The Cold Dish

Vonnie Hayes is Walt’s friend and love interest who is ultimately revealed as the murderer. As such, Vonnie is also the novel’s antagonist, even though she and Walt are close in many ways. Her backstory, which is only gradually revealed, marks her as a sympathetic figure. Like Walt, Vonnie grew up in Wyoming, and the two of them vaguely knew each other then. Throughout her childhood, Vonnie’s father groomed her, and he first raped her when she was only nine years old. Following his death by suicide when Vonnie was 12, Vonnie went to boarding school and eventually became a sculptor in New York City. Over the next few decades, Vonnie struggled to deal with the trauma of her abusive upbringing. As she tells Walt, “I tried. I really tried to have a life with a husband, family, children, and dogs even…I tried, but no matter how long or how hard…No matter how much therapy…I couldn’t get past it” (345). When Vonnie returned home to care for her aging mother, she was devastated by the light sentencing of the young men who raped Melissa and eventually decided to exact justice herself. This shows that she craves and values justice and revenge above all else, even the rule of law. Her willingness to act as a vigilante sets her apart from Walt.

Vonnie is described as having a “lupine slant to the eyes” (21), as well as a sad smile, suiting her role as both victim and predator. Though she is a sensitive, thoughtful love interest to Walt, he is ultimately unable to console her or condone her choices. Her final words are a confession of her love for Walt, and her entire life demonstrates the heavy, lasting toll of trauma stemming from abuse.

Henry is Walt’s best friend. The two of them first became close after getting into a fight while they were in elementary school. The incident remains indicative of their playfully antagonistic relationship, as they continue to engage in mildly combative banter as adults. Indeed, Walt relies on Henry to be brutally honest with him, as when Henry unveils a fourfold plan to reform Walt’s diet, exercise, love life, and spirituality. Henry is repeatedly shown to be a caring friend, showing up at Walt’s house to cook for him or hire workers to fix up his house when he knows Walt can’t take care of himself.

Like Walt, Henry fought in the Vietnam War, though Henry was part of an elite operation that Walt describes as “one of the most effective killing machines on either side of the war” (22). This contributes to Walt’s perception of Henry as a potential suspect in Cody’s death. After the war, Henry opted not to continue his education at the University of California, Berkeley, instead devoting himself to political efforts on behalf of Indigenous people. Upon returning to Wyoming for his grandmother’s funeral, Henry opened a bar he named the Red Pony after the novella by John Steinbeck; like Walt, Henry is intelligent and well-read. He is further characterized by his avoidance of contractions in his speech. Whether or not this is a deliberate choice on Henry’s part, it may be a habit he picked up as part of his upbringing on the reservation and holds onto as an adult, much as he keeps a broken-down pickup truck as a reminder of his heritage.

Henry’s arc in the novel centers on his dual role as friend and suspect. When Omar first includes Henry on a list of capable shooters, Walt dismisses the possibility that Henry could have anything to do with Cody’s death. Later, after a witness offers a description that seems to match Henry, Walt feels panicked and stressed. Throughout the investigation, Henry remains calm, though he does express disappointment at the thought that Walt could seriously suspect him. Only after Henry is shot by George and fails to retaliate does Walt remove him from his list of suspects. The bond between the two ultimately grows stronger after Walt saves Henry’s life, apparently with help from the spirits of the dead Cheyenne. Henry thus illustrates the possibility for strong friendships to form between those from different cultural backgrounds, as well as the tensions that can occasionally infect such friendships.

Vic Moretti is Walt’s friend, undersheriff, and preferred candidate to take over his job once he retires. An exceptionally talented woman from a family of police officers, Vic relocates from Philadelphia to Wyoming after her husband, Glen, gets an engineering job in the area. At first, Vic is reluctant to apply for a job in Walt’s office, but she accepts when Walt hints that she could have his job in a few years. Hers is no empty ambition, however, as she demonstrates a genuine passion for her work, at least when it comes to high-profile investigations rather than mundane tasks. By the time the main action of the novel takes place, Vic and Walt are close friends, though Vic has an unusual way of showing it. Lacking any real filter, Vic speaks her mind and has no qualms about calling Walt out, as when she guesses his weight to be 260 pounds and tells him to exercise.

Vic’s development through the novel takes place within two linked but separate areas: the personal and the professional. Professionally, Vic takes charge of much of the investigation, such as performing ballistics tests that help narrow the field of suspects. Vic is so capable that Walt lives in constant fear of her departure, sure that someone somewhere will offer her a higher-paying job than the one she has. At the same time, Vic has occasional arguments with her husband, Glen. Their disagreements come to a head when Glen asks her to move with him to Alaska for another job opportunity. At that point, Vic decides to divorce Glen, stay in Wyoming, and keep working for Walt, much to his delight. By the end of the novel, Vic learns to value the community where she now feels she belongs, even more than she values her career.

Lucian Connally is the previous sheriff of Absaroka County, and he continues to mentor Walt, whom he selected as his successor. With his politically incorrect language and guns-blazing attitude, Lucian represents an earlier, looser era of law enforcement, something a few steps closer to the Wild West of myth and legend. Indeed, on one occasion Lucian opines, “Ain’t nothing wrong with shootin’ folks, long as the right ones get shot” (278). In this sense, he is a foil to Walt—Walt is the 21st-century sheriff, and Lucian represents a bygone era.

Despite his cultural insensitivity, Lucian is broadly respected by the Cheyenne and other Indigenous nations for his toughness and fairness. Now living in a retirement home, Lucian remains mentally alert despite his advancing age and continues to defeat Walt in weekly chess matches. Lucian thus represents the accumulated wisdom of the past, as well as some of its foibles. This is another way that Johnson sets his novel apart from the Western genre while still paying tribute to the writers who came before him.

Brian “Turk” Connally is one of Walt’s deputies. Walt, who is not particularly fond of Turk, hires him as a favor to Lucian, Turk’s uncle. Walt’s dislike for Turk has to do with his attitude more than his abilities. As Walt puts it, “It wasn’t that Turk was a bad deputy; it’s just that all that rodeo-cowboy bullshit wore me out, and I didn’t like his juvenile temper” (4). Walt also resents Turk for his stated intention to replace him as sheriff instead of leaving the job to Vic. Over the course of the novel, tension between Turk and Walt rises until Walt lashes out violently, injuring Turk. Determined not to show weakness, Turk returns to work promptly, but after meeting with Lucian, he decides to pursue a job with the highway patrol. Overall, Turk exemplifies several characteristics that Walt despises, thereby testing and revealing the limits of Walt’s self-control, as well as the possibility of reconciliation and growth following adversity.