“A one-four-eight is resisting arrest,” she went on. “And a two-forty is assault, in this case assault against a police officer. Your friend the Indian who doesn’t drink put a Soo cop in the hospital.”
I sat back in my seat. I didn’t know what to say. This whole day had become a nightmare.
“Look at the bright side,” she said. “At least you know where he is now.”
CHAPTER SIX
I made the deputies turn around and take me back to my cabin, then jumped in the truck and gunned it for the Soo. I swore at myself all the way down M-28. Above me the clouds were growing darker, ready to dump more snow on the world. The wind rattling through the plastic in my passenger side window numbed the side of my face.
And then, of course, I noticed that there was a single car behind me. A green sedan, two men in the front seat, following me all the way down M-28, through Strongs and Raco, all the way across Chippewa County to the Soo.
This is great, I told myself. Now I notice when a car is following me. Of course, today it doesn’t mean quite so much. For one thing, this is the only highway that runs from east to west in the entire county. And once you start at one end, you’re not going to stop unless you really need to pick up some of that beef jerky at the Stop ’n Go. So yes, of course there’s going to be a car behind me all the way to the Soo. And besides, now that they’ve gone ahead and kidnapped Dorothy, there’s no more fucking reason for them to be following you.
But apart from that, Alex, congratulations on your sudden powers of observation.
I maintained this wonderful state of mind all the way into Sault Ste. Marie, crossing over the hydroelectric canal into what passes for downtown. The City-County Building is a giant gray shoebox, perhaps the ugliest building I have ever seen. Uglier than anything in Detroit, which may be the world capital of ugly buildings. It sits right behind the courthouse, which has just enough charm to make the City-County Building look like an architectural felony.
The county sheriff’s office and Soo police department both share the building. As I pulled into the parking lot I saw the county cars lined up on one side and the Soo cars on the other. Next to the parking lot was an outdoor courtyard, no bigger than twelve feet square. There was a cage around the entire courtyard, making it look like a dog kennel, and then around the cage was another chain link fence with razor wire on top. A man sat on the one picnic table, the snow high enough to cover the seats. He was trying to light a cigarette, fighting a losing battle against the wind.
I went in through the county entrance and right into the sheriff’s office. If there was a receptionist there trying to stop me, I didn’t even notice her.
Bill Brandow was hanging up the phone when I opened his door. He looked up at me and then down at the pile of snow at my feet. “Look what you’re doing to the floor,” he said. “Didn’t your mother teach you to take your boots off?”
“What’s going on, Bill?”
“I guess she didn’t teach you to knock, either.”
“When did you start hiring high schoolers?” I said. “And better yet, why did you send two of them together? Don’t you even give your rookies experienced partners?”
“Jerry is older than he looks,” he said. “And Patricia could dump you on your ass with one hand.”
“Jerry and Patricia,” I said. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”
“Alex, you got anything else for me?” He stood up and came around his desk. “Or did you just come down here to rip my deputies?”
I stood there. He looked back at me with cool, patient eyes. “Bill, she’s gone,” I finally said. “And it’s my fault.”
“Sit down,” he said. When I didn’t, he pulled the chair around behind me. “Sit.”
I finally did. He closed his office door and sat on his desk facing me. With the door closed I could hear the wind rattling his windows.
“Her name is Dorothy Parrish. She’s a member of the Bay Mills tribe. The man you saw her with is named Lonnie Bruckman. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“She was at your guest cabin last night. This morning she was gone. The door was unlocked. There were no tire tracks, although she may have left on a snowmobile.”
“May have been abducted on a snowmobile,” I said.
“Abducted,” he said. “Fine. We’ll assume she was taken involuntarily.”
“You don’t have to assume,” I said. “She was.”
“Okay, Alex, I hear what you’re saying. Now it’s your turn to listen to me.” He looked down at me from his desk, one hand on his hip, the other held out to me as if to beg for my attention. “We’re looking for them. Both of them. Okay? You gotta trust me here. Just let us do our jobs.”
“Where does he live?” I said.
“No,” he said. He put his hand on my shoulder. I could feel the strength in his grip. “No way. You’re not gonna do that.”
“Tell me where he lives,” I said. “He’s not in the phone book.”
“I’ve got every deputy out there. The state police are watching the roads. I’ve even asked the Soo police to help us.”
I let out a long breath. “The Soo police,” I said. “That’s the other thing. You’ve got a friend of mine upstairs.”
“Who’s that?”
“Vinnie LeBlanc. Your deputies said he assaulted a Soo officer.”
“Yes, we have him.”
“They also said he was drunk and disorderly,” I said. “Which is impossible. Vinnie never drinks.”
“No, I think it was a simple four-fifteen. Public disturbance. I saw him when he came in last night. He didn’t look drunk to me.”
“Then why did your deputies say he was drunk?”
“They made a mistake,” he said. “They got the code mixed up.”
“It’s because he’s an Indian,” I said. “If he got in trouble, he had to be drunk.”
“For God’s sake, Alex. You want me to call them in here so you can give them this lecture? Because I really don’t need to hear it right now.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s just… goddamn it. Where is he, anyway? Can I see him?”
“He’s still in one of the holding cells,” he said. “We’re a little tight on space upstairs. You know, if he calls the reservation, they’ll come get him. Don’t you think he’d rather stay in that jail instead?”
“Somehow I don’t think so,” I said. “You’d have to know him.”
“Well, he busted up an off-duty Soo cop pretty badly,” he said. “Broke his nose, gave him a concussion.”
“How did it happen?”
“I’m not sure. The Soo guys brought him in. All I know is, it had something to do with a hockey stick.”
“Oh God,” I said. “Will you take me to him, please?”
“It’s a Soo bust,” he said. “You gotta go through them.”
“It’s your jail, Bill. The last thing I want to do right now is go see Chief Maven.”
For the first time since I got there, he smiled. “I don’t blame you,” he said. “All right, I’ll see if I can sneak you in there. If Maven finds out, though, he’s gonna be all over you.”
“Let him try,” I said. “This day can’t get any worse.”
There were four holding cells on the ground floor, simple cages with benches running along the sides, single toilets against the back wall. The county jail itself was upstairs. These cells were mainly for suspects awaiting arraignment, although today there were four or five men in each cell.
“What the hell’s going on here?” I said.
