new snow to cover it
I crawled under the cabin and turned the flashlight on. There it was in the corner. I backed my way out, pulling the bag with me. When I was out, I stayed on my knees and unzipped the bag.
White powder, in small clear bags, the powder glittering as I passed the light over it.
“So this is wild cat,” I said. “Brought here all the way from Russia.”
I zipped up the bag and took it back to my truck. I needed to get back inside, next to that woodstove. A good stiff drink wouldn’t hurt, either.
Then I needed to figure out what the hell to do next.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Two weeks passed. It snowed. I plowed the road. New renters came to stay in the cabins. They drove their snowmobiles on the trails, filling the cold air with noise.
I didn’t spend much time at the Glasgow Inn those two weeks. I chopped some wood. I cleaned up after the snowmobilers. I even got the passenger side window in my truck fixed. Mostly I stayed in my cabin by the woodstove, trying to get warm.
I saw Vinnie’s car by his cabin. But I didn’t see the man himself. Not once.
Until he came knocking on my door. When I opened the door, he was standing there on the walkway I had just shoveled.
“Get your coat on,” he said. “You’re coming with me.”
“The hell I am,” I said.
“There’s a ceremony at Garden River,” he said. “She wants you to be there.”
“Who does?”
“Dorothy,” he said. “Who do you think?”
“I thought she was locked away somewhere.”
“She was never locked anywhere,” he said. “She was just getting herself together. Now she’s ready to move on.”
“Where’s she moving on to?” I said. “Last I heard, those DEA agents still wanted to talk to her.”
“They’re not going to,” he said. “She’s not coming back to the United States.”
“She’s in Canada?”
“No, Alex, she’s in Ecuador. Are you coming or not?”
“Take it easy,” I said. I went to get my coat.
“Why’s it so hot in here?” he said.
“I’ve been cold lately,” I said. “Ever since I almost died of hypothermia.”
“All right, all right,” he said. “I hear you.”
“Ecuador, did you say? Where did you come up with that one?”
“Come on, let’s go,” he said. “I’ll drive.”
I followed him to his car. When we got in, I turned the heat up.
“The car’s warm enough,” he said. “You’re gonna suffocate me.”
“That would be a shame.”
He let out a long breath and backed out onto the access road. “She asked me to bring you,” he said. “So I’m bringing you.”
“So drive,” I said.
“I am,” he said.
He drove through Paradise, between piles of snow that were a good seven feet high. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes. I didn’t say anything back.
When we were on M-28 heading east, he finally cleared his throat. “I know what you did,” he said.
“Do tell.”
“With those drugs,” he said. “The day I go to trial on the assault charge, there’s Maven on the front page of the paper, bunch of bags on a table, those two agents on either side of him. What did you do, give the stuff to Maven directly?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“Soon as I get to the courthouse, the public defender tells me the charge has been dropped down to a misdemeanor. I get a fine and a lecture from the judge. That’s it.”
“Lucky you,” I said.
“Just stop it, Alex. I know what you did.”
“Look,” I said. “I still feel like shit, okay? But when I get my strength back, I’m coming over and knocking you on your ass. How am I gonna do that if you’re sitting in jail?”
He laughed. “You’ve been plowing out my driveway, too,” he said.
“When I come over to knock you on your ass,” I said, “I don’t want to get all tired out having to climb over three feet of snow. When I come through your door, I want to be fresh and ready to go.”
“Fair enough,” he said.
“Just a little warning,” I said. “I think I’m almost back to one hundred percent.”
“You know where to find me,” he said.
He kept driving, through the Soo to the International Bridge. It was the first time I had been across since I was arrested. The customs agent asked Vinnie the usual questions, took a look at me, then let us through.
“Where are we going, anyway?” I said.
“Garden River Healing Center,” he said. “It’ll be a quick ceremony. It’s kind of a secret.”
“How come I get to be here?”
“I told you,” he said. “She asked for you.”
“But I’m the enemy.”
“Don’t even start, Alex. You helped her. She wants to thank you.”
“What about all your cousins, the ones who told you not to trust me? Are they going to be there?”
“Some of them.”
“Great,” I said. “This will be a lot of fun.”
“They feel bad about what happened,” he said. “For what that’s worth.”
“It’s worth nothing,” I said. “Exactly nothing.”
“Reminds me,” he said. “I think you probably ended up spending some money. Didn’t you?”
I didn’t say anything.
“You were in the hospital twice,” he said. “That must have cost a lot of money.”
“I’m covered,” I said.
“Not all of it,” he said. “You had to end up paying for some of it
…”
“Vinnie,” I said. “If you’re talking about somebody paying me because of what happened…”
“I’m just saying, Alex. You shouldn’t have to-”
“So help me God,” I said, “if you say one more word about money…”
“All right,” he said. “All right. I’m just saying.”
“Vinnie…”
“No more,” he said. “I’m done.”
He drove all the way through Soo Canada, then east into the forest. A few miles outside the city, we came to the Garden River Reservation. It was another of the Ojibwa tribes, along with the Bay Mills and Sault tribes in Michigan, a few others in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Garden River didn’t have casinos, and they weren’t going to get them. The government of Ontario would soon be opening their own casino in Soo Canada, cutting the Canadian tribes right out of the game.
“All these buildings are white pine,” he said as we drove in. “That’s to honor Chief Shingwaukonce. His name means ‘pine.’ ”
“You don’t say.”
