Read Online Winter of the Wolf Moon by Steve Hamilton - Free Book Online Page B

pick up some of that beef jerky at the Stop ’n Go. So yes, of course there’s going to be a car behind me all the way to the Soo. And besides, now that they’ve gone ahead and kidnapped Dorothy, there’s no more fucking reason for them to be following you.
    But apart from that, Alex, congratulations on your sudden powers of observation.
    I maintained this wonderful state of mind all the way into Sault Ste. Marie, crossing over the hydroelectric canal into what passes for downtown. The City-County Building is a giant gray shoebox, perhaps the ugliest building I have ever seen. Uglier than anything in Detroit, which may be the world capital of ugly buildings. It sits right behind the courthouse, which has just enough charm to make the City-County Building look like an architectural felony.
    The county sheriff’s office and Soo police department both share the building. As I pulled into the parking lot I saw the county cars lined up on one side and the Soo cars on the other. Next to the parking lot was an outdoor courtyard, no bigger than twelve feet square. There was a cage around the entire courtyard, making it look like a dog kennel, and then around the cage was another chain link fence with razor wire on top. A man sat on the one picnic table, the snow high enough to cover the seats. He was trying to light a cigarette, fighting a losing battle against the wind.
    I went in through the county entrance and right into the sheriff’s office. If there was a receptionist there trying to stop me, I didn’t even notice her.
    Bill Brandow was hanging up the phone when I opened his door. He looked up at me and then down at the pile of snow at my feet. “Look what you’re doing to the floor,” he said. “Didn’t your mother teach you to take your boots off?”
    “What’s going on, Bill?”
    “I guess she didn’t teach you to knock, either.”
    “When did you start hiring high schoolers?” I said.“And better yet, why did you send two of them together? Don’t you even give your rookies experienced partners?”
    “Jerry is older than he looks,” he said. “And Patricia could dump you on your ass with one hand.”
    “Jerry and Patricia,” I said. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”
    “Alex, you got anything else for me?” He stood up and came around his desk. “Or did you just come down here to rip my deputies?”
    I stood there. He looked back at me with cool, patient eyes. “Bill, she’s gone,” I finally said. “And it’s my fault.”
    “Sit down,” he said. When I didn’t, he pulled the chair around behind me. “Sit.”
    I finally did. He closed his office door and sat on his desk facing me. With the door closed I could hear the wind rattling his windows.
    “Her name is Dorothy Parrish. She’s a member of the Bay Mills tribe. The man you saw her with is named Lonnie Bruckman. Correct?”
    “Yes.”
    “She was at your guest cabin last night. This morning she was gone. The door was unlocked. There were no tire tracks, although she may have left on a snowmobile.”
    “May have been
abducted
on a snowmobile,” I said.
    “Abducted,” he said. “Fine. We’ll assume she was taken involuntarily.”
    “You don’t have to assume,” I said. “She was.”
    “Okay, Alex, I hear what you’re saying. Now it’s your turn to listen to me.” He looked down at me fromhis desk, one hand on his hip, the other held out to me as if to beg for my attention. “We’re looking for them. Both of them. Okay? You gotta trust me here. Just let us do our jobs.”
    “Where does he live?” I said.
    “No,” he said. He put his hand on my shoulder. I could feel the strength in his grip. “No way. You’re not gonna do that.”
    “Tell me where he lives,” I said. “He’s not in the phone book.”
    “I’ve got every deputy out there. The state police are watching the roads. I’ve even asked the Soo police to help us.”
    I let out a long breath. “The Soo police,” I said. “That’s the other