50 pages • 1 hour read
The Cold Dish
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Chapters 5-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 5 Summary
Early the next morning, Walt arrives at Omar’s mansion. He finds him in the back, where he demonstrates the use of an 1874 .45-70 caliber Sharps buffalo rifle that can shoot targets up to 600 yards away. Omar suggests this was the kind of weapon used to kill Cody and offers to take a look at the crime scene. He also lists a dozen men in the county who could likely shoot such a weapon accurately, including Henry.
Walt returns to his office, where Vic taunts him about his fitness routine before showing him a feather found on Cody’s body. It turns out to be a turkey feather altered to look like an eagle feather, a common item at tourist shops. They speculate that the feather could be a calling card left by the murderer.
At Ruby’s suggestion, Walt visits Ernie Brown, who runs the local newspaper, and provides a few vague, official statements about the case. As he leaves, Ernie asks, “Do you ever get the feeling that the world is tired, Walter?” (109).
On his way back to the office, Walt spots Vonnie’s car and waits for her to emerge from the bookstore. When she suggests that now might not be a good time for them to start a relationship, he explains how much he values their romance. She kisses him and asks him to call her.
At the office, Walt catches up with Vic on her investigation, with the two trading jabs as usual. Walt then visits a local sporting goods store. At his request, the owner provides him with a list of individuals who purchased .45-70 caliber rifles.
Chapter 6 Summary
On Tuesday, as usual, Walt visits Lucian Connally, his predecessor as sheriff, in the retirement home where he lives. During World War II, Lucian worked as a mercenary pilot for China. Upon returning home to Wyoming, he eventually became sheriff, a position he held for more than 25 years. Lucian arranged for Walt to become his successor. In return, Walt hired Turk, Lucian’s nephew, as a favor to him, though neither is particularly fond of him. As the two play chess, they discuss Turk’s behavior, as well as the investigation into Cody’s death. Lucian encourages Walt to trust his intuition that Henry is not a viable suspect. Walt also invites Lucian to come back to work as a part-time dispatcher.
Returning to his office, Walt reads a note from Vic about her return to the crime scene with Omar. He also calls Vonnie, who invites him over for dinner the next day.
Walt returns home to find Henry waiting on his newly finished porch. As Henry cooks dinner, they discuss which kind of wine Walt should bring to Vonnie’s. They also discuss Omar’s list of gun owners. Henry indicates that one of them, Artie Small Song, was at the bar on the day Cody was killed. Henry also reveals that Lonnie Little Bird, Melissa’s father, owns a .45-70 Sharps rifle. Walt then shows Henry the feather, which he instantly recognizes as a fake. He also comments on the spiritual significance of eagle feathers, which are associated with “life, boldness, freedom, and the unity of all” (137). He theorizes that the feather could have been left by a white shooter trying to hide their identity.
Henry offers to accompany Walt while visiting the reservation. After he leaves, Walt recalls the last time he saw Melissa. It was at the annual reenactment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where she participated in a dance competition dressed in traditional attire.
Chapter 7 Summary
The next morning, Henry takes Walt on another early-morning run, this time through freshly fallen snow. Henry then drives Walt to the reservation where the Little Birds live. Over Walt’s objections, Henry drives an old, all-but-broken-down pickup truck that he values for sentimental reasons.
They stop for gas and breakfast. An enormous man named Brandon White Buffalo greets Henry as “Little Brother.” After pumping up a flat tire on Henry’s truck, they set out again. On the way, Walt recalls the trial of the four young men who raped Melissa, including the judge’s instructions to the jury. Following the disappointing result, Lucian counseled Walt to “let it go” (149), but Walt continued to obsess over the outcome.
They arrive at a mission where several young men are playing basketball. While Walt waits in the truck, Henry charms them with his basketball skills and humor. After getting directions from them, he and Walt make their way to Artie’s mother’s house, then to the home of Artie’s girlfriend. No one is home, but Walt follows Henry inside. After a search, they locate several guns, but none match the gun used to shoot Cody.
As they drive to Lonnie’s house, Walt recalls running into Lonnie in the bathroom during the trial. Ever since losing his legs due to diabetes, Lonnie has used a wheelchair. Walt helped Lonnie onto the toilet. Lonnie admitted that while watching the trial, he became confused about whether the young men did anything bad. Walt assures him that what they did was “very bad.”
They find Lonnie at home watching a soap opera. Lonnie shows them his buffalo rifle, which is decorated with owl feathers and a beaded pattern called “Dead Man’s Body” (160). Melissa now stays with her aunts in town, but Lonnie is cutting back on his drinking, smoking, and swearing in an attempt to convince his family to let her return to live with him.
Chapter 8 Summary
Lonnie agrees to let Walt borrow his gun for ballistics testing. As they drive away, Henry explains that it was the only rifle of a lot of 10 that was not surrendered by his great-great-grandfather.
They stop at the Red Pony to pick up wine for Walt’s dinner with Vonnie. Walt waits in the car, and Dena Many Camps, a friend of Cady’s, approaches him. Seeing the rifle, she explains its significance. According to tradition, the rifle is haunted by spirits of the dead who may, at any time, compel someone to join them.
At home, Walt examines the gun and listens to a message from Vic. She collected samples from two gun owners on the list, but neither matched the evidence from the crime scene.
Not wanting to leave the valuable buffalo rifle unprotected at his home, Walt takes it with him to Vonnie’s house. When she sees the gun, Vonnie asks Walt not to bring it inside. She decides to let him leave it by the door and later explains that she considers guns to be “inherently bad” and a “necessary evil” (173). Over a dinner of pasta and apple pie, they reminisce about their childhoods. Vonnie admits that she didn’t like her father, and Walt is surprised to hear her laugh while discussing his death.
After dinner, Vonnie also introduces Walt to her dog, who quickly warms up to him. In response to a question from Vonnie, Walt explains that he first became interested in law enforcement after he was drafted into the Marines during the Vietnam War. As an officer in the military police, he helped bust a drug ring and investigate the gruesome murder of a sex worker.
As Vonnie takes a call about a real estate deal, Walt wonders whether the spirits that haunt the Cheyenne rifle would help him find Cody’s killer. He suspects they would.
Another call comes, this one for Walt. Vic tells him that they finally managed to locate one of the Esper boys. Twins Jacob and George Esper were the other two young men convicted of raping and assaulting Melissa.
Chapters 5-8 Analysis
Johnson continues to develop and refine many of the stylistic patterns established in the first section. Walt’s self-deprecating sense of humor endures, now within the context of doubts about his relationship with Vonnie: “I saw me every day, and I wasn’t so sure I was that fond of my company” (95). This negative self-talk is another manifestation of Walt’s state of mind after losing his wife, though he continues to pursue his relationship with Vonnie rather than isolating himself. A notable allusion in this section, meanwhile, sees Walt paraphrasing French writer Honoré de Balzac’s description of bureaucracy as “a giant mechanism operated by pygmies” (113), reinforcing his status as a man well versed in literature.
Walt also shows off his technical chops as he describes various details of the firearms he investigates as part of the case. This adds verisimilitude to the text, establishing Walt’s bona fides as a police officer while underlining his Renaissance man persona—despite his negative self-perception, he is good at many things. Firearms themselves emerge as a significant recurring motif. While Walt admires and appreciates the artistry and technical expertise that go into building and maintaining guns such as those wielded by Omar, he stops short of mythologizing them. To him, guns are simply tools that can be used for good or evil, and he expresses concern about those, like Artie, who stockpile weapons. Henry, meanwhile, hints at concerns about violence against Indigenous people by officers of the law. As he drives Walt to the reservation, Henry asks whether he is armed, explaining, “I just like to know” and adding, “Do not shoot anybody, okay?” (143). The Cheyenne Death Rifle that Lonnie loans to Walt, meanwhile, points back to an era when Indigenous people fought back with guns of their own. Sometimes, they secured victory, as at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, which saw a United States cavalry regiment defeated by a combined force representing the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes. Alongside his friendship with Henry, Walt’s sympathies with the Indigenous community are emphasized when he remembers watching Melissa dancing at a ceremony commemorating this battle, which is named specifically. As agents of death guns occupy a central space in the struggle for power and control in the West. Vonnie’s apparent opposition to guns, meanwhile, hints at a hidden duality of her character that only emerges later—her willingness to engage in violence to avenge violence.
Vehicles also emerge as a motif in this section and are used to characterize their drivers. Here, the emphasis is on Henry’s battered truck, which he purchased for a low price while visiting Denver. Nicknamed “Rezdawg,” (“Rez” is short for “reservation”) the truck repeatedly breaks down, but Henry keeps it as a reminder of his connection to the reservation where he grew up. This is one example of the theme of Finding Strength in Community. Johnson also examines how participants in various communities support each other. One such community consists of Walt’s circle of trusted associates in law enforcement, including Ruby, Vic, Ferg, and Lucian. Walt’s visit to Lucian demonstrates his continued reliance on Lucian as a mentor, and he calls on each of his deputies’ particular talents to help advance the investigation. Walt also finds support from his friendship with Henry, whose aggressive encouragement spurs him to make needed changes in his life. Henry, for his part, participates in another community, formed by the Northern Cheyenne and other Indigenous people who live on or around the nearby reservation. Within this community, extended family relationships prevail. For instance, Brandon White Buffalo greets Henry as “Little Brother,” and Henry considers himself an uncle to Melissa although they are technically cousins. Similarly, following her traumatic experience, Melissa goes to live with various women referred to as her aunts, and her participation in a dance competition demonstrates the role of her community in helping her move forward with her life.
These chapters also see the introduction of Lonnie Little Bird. As the anecdote about Walt helping Lonnie in the bathroom illustrates, Lonnie is somewhat dependent on others for support. He speaks in simple diction, but his words also reflect a degree of wisdom. For instance, his question about whether the young men who assaulted Melissa did a bad thing highlights the potential for crimes to be distorted and minimized throughout the legal process. Overall, Lonnie’s meekness illustrates the challenge and opportunity for people like Walt to listen to and protect marginalized voices.
Walt’s characterization also deepens in this section, as he hints at his past and his reasons for joining law enforcement. Walt’s anecdotes about his time in Vietnam demonstrate his strong preference for the rule of law, as he sought out policing opportunities to counter the general chaos of war. His concern for the murdered sex worker, meanwhile, demonstrates that his work as a police officer does not color who he believes is worth helping—he seeks justice for her despite her illegal profession. In Walt’s view, the due process of the legal system, imperfect and disappointing as it sometimes is, remains the best chance for protecting peace and individual welfare in a community.
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