Five months before "The Fallen Man", Leaphorn retires, and as part of the plot he gets a commission as a private investigator. An old case he left as an unsolved missing person case is solved on the basis of new information uncovered by Jim Chee. Chee accepts praise from Leaphorn and the two work together to resolve the case. He gives Jim Chee advice when requested, and shares information with him, as Chee develops more confidence in himself and evaluates Leaphorn as a very smart man. Leaphorn does not enjoy retirement. His contacts throughout the Southwest, and his renown, lead him into a number of cases, after his active police career is over. in "Hunting Badger", Leaphorn and Chee work together, including using the map to figure out where the criminals are hiding, matching up their trail with the story of an old coal mine shaft that opened on the rim of Gothic Creek Canyon. Leaphorn was drawn into that case as a pawn of the main criminal, which he realizes at the end, but he also follows through with Chee until the very end.