Guilt

The theme of Guilt is displayed as early as the first chapter of the book, and it is established more over time. Bernie immediately blames herself after Leaphorn is shot. She’s convinced that if she had been faster she would have been able to reach the shooter before they were able to fire off a shot, thus saving Leaphorn. Of course, this is not the case. Bernie had acted as quickly as she could, even treating Leaphorn before the paramedics officially arrived.

Despite that, Bernie continues to blame herself for everything that happened with Leaphorn. When Largo takes her off the case, she believes that it’s as punishment for her failure. Bernie beats herself up so much that she takes up running again, trying to force her body to get into better shape to make up for what she perceives to be a failure...