I was suddenly picturing something in my cabin, dinner in bed perhaps. But she had something totally different in mind. She wanted to go to the last place on earth I ever would have thought of.
A few minutes later, we were speeding down M-28. “You really want to go to the Freighters for dinner,” I said. “At the Ojibway Hotel.”
“That’s right.”
“Don’t we both have some pretty bad memories of that place?”
“That’s why I want to eat there. So we can banish them forever. If I’m going to be spending a lot of time over here, we can’t go on avoiding one of the nicest restaurants in town just because something bad happened there once.”
“Your wish is my command.”
“Is that a cop behind us? What are you going, about ninety?”
“I’m not sure, actually. I think the speedometer is broken.”
I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the car gaining on us. It was one of the state guys. He closed to about a hundred yards before he slowed down and did a U-turn. In another few seconds, he was just a speck going the other way.
“How come he didn’t ring you up?” she said.
“They all know me by now.”
“Must be nice. Special favors from the police.”
“Speaking of which…Well, we’ll see about that later.”
“You’re buying me dinner first. I’m not that easy.”
The sun was just starting to go down when we hit the Soo. I parked downtown on Portage Avenue, just a few doors from where Vinnie and I had found our friends in the bar a couple of nights before and gotten arrested. Yeah, there were great memories all around this part of town.
We went in through the hotel entrance and walked to the back of the place, where the restaurant overlooked the locks. We could see a freighter moving slowly through, maybe a seven-hundred-footer. We sat down at one of the tables along the window. In fact, it was the very same table we had had on that one fateful night, when a man who seemed to know us said some strange and horrible things to us, and then walked out and died in the snow.
“If a weird old man approaches us,” I said, “I’m leaving.”
“Hey, isn’t that…”
I turned to see who she was referring to, and looked right up into the smiling face of Chief Roy Maven.
“Constable Reynaud,” he said. “What a great pleasure.”
He bent down and took her hand. For one second I thought he was going to get down on one knee and kiss it.
“Chief Maven,” she said. “How have you been?”
“Just fine, thank you.” He gave me a quick nod. “McKnight.”
“Evening, Chief.”
“You’ve been staying out of trouble, right? I don’t want to come in tomorrow morning and find you in my jail again.” He turned back to Natalie. “Did Alex tell you about that?”
“Yes, Chief.”
“Darn. That would have made my night if you hadn’t heard yet.”
“Chief…,” I said.
“Relax, McKnight. We’re all out of uniform here. Those of us who still wear them, anyway. Can I introduce my wife?”
He brought the poor woman over, this woman who had married Roy Maven and conceived his children. She actually looked quite sane and even pleasant. Apparently, she had already heard about me, with Maven bringing home tales from the office, the latest trouble this McKnight character had gotten himself into. We all had some more fun at my expense, and then they excused themselves.
“It’s always good to see you, Constable,” he said to Natalie. He gave me another nod and then they were off.
“Okay, now all I need is a big boat to come plowing through this window,” I said. “That will make the evening complete.”
“I think you secretly like that man,” she said.
“If it’s a secret, it’s one I don’t know about.”
“I think he’s very charming in his own way.”
“You’re just torturing me now. I hope you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Absolutely.”
Later, after dinner, we walked through the Locks Park. It was getting darker and colder by the minute. We stopped at the fountain and threw pennies in for good luck. I kissed her.
When we were back in the truck, I asked her if I could make one more side trip before taking her home. That’s how we ended up going down to Rosedale, to Leon’s house.
“I have to give him back his gun,” I said. “And I think this will raise my stock with his wife.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, she thinks every time I come over, it’s to drag Leon into something dangerous. So imagine if I’m just bringing you over to meet the family.”
“And returning his gun.”
“I won’t let her see that part.”
The house looked empty when I pulled into the driveway. I had the sudden fear that Leon was out looking for trouble like everyone else in my life. But of course that was nonsense, a product of my overactive imagination. Besides, I thought, if he was really out doing that, he wouldn’t have taken his whole family with him.
“I’ll hold on to the gun,” I said. “Maybe I’ll see him tomorrow.”
“Tell him hello for me if you do.”
Because you won’t be here tomorrow. That’s the thought that was running through my head, all the way back to Paradise. It was totally dark now. The cold mist that was settling on us every night this summer was back again, dancing in my headlights, coming together in tendrils and then drifting apart as we passed through it.
It was quiet for a long time. Finally I spoke up.
“You tired?”
“Little bit.”
Her profile in the faint glow of the dashboard. The little scar on her chin.
“You’re really going back tomorrow?”
“I have to, yes.”
“Okay. But you don’t have to go undercover again if you don’t want to. No matter what anyone else says, that’s your call.”
“They’re going to shut everything down because I’m getting cold feet?”
“If it doesn’t feel safe to you, you can’t ignore that.”
“I’ll go back,” she said. “I’ll see what they decide.”
“You can’t do it.”
“Says who?”
“Natalie, you told me yourself you think Laraque can see right through it.”
“It was just the fear talking. I’ll be all right.”
“No, you won’t. You can’t go.”
“It’s not up to you, Alex.”
“You asked me not to let you go back,” I said. It came out with more of an edge than I wanted. “I’m doing what you asked me to do.”
“Well, now I’m asking you to back off. You’re not making this any easier.”
“Fine. I’ll back off.”
“Alex, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Me, too.”
It hung there between us as I rounded the bay and headed up to Paradise. I wasn’t sure what else to say.
