Die a Stranger (7 page)

“No, not really. He was working at the casino for a little while. But then he was at the gas station. I’m not sure he really has a job at the moment. He kinda takes the summer off usually.”

This part of the story was starting to make sense to me. A man like Vinnie, with a steady job, a steady life … If he disappears, people notice right away. But a man like Buck, who’s apparently floating in his own little boat with the motor turned off … No, he’s not gonna have people looking all over for him. Not for a while, anyway.

“He’ll be back eventually,” the man said. “Can I give him a message or something?”

“You really have no idea where he could be right now?”

“Not really. Like I said, if you want to leave a message…”

“No, that’s all right. Thanks for your time.”

I was about to step off the deck. Then I stopped.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “What’s Buck’s last name, anyway? Is it LeBlanc?”

“No, it’s Carrick.”

“And Buck is his real first name?”

“Buck or Bucky. Take your pick.”

I wasn’t sure if that really answered my question, but I let it go. As I went back around to my truck, I ran through everything I knew about Buck. It wasn’t much. I hadn’t even known his last name until a few seconds earlier.

He was bigger than Vinnie. He had that not-really-fat but barrel-chested body you see in a lot of men on the reservation. Usually when they’re more middle-aged, but I imagine Buck was that size when he was a teenager. Beyond that, I knew he lived by himself here, and that this house was sort of the local hangout for guys around his age. Buck was the kind of guy who’d make his sweat lodge a work of perfection, but I’m sure his kitchen would qualify as a toxic-waste site. I remembered seeing him drive around Brimley in that beat-up old car, probably unregistered.

A good guy. A fun guy. A guy you’d love to hang around with even if he wasn’t your cousin. That was Buck. But at the same time, I had to figure he was probably broke most of the time. If he did lay his hands on some money, he’d obviously blow it on something impractical like a hot tub. Either way, he’d be the guy who’d come in your door and sit down at your kitchen table and 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 trip, I told him. Vinnie and his cousin Buck. They got into his truck and drove somewhere to see somebody. Somebody we don’t know. They didn’t tell anyone because it didn’t even occur to them. When they get back, they’ll be surprised we let ourselves get this worked up about it. In the end, we’ll even laugh about it.

That’s what I told Jackie. That’s what I told myself.

It was late when I drove back up my road, past Vinnie’s cabin. Dark and empty. I went into my own cabin, got undressed, and lay down on the bed. I tried to sleep.

I was just dozing off into some sort of half dream when a knock on my front door jarred me awake. It took me a second to find my bearings. I got up, put on some clothes, and went to the door.

When I opened it, I saw Chief Benally standing there. He was holding his hat in his hands, and in that one instant I flashed back to my own time as a cop and how I’d felt compelled to take my hat off while I was standing on a doorstep in Detroit, waiting to deliver the worst news imaginable.

“Chief, what’s going on?”

“Sorry to bother you again. Can I come in?”

I backed up and he stepped inside. He’d been here the night before, so I didn’t have to point out where the furniture was.

“Mr. McKnight, have a seat,” he said. “I need to tell you something.”

I sat down and waited for him to take the chair across from me. I was already anticipating his words. I was wondering exactly how he’d say it. Would he give me the preamble and ask me to prepare myself? Or would he launch right into it? Vinnie LeBlanc’s body was just found about an hour ago.…

“Before I say anything,” he said, “I have to ask you something.”

“Okay…”

“What I’m about to tell you must remain in complete confidence. At least for the time being.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m asking you to promise me that nothing said here will leave this room.”

“I promise,” I said. “But what—”

“We heard from Vinnie. He’s with Buck, and apparently they’re all right. So obviously that’s good news.”

“Wait. How did you hear from him? Where are they?”

“Well, that’s the strange thing about this. You see, all he did was leave a message on the voice mail at the station. He said they were fine and that they’d try to call back again later. He didn’t say where they were.”

“Come on, Chief, he had to say something else. Nothing about why they left? Or when they’d be back? Or anything?”

“Well, he did ask me to let his sisters know that they were okay. So I’ve just been to see both of them. To let them know. Even though it’s a pretty vague message, I realize. And then of course he also mentioned you.”

“He mentioned me.”

“He did, yes. Tell my sisters. Tell Alex. We’re both okay. We’ll be back as soon as we can. Don’t worry.”

“That’s it. That’s all he said.”

“Yes, and because he mentioned you specifically, I made a point to come and tell you.”

“Because if it was just up to you, I’d still be in the dark, right?”

“You’re not being fair now. I would have told you.”

“Okay, so then why the big secret?” I said. “If they’re okay, why can’t I tell anyone else?”

“It’s kind of a delicate situation right now. With this business at the airport and all. Them disappearing the same night.”

“So it’s definitely connected.”

“I don’t know that for sure. Nobody does. But I think we need to keep a lid on things until we can get them back home.”

“Meaning that they’re definitely
not
okay. That’s what you’re really telling me.”

“No. You’ve got this all wrong.”

“Tell me the truth,” I said, staring him straight in the eyes. “Where are they and what the hell is going on?”

He stared straight back at me. “I honestly don’t know where they are,” he said. “All I know is that they’re safe, and … Well, I think somebody is helping them.”

He put his hand up before I could speak.

“I don’t know exactly who is helping them. I’m not going to speculate. But I think I heard a voice in the background. Somebody who didn’t sound like Buck. That’s all I can say right now. When I know something else for sure, I’ll tell you. I promise.”

I leaned back in my chair. I wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Look, you’re an ex-cop,” he said.

“Yes. Long time ago.”

“Doesn’t matter how long, you still think like a cop. I get that. Believe me, I’ll probably be the same way myself when I finally hang it up. But right now, I need you to stay here close to home, and to keep your eyes and ears open. Are we clear?”

“I’m not sure what I’m gonna see or hear. Aside from Vinnie’s truck coming up that road…”

“I’m dead serious, Mr. McKnight. If you see anything suspicious. Somebody you’ve never seen before. You know, just nosing around maybe.”

“Nosing around.”

“Yes. Nosing around. You see somebody like that, I need you to call me.”

“Chief, who are we talking about that would be—”

I stopped myself. I waved it away and made myself take a breath.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll call you if I see anything unusual.”

“Thank you. I’m going to go now. For right now, I’m afraid all we can do is wait.”

He got up. He shook my hand. He put his hat back on and then he left.

I went outside and stood there in the night air. I listened to him drive away. That word still ringing in my ears.
Wait.
My least favorite word ever.

“Vinnie LeBlanc,” I said. “Wherever you are, you might want to think about staying there. Because the next time I see you I’m going to kick your ass.”

CHAPTER SIX

There was a time when Vinnie and I weren’t speaking to each other. A young Ojibwa woman had asked me to help her, and I tried to do that. But because she was a member of the tribe, it was the tribe who came to her in the middle of the night. They took her away, they helped her, and yeah, I suppose she was probably better off with a whole community on her side instead of one aging ex-cop.

But they didn’t tell me. That was the thing that burned me. I still haven’t forgotten it, and I don’t imagine I ever will. Vinnie wasn’t one of the men who actually stole her away, but he knew about it. He had to know. Even now, if he were here, I could ask him about it one more time and once again he’d try to deny that he had one hundred-percent knowledge of what had happened. But there would be no point in doing that because it would just push us back, closer to that point where we couldn’t be in the same room together.

In the end, we got over it. We got over it the way men get over things, not by talking things out heart to heart but by working on something together. He showed up one day to help me rebuild the cabin at the end of the road. The next day he showed up again. By the time the walls were up, we were talking again and eating dinner at the Glasgow. Which is a good thing because it’s hard to avoid a man when he’s your one and only neighbor.

That feeling, though … Damn it all. That feeling of being the outsider, of being totally excluded from everything that’s going on around you, even if you want to help. Even if you
know
you can help. That’s the feeling that always stayed with me.

Now here was Vinnie, hiding away somewhere with his wayward cousin. Obviously in some sort of trouble. If the situation were reversed, he’d be the first person I reached out for. We’d been down enough roads together over the years. We’d faced so much trouble. So much death and brutality. Hell, the man had once taken his own blood and painted stripes on my cheeks. Like we were brothers.

So when it’s his turn to be in a real jam, what does he do? He sends a message to the rez. I get it thirdhand, almost as an afterthought. Tell Alex I’m okay. Tell him not to worry. As if he’d even think for one second that would be possible.

Not to worry. I mean, come on.

*   *   *

When the chief’s taillights disappeared down the road, I went inside and sat back down in that same chair. I ran over everything in my head. Finally, when I thought I might punch a hole right through the table, I got up and went through my desk instead and found a business card. I dialed the number.