Skull Moon

She seemed unconcerned with his label. "It has been said the ancients were in league with many creatures. Some no longer walk this land. Some are distant memory. That they hunted with them, as them. That they could reverse their skins. Beneath their flesh were the pelts of wolf, bear. This was accomplished with the Blood-Medicine my father spoke of."

Longtree tossed his cigarette into the fire. "Okay. That's fine for the Wolf and Bear Societies. I don't ridicule their beliefs. But what of the Skull Society? What is it they claim to become with this Blood-Medicine?"

"With the Blood-Medicine, men of the Society could become the Skullhead."

"What else?"

She went silent again. Then she turned and looked at him, her eyes drinking him in, making him shiver. Shadow and light played over her face. "It was said my grandfather was a shapeshifter. That he often hunted in the form of an animal. That his father was one and his father's father."

"And Crazytail?"

"Yes, he, too."

Longtree licked his lips. "Are your telling me your father is killing these people in the form of an animal? Some primal beast? This Skullhead?"

She looked angry. "No. You wanted to know about the Skull Society. That's all I'm telling you."

But was it? Was she laying it all out for him? No, he decided, she was spinning tribal tales, nothing more. People didn't turn into animals. There were no werewolves. Or Were-bears. Or Skullheads. If he started believing garbage like that then it was time to turn in his badge. It was madness.

"One year ago," she said, "a local white girl was murdered in Wolf Creek. Her name was Carpenter. She was raped, then stabbed. My brother, Red Elk, was arrested for the crime."

"Did he do it?"

"No, he wouldn't do such a thing." She seemed to believe this. "He had too much honor. He was found stooping over the body, so, of course, being an Indian, the whites decided he was guilty." Her lips tightened down like a vise. "He was arrested and put in jail. Two nights later, vigilantes stormed the jail and hanged him." She laughed dryly, without emotion. "At least, this is the story Sheriff Lauters told."

"And you think he was lying?"

"Yes. I don't know why he would, but I think it was to protect someone." Moonwind had planted the seed of uncertainty, now she nourished it. "In recent years, the local ranchers have been plagued by a cattle rustling ring. Red Elk told me he thought he knew who the members of that ring were."

"So he was arrested and lynched to shut him up?" Longtree asked.

"Yes, I think so. But there's more to it than that. A rumor circulated after he was hanged, mainly among the whites, that Red Elk didn't kill that woman. That he came upon her as she was dying and she told him who her attacker was."

"One of the ring?"

"It would seem… logical, don't you think? Red Elk knew who her killer was and he knew who the rustlers were."

Longtree sighed. "You're just guessing."

"Am I? I visited Red Elk in the jail the day before he was lynched. He told me he knew who the killer was. That in the courtroom he planned on pointing the finger at not only the killer, but at the entire ring."

"But he didn't tell you who this person was?"

She shook her head. "He said it was too dangerous for me to know."

Longtree thought about it. It made a certain amount of sense. If Red Elk knew who the real killer was and who the rustlers were, then certain parties would have every reason in the world to have him jailed and lynched before he came to trial. But what of Lauters? What was his part in this? Logic dictated that he was one of the ring, that the killer was another. Lauters didn't want this killer going on the stand because, facing the noose, he'd have told everything. Red Elk was seen stooping over the body, a very convenient surrogate. Everything fell into place after that. The ring must've have known Red Elk knew about them. It made sense…it answered many questions…but was it true?

Longtree rolled another cigarette and lit it with an ember from the fire. "Who," he said, "saw Red Elk bending over the body?"

"Sheriff Lauters."

Longtree winced. Damn. It was all too obvious now. Or was it? He couldn't jump to conclusions here. He would have to proceed slowly. Check out all this as quietly and covertly as possible. If Lauters was involved and he discovered Longtree nosing into the affair…it could get ugly. Still, none of this explained the series of killings.

"I'll look into it," he promised. "But my first consideration is still the murders."

"Maybe if you solve one crime, you'll solve the others."

Longtree looked at her. Moonwind knew much more than she was saying, but she was fiercely stubborn. She would tell no more than she wanted to. A woman like Moonwind couldn't be coerced into talking. He had to gain her confidence and the only way he could do that was by investigating her brother's lynching and what led to it.

One step at a time.

"If I didn't know better," Longtree said to her, "I'd say you were suggesting these killings were done as revenge."