eat your cereal. He’d wish you a good morning and he’d help you out in a second if you had to move some furniture, but yeah, now that I thought of it, Buck must have represented everything Vinnie had to get away from, that day he made the unforgivable decision to move away from the reservation.
But even now, I knew Buck would do anything for Vinnie. And Vinnie would do anything for Buck. They still had that family bond, something I could appreciate and even marvel at but probably never understand. Not completely.
They’re gone together, I thought. That has to be true.
I just wasn’t sure if this was good news or bad.
* * *
The Bay Mills Tribal Police Department is located in the Waishkey Building, right in the center of the reservation. I pulled into the lot and went inside. It was a small enough place that I could see through into Chief Benally’s office. He was sitting there at his desk and he looked up when he heard the front door open.
“Mr. McKnight,” he said, getting up. “Good to see you again.”
I let the sentiment, real or not, sail right by me. “Vinnie’s cousin Buck is missing, too,” I said. “They both disappeared around the same time.”
“Bucky Carrick, you’re talking about?”
“Yes.”
He ran this around in his head for a moment. He had both hands resting on his belt, the classic cop pose.
“How did you come to find this out?” he said.
“I went by, looking for him. The guy who was staying there said he’s been gone for two days. Doesn’t know where he is.”
“Well, we’ve had an eye out for Vinnie today. Guess I should add Buck to the list, huh? You’re thinking they’re together?”
“It would be a big coincidence if they’re not.”
He nodded. The way he was standing there, not quite at ease, his body language saying, You don’t really belong here, even if you come with useful news.
“Look, it’s been a strange couple of days,” I said. “And speaking of coincidences…”
“The business at the airport,” he said, with no hesitation at all. He was already thinking the same thing. “That’s the other coincidence.”
“In Vinnie’s case, I know there can’t be any kind of connection. Even with Buck, I mean, I don’t know him that well at all, but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’d do anything more than just smoke a joint now and then.”
I knew it was probably more often than now and then, but I wasn’t going to get into that. The Ojibwa had their own views about tobacco, how it was part of the land, one of the four sacred medicines. Cigarettes weren’t frowned upon around here, not nearly as much as in the general public, and I had to figure that extended to other things you could smoke, as well.
But that was still a world away from gunning down drug dealers and hijacking their shipments.
“No, I’m sure you’re right,” the chief said. “But it does make you wonder just what the hell’s going on around here.”
“Yeah, well, I just wanted to let you know about Buck. That’s all I had.”
“I appreciate it, Mr. McKnight. Why don’t you let us take it from here now? We’ll have our officers looking out for them, like I said. We’ll put in some calls to the other reservations in the state, in case they’re both off visiting somebody.”
“Okay,” I said. “That makes sense.”
“Okay, then. Yes. Thank you.”
I left the place. I got back into my truck and drove off the reservation. These past couple of days, I was really feeling like a stranger here. You forget about it for a while, but then a few things happen and people say things to you in a certain way, and it all adds up. You may be welcome here, but at the end of the day, you’re not part of this. You never have been and you never will be.
* * *
Back to Paradise for the rest of another long day. Dinner at the Glasgow. Jackie fussing with things at the bar and clearly more worried than he would admit.
They went on a
But even now, I knew Buck would do anything for Vinnie. And Vinnie would do anything for Buck. They still had that family bond, something I could appreciate and even marvel at but probably never understand. Not completely.
They’re gone together, I thought. That has to be true.
I just wasn’t sure if this was good news or bad.
* * *
The Bay Mills Tribal Police Department is located in the Waishkey Building, right in the center of the reservation. I pulled into the lot and went inside. It was a small enough place that I could see through into Chief Benally’s office. He was sitting there at his desk and he looked up when he heard the front door open.
“Mr. McKnight,” he said, getting up. “Good to see you again.”
I let the sentiment, real or not, sail right by me. “Vinnie’s cousin Buck is missing, too,” I said. “They both disappeared around the same time.”
“Bucky Carrick, you’re talking about?”
“Yes.”
He ran this around in his head for a moment. He had both hands resting on his belt, the classic cop pose.
“How did you come to find this out?” he said.
“I went by, looking for him. The guy who was staying there said he’s been gone for two days. Doesn’t know where he is.”
“Well, we’ve had an eye out for Vinnie today. Guess I should add Buck to the list, huh? You’re thinking they’re together?”
“It would be a big coincidence if they’re not.”
He nodded. The way he was standing there, not quite at ease, his body language saying, You don’t really belong here, even if you come with useful news.
“Look, it’s been a strange couple of days,” I said. “And speaking of coincidences…”
“The business at the airport,” he said, with no hesitation at all. He was already thinking the same thing. “That’s the other coincidence.”
“In Vinnie’s case, I know there can’t be any kind of connection. Even with Buck, I mean, I don’t know him that well at all, but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’d do anything more than just smoke a joint now and then.”
I knew it was probably more often than now and then, but I wasn’t going to get into that. The Ojibwa had their own views about tobacco, how it was part of the land, one of the four sacred medicines. Cigarettes weren’t frowned upon around here, not nearly as much as in the general public, and I had to figure that extended to other things you could smoke, as well.
But that was still a world away from gunning down drug dealers and hijacking their shipments.
“No, I’m sure you’re right,” the chief said. “But it does make you wonder just what the hell’s going on around here.”
“Yeah, well, I just wanted to let you know about Buck. That’s all I had.”
“I appreciate it, Mr. McKnight. Why don’t you let us take it from here now? We’ll have our officers looking out for them, like I said. We’ll put in some calls to the other reservations in the state, in case they’re both off visiting somebody.”
“Okay,” I said. “That makes sense.”
“Okay, then. Yes. Thank you.”
I left the place. I got back into my truck and drove off the reservation. These past couple of days, I was really feeling like a stranger here. You forget about it for a while, but then a few things happen and people say things to you in a certain way, and it all adds up. You may be welcome here, but at the end of the day, you’re not part of this. You never have been and you never will be.
* * *
Back to Paradise for the rest of another long day. Dinner at the Glasgow. Jackie fussing with things at the bar and clearly more worried than he would admit.
They went on a
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