At the urging of the wind, the tree in the yard next door, a tall poplar, leaned over the hedge. Its long shadow moved in and out, merging and unmerging restlessly with the shadow of the hedge. Jo thought it might be mistaken for a tall man lurking there.
“If someone was there,” she said, “they’re gone now.”
“Maybe it was one of the neighbors,” Jenny said.
Annie tried to sweep the hair out of her face. “Yeah, Mr. Gunderson, probably. He sometimes forgets where he is and stands awhile talking to his dead brothers.”
“Maybe.” Sarah Two Knives nodded. But it was obvious she wasn’t convinced.
“Anything?” Rose asked anxiously when they’d returned to the house.
“Nothing now. Probably just Mr. Gunderson a little confused.” Jo turned to Sarah Two Knives. “You didn’t come out this late to patrol my house, Sarah. What can I do for you?”
“Can we talk?”
“Sure. In my office. Would you like something? Coffee or tea?”
“No, thank you.”
Jo led the way to her home office and switched on a lamp. The window was open, and papers on her desk, held down by a rock paperweight Stevie had painted for last Mother’s Day, ruffled in the wind that rushed through. Jo closed the window.
“Have a seat, Sarah. What is it you wanted to discuss?”
Sarah sat at the desk across from Jo. She held herself very erect, a trait Jo admired in the Anishinaabe. “Some men-FBI men-came today and forced Louis and Stormy to take them into the Boundary Waters to look for a woman who’s lost there.”
“Forced them? How could they do that?”
Sarah told her about the gun the men claimed to have found in the toolbox of Stormy’s truck and the money in the trailer home of Wendell Two Knives.
“The bastards,” Jo said. Then she thought about what Cork had said that morning. Hadn’t he, too, been going into the Boundary Waters to look for a woman lost there?
“Was Cork with them?”
“Yes.”
“He didn’t stop these men?”
“He couldn’t, I guess.”
Jo stood up and began to pace. “This is wrong. This is an absolute travesty.”
“I only want to make sure my son and my husband are safe.”
“Who else went with them?”
“Two FBI.” Sarah’s eyes narrowed to hard, dark slits. “ Majimanidoog, those two. Also, there was a man who wasn’t a policeman.”
“The woman they’re looking for. Do you know who she is?”
“She’s called Shiloh.”
“Shiloh?” Jo blinked at the name. Then the pieces began to fall together.
“The man who wasn’t FBI. Was his name Willie Raye?”
Sarah Two Knives shrugged. “He’s the woman’s father. That’s all I know.”
“Do you know where they’re going?”
“A place called Nikidin.”
Jo gestured, a small flip of her hands, to indicate she didn’t understand.
“It means ’vulva,’” Sarah explained. “A place Stormy’s uncle knows.”
“Wendell?”
“Yes.”
“Is that why they forced Louis and Stormy to go? Do Louis and Stormy know the way?”
“Louis does.”
“Do you?”
“If I did, I would be out there instead of my son.”
Jo stood at the window and realized the wind had passed. The big elm in the backyard was peaceful. Whatever was behind the wind would be on them soon.
“I wonder if Sheriff Schanno knows about this.”
“He was there when the men left this afternoon.”
Jo reached for the phone. “Let’s find out what he has to say.”
The night desk officer, Marsha Dross, told Jo the sheriff was gone. Jo tried Wally Schanno’s home phone. No answer. She left a message on the machine, then tried the sheriff’s office again and questioned Deputy Dross, who maintained she knew nothing about Cork’s or anyone else’s going into the Boundary Waters. The deputy was convincing.
Jo came around her desk and sat on the edge, leaning earnestly toward Sarah Two Knives. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do tonight. First thing in the morning, I’ll kick down a few doors. I swear I’ll do my best to make sure those men bring Louis and Stormy back safely.”
“Thank you,” Sarah said.
“Are you alone tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Would you like to stay here, Sarah? We can put you up in the guest room.”
“No. I’ll be fine at home.”
Jo walked her to the truck parked at the curb. “I’ll do everything I can,” she promised again.
“Migwech,” Sarah Two Knives said before she pulled the truck away. Thanks.
Inside, Rose was still sitting in front of the television, but she was watching Jo instead of Burt Lancaster.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’d like to look at your collection of tabloids,” Jo told her.
“You hate those.”
“That’s true. But they might tell me a few things that I need to know right now.”
Every week when she did the shopping, Rose bought at least one of the gossip rags that screamed headlines at the checkout stand. She was furtive about it and read them alone at night. Jo could hear the rocker in the attic room squeaking back and forth as Rose turned page after page of miracles, magic, and mud. Upstairs, Rose opened a cabinet Cork had built into the attic room wall. There were half a dozen stacks of tabloids. Rose gave Jo an apologetic little smile.
“I’m not sure what you’re looking for,” she said “Something recent. About Shiloh.”
“Oh. Here.”
Rose pulled one of the papers off a stack to the right and handed it to Jo. The headline, over an awful picture of the woman named Shiloh, read $10,000 REWARD! Jo skimmed the article.
“Thanks, Rose.” She handed the tabloid back.
“There’s an interesting piece in there about a woman in Albuquerque who sees the image of the Virgin Mary in her swimming pool.”
“I’ll skip it, thanks. I’ve got what I need.”
She heard the phone ring downstairs. A moment later, Jenny called up, “Telephone, Mom. It’s Sheriff Schanno.”
Jo took the call in her bedroom.
“Jo, I got your message,” Schanno said. “What can I do for you?”
“You can start off by telling me why you stood by and let those federal bullies force Louis Two Knives into leading them into the Boundary Waters.”
“I didn’t just stand by,” Schanno said. “It was a done deal by the tune I heard about it.”
“Damn it, Wally, how could you let it happen? A boy, for Christ’s sake, exposed to God knows what dangers.”
“Hold on, Jo. Cork’s with him.”
“That’s another thing. What’s Cork doing out there? He doesn’t carry a badge anymore.”
