From Here to Paternity

tribe had been living and dying here for centuries before Bill and his kind came to rape the land, and what was one more dead white man?“
    “My gosh, I think I’d have taken a swing at him, too! Even if he’s right, it was the wrong time to go on about it.“
    “Yeah, you can’t help but sympathize with Pete.“
    “Still—“
    “What are you thinking?“ Shelley asked.
    “I guess I’m really getting cynical, but my first thought was that the argument might have been staged. And because they’re both rather emotional, it just got out of hand.“
    “Why would they stage it?“
    “I don’t know exactly. But look at it this way: HawkHunter was giving Bill Smith a lot of grief. Demonstrating in front of the hotel. Trying to scare off the investors. And remember yesterday morning, how upset Pete was when we met him? That was when the demonstration was going on. Then last night at dinner, there were Pete and HawkHunter, chummy as could be, eating together. Then Bill’s found dead today and they’re back to being enemies. There’s something weird about it all.“
    “You could be right, of course. But it’s also possible that Pete is genuinely unraveled by his uncle’s death. Tenny said he was already quite upset about Doris, who was only an acquaintance. And then to have his uncle not only die, but be murdered? That’s enough to make anybody damned touchy.“
    “Especially if he’s afraid of being found to have caused one or both deaths,“ Jane said.
    “Do you really think so?“ Shelley asked.
    Jane shrugged. “I have no idea. I only know that I had nothing to do with either one and there’s a dim-bulb good-ol’-boy sheriff who would dearly love to blame it on me. Even if Doris’s death is questionable, Bill Smith was clearly murdered and somebody did it. Somebody other than me!“
    “But you know we keep coming back to Pete because he’s not very likable. It’s always easier to believe the worst about someone who’s a jerk to begin with.“
    “True enough, but that’s not the only reason. He’s obviously playing some complex game of his own, genuinely upset with HawkHunter and the tribe in the morning, palling around with him by the same evening.“
    “Now, Jane, be fair. He doesn’t strike me as a rocket-scientist-caliber brain, but he might have really been trying, in his own way, to represent his uncle’s best interests. And for that matter, we don’t even know that he’s as stupid as he looks. It’s entirely possible to look like an overage surfer and still have an I.Q. higher than a kitchen appliance.“
    Jane laughed. “Tenny doesn’t seem to think so.“
    “But we don’t really know Tenny. We never met her until yesterday.“
    “True,“ Jane admitted. “Though I sure wouldn’t want to have any reason to think badly of her. I really like her.“
    “She could have some agenda of her own. Jealousy, maybe. We’ve made most of our judgments about Pete based on things she’s said about him. She could be a pathological liar for all we know.“
    “I’d hate to think so.“
    “So would I, because I really like her, too, and I’m inordinately proud of my ability to sum people up accurately. But anything’s possible.“
    They could hear the shuttle bus coming up the last hill and were pleased to see Mike get off it. “Where are the girls, do you know?“ Jane asked him.
    “They’ll probably be on the next bus. They were waiting at the stop with me, but there was something wrong with something they bought and they went back to exchange it.“
    “Did you have fun skiing today?“ Jane asked.
    “Yeah, it was okay. But I think I’ve had enough. I’m tired and sore.“
    “I’m sort of glad to hear that,“ Jane said. She explained to him briefly about the resort owner’s mysterious death. “Somebody killed him, Mike.“
    “That’s awful!“
    “It is. Fortunately, it has nothing to do with us,“ she said, omitting any mention of her having found the body or the sheriff’s apparent suspicions of her. “But the fact is, somebody around here is dangerous. I can’t imagine that this person would take the slightest interest in any of us, but—“
    “You want me to keep a close eye on Todd and John, right?“
    Jane nodded. “I’m going to have my hands full making sure your sister and Denise aren’t wandering around on their own.“
    “The boys won’t get out of my sight, Mom. Where are they now?“
    “Locked up in the cabin with Mel, who’s probably