“They’re wanted for assault,” I said. “We should call the sheriff and let him handle this.”
“Like he’s handling the two guys at the motel? Listen to me, Alex. We’ll call the police if you want to, but don’t you want to talk to these guys? Maybe they didn’t take Dorothy, but they’ve got to know something. Don’t you want to get Bruckman against a wall and make him tell you what the hell is going on?”
I stood there shivering for a long moment. On the phone I heard nothing but the distant sound of music and laughter. And then the sharp crack of a cue ball.
“What’s it gonna be, Alex?”
“Give me the address,” I said.
I wrote it down, put my coat and boots back on, and headed out into the night.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I got the truck up to forty as I passed the Brass Anchor Motel. It was as much speed as I could coax out of an old truck on a snow-packed road, with 1,200 pounds of snowplow on the front and another 800 pounds of cinderblocks in the back. I pictured one of the two men sitting by the window, half asleep, maybe a cup of coffee in his hand. I could only hope he spilled it all over himself when he saw me rumbling by.
I made it all the way down the main road to M-28, then east a good ten miles before I saw the headlights behind me in the distance. Nice to see ya, boys. Glad to have you along for the ride.
They kept a steady quarter-mile behind me the whole way into the Soo, up I-75 toward the bridge. I didn’t see them behind me as I paid the toll and crossed the bridge into Canada. Far below me, the St. Marys River lay frozen solid.
As I pulled into Canadian customs, I remembered the gun in the pocket of my coat. “Oh goddamn it all,” I said aloud. I’ve got a carry permit, of course, and somewhere in the glove compartment I think I have my private investigator license. There’s probably some official way for a P.I. to bring a handgun into the country. I’m sure Leon knows how to do it. I could pull over and call him on his cellular phone. If he’s in his car. If I can afford the extra few minutes. There’s probably a form to fill out. Forget it, I’m going through.
The customs agent looked vaguely familiar. I had probably seen him before on a beer run. Why am I coming into Canada this evening? That was an easy one. Canada has strip clubs, Michigan doesn’t. Give him a knowing smile. Do I have any drugs or firearms in the vehicle? I looked him right in the eye and said, “No, sir, I don’t.” He let me go right through.
When I was into Soo Canada, I kept looking in the rearview mirror, waiting to see my two friends. They weren’t there. Now why the hell didn’t they cross the border?
Because they didn’t want to go through customs, Alex. They’re criminals, with five or six guns in the car. And they can’t lie to the customs agent like I can.
I worked my way through town, heading east. Forget about those guys for now, I told myself. You’ve got something else to deal with. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do when I saw Bruckman again. I felt a combination of fear and anger, and something else I couldn’t even identify. I started to shiver. I turned the heat up a notch, but it didn’t seem to help.
Easy, Alex. Just breathe in and out. You’ve got to go through with this. You won’t be able to live with yourself if you don’t face him now.
I need a plan. Some way to get into that bar and get Bruckman out. Think, Alex, think.
I picked up Trunk Road on the east side of town and followed it all the way out past an industrial area toward the Rankin Indian Reserve. The Canadian Pacific Railroad ran next to the road. At this hour the tracks were empty. As I passed the eastern edge of town, the pine trees took over completely. Like most Canadian cities, the wilderness is never far way. I hadn’t been down this road before, but I knew from the map that it was bending back toward the northern shore of the St. Marys River. I kept going until I was starting to wonder if I had gone too far. Then I saw the side street I was looking for.
The bar was a little place about a block away from the main road, close to the river. There was no sign on the building, no way you’d even know it was a bar except for two beer signs, Budweiser in one window, Molson in the other. The signs seemed to glow in a way that told me I was far from home and probably not welcome there.
I saw Leon’s little red car at the far end of the lot. As soon as I pulled in next to it, Leon opened my passenger’s side door and climbed into the truck. “They’re still here,” he said. He rubbed his hands together and blew on them.
“Don’t you have any gloves?” I said.
“I took them off,” he said. “We need to be ready for anything.” He patted the breast pocket of his coat.
“Remind me to ask you about bringing guns across the border,” I said.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t bring your gun, Alex.”
“I did, but I lied about it I didn’t know if I’d get held up in customs.”
“Good move,” he said. “They would put you through the wringer.”
“How many of his friends does Bruckman have with him?” I said.
“Three.”
“Hmm, there were four guys with him at the cabin. He must have lost one. Probably the guy he was arguing with.”
“I already have our plan mapped out, Alex.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “What plan?”
“There’s four of them and two of us,” he said. “We need to do this just right.”
“I know,” I said. “I figure I need to get Bruckman away from his friends, take him outside.”
“What do you think his friends are gonna do if you try that? And once he’s outside, how are you going to contain him? You’ve got no psychological advantage over him, Alex. He won’t feel threatened.”
“He will if I stick a gun in his face,” I said.
“That’s not going to work,” he said. “You really think you can walk into that bar and pull a gun on him? They’re gonna start breaking cue sticks over your head. Look at this place. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time. I told you, I’ve already got it all set up.”
“Got what set up? Leon, what are you talking about?”
“Alex, we cannot create an overwhelming force here, so we need to need to create the illusion of overwhelming force. It’s the only thing these guys will respond to.”
“The illusion of what? For God’s sake, Leon, where do you get this stuff?”
“It’s all set,” he said. “I just have to go in and give the signal.”
“Leon,” I said, grabbing the steering wheel. “Please. Let me just go in and bring him out here.”
“You want a confined area,” he said. “Like the bathroom. You separate him from the others, take him to the area.”
“Take him to the bathroom.”
“To the confined area. Could be a bathroom. Could be another room. It should be small enough that you’re in close contact with him, but not so small that he’s within three feet of you.”
“Leon…”
“I’ll be at the bar, creating the illusion of overwhelming force. Just stay here for three minutes before you come in.”
“Wait,” I said. “Just wait.”
“If the plan breaks down and we have to fight our way out of there, go for the knees.”
“Hold on, back up to that illusion thing.”
“Don’t start swinging, Alex. I know you. You’re gonna try to start a boxing match with these guys. All you’ll end up doing is busting up your hands. Just keep your head down and go for the inside of the knee. Kick outwards and they’ll fold up like a cheap suit.”
“Leon…”
“A cheap umbrella, I mean.”
“Leon…”
