Song of the Lion

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Song of the Lion Page 28

by Anne Hillerman


  “So, sister, could I borrow your red earrings for the video? CS wants me to talk with the sheep lady, you know, ask her questions. Something colorful would look good in the shot. She invited us to camp there so we can get started right at dawn.”

  Chee looked at CS. “Do you need money for gas?”

  “No, sir. Her car gets great mileage. The gas gauge doesn’t ever seem to move.”

  Bernie knew the gauge was broken, stuck on full.

  Darleen said, “It’s my car, so I’m buying gas. Don’t worry, Cheeseburger. We’re cool.”

  Bernie took off the earrings, the ones she loved best, the ones Chee had given her after she’d seen Leaphorn get shot. She pressed them into Darleen’s hand.

  She and Chee watched Darleen drive away in her old car, CS shooting video out the window, capturing Tuba City and Moenkopi after dark.

  Chee put his arm around her. “Did you ever do a background check on that guy?”

  “No. I got kind of busy.”

  A few days later, they were headed to Window Rock to visit the Lieutenant. Chee drove so Bernie could pay full attention to her call to Mama. They talked a long time. From Chee’s perspective, the conversation consisted of his wife occasionally offering, “I understand.”

  Then she said something that surprised him.

  “No, Mama, I want to keep my loom. I’d like to start weaving again. Maybe I can join you and Mrs. Bigman at the senior center for some lessons.”

  He couldn’t hear Mama’s response, but it took a long time. When he glanced over at Bernie, he noticed her smile and the tears in her eyes.

  They had dinner with Lieutenant Leaphorn and Louisa. As always, Louisa fixed something she deemed healthy: grilled chicken breasts cooked juiceless, chewy brown rice, and vegetables Bernie had never seen before. Chee had volunteered to provide dessert and brought along brownies. Bernie and the Lieutenant each ate two.

  While Louisa did dishes and made coffee, they moved into the Lieutenant’s office. He wanted to show them something and was happy to speak Navajo.

  Bernie said, “You know the FBI guy, Cordova, who Chee and I worked with?”

  The Lieutenant nodded.

  “He sent us a picture of his field office in Detroit.” She showed him the photo of the building on her phone.

  “And listen to what he wrote.” She read, “‘I just learned that a woman from California, fresh out of school, is being assigned to work out your way. Good luck with that, you guys.’” Bernie put the phone down.

  Chee said, “I hope she likes the desert. Farmington and Gallup aren’t exactly LA.”

  Bernie noticed a basket on the table with colorful cards, the kind with balloons, dancing elephants, and space ships. Leaphorn saw her gaze and pulled one out.

  “Remember the dead one from the bomb?”

  “I’ll never forget him.”

  “His grandmother saved all these cards and she thought I should have them.”

  Chee opened one and read aloud: “‘To Ricky, May you walk in beauty and grow up to always do the right thing.’ It’s signed, ‘From Emma and Joe.’”

  “The grandmother cried when she showed me that card,” Leaphorn said. “But I told her not to be sad. On the last day of his life, her grandson had walked in beauty. He had saved the life of a good man who loved him.”

  Acknowledgments

  As always, there are many more people to thank for help in bringing a novel from idea to reality than I can mention here. They did their best; and all mistakes are my own.

  My editor at HarperCollins, Carolyn Marino, provided enthusiastic encouragement and specific suggestions for Song of the Lion. Her wisdom helped me solve problems for Bernadette Manuelito I didn’t even realize I had created! Marino’s fabulous assistant, Laura Brown, handles bucketsful of wiggling details with graceful efficiency and much patience.

  I’m blessed that David and Gail Greenberg have taken me under their wings. This time, David helped me begin to understand the complicated details of the law enforcement response to a deadly explosion at a large public event. Generous Gail put her educated eyes on the text, making sure the words said what I meant, and eradicating a plague of unnecessary commas. She also brews a fine, fine cup of coffee.

  A big thank-you to Pearl Goldtooth, the hardworking Tuba City Public Library manager who made time to introduce me to the mysterious beauty of Coalmine Canyon and share the joys of life in To’Nanees’Dizi. She and the staff help make Tuba City, Arizona, a place where stories thrive. I’m grateful that librarians throughout New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona have welcomed me to book festivals, fund-raisers, solstice celebrations, and cowboy breakfasts. Where would writers or readers be without the wonderful gift of public libraries and the men and women who staff them?

  Despite being ignored, neglected, and grumped at, my husband, photographer Don Strel, and our son, Brandon, cooked, shopped, did the dishes, walked the dog, and more while the siren of writing seduced me. Thanks to Katie Hawkes for asking “How’s it going,” a question that kept me working when I didn’t want to!

  Besides handling details of contracts, Elizabeth Trupin-Pulli helped improve the manuscript with tactful criticism. If all agents had her talent, more authors would be smiling. My business partner and friend Jean Schaumberg stayed at my side and listened to me whine about Joe Leaphorn. Big thanks to Randy Johns and his family, Leigh Irvin, and my friends at the Farmington (N.M.) Library. Thanks to Lucy Moore for all her insights into the world of mediation and for her help in reviewing the manuscript.

  I thrive with the ongoing support of the literary community in my home state of New Mexico and my hometown of Santa Fe, including our treasured indie bookstore. A shout-out to my buddies, the Literary Lunch Ladies, a little posse of writers and readers who keep each other shooting straight.

  The publication of my nonfiction book Tony Hillerman’s Landscape led to a series of educational tours to Navajoland under the auspices of Road Scholar. Although I served as a Study Guide, I learned more than I could have dreamed from the wonderful Navajo, Zuni, Acoma, and non-Indian experts who shared their knowledge with our group. Our trip to Tuba City, Cameron, and the Grand Canyon helped create this book.

  Speaking of the Grand Canyon, thanks to Steven Smith and Stacia Lewandowski for sharing their story of a hike in the fog at the Grand Canyon and for showing me the beautiful pictures. You never know where a conversation will lead you.

  Finally, a Grand Canyon–size thank-you to all the fans of Tony Hillerman’s work who took a chance on my first novel, Spider Woman’s Daughter, stuck with me for Rock with Wings, and asked for more. Without your support and encouragement, Song of the Lion and the two books that came before would not exist, and the stories of Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn would be over. Thank you for embracing Bernadette Manuelito in her new role as crime solver. I am in your debt.

  None of my novels would be possible without the inspired work of my dad, author Tony Hillerman (1925–2008). He introduced readers to Joe Leaphorn and the fascinating world of mysteries set on the Navajo reservation beginning way back in 1970 with The Blessing Way. Thanks, Dad. I miss your smile.

  To see Dad’s manuscripts and learn more about his work, please visit the Tony Hillerman Collection at Zimmerman Library at the University of New Mexico, or go to ehillerman.unm.edu

  About the Author

  Anne Hillerman is the author of two previous novels, Spider Woman’s Daughter and Rock with Wings, both New York Times bestsellers. Her stories continue the popular Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo mystery series created by her father, Tony Hillerman. Anne’s novels have been honored with the Spur Award from Western Writers of America and the New Mexico–Arizona Book Award for best mystery and best book of the year.

  Before writing fiction, Anne wrote several nonfiction books, including Tony Hillerman’s Landscape: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn, created with photographer Don Strel. She began her career as a journalist. A New Mexican since the age of three, she writes and liv
es in Santa Fe.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  Also by Anne Hillerman

  Rock with Wings

  Spider Woman’s Daughter

  Tony Hillerman’s Landscape: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn

  Gardens of Santa Fe

  Santa Fe Flavors: Best Restaurants and Recipes

  Ride the Wind: USA to Africa

  Copyright

  song of the lion. Copyright © 2017 by Anne Hillerman. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

  first edition

  Cover design by Jarrod Taylor

  Cover photographs: Tetra Images / Alamy Stock Photo (Sky); Henk Meijer / Alamy Stock Photo (Canyon)

  Digital Edition APRIL 2017 ISBN: 9780062391896

  Print ISBN: 978-0-06-239190-2

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