Cern and Begay had some time to kill before heading out to Arthur Littletree's hacienda. Begay said he had things to do anyway, and invited Cern to ride along, but Cern demurred. He wanted to call Dema and have her do a little digging for him. He also found Lisa and talked to her for a while.

Later he stopped in to visit the band in their practice room. He laughed out loud when he saw Joe playing base with his bow and a wash tub. Mike was helping him rehearse. Joe waved Cern over, and said, "We're thinking of making this part of the act if I get good enough. Hope you don't mind."

"Mind? Hell no. It's your bow. And you're already better than I'd be. How's your troop of horseback archers doing?"

"We always have a good time."

"Ever try it from the back of a pickup?"

"That wouldn't be very traditional. But yeah, we do that too sometimes."

"Not very traditional. But maybe more practical at times."

Joe gave Cern a puzzled look, and resumed his practice on the base bow. Cern watched and listened until Begay found him.

Once they were on the road, Cern asked Begay what he thought of their morning meeting with Arthur.

"Not much. He was all show."

"That's what I thought. He came across like a stage magician or a defense lawyer, all pretense and misdirection, like he was hiding something."

"Did you try to see him?"

"I was open, I was receiving. But he wasn't sending. It was like what you did the day we first met."

"That was a lesson. You were too open. Can you hide what you are too?"

"When I think I need to. It's not a normal thing for me. Most people aren't aware enough to do that. Not even defense lawyers."

"Arthur Littletree is not a normal person."

"What is he then?"

"I don't know. I cannot see him. So all I can tell is that he is a man of power."

"A shaman? A sorcerer?"

"Or something darker than that. I don't know. But maybe today he will let his guard down and we will find out."

"That's kind of what I was thinking. I called Dema and asked her to check his FBI record. She didn't find anything incriminating, but he's got ties in Vegas, casinos and other gambling interests, possible mob links. Spends a fair amount of time there. 

"Then I saw Lisa and she told me he collects business expenses from the Navajo casinos when he goes to Vegas, so he's at least pretending he's working for the tribe when he's there."

Begay nodded. "Good to know. Maybe it will be enough to help us crack his guard."

Arthur Littletree's hacienda was not far south of the Navajo reservation. The turn off the highway might have been hard to spot, but Arthur had left a man there to flag them down. He jumped up on the step bar and rode there as he guided them to the main house. 

Soon they pulled up in front of a sprawling old Spanish adobe building. Arthur stood in the doorway to greet them as they arrived, and ushered them through the entrance hall into a central courtyard, where they were shielded from the hot wind and shaded from the sun by several tall desert palms. A cold pitcher of margaritas was waiting for them at the table he led them to.

There were several attendants in evidence, all men, unobtrusive but hovering nearby. Arthur ignored these men, pouring the margaritas into tall glasses himself as Begay and Cern took the seats he indicated. 

After a long pull at his own glass, Arthur began with, "You expressed some concerns about how the people are coping with the new ways, and I want to help in any way I can. Can you give me some specifics?"

Cern answered. "As I'm sure you can imagine, the people in the Kenosha community are being pulled in several directions. The people of the tribe, and especially their tribal council, see the success the Navajo Nation and other tribes are having with the casino business, and want that for themselves. But, like here, there are those who think it is incompatible with their traditional culture. 

"Others, both in the tribe and in the surrounding religious communities, are concerned that expansion of the opportunities for gambling beyond the existing state lottery and occasional Keno parties will degrade moral standards. At the state level, there is inevitable concern about the ripple effect outside the reservation. They know it will have an impact, both economic and cultural, but don't know how to assess what that will be in their area. How do you answer such questions?"

"Well, I don't know Kenosha's situation, but I can tell you how we dealt with such concerns here. It's simple. The benefits far outweigh them."

"Those benefits being...?"

"Wealth. Money. Cash. The universal solvent."

"Money is not wealth," said Begay.

Arthur almost sneered at him. "It beats the alternative."

"Which is?"

"Walking barefoot in the snow like my father did."

"Your father had strong medicine. I learned much from him."

"So did I. I learned not to follow his example."

"Your father was a shaman? Like Begay?" Cern asked.

"No, not like Begay. My father lived in a shabby little hogan. Begay lives in his fancy truck. I live in this." He waved his hand to indicate the hacienda.

"I speak of spiritual wealth," said Begay.

"I have more spiritual wealth in my hacienda than you have in your truck."

Cern said, "Thank you both for that little demonstration. I imagine I could witness more like that in Kenosha. But Arthur, Begay is not alone, and your assertion that money is the solution has not swayed him. How do you answer that?"

"He is not alone, true, but he is in the minority."

"Even among the tribal leaders?"

Arthur regarded Cern for a moment. "So you are not deceived into thinking we are discussing a democratic process. This is good. The people are sheep. Begay is not a sheep. In that he is in the minority. Even among the tribal leaders."

Cern looked at Begay. Begay nodded sadly.

"So you are saying that money talks, even among the tribal leaders."

"And Begay has little money. By his own choice. So he does not talk very loudly."

"But," said Cern, "Begay is right in saying that money does not bring spiritual wealth. In fact, it can be the enemy of spiritual wealth."

"Can be, but need not be. For example, I observed earlier that both of you are endowed generously with spiritual wealth. And my money has helped me lure both of you here, so that I may extract it." 

He raised a hand and beckoned; his attendants moved forward. "It's a pity you didn't get to enjoy more of your margaritas."