“The point is this,” the priest went on. “Did it matter whether his talks with God were delusional? They made him happy.”
“You think Solemn is delusional?”
“I think whatever he’s experienced, it’s changed him for the better, and to me that’s all that matters.”
“But you don’t really believe he talked with Jesus.”
“God makes His presence known in many ways. In acts of love, in selfless acts of courage, in everyday human compassion. There’s no reason not to believe that God’s hand was at work in whatever changed young Winter Moon. But I have to say this. I’ve prayed desperately, devoutly, passionately for much of my life and I’ve never had the kind of vision Solemn claims to have had. As a priest, I’ve got to accept the possibility, but as a man, I’m full of doubt.” He saw the concern in Cork’s face. “What did you expect? That I’d somehow give my blessing?”
“I just figured you’d be a better judge than me, that’s all.”
“By the way, he asked me to bring him a Bible. I said I would.”
A van swung into the parking lot, scraping gravel as it slid to a stop. Half a dozen teenagers piled out.
“Looks like you’ve got your hands full,” Mal said. “I’m outta here.”
“Thanks.”
The priest held up a moment more. “It would be easy if we all had visions, or if we all believed in those who did. My own feeling is that faith was never meant to be easy.”
A few minutes before five, Cork spotted Jo’s Toyota bumping over the Burlington Northern tracks. There was a lull at the moment, so he stepped outside to greet her. When she got out of her car, Cork could see from the taut look on her face that she was concerned about something.
“I just came from the reservation,” she told him. “I talked to George LeDuc and Ollie Bledsoe about the possibility of bail for Solemn coming out of some of the casino funds.”
“No go, huh?”
She shook her head. “I thought it was worth a try. But I also picked Ollie’s brain while I was at it. I couldn’t figure out why Nestor Cole didn’t charge Solemn with murder. He’s had plenty of time to prepare, and he’s got everything to make a good case for second-degree homicide, intentional or unintentional. He could put Solemn away for at least a dozen years. More if he argued particular cruelty, which would be a good argument, since it appears that whoever killed Charlotte had themselves a little feast while they watched her freeze to death.”
“What did Bledsoe say?”
“He thinks Nestor Cole is probably preparing to take everything before a grand jury to see if a charge of murder in the first will fly. If the jury declines to indict, he’s out nothing. If they do hand down an indictment but he doesn’t convict, he can still shrug his shoulders and say it was the grand jury’s decision to go for the whole ball of wax, not his. That way he doesn’t risk losing his shot at a judgeship.” She looked angry. “Solemn may be looking at spending his life in prison, and the jackasses in charge of justice around here can only think of politics.”
“You look tired.”
“There’s a lot I’m trying to get a handle on. I won’t know everything that the prosecution has until Cole finally decides to charge Solemn with homicide, but I’d like to have some idea of what we’ll be up against. I thought I’d head over to the jail and talk to Solemn again. I was hoping you might be able to spring yourself free and come with me.”
Cork glanced back at the serving window. There was a lanky kid leaning on the counter talking with Jenny, but he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to order.
“Jenny,” Cork called. “Can you handle things alone for a while?”
“Sure, Dad.” She smiled and waved to her mother.
Duane Pender escorted Solemn to the interview room where Cork and Jo were waiting. Before he closed the door, Pender said, “The prisoners get fed in half an hour. Winter Moon’s still talking to you then, he goes hungry.”
“You like being a hardass, don’t you, Duane?” Cork said.
Pender shrugged. “I didn’t send him an invitation to stay here. And I don’t make the rules.” He closed and locked the door.
Solemn looked calm and rested. He folded his hands on the table.
“How are you doing?” Jo asked.
“Good. Father Mal stopped by to see me this afternoon. We had a long talk. He said you asked him to come, Cork. Thanks.”
Jo offered Cork a what in the hell kind of look, and he realized he hadn’t said a word to her about consulting the priest.
“Solemn, I want you to know how a few things stand,” Jo said. “I’m almost certain you’ll be charged in Charlotte Kane’s death. I think that won’t occur until after a grand jury hearing.”
“But you’ll defend me.”
“Not before the grand jury. Only the prosecution has an opportunity to appear there. The question they’ll consider is whether there’s enough evidence to charge you with first-degree murder. If they hand down an indictment, that’s when you’ll go to trial and I’ll defend you. Now if the county attorney doesn’t get an indictment, he’ll probably charge you with second-degree murder. If that happens, we may have some leeway.”
“What kind of leeway?”
“A plea bargain is one possibility.”
“I would have to admit to something.”
“Yes.”
“Then there won’t be a bargain. I didn’t have anything to do with Charlotte’s death.”
“Let’s talk about Charlotte.” Jo brought out a small notepad and a silver Cross ballpoint pen. “You told us before that you thought Charlotte was seeing someone else while you were dating. That’s why she broke up with you. You said you thought it might have been a married man. Why did you think that?”
Solemn sat for quite a while, thinking. He was composed and didn’t seem in any hurry to reply. The room had no windows. The air was warm and stuffy. Cork felt a trickle of sweat crawl down from his armpit. Jo watched Solemn, the point of her pen resting against the notepad.
“I know a lot of Shinnobs who have next to nothing, but they’re still happy,” Solemn finally said. “Charlotte had everything, but she was one of the saddest people I ever knew. You wouldn’t have guessed it, looking at her. I mean, she seemed to have the perfect life, but the truth was she didn’t like herself at all. Sometimes she seemed desperate to be loved.”
“Did you love her?” Jo said.
“In the beginning, what I felt came mostly from below the waist.” He said it with regret. “But in the end, yeah, my heart got caught up in it.”
“Did she love you?”
Solemn thought it over. “At first, I figured I was just her walk on the wild side. A good, quiet Catholic girl, straight-A student, finally looking for a thrill. But from the things she said, I finally decided she was seeing me for the shock value. Using me to get at someone. Probably the guy she was really interested in.”
“And you still felt strongly about her?”
“The head and the heart, you know, they don’t always see eye to eye.”
“Did she give you any indication who the guy was?”
“No.”
“But you think he was married.”
“From the way she acted, all secretive, I figured married was the reason.”
“Think back. Did she ever say anything that might have been a clue to his identity?”
Solemn closed his eyes for a while. “No.”
“Okay. Tell me about Charlotte.”
“Tell you what?”
“Anything that you might think is relevant.”
Solemn thought a moment. “She was beautiful, but didn’t see herself that way. She always needed compliments. She was depressed a lot. Took some kind of medication for it. She had this fixation with death. She told me she tried suicide once. She believed she would die young.” Solemn looked down. “She was sure right about that.”