Dixie was waiting for John when he returned to his apartment. She followed him into his apartment. "Dix...what are doing here? You didn't have to come over." He placed the box on his kitchen bench.
"I just heard a friend needed some help," she replied smirking.
"I'm fine Dix. As you can see Roy helped me clean up. It's your day off...you've got better things to do."
"Johnny, you're family. Now just let me help you put these things away and I'll make us a cup of coffee." Dixie started to sort through the box.
John smiled; he did so love this woman. She was the kindest person he had ever met. "You've always looked out for me Dix," he said softly.
"From the day I met you Johnny Gage I knew we would always be good friends. Now come on let's get this put away." Dixie took charge and started putting the food into cupboards.
They spent the remaining afternoon together, chatting and reminiscing. John felt better, as he always did after spending time with Dixie, and Dixie left to go home and do her own chores. Tomorrow was the powwow and she wanted to get a few of her own chores done knowing she would be out most of that day.
John spoke to his chief that evening on the phone. "They found nothing John so they have no reason to investigate you any further. Relax and enjoy tomorrow."
"I will and thanks for your help. I know I can be a pain sometimes, but when they questioned me I got real worried. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing." John confessed to his chief.
"I have my own theories John after reading the reports. I'll see you tomorrow bright and early." LT Blackcrow ended the conversation.
John looked at the phone before hanging up, and wondered what his chief meant but shrugged and went about his apartment getting things together for the powwow. Little did he know a red faced neighbour was being intensely questioned at the police station.
Stanley was lightly dozing in his favourite chair in front of the TV when he was woken up with knocking on the door. He got up thinking, who in blazes is this at this time of night. He opened the door to a very angry neighbour. "Matt, won't you come in. It's a bit late don't you think. I was about to turn in."
"Yes it is late. I just spent four hours down at the police station," he said scowling, not moving from the doorway.
"Oh, then I take it they found your stuff?" asked Stanley politely, smiling.
"No! Seems that gardener of yours checked out so now they are questioning me about the money and jewellery." He glared at Stanley, as if it was his fault.
"Well Matt, John Gage is not my gardener. If you had let me, the day you first saw John, introduce you to him you would have found out he's one of my paramedics." Stanley stated in his best Captains' voice.
"Oh I see. You firemen stick together, even if some of you are questionable. Well now I see where I stand." The irate neighbour nodded knowingly.
"Now look here, John is an outstanding member of the fire department. He risks his life for people like you every day. You have no right to talk about him in that way. He had nothing to do with your robbery. I'm tired...if you'll excuse me I have an early start tomorrow. Goodnight." Stanley closed the door before his neighbour could say anymore.
Hank switched everything off and made his way to bed. "I heard shouting," stated his wife, she looked concerned.
Stanley sighed. "That was Matt at the door. Apparently he's been down at the police station being questioned for a few hours over the robbery." He slid into bed.
"Did they catch who broke into his house?" Mrs Stanley had been a little worried about the break in next door. She was a bit concerned being home alone a lot and taking the kids to their various activities meant the house was empty also a lot.
"No they haven't caught whoever. For some morbid reason Matt still thinks John had something to do with it." He sighed and shook his head. "I didn't realise how racist that man was until he saw John for the first time." He huffed and turned his head to look at his wife "He honestly thought John was my gardener."
Mrs Stanley shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately there are a lot of people who think that way. I'm sure John has had to put up with it all his life."
"Well, not on my watch," firmly stated Stanley, thinking about some changes he was going to make around the station. "Let's get some sleep. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow." He kissed his wife and switched off the light.
Little did the Stanley's know, next door was an entirely different atmosphere. Their neighbour was pacing his sitting room. The latest police developments would delay his insurance claim. He needed money fast to satisfy some gambling debts. Seeing Stanley with what he thought was his redskin gardener turned out to be a respected fire-fighter/paramedic. The police had no reason to go on enquiring about the redskin so now they were questioning him about the validity of his claims and the break-in. He needed to change their minds and put suspicion back onto the redskin. He spent half the night devising a plan.
John Gage was up early and out of his apartment at the crack of dawn. There was a lot of setting up and he was picking up Dixie and Dr Brackett, who spent the night at Dixies, on the way. Dixie made John sit and have some breakfast before they left. He was grateful but knew he would be filling up on the delights of his Native American foods at the powwow.
They set up and were overseeing a couple of customers when the De Sotos arrived. Roy's daughter quickly joined her favourite Uncle to help write down vitals and hand him equipment. Dixie put a nurse's hat on her to make her feel like the real thing. Roy took his son around to see some of the demonstrations of the old ways. He especially liked watching how they made their bows. Children as young as ten were handling knives with the skill of an adult.
"Do you think I could get a knife for my next birthday and make a bow?" He asked his dad.
"Aaahh son, these kids have been handling knives all their lives. You have to understand, knives to them is a tool like scissors to us. They learn how to handle them safely."
"Couldn't Uncle Johnny teach me?" he asked expectantly.
"Sure but Uncle Johnny isn't with you all the time to make sure you're handling the knife correctly. It's not the same. These kids watch their fathers handle knives so it becomes a way of life with them." Roy was hoping he was making his son understand.
"I wish I was a Native American." He said wistfully.
"No you wouldn't." A voice announced from behind them.
Roy and his son turned around and faced Johnny and LT Blackcrow. "Tell me, do you like celebrating Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter?"
"Yes."
"Well...if you were Native American then you wouldn't. No swimming pool in the backyard, no theatres to go and see the latest movie and no ice cream." John waited for Roy's son to take in what his Uncle had just revealed to him. Roy looked at his partner sadly. He had realised long ago that these were some of the things that his young partner had missed out on and he was saddened.
"But these kids do." He pointed to the bow makers.
"Most of these kids live on ranches just outside of LA." John lowered himself to look at Roy's son at eye level. "The majority of Native American kids live on reservations…where there are no shopping centres…most of the homes have no electricity which means no TV and most of the time there is no food so a lot of them go to sleep at night with empty stomachs. It's happening all over the world to indigenous people. Believe me you wouldn't want to live that way. You should appreciate your good life you have with your family. Your dad works hard to make sure you live a healthy, happy life." Johnny stood and sighed thinking maybe he was too hard on Roy's son.
"Come on I'll take you over to see the horses and no more talk about knives. You don't need one. Ok?" He looked down at his partner's son with a smile.
"I'd really like to make a bow."
"I'll tell you what. We'll go camping and I'll help you make one, using my knife with me supervising. Ok?"
"That would be great Uncle Johnny." He looked up with admiration for his Uncle. Gage led him over to the horses.
"You must be proud of John." Roy said to LT Blackcrow.
"He has a strong spirit. He just needs to believe in himself more sometimes. I only guide him and yes I am proud of him. As a chief I am proud of all my sons." He waved his arm around taking in the whole area. The Stanley's approached them.
"This is great. I didn't realise there would be so many people here." Hank shook hands with Roy and Lt Blackcrow. He went on and introduced his family. They were unaware that a certain neighbour had followed them, after overhearing the powwow and the redskin being discussed on the deck over breakfast.
The neighbour had devised a plan to kidnap the redskin and have him discovered in his house, claiming he was robbing him again. He just needed to get him alone.