His abusive father Franklin (Elvin's brother) told him his mother was dead, but Lum does not believe him and hopes she will come back. There is a moving scene in which he talks to the child's skull they found in the river imagining "he" is crying for his lost mother: "'Stupid baby' [...] 'She's not coming back!' [...] 'She's never coming back!" (177). Franklin injures Lum so severely one day that he is unable to participate in the race that he had been training so hard for. He is aggressive and unpredictable in his interactions with his younger cousin and gruff with Soldier, but the dog is undeterred and absolutely loyal to him. When Lum finally runs off the unfinished bridge into a certain death in the river, Soldier follows him blindly, after the two boys have performed Monroe's funeral rites for "their" skull and throw it in the river. Many of the storylines remain open. There is no conclusive answer, for example, to Tecumseh's question "Who's Mia?" (55) even though Mia seems to be the key to Cassie's guilt and the reason why she came back. There is a track of clues that runs through the novel and ends at the point when Cassie burns the baby clothes from a suitcase Tecumseh's mother has given her. One of these clues is Cassie's tattoo which spells AIM (American Indian Movement), but in the mirror reads "Mia." Another clue is the strange fact that Cassie sends presents to Tecumseh, at a time that has nothing to do with his birthday, and which to him are "girls" toys, e.g. a doll and a pink box with a mirror (117). Another unsolved riddle is the identity of the woman Tecumseh and Lum observe in intimate interactions with Monroe in the church one day (both Cassie and Tecumseh's Mother had had a relationship with him in the past). In addition, Tecumseh once walks in on his mother and Cassie having a conversation whilst going through old baby clothes. Helen indicates that she had an affair fifteen years ago, at the time that Tecumseh would have been conceived (122). Also, Helen asks Cassie if she's going to "give it up?" (122), to which Cassie responds "Why not... Gave it up the first time" (122). Given the context, this conversation indicates that Cassie has returned because she is pregnant. Additionally, she had been pregnant before, and