50 pages • 1 hour read
Craig JohnsonThe Cold Dish
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2004A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 9-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary
Around midnight, Walt meets Vic at Dull Knife Lake in the southern Bighorn Mountains. When she said they found one of the Esper brothers, she was referring to finding Jacob’s dead body. He was found sitting with his back to the wheel of his truck, a feather sticking out of his jacket. Vic draws Walt’s attention to footprints of size-nine Vasque boots, matching the ones on Jacob’s feet. She estimates that Jacob’s shooter was positioned somewhere across the lake. Walt notes that the bed of the truck contains fishing equipment, including two vests, and estimates that Jacob died 14 to 16 hours earlier.
Seeing the commotion, the drunk occupant of a nearby cabin approaches, introduces himself as Al Monroe, and goes to make coffee at Walt’s request. Walt then questions two nearby vacationing business executives, who discovered and reported Jacob’s body. He also sends Ferg on several errands, including placing Bryan Keller and George Esper under protective custody.
Walt takes a statement from Al at his cabin. Al mentions that he heard a gun go off early that morning. He went to the door to yell at the shooter and saw a tall figure with long, dark hair holding a large gun and walking in the distance.
Walt makes his way up a hill in the direction Al indicated and soon locates a patch of disturbed grass that was likely the shooter’s position, some 400 yards from Jacob’s body. Reflecting on Al’s description, Walt thinks through his list of suspects, resisting the thought that the evidence increasingly points toward Henry.
Back at the crime scene, Walt joins Vic in the cab of a vehicle to get some rest. She asks him about his relationship with Vonnie, and he asks her about her occasionally rocky relationship with her husband, Glen. She announces her intention to divorce Glen, who wants her to follow him to Alaska for a new job.
At 6:30 am, Ferg returns and informs Walt that he located Bryan Keller but has yet to contact the Espers, who are traveling. Ferg reports that Jim Keller, Bryan’s father, is not home and is apparently away on a hunting trip. As he and Vic use a metal detector to look for evidence, Walt wonders if Jim could want revenge on the young men whose companionship arguably ruined Bryan’s future. He also wonders who was going to wear the second fishing vest in Jacob’s truck.
Chapter 10 Summary
A crew arrives from the Division of Criminal Investigation in Cheyenne to further document the scene. Chatting with TJ Sherwin, the director, Walt theorizes that Jacob was planning to meet George at some point. Seeing Walt’s discouragement, TJ assures him that he is “not being punished for [his] sins” (209). Walt directs Ferg to initiate a search for George in the surrounding wilderness and leaves the Cheyenne Death Rifle with Vic for ballistics testing.
Driving back into town, Walt recalls the young men’s trial. As their judgments were read, all except Bryan smirked and laughed. Afterward, Lonnie described the event as “Quite a show” (212).
Walt arrives at the office to see Turk leaving. Still angry at Turk for hurting Jules, Walt slams him against his car, denting the vehicle, and leaves him lying unconscious. Ruby takes Turk to the hospital.
After calming down in one of the jail cells for a few minutes, Walt goes to lunch with Henry, who tells him that Artie was in jail in Montana at the time of Cody’s shooting. He also reports that the feather found on Cody is a common type sold all over the country. Walt tells Henry about Jacob’s death and questions Henry about his location at the time of the shooting. Henry says that he spent the night at Dena Many Camp’s house.
When Walt returns to the office, Ruby reprimands him for attacking Turk. Walt apologizes and hugs her. He then speaks to Bryan, who suggests that George may have gone fishing at Lost Twin, a favorite location of his. Turk suddenly reappears, determined to work despite his injuries, and Walt gives him an assignment.
With limited time to locate George before an oncoming winter storm, Walt calls Omar and asks to use his helicopter.
Chapter 11 Summary
Piloting his helicopter, Omar flies Walt and Henry toward the area where they suspect George is located. Walt gets motion sickness, and Henry shares an anecdote about flying from his time as a soldier in Vietnam, where he was part of an elite team. The two also discuss, somewhat seriously, Henry’s viability as a suspect, considering motive, means, and opportunity.
Walt receives a radio communication from Ruby, who informs him that a witness saw a green pickup leaving the area where Jacob’s body was found early the previous morning. Walt recalls that Henry’s pickup is green.
Spotting a tent that could be George’s, Omar drops Henry and Walt off to search for him. During an initial search, they spot Vasques footprints similar to those made by Jacob, suggesting that George has the same pair of boots. Henry and Walt decide to continue down the trail on foot. Omar flies away to avoid the storm.
As they walk, snow begins to fall. Henry explains that as far as he is concerned, it is as if the four young men who raped Melissa no longer exist. He also comments, “Revenge is a dish best served cold” (246).
Chapter 12 Summary
The storm worsens into a blizzard as Henry and Walt proceed down the trail. Suddenly, Walt hears a gunshot. Running forward, he sees George standing over Henry, who is on the ground. Without thinking, Walt charges forward and knocks George over, hitting him with the stock of his rifle. In the tussle that follows, George’s gun goes off, hitting George in the thigh.
After wrapping some fabric around George’s wound, Walt examines Henry. The initial gunshot he heard was the sound of George shooting Henry in the abdomen. After tying a glove over Henry’s wound, Walt radios for medical assistance, but no one answers.
Since neither Henry nor George is capable of walking, Henry encourages Walt to carry George down the trail. Walt is reluctant to leave Henry, but he insists that he will be okay once Walt helps him retrieve his medicine bag, which contains items of spiritual significance. Walt does so but dismisses the approach as “mystical horseshit.” Before leaving, Walt assures Henry that he is no longer a suspect.
Carrying George on his shoulders, Walt proceeds down the trail. He hears Henry singing behind him, and his voice follows him despite the distance. He also senses the presence of the spirits of the Old Cheyenne around him, as if they are challenging him for the right to take Henry with them. Even so, Walt finds their presence encouraging. Just as he is feeling more tired, Walt spots a warrior-like figure who resembles Henry ahead of him. The figure backs away as Walt proceeds forward, and he vanishes as Walt reaches the parking lot containing George’s car.
Setting George in his car, Walt makes him promise not to leave. He radios once more for help and then starts back up the trail. As he does, he recalls statements made by the defendants at the trial. Bryan expressed genuine regret, Jacob and George made vague apologies, and Cody declined to speak.
After trudging through the snow for a while, Walt falls down and begins to drift off. Suddenly, he hears the sound of voices and bells and sees a pattern of swooping lights and shadows. Following the sights and sounds, Walt gets up and continues up the path. He finally finds Henry and hears music emanating from him. Feeling encouraged and indebted to the mystical figures surrounding them, Walt lifts Henry and carries him down the trail.
When Walt arrives at the parking lot, George’s car is gone, but Vic and a medical team are present. As they drive away, Walt asks Henry about his singing. Henry asks, “What singing?”
Chapters 9-12 Analysis
The plot develops along the lines of typical murder mysteries in these chapters. A second murder indicates rising action and tension, while the threat of a third following the same pattern points the way toward the coming climax. Meanwhile, evidence continues to pile up, though some of it is contradictory or confusing. Of particular significance is the eagle feather, which adheres to the crime fiction trope of a serial killer leaving a calling card at the scene of the crime. The decorative feather also carries symbolic significance, as it is associated with Indigenous cultures. However, as Walt learns, an owl feather would be more appropriate as a signal of death, and the eagle feathers are actually turkey feathers refashioned to look like eagle feathers. The complexity of this symbol leads Walt to reflect on the potential identity and motives of the killer. These inconsistencies indicate that the killer is not Indigenous; rather they are someone trying to use Indigenous cultures to throw off the investigation, but they have a shallow understanding of those cultures.
In terms of character development and relationships, this section also sees rising tension between Walt and Henry as the latter becomes an increasingly prominent suspect in the case. Here, Walt is torn between his trust and respect for Henry and his official duty as sheriff to follow up on every lead. This dilemma illustrates the complexity of The Pursuit of Justice, especially when personal considerations are involved. Bounded by his duty, Walt continues to treat Henry as a suspect until further developments allow him to clear him of suspicion. A similar thread develops in Walt’s relationship with Turk. Here, the question is not whether Turk is guilty or not, as Walt knows that he beat up Jules. Instead, the question is how Walt should respond. Walt allows his anger to carry him away to violence, but he immediately regrets his behavior. This passage implies that violent retaliation is rarely, if ever, the best choice. Henry’s later insistence that he has done his best to forget about the young men who raped Melissa highlights a similar approach.
Through Walt’s mystical experience, Johnson explores the themes of Finding Strength in Community and The Pursuit of Justice. Despite his initial skepticism, Walt finds support and encouragement from the spirits and other supernatural sensory phenomena that guide him along the path as he carries George and then returns for Henry. Throughout this section, Johnson depicts and describes all supernatural phenomena matter-of-factly, taking Walt’s perspective at face value, much as in the genre of magical realism. For instance, Walt describes the spirits’ movement as follows: “Darting between the trees with closed-mouth smiles on their faces, nodding to me when I caught their eyes, they carried their coup sticks but kept them far out of my reach” (257). Notably, the spirits of the Old Cheyenne first appear while Walt is carrying George, showing that they are not petty or resentful toward George. This confirms Walt’s earlier supposition that such spirits, if they exist, would help him with his case, even though his goal is to protect Melissa’s abusers. In this context, The Pursuit of Justice is to be undertaken as objectively as possible, regardless of personal feelings. The Old Cheyenne are also a reminder of Finding Strength in Community since their presence gives Walt the strength he needs to survive the ordeal.
Through continued flashbacks to the trial, Johnson also fleshes out the characters of Cody, Jacob, George, and Bryan. Their statements at the trial reveal a range of feelings about their actions, from Bryan’s sincere regret to George and Jacob’s minimization and Cody’s total indifference. The question this raises is whether, given their differences, the young men should receive different treatment under the law and perhaps even through vigilantism. From this perspective, it may be no coincidence that the killer targeted Cody first, as he demonstrated the most blatantly unrepentant attitude. In the present day, George begins to feel mounting panic as he fears that someone is after him, and his impulsive decision to shoot Henry on sight demonstrates a strong prejudice against Indigenous people. By positioning such conventionally unlikeable characters at the center of the case, Johnson reveals Walt as an idealist committed to justice and the rule of law rather than any personal agenda.
