charlene had a key for the apartment and let Junior, Tristan and Delia in yesterday, when Mike was at work.

Junior and Tristan had driven down from Belknap to meet Charlene and her friend in Great Falls. They went through a bunch of ice and tweaked around the apartment. Tristan and Delia weren’t really a couple and they didn’t like meth. They stared at Junior and Charlene, who were acting crazy and couldn’t sit still.

Last night, when he got home, Mike laid into Charlene and Junior about meth being the Devils Drug. Mike said if Charlene had a baby from Junior it would be a freak. Junior yelled that they used rubbers, which was true. Mike said they could spend the night but that was the end of meth smoking in his place.

Junior turned on the tap at the sink and let it cool off. He drank the awful white man’s Great Falls water. It tasted like chlorine, but at least it was wet.. He fought off dizziness and quietly stepped out the door. Where the hell was Tristan? He must have left their asses. Junior had his ice pipe and a one hitter for weed in his jacket along with his cigs and phone.

Junior looked at his I phone and the battery was completely dead. His cell charger was in Tristan’s car. Fuckin Tristan…he told them he wasn’t gonna do any more meth and split with Delia back to the Rez, leaving he and Char in GF.

So how would he get home? There was a shuttle van that went to Belknap, but he didn’t know what time. He knew it left from downtown. His stomach was growling and he hit an Arby’s and was abusive with the help. Got two sandwich meals and ate one. It felt at first like it would come back up, but he managed to digest the food and he carried the other meal out. Then Junior got out his cigs. He found the blunt he’d stashed in his cig packet and would do that later to try and get rid of this headache. They had also been drinking 40’s last night. He lit a cig and was beginning to feel a little better. Best take a break from that ice. Even though it was nice. They’d smoked it all anyway.

He ate the second Arby’s sandwich and threw the wrapper into the street to the chagrin of an old lady passerby. Junior frowned at her and kept on his way to the bus station. The agent told him the bus didn’t leave until 3:00 and it was only 10:30. He bought the ticket and figured he’d have to spend the day with a dead phone and little to do with limited cash. He wasn’t going back to Mike’s place. Charlene could find her own way back to Belknap. She had dropped out of school completely and had little money. Delia was still a Harlem High student and must’ve talked Tristan into heading back without them.

Junior was recalling the guy they got the ice from last summer. He wasn’t the young, Native guy who had ripped them off, but an older white Viet Nam Vet who approached them.

Junior, Tristan and the two girls had been at the Quick Mart parking lot, smoking a joint. The window was slightly down to let the smoke out.

A man walked by Hey, you guys wanna try some of this Indica? They were wary of this tough looking old white dude with a pony tail and an Army jacket, but agreed to follow him to another parking lot. It was Sunday and no one was around.

I think he’s a narc Charlene had said. She had older brothers who wouldn’t trust a guy like this.

He can’t bust us for possession of much- a roach, and an empty ice pipe Tristan said.

Junior stashed his ice pipe under the seat. So this old hippie guy - Barry, had a lot of balls approaching them alone. They let him in the front seat of Tristan’s car and Junior moved to the back with the two girls. Tristan had that fearful warrior look. Barry offered a pipe full of the Indica he had apparently grown himself and it was potent. Everyone was coughing. Pretty good shit.

Barry got around to asking them if they ever smoked ice and Junior said they had been getting ripped off by a guy who smoked it all the time. They were paying $25 for a hit which was roughly a quarter gram. They could get half grams for $40 and share the meth and drink a 40 ounce malt liquor apiece and call it a 40/40.

Tristan said he was more of a bud smoker because it came from the earth. The girls were quiet. Eventually, Junior and Barry got out of the car to talk.

Barry said he could get grams of high quality ice for $80 and sixteenths, or 1 and ¾ grams for $100. Junior said he could try to come up with $100. He hadn’t even heard of a sixteenth until then. They agreed to meet at Barry’s farm up by Turner.

Since Junior didn’t have a car, he would have to talk Tristan into a ride up there in the Sentra. Tristan had the car - his Mom’s because she was in jail in Billings.

Tristan was pretty protective of the car and never trusted Junior, who looked out for himself. In spite of the girls warning that this was a DEA setup, they called the guy and drove up to Turner on a Saturday. Tristan was wary and could envision agents with assault gear popping out of the farm buildings. The girls didn’t want to go. Junior always threw caution to the wind.

They found the place off Mohair Road on the way to Turner. Barry was sitting alone on his porch with a sheep dog who barked as they walked to the house. Barry called the dog and told them to sit out on the porch with him.

It was established that Barry was a sixteenth Assiniboine and Tristan had to laugh because they were talking about sixteenths of meth earlier. Junior didn’t get it and was all business- told Tristan to shut up because he thought his friend was being disrespectful to the guy’s family. Barry said he had one other trustworthy Native customer and wanted to expand his business. He didn’t say who it was.

In the conversation, they learned that Barry was a loner after the war and came back to where he grew up as an only child on this farm. His Mom and Dad were both dead. Barry grew his bud and manufactured meth in the shed out back on the old family farm.

Junior asked him if he knew they were underage and Barry didn’t care, saying Its all relative. Illegal is illegal.

Then Barry related that he had never smoked or injected meth - just smoked bud. His rule with meth was like the line in Scarface "don’t get high on your own supply."

Tristan was actually beginning to relax and they smoked some more Indica and talked about basketball. Tristan was thinking of a guy who was named Barry from Poplar who was accused of murdering a girl. But this Barry didn’t look like the one he’d seen on the news. Junior was thinking that this guy might work out for him – if he was a loner who didn’t have a lot of traffic coming in or out. Natives were always getting busted on the Rez-a lot of them were so high, they didn’t seem to care. Barry said he had no felonies on his record.

The dealer got around to showing them the meth lab: barrels, chemicals and cookers in behind a sliding aluminum panel. Barry pulled a sample out of the tray and said it was as pure as they could find in Montana. Junior wanted to try some. He wouldn’t put a needle in his arm, but would take a hit if Tristan did too. His friend was hesitant but finally gave in and told Junior he may have to drive.

They also got a tour of the pot operation which was carved out of an adjacent root cellar. Barry had open barrels of solvent to hide the smell of the drugs. Then he gave the boys the 50 cent lecture.

I generally don’t trust young people but I am still a business man. This is my insurance.

He pulled out a black 9mm glock and the boys gawked at it.If anyone drives in here looking to rip me off, this thing will stitch holes in them pretty quick.

I think we get the message Junior said.

Junior was a control person who was generally out of control. What he liked about meth was that he was happy from the high- everything was beautiful for awhile. He gave Barry the $100 for a sixteenth of ice and another $200 for a half ounce of bud. Then they left, saying they would be back to get more. Barry said he would give them a deal for an eight ball of ice for $175 down the road. Then the boys went into Harlem at lunch and saw the girls walking down the street to the store. They all went to Great Falls.

Back to the present- Great Falls

When he got home to Belknap tonite, Junior would have to call his Mom from Quick Mart and have her come get him. She’d be pissed but he’d shmooze her and get her to cook him some vittles.

Junior ducked into the alley and lit the blunt. When he came back to the street there was a fine white babe in a short skirt walking out of the bank. He was feeling frisky and whistled at her, but of course got no reaction. He went around the corner and lay on a bench and dozed stoned for awhile.

The dream came to him and he woke in a sweat. It was he and Izzy, entering Ruiz’s trailer and Junior asked him for the $200 the guy owed them for the eight ball they gave him. Then Ruiz said he had already sold the meth and needed money to help his Mom.

Junior and Izzy were yelling at Ruiz, calling him a liar. Then Junior took out his knife while Izzy held the Mexican. He cut the guy’s jugular for him right then and there. He never liked that wanna be gang banger from Cali who talked like he was big time and was just a thief.

Junior was awake now, remembering the guy screaming in pain and the blood flowing and then he kicked him in the head spraying blood and Ruiz went down. He leaned over the bench and stared at the gray stones in the sidewalk of the bank. Man, I’d probably have never done that if I wasn’t so high…

He lit up the blunt roach again right there on the bench and took a walk down the street toward the railroad tracks. Now he was thinking about the incident at Poplar again. How he and Tristan had put Ruiz’s body in the trunk of the car and Izzy being a bitch - saying he wasn’t touching no dead body and Tristan not really involved having to help him. Then they were on the road and wondered where to dump the body. Not on Fort Peck- too close to the crime scene, although Tristan wanted to dump it in the Reservoir. They had been up for 36 hours and made it home leaving the bitch Iz on Rodeo Drive and flipping him off as he walked away.

So he and his old buddy Tristan needed to get rid of that bloody body fast. They got to the Small’s place and no one was home, luckily. They loaded the body in a wheel barrow and threw a tarp over it and pushed it up the hill as Sam’s horse stared at them.

It was really hard pushing that load up the hill but they teamed up and finally found a spot that was concealed in a ravine. They dug a hole and buried him shallow. It was really a rush job and Tristan was freaking and got the hell out of there. Junior was coming down from his high at that point. He cleaned his fingerprints off the knife and put it in a messy lunch bag, throwing it in a dumpster at Belknap later that week.

A train whistle in Great Falls blasted and woke him from his walking reverie. He’d better turn back and see what time it was. Junior got on the shuttle van and slept most of the way. They stopped at the Casino near Rocky Boy and he realized he was almost out of money and was hungry again. He got a coffee to go and smoked his last cigarette. He was anxious and shaking.

Fort Belknap

When they finally arrived at Belknap, he called Rachel from the counter phone at Quick Mart and she lit into him.

Where the hell have you been?… you think you can just disappear and miss school for a few days and do drugs with your friends? If you wanna live in this house you’re going to go to school and not run around… got it?

Junior was holding the phone away from his ear until she finished. The attendant seemed to know what was up and smiled. Rachel finally agreed to pick him up in the aging Monte Carlo they called Monte.

They rode in silence through the dark Rez and finally pulled up to the trailer. Sam was sitting in the living room with his homework. "What’s up esay?" Junior said with a grin. Sam didn’t reply.

They ate elk steak from Uncle Honas, baked potatoes and coleslaw. It was pretty quiet at the table. Junior was thinking it was kind’ve good to be with his family again. Meth was so powerful though, and he wanted more. He excused himself from the table, not offering to help clean up. Rachel said if he didn’t go to alt school tomorrow she’d have the cops after him.

He looked at her, said ok and went to his room where he played X Box and smoked a cig butt he found. Junior wasn’t supposed to smoke in the house. He blew the smoke out the window. Then he tore the room upside down in a fruitless search for some ice.

When Sam and Rachel cleaned up the dishes, Sam asked her if she thought Junior would obey the rules of the house.

Well if he doesn’t, he can find another place to live. I’m just tired of it. Oh and by the way, I don’t want you wearing your school clothes when you ride Polie, ok hon?

Sorry Mom he said.

Sam was thinking about the shoe up the ravine, but was able to conceal it. He too excused himself and went to his room. He tuned his radio in to a Utah Jazz game and read a little more about the Code Talkers who were Dine’ Navajo- the largest Reservation in the U.S. They lived in areas where there was little water and raised sheep. They also made cool jewelry and hand fired pottery. He had learned that in art, when Ms. Curtis did her art history lessons. Before he turned out the light he thought: Tomorrow I’m going to call the tribal Cops about Junior… I’ll fix his ass… show em that foil wrapper…

The next day Junior called Tristan on the landline to get his phone charger back. He would also need a ride to school.

Man I need to go to alt school today. Are you going?

Yeah I’ll come and pick your gangster ass up I guess… we’ll still be late.

There was a pause and Junior said What the fuck.. so you left our asses in GF dude?

Tristan said Man, I’m worried about you smoking all that ice … its changing your personality, dude. You’re getting dangerous.

"Well at least I wouldn’t leave your ass stranded no matter how high I was." Junior hung up.

Tristan cruised up to the Small’s house in the maroon Nissan Sentra and Junior ran out and got in. Tristan had a joint rolled for the drive to school.. They would hear about being absent for two days and late the third, but at least their grades were still pretty good. The principal in Harlem would never put up with that shit- it would be OSS and work detail.

They opened the alternative school a couple years ago when kids were dropping out of Harlem and Hays. The head of the school was a white hippieish dude named Max. He laid into the two boys about their truancy and they were quiet. They spent some time in class reviewing Lord of the Flies and drawing a cultural map of the Reservations in Montana. Max kept them after for awhile and asked them what they planned to do with the class project- which was to help elders who were shut-ins on the Rez. Max folded his arms like a tough guy, which he wasn’t and said: I asked you guys to come up with a plan for this last Semester and you haven’t done squat. So I’m going to have you put your heads together and come up with a page of three different activities to reach out or assist elders. This is due tomorrow so you need to think about it.

They stared at him, but agreed and came up with inviting elders to Pow Wow and helping with transportation. The boys mentioned making sure elders were getting their commodities and offering to bring them some. The last thing was calling to ensure the elders had transportation to medical appointments. Tristan did most of the thinking and writing as usual- he was the brainiac of the duo. Junior was the artist and tough guy who made deals. They didn’t get done with the assignment until after four o’clock, when most of the teachers had gone home.

Afterward, they were silent and then Junior spoke.

We need to go check on that body at my place, Tristan.

Why are you dragging me back into that scene again- I had nothing to do with that deal or that murder you committed.

You were there bro, when we went in and got him.

Junior convinced Tristan that they needed to go back to the body and see if it was covered up. It had been a hasty, shallow grave done by two young males. So they b-lined it, trying to get this done before Sam came home on the bus. They should have just enough time with the slow bus and all the stops it made on Rodeo Drive. Tristan parked his car off the Highway, somewhat hidden by a shed around the corner.

Junior saw the shoe and leg first and stopped to see if it looked like anyone had been around. Maybe an animal trying to eat the corpse. They went to work.

Half an hour later they had moved the rotting corpse and dug it in a little deeper. It was sickening and taboo.You cocksucker I hate you is what Tristan said as he sped away later. Junior just laughed at him.

Poplar

Martha Ruiz-Running Crane came home from work at a c-store one day to find a bloody mess in her livingroom and she knew why her son Alfredo hadn’t come home. They must’ve killed him there and moved his body.

She fell on her knees and screamed endlessly and finally came to her senses enough to call Tribal Police. She affirmed that it was probably drug related.

Officer Blane Runs Through entered the trailer and warned Martha not to move anything until they were done. He gave her a hug and told her to sit on the porch with a mug of tea he made for her. They hadn’t found the murder weapon but pulled several bloody tennis shoe prints off the floor. The officer got the Roosevelt County Sheriff on the lookout for more evidence in garbages, etc.

Harlem

Sam made the call to the Tribal Police during lunch that day by asking the secretary to use the phone. He didn’t really have any choice but to say what was going on and hoped the secretary wouldn’t hear.

This is Lieutenant Snow, may I help you?

This is Sam Small, I am thirteen years old… I live on the way to Hays… I saw part of a body sticking out from a bush on our land and it has me scared. I haven’t told anyone else about it yet. My brother is into drugs - he may have something to do with this.

Snow paused on the other end, then said How did you discover this?

Sam said I was out riding my horse after school yesterday and I saw the leg and shoe sticking up.

Snow replied ok, I’ll come out and check on it tomorrow. Son, I have to tell you that the FBI may be involved because they have jurisdiction with felonies on the Reservation.

Sam didn’t know what to say except he could lead Snow to the crime scene. And he had a tin foil wrapper found in Junior’s room that may have meth dust in it. Then, the lieutenant got Sam’s address and thanked him. Hayden Snow put down the phone and stared at a portrait of Red Cloud in his office. He had been on the force 25 years, first as a deputy, and moved up the ladder. People trusted him and he knew his job. He had to speculate whether the boy was telling the truth or not. Sometimes these Rez kids made up stuff for entertainment. He’d call the FBI and see what they said. Snow wanted to see the crime scene before they got there with a witness other than a kid. There could be no evidence tampering.

The Billings Office of the FBI answered the phone on the second ring. What Snow didn’t know was that the man answering was sitting in a mobile, air conditioned truck in the yard of a machine shop in South Billings.

Agent Meyers speaking.

Hey Tom … I don’t know if you remember me. This is Hayden Snow up at Fort Belknap, Tribal Police…. we worked to bust that meth ring a couple years ago.

Sure Hayden… good to hear from you…what can we help you with?

Well, I don’t really know if this is legitimate yet… a young boy called me and said he found part of a body sticking up out of the ground on his land. He was riding his horse … thinks his older brother may have something to do with this – ya know into meth and all.

Myers said Wow.. a kid, huh? I wonder if this has anything to do with that Missing Persons out of Poplar- Alfredo Ruiz, twenty year old male?

Snow replied Don’t know really … Poplar’s a long way off but these kids do travel on the meth highway. He followed up with I was going to ask your permission to inspect this crime scene with a witness … bein’s that you guys have jurisdiction.. We’d leave everything alone – just check to verify that foul play exists.

Yes that would be good Hayden, a verification will save time and distance. I’ll send permission via fax pronto. What’s your fax number? Hayden gave him the number and they signed off cordially, Meyers saying he could have a team up there tomorrow if it was real. They’d be in contact.

Sam came home from school that day and noticed that Junior was there because he could smell cigarettes. He played it cool and wouldn’t talk to his brother unless they had conversation at dinner. Sam wanted to ride Polie, but thought Junior might be suspicious of him. Then again, he might be even more suspicious if he didn’t ride today. So he decided to ride him slowly toward the south and stay away from where he’d seen the shoe.

At dinner there was tension between Junior and his Mom and Sam stayed out of it.

Sam went to the living room and was watching the 70’s Show, but finally gave it up and went to his room. Junior could help with the dishes tonight.

The next day, Sam met Lieutenant Snow and Deputy Buck at the Small’s place after school. At this point, he didn’t care if Junior came home to find the cops there. Fortunately, Junior didn’t show. More light in the spring was beneficial, so they shouldn’t have a problem finding the spot. The young man Sam was a nice kid who looked worried and reminded them to keep it a secret. The only people who could see the Small’s place lived across the highway quite a ways. If there was a body dug up there, it might not be noticed. Sam said his brother wasn’t home and was probably in Harlem. His Mom wouldn’t be home til after five. A typical latch key kid.

They walked around the corral where a young horse looked at them and circled up into the ravine through grass and rabbit brush.

Nice lookin colt ya got there, Sam. Lieutenant Snow said.

Yeah I wanna race him in the relays some day Sam replied.

The boy took them to the spot where it did smell a little like something dead near there and the ground had been disturbed. The boy was obviously disappointed because the evidence was no longer there. He hung his head.

Snow looked over don’t worry about it kid… you showed us the spot and we found it… we have to call the FBI and get them up here anyway. Its really their case. We’ll find out what went on here.. if there’s a body the FBI has to dig it up.

He looked over at Deputy Buck who was smiling – probably thinking the kid was running them on a gooser. They took some pictures and then Snow told Sam that his Mom was going to find out about this sooner than later. It could wait til tomorrow though. Sam said Junior would probably be back that night and go to school tomorrow. They’d let him think everything was back to normal at home. The boy remembered the foil wrapper he’d left in his bedroom and went to retrieve it. He handed Snow the wrapper and received another attaboy.

Sam was disappointed that they didn’t try to find the body immediately. It made him nervous because news travels fast on the Rez and someone my have seen the cops up there.

He needed another distraction before Mom got home. Instead of food, he decided to do the math fractions- it became a little easier now that he understood. He used his calculator to divide the denominator into the numerator. He was also reading his Science - about mutations, when Rachel got home. She was happy with his work. He was secretly hoping the FBI was coming tomorrow.

Billings

Agents Andrews and Volzer left Billings at around 8:30 am the next day in a big black Ford Van. They gassed up the van in Roundup with little conversation. Both had been through these kinds of cases on the Rez before. It was always the same - like trying to swim upstream. Bad places to eat, funky people, bad cell service, reverse racism - you name it. They always had to use public bathrooms on these one day trips when the Bureau wasn’t springing for overnight. The team was ordered by Meyers to case the scene - finding it would probably be an adventure. Then they were supposed to tag and bag any evidence. Both agents knew that the corpse was probably six months old and rotten. This was one for the highlight reel.

Andrews was driving. He figured with any luck they’d make Hays by around oneish. But there was no place to eat in Hays really - they made it a point to stop in Grassrange.

They left Grassrange and headed toward the Charlie Russell Refuge, where the road was dirt for a few miles. The scenery improved when the Little Rockies came into view.

They pulled into Hays and had no place to use the bathroom, so they went to the elementary school. The secretary looked at the two agents suspiciously but understood they needed a bathroom and to use the phone on a Federal case. It was weak cell service for them.

The agents got Lieutenant Snow on the landline and he agreed to meet them at the site. It was around 2:30 when the team arrived and received a text from the deputy. They had time before the boy got home from school. Snow had knocked on the door and no one was home. The deputy took the police cruiser and parked along the highway. Quinton Buck was nervous, thinking about being hit by suicidal meth heads with nothing to lose. He turned on KMON and listened to Charlie Pride on low to ease the tension.

The FBI had a warrant to search the land and went to work. The agents parked the van near the corral and followed Snow