Chapter 35 Summary: The Missing Knife
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
While heading back to her car in Bisbee, Joanna Brady receives a call from Luke Running Deer, brother of cold-case victim Amanda Hudson. Luke explains that his father, Elmer Hudson, a bigot, omitted his children’s Lakota heritage from their birth certificates, causing Amanda’s case to be overlooked by the MMIV (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women investigation). Luke recalls giving Amanda a switchblade with an ivory handle and a whetstone for protection when she moved to Grand Forks. After her murder, the knife was never returned among her personal effects—only her glasses, bracelet, and whetstone were sent back. Joanna recognizes that the missing knife may be a trophy taken by the killer and vows to pursue the case.
Key Events
- Joanna receives a call from Luke Running Deer, who was given her number by Anna Rae Green.
- Luke reveals that his father Elmer Hudson was abusive and a racist who labeled his own children with a derogatory Lakota term and falsely listed them as Caucasian.
- Luke explains he left home early and later joined the army; his sister Amanda left home at seventeen.
- Amanda’s personal effects after her murder included only glasses, bracelet, and whetstone; her clothing, boots, and the concealed switchblade Luke gave her were missing.
- Luke tried reporting the missing knife to the North Dakota Highway Patrol years ago but was ignored.
- Joanna connects the missing knife to the current investigation, noting the killer likely takes trophies.
- She promises to keep Luke informed about progress on the case.
Character Development
Joanna Brady: Her compassion is evident as she listens patiently to Luke’s painful family history before steering the conversation to the knife. She shows sharp investigative instincts by immediately linking the missing weapon to a pattern of trophy-taking.
Luke Running Deer: This chapter deepens his character beyond a grieving brother. He is a survivor of childhood abuse and racial erasure, carrying long-suppressed pain. His call to Joanna represents a rare moment of being heard by law enforcement after decades of silence.
Amanda Hudson (posthumous): Through Luke’s recollections, Amanda emerges as a resourceful young woman who left an abusive home, worked as a nurse’s aide, and was studying to become an RN. The switchblade shows she took her brother’s protective advice seriously.
Themes, Symbols, and Motifs
Trophy-taking: The missing knife is a strong clue that the killer collects souvenirs from victims. Joanna’s focus on the knife’s description (ivory handle, four-and-a-half-inch blade) sets up a potential evidentiary match.
Erasure of Indigenous identity: Elmer Hudson’s falsification of birth certificates reflects systemic erasure that caused Amanda’s murder to be excluded from MMIV’s initial scope. This theme underscores how bureaucratic racism can hide victims.
Family trauma and abuse: Luke’s account of an abusive, bigoted father and a mother who turned to alcohol shows the long reach of domestic violence. The chapter emphasizes that the pain of losing a sibling to homicide never fades.
Cold-case perseverance: Despite years of indifference from authorities, Luke’s single mention of the whetstone—now a lead—illustrates how small details can reanimate a stalled investigation.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter provides a crucial piece of physical evidence—a distinctive switchblade—that links the decades-old murder of Amanda Hudson to the active serial-killer investigation. It also broadens the reader’s understanding of how Indigenous victims have been systematically overlooked by law enforcement. Luke Running Deer’s personal history highlights the intersection of family dysfunction, racial prejudice, and the lasting grief of unresolved violence. The chapter advances the plot by giving Joanna and her team a specific artifact to search for, while also humanizing the victim and her family in a way that makes the pursuit more urgent.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why is the missing switchblade significant to Joanna’s investigation? Joanna believes the killer takes trophies from his victims. If the knife is found in his possession, its unique description (ivory handle, 4.5-inch blade) could provide physical evidence linking him to Amanda Hudson’s murder, even decades later.
2. How did Elmer Hudson’s falsification of his children’s birth certificates affect the investigation of Amanda’s death? By listing Amanda and Luke as Caucasian rather than Lakota, Elmer hid their Indigenous identity. This caused Amanda’s murder to be missed when MMIV compiled cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, delaying justice for years.
3. What does Luke’s description of his family reveal about the environment Amanda grew up in? Luke describes an abusive home with a racist father and a mother who was a heavy drinker. Amanda left home right after high school to escape, and the estrangement meant her parents had little knowledge of her belongings—including the missing knife—which may have hindered earlier investigation.