Black Wolf Rising (Prequel to the Bernadette Callahan Mystery Series)

by Lyle Nicholson

  “Your mom and I both wanted your dad. I’ll be damned if us two girls didn’t see him up there on the stage one night and were two love-struck girls.”

  “And he chose my mom?”

  “Yeah, the whole thing about the voices came out—which one sang better with him and his band. I was the odd girl out. I came back to the reservation for a while, did some singing in bars, but I wasn’t good enough on my own. I turned to slinging beer as a waitress and having kids with men that didn’t stick around,” Aunt Mary said. She looked out the window. Bernadette saw a far away look as if she’d seen her past slip away from her.

  “I’m sorry it didn’t turn out like you wanted, but then, I wonder how many times it happens...the broken dreams and all,” Bernadette said.

  “Happens all the time: we have hopes and dreams…and they get crushed.” Aunt Mary put her hand on Bernadette’s. “I’m sorry, kid, when you arrived here…I’d remembered my hopeless past and saw my dismal future. I’ve been drinking and dragging men home to try to drown out the feeling.”

  “You think you might be done now?” Bernadette asked. “’Cause it’s been getting a little weird.”

  “Yeah, I’m done. No more crazy men coming into the place. I’m going to finish my shifts and come home man-less and sober.”

  “Wonderful, and I’m going to stay away from fights…especially since I haven’t been wining any of them,” Bernadette said.

  They got up from the table and hugged then went to bed. Bernadette went back to the couch and felt as if a weight had been lifted. She’d seen her father descend into alcoholism and didn’t want to see her aunt Mary do the same.

  One hurdle taken care of, now all she needed to do was go to school on Monday, walk by Susie and her gang without getting into any fights, and pass three exams. “Nothing like a challenge,” she murmured to herself as she fell asleep.

  12

  Monday came with an early winter storm. An Arctic front descended with high winds and heavy snow. The temperature dropped all Sunday night. By Monday morning is was -15 Celsius with snow drifts pilling up on the ground. Bernadette looked out the apartment window and wondered how she was going to navigate the sidewalks with her walking splint and cane. She shook her head; she had to get to school.

  The girls were bundled up in big parkas with scarves wrapped around their heads so many times there was only a slit from which they could see. They had on thick mitts and boots and stood in the hallway whining how they were getting too hot and had to get outside.

  Bernadette threw on her heavy down parka. She pulled on one boot; on her other foot she pulled on four extra socks with a thick garbage bag and several elastic bands to keep her splint dry. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked.

  They walked in single file to school. Bernadette broke trail through the snow drifts until she dropped the girls off. Schools in the north closed at -23, and this was not even close, just damned cold.

  Once the girls were safely inside their school, Bernadette made her way to hers. She got used to walking with the splint, sliding it forward like a ski in the snow.

  She was making good progress. A small crowd of black appeared midway between the school boundary and the entrance. Bernadette sighed, shook her head.

  Susie’s gang was her welcoming committee. There was no way to go around. It was too late to try to cut through the running track. It was too deep in snow. There was no way back. She put her head down, concentrating on the steps in the deep snow.

  “Well, look who it is,” Susie said when Bernadette got close. “If it ain’t the little scrapper.” Susie detached herself from the group huddling in the wind to keep warm. She stood in front of Bernadette.

  “I’m not fighting you, Susie,” Bernadette said. She moved her backpack to adjust its weight and stared at Susie.

  “Yeah, ‘cause you’re tired of getting a beat down. I can’t believe you didn’t squeal to the cops.”

  “Because if I had, they said you’d be inside juvie hall until you were eighteen. Now, you want to step aside,” Bernadette said.

  “You think you scare me? I could beat the hell out of you right in front of the school, and do the time in a heart beat, you hear me, you see I ain’t scared?”

  Bernadette stood facing Susie. There was nowhere to go but forward; she had to go through Susie to get to school. She heard crunching in the snow. She looked behind Susie to see some boys running towards them.

  “Hey, Bernadette,” one of the boys yelled. It was Travis Archer, captain of the wrestling team. “We’re glad you’re back at school. Sorry we didn’t see you sooner.”

  Travis brushed by Susie and put his arm around Bernadette and took her backpack. “I told Coach the wrestling team would be your chaperons to school from now on, sorry we got delayed with this morning’s snow.”

  “Hey, I ain’t done talking to her yet,” Susie said. She crossed her arms and placed her legs in a wide stance to show she was serious.

  “Yeah, you’re done,” Travis said.

  “You think I can’t bust you upside the head?” Susie asked, taking her hands down into a boxing stance.

  “You can try,” Travis smirked. “I’m the wresting team captain and province-wide boxing champion, if you want to take a shot at me. Susie, I’ll put you in hospital far longer than you did Bernadette.”

  A chorus of cheers rose from the boys behind Susie’s gang. One of the boys yelled, “How about if we put all of Susie’s gang in hospital. Be our morning workout.”

  Bernadette put her hand up. “Okay, you guys, stop it. There’s no need to fight. I’m going to class to write my exams and, Susie, I think you’ve probably got some classes to go to as well.”

  Travis took Bernadette by the arm, and they walked through the gang. Susie and her crew muttered and swore at them as they passed.

  “Thanks,” Bernadette said as they got by them. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I was running out of options.”

  “Hey, you’ve got me, and my team, we got your back,” Travis said. He was an easygoing guy, tall, handsome with blond hair and blue eyes. A guy Bernadette could see hanging with the most popular girls in school. She knew he was doing this because of Coach Boz.

  “Well, thank you, and thank Coach Boz for thinking about me,” Bernadette said.

  “It was my idea actually, Bernadette,” Travis said. He stood beside her. He was a full head taller at six foot five and had to look down at her. “It’s my way of apologizing for not getting your back earlier. I saw Susie take you on when you first came to school, and I did nothing…I’m sorry.”

  “I…ah…well…okay…” Bernadette said as her face became red and her words got all flustered inside her head. “Thanks.”

  She rushed away as fast as she could, hobbling down the hallway towards her first class. Did Travis like her?

  Her exams were a blur; she progressed from one class to another and completed each exam in record time. The answers came to her easily. She’d developed a knack for retaining facts at an early age.

  When hunting with her grandfather back on the reservation, he’d always ask her to remember the trees and special features when they hiked on the trails. “What does that tree looks like to you?”

  “It looks like a giant with its arms outstretched,” Bernadette would say.

  “Do you know where it is on the trail?”

  “Yes, I do, Grandfather.”

  When they’d come back on the trail, her grandfather would ask her to call out the special features she remembered. She never lost her way in the forest, and her memory had become a force.

  When her class ended, her homeroom teacher told her to go to the administration office to meet with Ms. Blacksburg. She had no idea why but shuffled off wondering what new trouble she might be in with the school.

  The school counselor, Ms. Blacksburg, asked her to come inside her office and closed the door behind her. Bernadette walked into the office to see Officer Myers sitting there.

  “Take
a seat,” Ms. Blacksburg said. It was a command, not an offer.

  Bernadette sat down. “Am I in trouble?”

  “No, it’s not to do with you.” Myers said. “But we’ve just heard Susie is threatening your friend, Melinda.”

  “What, why would she threaten Melinda?” Bernadette asked.

  “So she can get at you,” Myers said. “I told you in the hospital. Susie won’t quit. She wants to show her dominance over you.”

  “What can I do?” Bernadette asked.

  “We can get you into a downtown school,” Ms. Blacksburg said. “Victoria Composite High has room. Your marks are excellent, and I can put in the transfer immediately. You can be there in two days’ time.”

  “But I have my cousins to look after. If I took the bus, I couldn’t take them to or pick them up from school and make them dinner,” Bernadette said. She began to breathe heavily. Having to give up the care of her little cousins threw her mind into a panic.

  Myers looked from the counselor to Bernadette. “I understand the wrestling team is giving you an escort at school, which is great, but they can’t protect you all the time, and neither can they protect Melinda.”

  Bernadette got up. “I’m not leaving my cousins, and I’m not going to another school to avoid that thug.” She clenched her fists in defiance.

  Ms. Blacksburg looked at Myers and shrugged, as if she’d known what Bernadette’s answer would be.

  Bernadette walked out of the office, and Myers followed her out. She turned and faced Myers. “Does the offer still stand for those Karate lessons?”

  “In your condition?”

  Bernadette threw her hands wide. “Look, my leg will get better; in the meantime, I can start work on some martial arts moves.”

  “You sure about this?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Susie isn’t going away until she’s beaten me and my friends into the ground. I’m the one who can put an end to this.”

  13

  Bernadette never knew she had organizing skills until she put them to use. In order to protect Melinda, she had Travis put two members of the wrestling team with her at all times.

  For Melinda’s part, she was thrilled. Here she was, a geek being escorted by two burly boys in team jackets. They even took her by the arm as she walked down the hall. Melinda started to dress better, and take care of her hair; she was dating one of her escorts a week later.

  Bernadette needed to get some extra money to help out her aunt, maybe move to a bigger apartment. The couch okay but not great. And she knew once her intro karate lessons were up, she would need to pay.

  There wasn’t just one but three poker games at school. She became a regular at all the games, making sure she didn’t win all the time, but never lost much, she quietly gleaned two to three hundred per week off her quarry.

  She was always on the lookout for Susie, who so far wasn’t making any appearances. Was she biding her time? Waiting for the wrestling team to disappear?

  Bernadette had to confide in her aunt. There was no way she could disappear off to karate class without taking the girls along three times a week. And the girls, unless they were on side, would be restless sitting on the sidelines watching her getting thrown to a mat.

  “You’re going to do what?” Aunt Mary asked when Bernadette told her.

  “I’m going to do karate, for self defense,” Bernadette said.

  “You’re not going to use this to get in more fights?”

  “No, I just want people to know I can handle myself, so they’ll leave me alone.”

  “Hmm, will you teach me those moves later?” Aunt Mary asked with a smile and a hug.

  That was the end of the conversation. Bernadette started karate school two weeks after her showdown with Susie.

  The karate school was off a busy side street. Cars and trucks whizzed by, throwing slush on the sidewalk as Bernadette crossed the street with the two girls in tow. They were both excited to see this karate thing. Bernadette had shown them a video called Rumble in the Bronx with Jackie Chan.

  The girls couldn’t wait to see Bernadette do the same moves. How could she tell them those were stunt men doing those moves, and with multiple takes?

  “Are you going to be Jackie Chan’s sidekick?” Abigail asked.

  “No,” Bernadette said, glaring at a car not slowing down enough for them to cross the street. “I’m going to learn some basic skills, you know, to defend myself better.”

  Amber walked beside Bernadette, one hand holding on to Bernadette, the other making karate chops. “Karate chop, karate chop, karate chop,” she repeated over and over again to some aggressors she could see in her mind.

  They entered the karate school. It looked less appealing from the inside than it did on the outside. A sparse hardwood floor was scattered with mats. The plain, white halls were adorned with odd-looking men in white costumes with Japanese banners.

  Bernadette was mindful to take off her boots and those of the girls. Officer Myers had told her some of the protocol when she entered. She’d been told she was entering a dojo, which literally meant “place of the way or training” in Japanese.

  She took off her jacket and helped the girls hang theirs up on the wall. A tall young girl dressed in the white outfit with a green belt greeted them.

  The girl bowed to Bernadette, putting her hands together, one fist cupped by the other hand. “Oss, I’m am Senpai Sarah. I was told by Linda you were coming.”

  Bernadette remembered from Linda she needed to respond in kind. “Oss,” she said, with a bow. “I am Bernadette, good to meet you.”

  Amber tugged Bernadette’s sleeve. “Why are you hissing at each other? Why’d she call herself a sen…?”

  Sarah laughed. “This is not hissing, young lady, this is a greeting karate students make to one another and to their instructor…and I’m called a senpai as I’m an advanced student.”

  Abigail whispered in Amber’s ear. “It’s like Jackie Chan.”

  “Oh…like Jackie Chan,” Amber repeated in a whisper.

  “Come with me,” Sarah said. “I’ll show you to the change room. Did you bring a gi?”

  “Yes, I did,” Bernadette said. She slung her gym bag over her shoulder and followed Sarah into a small change room. The gi she had purchased through a classified ad cost her twenty-five dollars, or one hand of poker drawing to an inside straight. Sarah showed her how to tie her belt correctly. The gi felt a bit weird at first. The top was large with wide arms,and the belt held it together. The bottom was wide as well and short. There were no shoes required. She was told all training sessions were to be in bare feet. A good thing, since she couldn’t keep running up her poker winnings to purchase more equipment.

  “You put the seam down, right over left then left over right,” Sarah said as she fastened the belt around her. “You have a white belt, signifying a novice. Now, follow me.”

  Sarah led her out to join the other students. They lined up in a row as a short, balding man with wide shoulders walked into the room. He stood before them. A loud chorus of “Oss,” was followed by a low bow from all the students.

  The man walked up to Bernadette. “I am Sensei David Krapinski. I assume you are my new student, Bernadette?”

  Bernadette bowed. “Yes, sensei. It is nice to meet you, and thank you for allowing me to train in your dojo.”

  Sensei returned the bow. “You’re welcome. The karate style I teach is Goju. It is the way of the hard and soft.” He put his open hand over his fist. “’Go’ meaning hard, and ‘ju’ meaning soft. In this class you will learn karate is a way of life. This is above and beyond the basic moves of self-defense.”

  Sensei moved closer and lowered his voice. “I understand you were injured a few weeks ago. Do what you can in class. We run in our warm up: walk if you feel any pain. I do not want you to injure yourself any more. Understand?”

  “Yes…Oss, sensei,” Bernadette said.

  Sensei smiled. “You will be given a lot of instruction and informati
on tonight. I don’t expect you to learn the moves in one night. The more you come, the more the moves will become familiar.”

  Bernadette smiled back. She felt slightly more at ease. “Oss, sensei.”

  Sensei called out to Sarah. “Senpai Sarah, lead the warm up.”

  “Oss, sensei,” Sarah called back in a loud and affirmative voice. “Laps.”

  The class began to run around the large expanse of the dojo running on the balls of their feet. They mixed it up with side steps, then side steps. Bernadette didn’t try to follow. She walked and limped around the room as best she could. She felt out of place. What was she doing here?

  Sarah commanded the class to stop running. “Push-ups. On your fists.”

  Bernadette followed suit. Her knuckles screamed with pain.

  Sensei knelt beside her. In a quiet voice he said, “Keep your wrists straight and do them off your front two knuckles. Do as many as you can then change to regular push-ups. Twenty-five will be enough for now.”

  Senpai Sarah yelled out, “Sit-ups.”

  The class rolled on their backs and began furious stomach crunches. Bernadette wondered what the hell she’d got herself into. Her training was running. Sit-ups were a thing she did once in a while. When they hit the high twenties, her abs were singing a song of pain. When they hit the final fifty, her abs had turned to jelly.

  Sensei split the class into belt levels. A senior belt or senpai was assigned to each group. Senpai Sarah was assisting Bernadette’s white belt group.

  “Bernadette, make a fist,” Sarah said.

  Bernadette threw up her standard fist with her thumb tucked alongside her index finger.

  Senpai Sarah walked over to Bernadette, unfolding her thumb and tucking it underneath her knuckles. “You do this so you don’t catch a thumb when striking with the fist. You see?” She placed Bernadette’s fist in the correct posture. It instantly felt tighter, more compact.

  They moved through basic block moves and punches and how to stand, walk, and be rooted to find balance. Sarah explained the moves were called katas. Sensei walked among the students correcting postures and giving words of encouragement.