“Dad, I have to go find Neewa’s mother and father.”
“That’s a good idea,” he moans still asleep. “Are they still living in the desert?”
It’s dusk and I’m in the middle of the desert, walking along an endless wall of sand.
I call out to Dad, “Are they dead?” He doesn’t answer.
Maybe they are lost somewhere, or they were killed out here in the middle of nowhere. Does Neewa look like her mom and dad?
“Hello, hello,” my voice echoes through the vast wasteland. I pick up a newspaper lying on the sand and begin to read aloud.
“A hiker discovered a skeleton in the desert last week. The police are investigating the circumstances of the death. CSI has been called in to analyze the evidence and the coroner performed an autopsy.
“’The victim was last seen a month ago playing cards at a downtown casino,’ Detective Kelly said. ‘Apparently he was followed out of the casino and shot three times in the chest. An ace of hearts was found in the dead man’s pocket.’
“The hiker, who would not give his name, found the remains near the den of a family of coyotes.
“’Animals dug the bones up,’ the hiker said. ‘Oddest thing though, several of the pack looked like white German shepherds.’
“Detective Kelly said, ‘Our detectives also found a Native American Indian tomb near the shallow grave of the gambler. The Native American appears to be over a hundred years old.’
“Kelly added, ‘We have sent for a forensic anthropologist from the University to document the tomb. We will know more when we have that report.’”