Deep Dark Mire (An FBI Romance Thriller ~ book four) (24 page)

They all stared at the casket as she moved to open it. When the lid was pushed back, all four gathered around it. Inside
laid the man they all loved. He was in his warbonnet and full regalia. Across his chest was a red rose, placed there by a woman who loved him.

“I love you
Dad,” said Wyler, leaning down to kiss the man on the forehead.

Next went Whitefox kissing him gently. “Happy hunting,
Granddad. I love you.”

“I’ll miss you,
Granddad,” said Blackhawk, laying a hand on his forehead. “I love you.”

Elizabeth stepped forward and stroked his cheek. She’d said everything she needed to as she prepared his body. But she had one last message for the man. “I’ll keep my word.” With that she dropped a kiss on his still lips, and reached up to close the lid
for his procession down the hill.

“Come on boys, it’s time to give Timothy
the honor he deserves.”

They each took a corner
and their place.

“On three.”

Then they lifted, and it was surprising how light the casket and body felt. Maybe it was because it never could equal the burden on their hearts. Slowly, they carried him down the hill, as ever one stood. The drum beat changed and the tears intensified. Everyone watched as the four Blackhawks carried their lost. Warriors from the tribe called to their own, singing their shaman off to the Great Spirit.

From Elizabeth
’s corner, she could see Callen’s face, and her father-in-law’s too. Both men were suffering, as she imagined so was her husband.

Once in the
teepee, they placed him on the stand and opened the casket completely. Timothy wanted to be buried in full regalia, and he got his wish. There were the family colors, and there were all the eagle feathers he’d earned as a young brave. Today he’d wear them with honor on his last day above the Earth.

This was the family’s final viewing and Elizabeth pulled something from her neck, and placed it in Timothy’s hand. “You once gave me this to rub when I was worried about Ethan, and now I’m giving it back to you
Granddad. I may worry about all three of them, but where you're going, you’ll need it more because you won’t be able to yell at them. I will!”

Ethan saw the stone his mother had rubbed while on her death bed, and his grandfather had given Elizabeth. Somehow
, she had it made into a necklace. He watched as she placed it in his hand reverently, wrapping the chain around his knuckles. Then she said something in a language he didn’t understand, and he was beyond surprised.

Wyler patted her on the back. “He’d appreciate you took the time to learn that
for him, and he’ll be waiting.”

Both grandsons looked confused.

Wyler translated for his boys. “Until we meet again.”

Callen shook, and the tears came and none of them had dry eyes, except Elizabeth.

It wasn’t her time to grieve yet, and she knew it. Now it was about doing her job, and shouldering the day for the three men who stood beside her. What was coming needed to be done perfectly, and for the man who they all loved.

The
Blackhawk family stepped from the teepee and paused, looking back. It was time for the long funeral to begin. They walked to their seats. Ginny passed CJ back and he curled into his mother’s body, closing his eyes. Mourners began to walk to the front of the teepee, and were stopped by the tribe members standing guard over their loved one. One by one they were allowed access to see Timothy Blackhawk’s body. Most exited in tears and overwhelmed. It was the end of an era on the reservation and they all knew it. No more Blackhawk shaman. For fifty years, Timothy had helped his people and held the role. Now it was a torch passed outside the family to another person.

Slowly
, mourners began walking to the family to give their condolences. First, they went to Wyler, and then down the line all the way to the tiniest of Blackhawks and the newest member of their family.

“He would have been proud of what you arranged,” said one of the council members to Ethan.
“This all speaks perfectly of him.”

“It wasn’t me. My wife did all this,” and his voice cracked
. He found her hand in his, giving him strength.

The man stood in front of her and nodded. “Next to his wife, you were all he ever spoke of and you should be proud.”

Elizabeth held it all in, because it still wasn’t time. “I am proud, not because I was all he spoke of, but because I had the pleasure of knowing him, loving him, and being a Blackhawk.”

The man nodded and kissed her on the forehead.

Callen leaned against her and borrowed her strength.

Soon
, the tribe had finished, and the FBI started their viewing. They came out one at a time, and stopped in front of the family.

“Boss, if you need anything, just call me,” said Ginny, hugging
Ethan tightly. “Even if you just need a break and want me to play with CJ.”

“Thank you, Ginny.”

She stopped in front of Elizabeth and then just hugged her. “I’m sorry, Mrs. B. You look beautiful.”

She smiled gently. “Thank you, Ginny.”

“Callen, I’m sorry.” She hugged him too. “If you need anything, you let me know.”

“Thank you
, Ginny.”

Tony
Magnus and Chris Leonard were next. Tony Magnus leaned down to whisper in Elizabeth’s ear. “You did an amazing job and anthropologically, it’s spot on Lyzee. I’m so proud of you. There was never a better student than you.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Thanks
, Tony.” He offered her a fist bump, and she took it.

“You ever need a job, Lyzee,” said Chris Leonard, “you have one. You took care of him perfectly. I didn’t think you could handle it alone, but you did awesome.”

She smiled. “I would do anything for granddad.”

Ethan Blackhawk looked over at her with a look of confusion. “What are they talking about?”

“Someone had to prepare him for burial. I was the one that did it.”

All three men
stared over at her in absolute horror.

“You could have had help,” said Blackhawk, quietly.

Elizabeth shook her head. “In his instructions it stated that in order for him to cross over, he needed the preparation to be done by a family member and only a family member. I can guarantee that no one has touched his person but us. There was no embalming; it was against his wishes and beliefs. He has all his blood still in his body, and he’s not been autopsied.”

“Sweetheart we would have
assisted you,” Wyler spoke. “You shouldn’t have done it all alone.”

“It’s okay,
Dad. I did it for him.”

All three men knew she did it for them
more so, because none of them could stand over Timothy and not break over handling the final rites.

As the last mourner finished viewing
, Elizabeth handed CJ to her husband, slipped on her heels and moved to face everyone who returned to sit. Elizabeth whistled and the drummers stopped, and everyone on her tech team froze. It would have been funny if the day wasn’t so somber.

“Timothy Blackhawk was a good man. He loved fully and raised the
most angelic, law abiding and best damn men in the entire world,” she said, and people laughed, knowing how much hell they all raised on the Rez.

Blackhawk and law abiding didn't generally go hand in hand.

“He asked me to say a few words, and I’m going to do just that, because no one said no to the shaman.”

There was laughter.

Elizabeth spoke in the Native language and waited as those in the tribe who understood replied. “For those that don’t understand, what Timothy wants to convey is that death is not the end, but a beginning. One shouldn’t fear death, but embrace it. It’s the cycle of life. Like a beginning one must have an ending. Right now he’s crossing over to be with his beloved wife, he lost many years ago. There was a message he left for the tribe. He wanted everyone that he loved and cherished here to know, he will be holding your place in the afterlife. That you will be carried in his heart, and he in yours as long as you believe that there is a peaceful place to go into the beyond with the Great Spirit.”

The tribe spoke
in their language and this time Elizabeth replied.

There were war cries, and she assumed she nailed the words
correctly.

“
To his only son, he wishes you to know that despite it all, he was proud of you. Everyone makes mistakes, but it takes a good man to turn it around and own what he’s done. Changing fate and altering the future isn't the easy path, but the one less traveled.”

She spoke again in
their language and prayed that she got it right. When Wyler’s eyes filled and he nodded, she knew she pulled it off.

“To his first grandson, he wants you to know that he’s proud of you.
You let go of the past that bound you and found freedom in the future. He may have raised you, but you found the path and navigated it.”

Elizabeth said the words that she memorized from the paper and watched as Wyler whispered the meaning. Her husband’s eyes filled too.

“To Callen Whitefox, his last grandson. You weren’t given the last name, but Timothy wants to let you know one thing. He loved you most, because to him, you were a second son. Timothy always wanted more children, but fate had other plans. You were his secret blessing. He’s proud of you for being the man you are, despite the beginning. There was no doubt you’d figure it out. His last advice is to not discard the inner voice. It will lead you to where you need to go. He has one warning for you though. Timothy requests that you learn from your mistakes. Mainly, if your brother tells you that stealing a truck is borrowing, he’s lying and by the third damn time you should know that, son.”

Everyone from the reservation laughed, knowing the Blackhawk boys were trouble. All the FBI agents looked around
, missing something. Maybe that was for the best.

She spoke the words in the Native language and w
aited as Wyler translated. Callen choked on a sob, and Ethan dropped his arm over his shoulder and pulled him against his shoulder, supporting him when he was too weak.

“
And lastly for little Callen James Blackhawk, who is the youngest of Blackhawk men, you won’t remember this day. Please know, little CJ that you have mighty big shoes to fill- literally and figuratively as the case may be.”

There was more laughter.

“Not only do you carry three great names, you have quite the legacy to live up to. Granddad gifts you with many years of love, laughter and the sense of who you are. You’re a Blackhawk, and don’t ever forget it!” There were war whoops from the braves at the funeral.

“To everyone here
that made this journey to share in our sadness, our remembrance, and our moment of saying goodbye, Timothy wanted a celebration. There’s enough food to feed three tribes. Ethan, Callen, Wyler and I have supplied the champagne, because if you live your life like Timothy and leave behind this family, you get the good stuff on your last day on earth. Eat, drink and celebrate the wisest, sweetest and kindest man we’ve ever known. Go in peace and love.” And then she yelled something in the Native language and all the tension released from her body. The job was done and she made it through.

Elizabeth whistled
and the drums started their celebratory beat, and the celebration began. In the midst of the chaos of the singing, the war calls, and the dancing Natives, she managed to slip away. Elizabeth desperately needed a few minutes alone to compose herself before joining in the celebration.

“Where’s Elizabeth going?”
Callen questioned, watching her slip into the crowd.

Ethan handed his son to his father and started after her.
“I don’t know, but let’s go.” Beside him was his brother, as they watched her enter the trail that led back to their grandfather’s house.

“Maybe she forgot something?”

Ethan somehow doubted it, and his curiosity and concerned was piqued. “Something’s wrong.”

Both men followed down the trail.

“Damn she’s fast in heels. Who would have thought it?” He tried to have some humor, but both men were too concerned.

Checking the house, they found it completely empty.

“
She’s gone to the tree house,” stated Blackhawk.

Callen followed his brothe
r out of the house, and both men stood, staring up at the small structure that Timothy and Ethan had built when he was a boy.

“I hear her. She’s crying,” whispered Whitefox.

Ethan debated on giving her privacy. “Come on. Let’s check on her.” The men climbed silently to the top to find the woman who carried the entire funeral. Now it was their turn to carry her.

Ethan and Callen were more than grateful that the woman they both loved pulled off an amazing feat. She gave Timothy the sendoff he deserved, but at what cost?

They found her sitting with her back against one wall and a tissue. When the wood creaked
, she looked up at them staring in the open window.