People of the Mist(97)

Nine Killer extended his club, lining it up with the two dots, and determined that he needed to raise his hand but little to match the arc of the swing. “A short man?”

“Beware,” Panther warned. “The head is the most active part of the body. Even if she didn’t have time to lift an arm to ward the blow, she still might have jerked her head at the last-minute.”

“Look at the angle,” Sun Conch noted. “She couldn’t have been struck from behind. Not unless the attacker was above her.”

“Or exceedingly tall,” Nine Killer noted. “No, I’ve been all over that ridgetop. It’s flat—unless the assassin hung from a tree.”

“So,” Panther concluded. “She was facing her attacker, and yes, given the way the skull broke, it was most likely a double-headed war club.” He pulled at his chin. “Most interesting. All we need to do now is determine who has a two-headed war club, someone that Red Knot would allow close to her.” “Then that excludes the Mamanatowick’s warriors. Winged Blackbird couldn’t have done this to Red Knot.” Nine Killer shook his head. “I’d rather it was him. I’d much prefer to take it out of his hide than someone here.”

“You can’t discount him!” Sun Conch declared adamantly. “How do you know that he didn ‘t do this? If not on his own, then perhaps he used someone here to do his work for him?”

“Used how?” Nine Killer demanded. “The Mamanatowick doesn’t just say “Have someone kill Red Knot’ and have one of our people jump to his pleasure.”

“No,” Sun Conch countered, “but it could have been more subtle. The Mamanatowick has a great many of our people from the Independent villages captive. What if word came to one of your people that a slave was to be freed? Perhaps someone’s mother, father, or child? That would be a pretty strong motivation for murder.”

“Never discount the Mamanatowick,” The Panther agreed. “He hasn’t kept his alliance of Weroances without a great deal of cunning and intelligence. Were he an idiot, he’d have been replaced years ago.”

“And Copper Thunder, or Grass Mat, as you call him?” Nine Killer asked, reading the wary look in The Panther’s eyes.

“He, too, is worthy of your most careful attention, War Chief. He was always bright, but forever impetuous. If he has learned patience to complement that intricate mind of his, he would be a most challenging adversary.”

“He was here, you know.” Nine Killer crossed his arms, trying to sift all the information through his mind. An element of clinging doubt was tangled up somewhere in the bottom of his soul. They were missing something, some vital bit of knowledge that would make all the pieces fit together.

“And he was out in the night,” Rosebud stated. “My daughter White Otter saw him come through the palisade gate just at dawn. She said his leggings were wet, as if he’d been out in the fields.”

“White Otter?” Nine Killer called. “Come tell us about this.”

She was the eldest of Rosebud’s daughters, and his favorite of her five children. Whip thin, with shining black hair, she had a narrow face that accented large brown eyes. She’d be a beauty in a few more years, and no doubt a heartache for her mother to marry off.

“This is true, Uncle.” White Otter gulped at being the focus of such serious adult eyes. “Mother sent me out for water for the morning stew, knowing that we would have to provide something for the Weroansqua’s house. She was feeding all of those guests. I was on my way toward the palisade with that big clay jar over there. He came through the opening, looked around, and walked right toward the Weroansqua’s Great House.”

“Did you see anyone else?” Nine Killer asked. “No one was with him, or followed him into the palisade?”

White Otter shook her head. “No one. Well, people were about, you know. It was first light, after all. I didn’t think much of it. Just that he’d gone out to relieve his night water. The only thing odd was his wet leggings. I wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been Copper Thunder. “

“Thank you.” Nine Killer reached out and patted her fondly on the shoulder. “If you think of anything else, you be sure to come tell me. All right?”

“Yes, Uncle.” But she didn’t give him the usual smile.

“My, my, so our old friend Grass Mat was up and about.” Panther narrowed an eye as he stared at the fire. “Now, isn’t that a coincidence?”

“You know, the Great Tayac has a war club headed with stone, and just below that is a copper spike.”