Not Water Over the Dam

Larry Jorgenson

Description

Rape and murder make headlines, especially when the alleged perpetrator is an Indian "off reservation" where prejudice prevails and justice in the minds of "white man" is called self-help. A Lakota grandmother receives a vision from the Great Spirit directing revenge for white mans' taking of tribal lands along the Missouri River to build dams on the river. The vision is passed to grandson, Charlie Red Tail. Before Charlie can take action, the evil forces of lies, racism and injustice rear their ugly heads and the Lakota youth is falsely accused, convicted, and imprisoned for raping a white ranch girl near the reservation. When the steel door swings open and the young Indian enters college he seeks to fulfill his grandmother's vision. Along the way he encounters more ethnic prejudice, but also the love of a fellow student, Johanna, a white girl who works undercover for the FBI to infiltrate an eco-terrorism cell, and each pursues their respective mission without the knowledge of the other. An FBI Agent, with the help of Johanna, moves against the eco-terrorist cell to stop its terrorism plan. A murder of the alleged rape victim's brother makes headlines, and Charlie is again faced with hatred and injustice as he fights for his freedom from another charge he claims is false, this time with the help of a committed lawyer and of Johanna. The FBI's murder investigation takes justice to a strange conclusion that is hidden in the world of crime and in an unexpected place.

Sujets

• Thrillers
• Suspense
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 24 juillet 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781478792253
• Langue: English

Extrait

Not Water Over The Dam
A Novel
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2017 Larry Jorgenson
v3.0

This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Outskirts Press, Inc.
http://www.outskirtspress.com

ISBN: 978-1-4787-9225-3

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017902996

Cover Photo © 2017 thinkstockphotos.com. Cover Image of Dam from US Army Corp of Engineers - Public Domain All rights reserved - used with permission.

Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Water over the dam. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Houghton Mifflin Company. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/water-over-the-dam (accessed: February 9, 2017).

Outskirts Press and the “OP” logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
For my wife, Paula, who has encouraged me throughout my writing endeavors
Note from the Author

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
(water over the dam…
Something that is over and done with,
especially an unfortunate occurrence.
For example…Never mind that old quarrel….)
Contents
1. JUSTICE DENIED
2. BEHIND THE STEEL DOOR
3. GRANDMOTHER’S VISION
4. LIFE BEYOND THE STEEL DOOR
5. UNIVERSITY
6. THE WHITE GIRL
7. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SOCIETY
8. RACISM, AGAIN
9. THE VISION BURDEN
10. BIG BILL
11. THE COAL DAD
12. UNDERCOVER
13. FBI TASK FORCE
14. A REUNION
15. CHARLIE & EPS
16. TRIP OF UNCERTAINTY
17. WAPITI BAR
18. THREE IN THE PARK
19. HORNY AL’S VISIT
20. FIRST-AID
21. HOME VISIT
22. THE CAVE
23. SURPRISE
24. POST-MEETING BLUES
25. BODY AT THE DUMP
26. THE NEED TO TALK
27. JOHANNA QUESTIONED
28. A DESPERATE ROAD TRIP
29. PLANS DISRUPTED
30. LOVE AT HOME
31. LAWYER WILSON, AGAIN
32. INVESTIGATION MARCHES ON
33. ANOTHER INTERROGATION
34. FBI HITS THE STREET
35. TO THE REZ AND BACK
36. FIGHT FOR JUSTICE BEGINS
37. TASK FORCE PLAN
38. TAX DAY?
39. TEAM MEETING
40. AN ESCAPE
41. ANOTHER ARREST
42. ANOTHER VISIT TO PRISON
Chapter 1
JUSTICE DENIED
T he racism of some whites that live near the Horse Creek Reservation is generational and vicious. Attempts at provocation of the Indians have historically been many. The Indians are not welcomed in this “West” which these white men, mostly ranchers, control. The ranchers of such ilk run roughshod over all dissent from their self-interest, and they ruthlessly exercise their political power.
County government caters to their demands; local prosecutors, elected by the whites, see to it that Indians are punished “appropriately” whenever charged. The congressional delegation in Washington D.C. gives the local governments a willing ear and support of their complaints about the encroaching legal rights of the Indians. “The Indians are enjoying too many rights in the federal courts and in the civil rights arena. They are now even eligible to vote,” is a gripe often registered with the congressional delegation. But this does not stop the “locals” from furthering their own agendas in the state courts at the expense of the Indians, when the opportunity arises.
In the eyes of many in the “civilized” white population, Indians are lazy and live off the federal government. They are often viewed as drunks and troublemakers, not as fellow citizens. They need to remain on the reservation and not mix with the whites, according to many in the area. Those bigots generally keep their distance as much as possible.
If an Indian man messes with a white woman, there is hell to pay. Justice in white man’s courts in Indian Mound County, contiguous to a part of the Horse Creek Reservation, is always swift and generally unjust. White man’s desired result is always reached. Witnesses always come out of the woodwork. Identification is always certain, and prompted. Juries are always solely white.

Betsy Stoutwein, age twenty-six, is totally unattractive and uncouth. She is thirty pounds overweight and talks crudely, usually speaking with four-letter words punctuating her loud voice. Her family, though, is very proud of her, particularly her rodeo prowess and her rising through the ranks of the local ranching community’s “Cowbelles,” a must for every female from a ranch family. It is the counterpart to the men’s local stockgrowers’ organization.
At the Ft. Custer dancehall, off the reservation, on Saturday nights when reservation youth and white youth often attend, she frequently is there and sits on one of the steel folding chairs surrounding the dance floor. Too tight are her Wranglers. She always shows a plunging neckline. She wears flashy cowboy boots and a big silver belt buckle that she won in barrel racing at a regional rodeo. She drinks too much, is belligerent most of the time, and has been bedded by most every cowboy on the plains. A few years ago, she had accused an Indian of stealing hay from Stoutwein’s ranch. A famous Indian lawyer represented the accused, and his client ultimately found justice in the State Supreme Court, which overturned an obvious miscarriage of justice in the local court. Sometime back she had punched out another girl at a local dance, but no charges were ever filed. Now, she would claim she had been raped at this year’s July 4th dance at the Ft. Custer dancehall. Someone was going to pay! And he was going to be an Indian!

Betsy Stoutwein remembered well a year ago when she had cornered Charlie Red Tail at a dance at Ft. Custer, pressed her body to his, and invited him to go outside for sex. The son-of-a-bitch had declined, walked away, and left her standing in the corner on the Indian side of the dance floor, embarrassed. She vowed to get even.
Her complaint of rape was made to the sheriff of Indian Mound County, Tex Brutkowsky, an elected and re-elected enforcer of white man laws and a self-appointed guardian of the county, protecting it from unlawful Indians. The complaint was made on July 10 th , 1981. Prosecutor Tony Jones dutifully obtained the statements of two members of the victim’s family: Jim Stoutwein, the all-around cowboy at the July 4th rodeo where he won first place in bull riding and first place in saddle bronc riding, president of his ag fraternity at University of the West, and sometime troublemaker; and Mac Stoutwein, the victim’s dad, one of the stellar political bosses in the county, and a third-generation rancher. These witnesses swore Betsy told them she had raped by Charlie Red Tail, and they told the sheriff all the details given them by Betsy. Their statements were identical and obtained at the same time. In Brutkowsky’s mind, their word against an Indian’s would be probative in court. Charlie Retail raped Betsy Stoutwein— no question about it in the sheriff’s mind!
The sheriff called in the entire force, as if to quell a riot. The deputies felt honored to be assigned the task of finding and arresting Charlie Red Tail. There were a few war-whoops ringing out from the eager deputies when Brutkowsky explained the mission to them. The deputies armed themselves heavily. They were eager to get going and to make clear their superiority and control over the damn Indian who had done harm to one of their neighbors.
Prosecuting Attorney Tony Jones made sure there was public awareness of the complaint having been made to the sheriff by Betsy Stoutwein. He immediately made the nearby TV station and the local newspaper aware of the crime. He sought no arrest warrant from the Circuit Judge, Thomas Remington. Not enough time, really. This was a serious crime. Law enforcement needed to act quickly, whether an arrest warrant was constitutionally required or not! Besides, if necessary, he could obtain a warrant later, after the arrest, as Judge Remington is very cooperative with law enforcement.

There were three squad cars with two officers in each of them, and one car with two officers, that formed a caravan to the reservation. The incident commander was Sgt. Harvey P. Smith, a grizzled veteran of twenty years on the force.
The army of law enforcement left in mid-afternoon from Tihay, a small town of 750 people and the county seat for Indian Mound County, and headed for the Horse Creek Reservation with sirens blasting and red lights blinking, seeking to find and arrest one Charlie Red Tail, a Lakota Indian who raped Betsy Stoutwein. The speed with which they left mirrored the outrage each of them felt toward this no-good rapist who had harmed one of their own. They were enraged as a group, and in varying degrees, as individuals. One officer in particular vowed he would personally find the Indian. He said, “If I am given any trouble, I will kill the scumbag right then and save the county the cost of a trial.” No one cautioned him that he shouldn’t take such an approach, for Henry Snotberg often talked that way when referring to the Indians, and few believed the loudmouth. And, though most law enforcement in Indian Mound County did not harbor such extreme sentiment toward the Native Americans, the rape of a white woman by a “brave