Risky Undertaking Read Online Free PDF Page B

realized they were making a point of being respectful, drawing a comparison between Eurleen’s interment and the burials that may have occurred here centuries before.
    â€œAre those the Indians?” Uncle Wayne caught my arm to steady himself on the slope.
    â€œYes. The tallest is Jimmy Panther. The Cherokee who scared Archie.”
    â€œWell, we’ve got a burial to tend to. Eurleen can’t stay in the hearse all day.”
    I wanted to say Eurleen could stay in the hearse for eternity, but instead I said, “You’re right. Stand guard. I’ll help Tommy Lee.”
    I quickly walked away before my uncle could object.
    â€œI’m asking you to stand aside.” Tommy Lee spoke in a calm voice, loud enough to be heard above the drums without becoming a shout.
    I stopped a yard behind him. The protesters kept marching. Panther let his gaze linger on me long enough to show he recognized me out of my deputy’s uniform.
    â€œYou are on private property,” Tommy Lee said. “If you don’t stand aside, I’ll arrest you for trespassing.”
    Panther shifted his gaze behind me. His thin lips hinted at a smile. I heard the sound of feet running up the gravel road. Then a familiar whir. Melissa Bigham was beside me, her breath coming in gasps almost as rapid as her camera shutter.
    Panther raised his sign high over his head. Drums and marchers halted.
    â€œWho is trespassing?” he shouted. “Those who disturb the dead.”
    â€œWe’re headed to the original cemetery,” Tommy Lee said. “Not the site of the remains. Remains that the tribal representatives have successfully and respectfully reinterred on the reservation. Nothing and no one will be disturbed.”
    â€œWe are disturbed. What guarantees are there that sacred ground stops where you say it does?”
    I thought of ME Howard Tuppler’s comment that the beautiful ridge was probably the site of multiple Cherokee burials.
    Tommy Lee gestured back to the hearse. “This woman’s grave has been carefully dug. There was no evidence of any Cherokee remains. I made sure.”
    â€œAnd if there had been, you would have boxed them up and shipped them off to the reservation. No preservation, just the termination of an inconvenient problem.”
    I heard car doors slamming behind me. People were getting out to see what was happening.
    Tommy Lee took a step closer to the protesters. “You’ve made your point.” He nodded to Melissa. “And it will be duly reported. But you’ll lose any sympathy for your cause if you keep a grieving family from burying their loved one.”
    Panther stared at the sheriff, stretching out the tension of the moment. His followers looked at their leader for a signal of what to do next.
    â€œWhat the hell!” Luther Cransford rushed by me like a linebacker pursuing a quarterback. He lunged at Panther before either the sheriff or I could stop him.
    The Cherokee brought his sign down as a shield. Luther punched through it with a roundhouse swing aimed at Panther’s face. The blow missed, but the sheer force of Luther’s assault knocked Panther to the ground. Luther drew back his right leg, preparing to kick the man.
    Tommy Lee hurled himself through the air and drove his shoulder into Luther’s side. Both men tumbled in a melee of flailing arms and legs. I rushed to assist.
    â€œSit on him,” Tommy Lee ordered as he rolled off Luther.
    I straddled the big man. He was sobbing and made no effort to get up.
    Jimmy Panther rose and brushed off his suit. Then the Cherokees split into two groups lining the edge of the road. They bowed their heads. The drums started a slow rhythm. Two beats and a pause. Thump thump. Thump thump. I recognized the sound of a human heartbeat.
    Tommy Lee brought Luther’s son and daughter over. We helped their father to his feet and I guided him to the family car.
    The funeral procession resumed