Read Online Winter of the Wolf Moon by Steve Hamilton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Steve Hamilton
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Private Investigators, Police Procedural, Cultural Heritage, Upper Peninsula (Mich.), Ojibwa Indians, Ojibwa Women
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it for a few days, then file it away.
The deputies rode in silence down the access road from the farthest cabin, back to mine. I could have guessed what was in their minds. They weren’t talking about it, but they would be as soon as they got rid of me. Maybe she wasn’t abducted. Maybe her boyfriend talked his way into the cabin, made a scene, threw some furniture around, then got down on his knees and begged her to forgive him. He loves her so much it makes him crazy, but it’ll be different from now on, and all the usual crap a guy like that says. And then she leaves with him. It happens all the time.
But I knew. I knew he took her against her will.And I knew it was my fault. I knew I’d lie awake all that night thinking about it.
“We’ll let you know if we come up with anything, Mr. McKnight,” the young man said. He slowed down in front of my cabin.
“Let’s take a ride down to the Glasgow Inn,” I said. “See if the bartender noticed anything last night. Or maybe somebody else did.”
He nodded. “It’s worth a shot.”
We went around the bend toward the main road. As we passed Vinnie’s place, I noticed that his car still wasn’t there. “Damn, that’s right,” I said. “I forgot about Vinnie.”
“Is there a problem?” he said.
“No, it’s just that my friend Vinnie hasn’t been home for a couple nights. He’s a member of the Bay Mills tribe, probably just spent the night there.”
The other deputy looked out the passenger’s side window. “Vinnie,” she said. “Vinnie what?”
“Vinnie LeBlanc,” I said.
“Vinnie LeBlanc,” she said. “That name rings a bell.”
“There’s a lot of LeBlancs around here,” I said.
“Yeah, I know, but I think I saw that name somewhere this morning.” She thought about it for a long moment, then picked up the radio. “I think I know where I saw it,” she said. She called in and asked for the front desk. When she had the man on the air she asked him if there happened to be a Vinnie LeBlanc on the premises.
I heard the answer myself. But I couldn’t believe it. Vinnie was being held in the county jail on a 415, 148 and a 240.
“Oh, is that the guy who—” the driver said.
“Yeah, he’s the one,” she said as she put the receiver back. “I thought I recognized that name.”
“What’s going on?” I said. “Those numbers, what are they again?”
The deputies looked at each other again. That same look that had been driving me crazy. Now I didn’t care anymore.
“I know I should remember,” I said. “It’s been a long time. Just tell me.”
“A four-fifteen is drunk and disorderly,” she said. “A 148—”
“Hold on,” I said. “That’s impossible. Vinnie doesn’t drink.”
“A one-four-eight is resisting arrest,” she went on. “And a two-forty is assault, in this case assault against a police officer. Your friend the Indian who doesn’t drink put a Soo cop in the hospital.”
I sat back in my seat. I didn’t know what to say. This whole day had become a nightmare.
“Look at the bright side,” she said. “At least you know where he is now.”
CHAPTER SIX
I made the deputies turn around and take me back to my cabin, then jumped in the truck and gunned it for the Soo. I swore at myself all the way down M-28. Above me the clouds were growing darker, ready to dump more snow on the world. The wind rattling through the plastic in my passenger side window numbed the side of my face.
And then, of course, I noticed that there was a single car behind me. A green sedan, two men in the front seat, following me all the way down M-28, through Strongs and Raco, all the way across Chippewa County to the Soo.
This is great, I told myself.
Now
I notice when a car is following me. Of course, today it doesn’t mean quite so much. For one thing, this is the only highway that runs from east to west in the entire county. And once you start at one end, you’re not going to stop unless you really need to
The deputies rode in silence down the access road from the farthest cabin, back to mine. I could have guessed what was in their minds. They weren’t talking about it, but they would be as soon as they got rid of me. Maybe she wasn’t abducted. Maybe her boyfriend talked his way into the cabin, made a scene, threw some furniture around, then got down on his knees and begged her to forgive him. He loves her so much it makes him crazy, but it’ll be different from now on, and all the usual crap a guy like that says. And then she leaves with him. It happens all the time.
But I knew. I knew he took her against her will.And I knew it was my fault. I knew I’d lie awake all that night thinking about it.
“We’ll let you know if we come up with anything, Mr. McKnight,” the young man said. He slowed down in front of my cabin.
“Let’s take a ride down to the Glasgow Inn,” I said. “See if the bartender noticed anything last night. Or maybe somebody else did.”
He nodded. “It’s worth a shot.”
We went around the bend toward the main road. As we passed Vinnie’s place, I noticed that his car still wasn’t there. “Damn, that’s right,” I said. “I forgot about Vinnie.”
“Is there a problem?” he said.
“No, it’s just that my friend Vinnie hasn’t been home for a couple nights. He’s a member of the Bay Mills tribe, probably just spent the night there.”
The other deputy looked out the passenger’s side window. “Vinnie,” she said. “Vinnie what?”
“Vinnie LeBlanc,” I said.
“Vinnie LeBlanc,” she said. “That name rings a bell.”
“There’s a lot of LeBlancs around here,” I said.
“Yeah, I know, but I think I saw that name somewhere this morning.” She thought about it for a long moment, then picked up the radio. “I think I know where I saw it,” she said. She called in and asked for the front desk. When she had the man on the air she asked him if there happened to be a Vinnie LeBlanc on the premises.
I heard the answer myself. But I couldn’t believe it. Vinnie was being held in the county jail on a 415, 148 and a 240.
“Oh, is that the guy who—” the driver said.
“Yeah, he’s the one,” she said as she put the receiver back. “I thought I recognized that name.”
“What’s going on?” I said. “Those numbers, what are they again?”
The deputies looked at each other again. That same look that had been driving me crazy. Now I didn’t care anymore.
“I know I should remember,” I said. “It’s been a long time. Just tell me.”
“A four-fifteen is drunk and disorderly,” she said. “A 148—”
“Hold on,” I said. “That’s impossible. Vinnie doesn’t drink.”
“A one-four-eight is resisting arrest,” she went on. “And a two-forty is assault, in this case assault against a police officer. Your friend the Indian who doesn’t drink put a Soo cop in the hospital.”
I sat back in my seat. I didn’t know what to say. This whole day had become a nightmare.
“Look at the bright side,” she said. “At least you know where he is now.”
CHAPTER SIX
I made the deputies turn around and take me back to my cabin, then jumped in the truck and gunned it for the Soo. I swore at myself all the way down M-28. Above me the clouds were growing darker, ready to dump more snow on the world. The wind rattling through the plastic in my passenger side window numbed the side of my face.
And then, of course, I noticed that there was a single car behind me. A green sedan, two men in the front seat, following me all the way down M-28, through Strongs and Raco, all the way across Chippewa County to the Soo.
This is great, I told myself.
Now
I notice when a car is following me. Of course, today it doesn’t mean quite so much. For one thing, this is the only highway that runs from east to west in the entire county. And once you start at one end, you’re not going to stop unless you really need to
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