west, so I lost them for a while. But I know that trail comes back out along Three Mile Road. So I just kept going west, watching for them. And then I saw their snowmobiles parked in front of Cappy’s, you know, that little place on the edge of town. I didn’t see them, so I figured they were inside warming up. I parked the car, waited for a while. I thought about going inside, but then I figured they’d recognize me. I mean, I had just played hockey with them, and then they saw me at the Horns Inn. So I just waited.”
When he stopped talking it was quiet in the cell, with only the humming of the lights above us. His three cellmates were listening intently, even Mr. Friendly against the wall. This was as much entertainment as he was going to get all day. I pulled my chair up closer to the bars. “Excuse us, gentlemen,” I said.
Mr. Friendly spat on the floor.
“So you waited,” I said, lowering my voice. “And then they eventually came out.” I know where this is going, I thought. They come out, Bruckman roughs her up again, Vinnie takes a hockey stick to him, and an off-duty Soo cop tries to break it up. And now here he sits in jail. But that’s not what he told me.
“He came out by himself,” Vinnie said. “He stood there and smoked a cigarette in the parking lot. And then Juno showed up.”
“Who’s Juno?”
“Juno’s my cousin. On my father’s side. He’s had a lot of problems in his life, Alex. He’s gotten into a lot of trouble. He did a little bit of jail time a couple of years ago. Hell, I’m sure he sat here in this cell more than once. Anyway, he comes in and Bruckman goes up to his car. Juno rolls the window down, and I saw Bruckman giving him something. Kinda obvious what they were doing. So Juno leaves the place and heads west down Three Mile Road, out towards the rez. Bruckman’s still standing out there. It’s cold as hell, but he doesn’t seem to mind it, even though he’s only got that leather coat on. I wasn’t sure what to do next, but Jimmy and Buck are still snoring in the back seat, so I figure I’ll just keep waiting, see what happens.”
He stopped and it was silent again, his cellmates still watching him. I didn’t say anything. I just waited for him to find the right words for whatever came next.
“So what happens is, Bruckman goes into the bar for a few minutes, and then he comes back out. He’s smoking another cigarette, just standing there in the parking lot. And Juno comes back. He couldn’t have been gone more than thirty, thirty-five minutes. Just enough time to go to the rez and back. This time when Bruckman goes to Juno’s window, Juno gives him something. Had to be money, I’m thinking. Bruckman was giving him drugs and Juno was taking them to the reservation. So, um…” Vinnie let out a breath and swallowed. “So I started to get mad. This is my cousin and he’s taking drugs back into the reservation. And Bruckman is the guy giving him the drugs, Alex. That’s what really got to me. My own cousin, Alex.” His voice became ragged. “Goddamn it, my father’s brother’s son, is… I just couldn’t stand it, Alex. And then Dorothy comes out of the bar, and she’s standing there under the light by the door. One second outside and already she’s looking cold again. And Bruckman’s yelling at her about something. So she went back inside. But that look on her face. This is the one member of my tribe, the one girl in my whole fucking tribe who found a way out of here, and now here she is back again with this asshole who’s selling drugs to our people. Like we don’t have a hard enough time, Alex. Like we already don’t even have the slightest fucking chance.”
“It’s all right,” I said.
“So I lost it, Alex. I went after him.”
“I understand.”
“I got my hockey stick out and went after him. All his buddies got out there in about two seconds. I think maybe they were already on their way out. I got a few good shots in, but then somebody jumped on me.”
“And then the cops tried to break it up? Did they identify themselves?”
“I don’t even know,” he said. “I don’t remember. I guess there were two off-duty Soo cops there. I was just swinging, Alex. I didn’t care who I hit.”
“What about Bruckman and his guys? The cops arrested you and let him get away?”
“Why would they arrest him?” he said. “I was the one who attacked them.”
“Didn’t you tell them he was selling drugs?”
“After I hit the cop in the face with my hockey stick? I’m gonna tell him what to do?”
“So they got away.”
“Yes.”
“So later that night, Dorothy runs away from him. And then he comes after her.”
“If anything happens to her, Alex… So help me God, I’ll kill him.”
“Save it,” I said. “Let’s just get you out of here.” “I told you, I don’t want the tribe bailing me out.” “I know a bondsman,” I said. “In fact, I think we’ll be his first customer.”
“You don’t have to do this, Alex.”
“Yes, I do,” I said. I stood up and pushed the chair away. “I need you to help me find her.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
There was a pay phone in the lobby, with a phone book sitting on the shelf under it. There was no chain. With city police on one side and county deputies on the other, I guess they figured you weren’t going to steal it. I looked up the number and dialed, shaking my head. This is a mistake, I thought. There’s a bondsman down in Mackinac. He could be here in an hour and a half.
“You have reached Leon Prudell,” the voice said. “I’m not here to speak with you at the present time. If you are in need of my services, please leave a message. I’ll try to get back to you as soon as I possibly can. If this is an emergency, please try paging me at this number…” Then came an 800 number with a nine-digit code I had to scramble to write down.
I hung up the phone, told myself this was my last chance to change my mind, and then dialed Leon’s pager number. I punched in the number for the pay phone and then hung up the phone again. It took less than a minute to ring.
“This is Leon Prudell,” he said. “How can I help you?”
“Prudell, this is Alex McKnight. I need a bail bond.”
“Alex!” he said. “Damn, this pager really works! You’re my first call! You’re calling me to tell me you’ve reconsidered the partnership idea, right?”
“Just get down to the county jail,” I said. “I need a ten-thousand-dollar bond. I can get that for a thousand, right?”
“Yes, ten percent,” he said.
“How do you get the money?” I said. “I mean, where does it come from?”
“I told ya before, I’m hooked up with a security firm. Part-time for now. This will be my first bond. And listen, I don’t even need to fill out all the paperwork. You’re my partner, after all.”
“I’m not your partner,” I said. “How long will it take you to get here?”
“Well, I’m on my other job right now,” he said. “But for you, I’ll drop everything. What are partners for?”
“I’m not your partner,” I said. “Prudell, goddamn it, just get down here.”
“On my way, partner.” And then he hung up.
I banged the phone on the hook. The receptionist peeked up at me and then went back to her typing.
I sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs in the lobby, looked at the cover of a magazine. Michigan Out of Doors, about two years old. I picked up another one, Field and Stream, only a year and a half old. Not that I was in any mood to read. I got up and went outside, pulling my coat around my neck as I stepped out into the parking lot. It was the kind of heavy cold that gets into your bones, makes you feel like sleeping until April. The snow was coming down hard now. A good six inches since this morning.
I stood out there and watched the snow come down, waiting for Prudell to show up with the bond.
“Excuse me, Mr. McKnight?”
I turned around. It was a Soo city officer, holding the door open.
“Can you come back inside for a moment, sir?” he asked. “Chief Maven would like to see you.”
“Tell him if he wants to see me,” I said, “he can come out here.”
