Migg’s Reviews > Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI > Status Update

History is a merciless judge. It lays bare our tragic blunders and foolish missteps and exposes our most intimate secrets, wielding the power of hindsight like an arrogant detective who seems to know the end of the mystery from the outset. I could see what Mollie could not see about her husband. (An Osage had told me, "Who would believe that anyone would marry you and kill your family for your money?"

Out of the blue, White received a tip. In late October 1925, he was meeting with the governor of Oklahoma, discreetly discussing the case. Afterward, an aide to the governor told White, "We've been getting information from a prisoner at McAlester" -the state penitentiary- "who claims to know a great deal about the Osage murders. His name is Burt Lawson. Might be a good idea to talk to him."

White thought that Gregg was being "on the level" and that his refusal to kill for hire showed him to be "an outlaw with some honor."

That summer, the team of operatives hired by Mathis began to infiltrate Osage County. Each agent identified himself in his daily reports, only by a coded number.

In April, millions of tiny flowers spread over the blackjack hills and vast prairies in the Osage territory of Oklahoma. There're Johnny-jump-ups and spring beauties and little bluets.