“There been enough eyes on my daughter. She don't need your eyes, or his eyes, or anyone else's eyes on her. Eyes, hand, anything else. It's enough.”

“I understand,” McBride said. “But the law is clear on this.”

“No. No, you don't understand. This is my daughter, and I say what happens to my daughter. And more looking and prying and poking ain't what she needs. She needs to be buried now, and that's what we're about to do.”

“We don't know how she died, though,” McBride said. “We have to know.”

“I think her neck is broke,” Mrs. Bosco said. “Her head just rolls about.”

“Neck isn't broken,” Dr. Platt answered. “I checked that. It's not broken.”

“She said she was poisoned,” Sisson interjected. “That's what she said. The words of the dying. Her last words.”

“You see,” McBride said slowly, measuring his words. “We don't want to disturb the dead, but we have to know. Some say ‘neck,’ some say ‘poison.’ We want an answer.”

“That there is a dead girl,” Power said. “A dead girl. Not a Power. A poor dead girl. You all have never given an ounce of respect to any Power. But she's not just a Power now. She's a dead girl, and you owe respect to the dead. Even you should understand that. Give her her justs. Leave her in peace. She's a dead girl.”

“I'm sorry,” McBride began.

“You're sorry? Well, you'll be a lot sorrier if you try to stop us from this burying. I am going to bury my daughter, and you can go to hell if you don't like that. This poor girl is done with all your law nonsense.”

“Mr. Power, I am sorry. You can believe that or not. But if you bury her, we're going to have an inquest, and that requires us to dig up the body. Wouldn't it be better to hand over her body, let an autopsy be done, and then let her rest in peace?”

“She's going to rest in peace. She's going to rest in peace right up on top of that mesa there. And she's going to start in just about an hour. And I won't have you digging her up. I'll sure to God camp out on that mesa with a shotgun for the rest of my days if that is what it needs.”

“I won't argue with you in this terrible time. You do what you need to do, and I will have to do the same. I'll try not to do any disservice to any of your family, including your late daughter. My condolences to you and to your entire family. It's a very sad day.”