Edgewise (14 page)

“What do you mean?”

“It's possible that somebody may call you and claim responsibility for stopping FLAME. It happens sometimes, when some unpleasant characters get whacked, like corrupt politicians, or oppressive landlords. Whoever kills them calls up their victims to ask for their approval, and maybe their congratulations too. Not much point in being a hero if nobody knows about it.”

“Okay. Sure. You want some more coffee? I have some cookies, too, if you'd like some.”

“We'll be fine, thank you, Mrs. Blake. You just take care of yourself, you hear?”

“Ketchup sandwiches—they're good for hangovers,” said Special Agent Kellogg. “Ketchup sandwiches, generously sprinkled with dried chili seeds.”

Immediately after Special Agents Rylance and Kellogg had left, Lily picked up the phone and dialed John Shooks. This time, Shooks answered.

“Mr. Shooks! Did you hear what happened?”

“Did I hear what happened about what? I've been sitting in my car all night, surveilling a property in Powderhorn Park. For no purpose whatsoever, as it turned out. No adulterers went in; no adulterers came out.”

“It's FLAME. They had a headquarters in Willard-Hay. Somebody trashed it and killed a man who was in there.”

“Well . . . that's good news,” said John Shooks, cautiously. “Isn't it?”

“Whoever did it, they tore this man to pieces. There was nothing left of him except one leg and some of his insides. The FBI agent said that the killer must have been inhumanly strong.
Inhumanly.
”

“Yes?” said Shooks.

“The door was locked, too. The FBI thought that the killer might have had a key.”

“That sounds like a reasonable theory to me.”

“He
might
have had a key. On the other hand, supposing he
didn't
have a key? Supposing he
slid
in, like a sheet of paper?”

“Yes,” said Shooks.

“Yes? What do you mean, ‘Yes?' ”

“I mean, yes—you're right. There's only one thing that could have found out where those guys were holed up, and there's only one thing that could have entered their apartment without unlocking the door, and there's only one thing that could have torn that guy to shreds and taken two-thirds of his mortal remains for a trip across the city.”

“The Wendigo,” said Lily.

“The Wendigo,” said Shooks.

Lily could hardly breathe. “For God's sake! I didn't know that anybody was going to get
killed
!”

“Mrs. Blake, the Wendigo is a tracker and a hunter. Like all trackers and hunters, when he eventually locates what he's been tracking and hunting—he kills it. And eats it. Didn't George Iron Walker make that clear to you? The word ‘Wendigo' means ‘cannibal.' He told you that.”

“Oh, God,” said Lily. “I didn't understand.”

“Well, what do you think that the Wendigo itself was going to get out of this particular assignment?”

“The land—the spit of land at Mystery Lake. I thought
that
was the price.”

“It's George Iron Walker who wants the land. Kind of an agent's fee, if you like, for putting you in touch with the Wendigo. The Wendigo isn't interested in land, sacred or otherwise. The Wendigo wants human flesh.”

“But why did it kill that man from FLAME?”

“It's following the scent, Mrs. Blake, like I told you. It followed the scent from your house to Sibley's Barn, and from Sibley's Barn it obviously followed the scent to this apartment in Willard-Hay. And when it came across one of the men who was responsible for abducting your children, it took him. The Wendigo is working for
you
, Mrs. Blake. Don't tell me you didn't want to see those dirtbags dead. They wanted to see
you
dead, after all.”

“It can't just go around tearing people to pieces! Not on
my
behalf!”

“It can, and it does. Sorry if you were laboring under any kind of misapprehension.”

“But what happens when it finds Tasha and Sammy? It won't hurt them, will it?”

“Of course not. It's made a solemn and binding promise to bring them back safe.”

“And Jeff?”

Lily could almost hear John Shooks shrug. “Jeff? Well, Jeff is a horse of another color.”

“What do you mean? The Wendigo will kill him? It can't! It mustn't!”

“You surprise me. I thought you hated Jeff with a rare vengeance, Mrs. Blake.”

“I do! I detest him! But he's still the father of my children! And no matter what he's done wrong, no matter how callous and cruel he's been, he's still a human being!”

“Hmm. It seems we have something of a dyelemmer here.”

“There's no dilemma, Mr. Shooks. You have to get in touch with George Iron Walker and call the Wendigo off, right now, before it's too late.”

“I don't think it's possible to do such a thing, Mrs. Blake. Once the Wendigo sets off on its hunt, there's no stopping it. Remember that a deal works both ways. You asked the Wendigo to find your kids for you, no matter what it took. And what the Wendigo takes is human beings.”

“You're playing with words, Mr. Shooks! I didn't mean that at all! If I'd known that the Wendigo was going to kill people, I wouldn't even have considered asking it for anything! Call George Iron Walker and tell him to stop it!”

“I can try, Mrs. Blake. Don't hold out much hope of success, though.”

“You want me to call the FBI and tell them what you and George have been doing?”

“Oh—summoning up a Mdewakanton forest spirit and sending it off to eat people? I wonder which particular federal statute that's in contravention of?”

She drove around to see Bennie. Concord Realty occupied a large open-plan office on Hennepin Avenue South, carpeted in plum, with potted palms and soothing music and scenic photographs of Lake Harriet and Lowry Hill.

Fiona saw her as soon as she came in and waved. Fiona was fortyish, with blond upswept hair and huge dangly earrings. She had taught Lily almost everything she knew about closing a property sale. Never take “I'll call you tomorrow” for an answer. Don't even take “Let me think about it.”

Bennie came out of his office carrying a stack of brochures. As soon as he saw Lily, he put them down and came over and kissed her. “Good to see you, Lil! How are things shaping up? Got any news?”

“Kind of. Look—I need your help with something. I was wondering if you could tell me how to get in touch with your brother Myron.”

“Myron? What for?”

“Well, you know what you said about him and John Shooks. I'd like to talk to him about it.”

“John Shooks is not giving you any trouble, is he? If so, he'll have me to deal with.”

“Not exactly. I just need to talk to Myron, that's all.”

“Lil—if there's anything wrong . . .”

She took hold of his hand. “I know, Bennie. And thanks. And thanks again for what you did with Philip Kraussman.”

“Hey, it's nothing. Really.”

Myron was manager of a winter-wear store on Cedar Avenue called Cold Comfort. When Lily called around, he was in the stockroom at the back, checking through boxes of Bugabootoo children's boots. He was thinner than Bennie, and going bald, but there was no mistaking that he was Bennie's brother.

“Lily, this is some surprise!”

Lily smiled. “Bennie told me where to find you. Boy, this is like Aladdin's Cave in here.”

“Just having a stock clearance. We've got some great ladies' windbreakers if you're interested. Artificial fur-lined hoods. Give you a real big discount.”

“Actually I wanted to talk to you about John Shooks.”

Myron took off his heavy-rimmed eyeglasses and stared at her with a serious expression. He had a slight cast in his right eye, so that she wasn't quite sure if he was looking at her directly.

“John Shooks? Well, he got my kids back for me, when nobody else could. He'll find yours, too, believe me.”

“Did he find your kids himself, or did he have some help?”

“Any particular reason for that question?”

“There is, as a matter of fact. I'm beginning to wonder what I've gotten myself into.”

“Well . . . first couple of times Velma took them away, Shooks found them himself. Didn't take him more than two or three hours. First time, they were around at her friend Gussie's house. Second time, they were staying at the Best Western University Inn. Don't ask me how he knew where they were.”

Lily didn't say anything, but she could imagine how Shooks had found them. He would have listened to the conversations that Velma had left behind her, still suspended in the air, telling her children where they were going.

“What about the third time?” she asked.

“Well, I don't really want to talk about that, if you don't mind.”

“Myron—I need to know. I'm worried that something really bad is going to happen. To tell you the truth, I'm worried that somebody's going to get hurt, or even killed.”

Myron actually flinched. “I don't know. I don't know what to say to you. I don't know what happened myself.”

“Did John Shooks take you to meet George Iron Walker, and a blind Native American girl called Hazawin?”

Myron said, “That last time, Shooks tried to find Velma, but he couldn't. He said that she hadn't left any clues behind that he could follow.”

“But he knew somebody who
could
find them?”

“That's right.”

“Somebody or
something
.”

Myron nodded, looking miserable. “I didn't really believe in it. But I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to involve the police—Velma had a restraining order against her and I didn't want to see her get into any more trouble.”

“So George Iron Walker said that he'd send the Wendigo to look for her?”

“That's right.”

“And what did he ask for, in return?”

“Hardly anything at all. Just some old Native American blanket that we used to have in the window, as part of our display. I don't think it was worth very much.”

“So you went to Black Crow Valley and met George Iron Walker and Hazawin? And they took you into the woods, and you saw the Wendigo?”

“I don't exactly know what I saw. There was some kind of a flickery light, that's all.”

“Then what happened?”

“Three days later I had a phone call from my daughter Ellie. She said that she and her sister were in Seattle. Velma had taken them there, to a house that she had rented near Richmond Beach. Velma's folks originally came from Seattle, so I guess that was a natural place for her to go.”

Lily said nothing, but waited for Myron to continue. Myron seemed to be very jumpy. He kept glancing around the stockroom, as if he were half-expecting somebody else to appear, out of thin air.

“Ellie said that Velma had taken them to the seashore, for a walk. Sometime during that walk Velma disappeared. Ellie didn't know how, and neither she nor Ruthie saw anything unusual. As far as they knew, they were the only people around.

“Ellie and Ruthie searched that seashore for hours. They called for Velma over and over, but there was no reply. When it started to grow dark they went back to the house. They didn't want to call the police because they knew that Velma would get into trouble for taking them.”

Myron paused again, and then he said, “I caught the first flight to Seattle and brought them home.”

“You didn't tell the police either?”

“Velma was unstable. She was always unstable. That was why she lost custody of Ellie and Ruthie in the first place. How the hell was I supposed to know what had happened to her? Maybe she walked into the ocean. More likely she just wandered off. Why make things more complicated than they already were?”

Lily said, “You've never heard from her since?”

“Nothing. Not a word. It was like she'd vanished off the face of the earth. After two months I stopped paying her alimony into her bank account.”

“No reaction?”

Myron shook his head.

“What do you really think happened to her?” asked Lily.

“I don't know, Lily. I don't
want
to know.”

“Did George Iron Walker tell you what the word ‘Wendigo' means?”

“Look,” said Myron, “I have no way of finding out what happened to Velma and neither does anyone else. If the Wendigo took her, there's nothing I can do about it. And even if I was sure that the Wendigo took her, who would believe me?”

“I would.”

Myron said, “Yes, but nobody would believe
you
, either.” He paused, and put his eyeglasses back on. “As far as I'm concerned, Lily, things have turned out for the best. I've got the kids back, I don't have to pay alimony. I'm sorry for what happened to Velma. I won't be able to get her off my conscience, ever, but that's the price I have to pay.”

She tried calling Shooks again, but all she got was that infuriating voicemail response:
“Leave me a message, or leave me alone.
”

“Mr. Shooks,” she said, “I'm going out to Black Crow Valley myself, to talk to George Iron Walker. Give me a call back as soon as you can.”

It was only a quarter after noon when she climbed into her Rainier and turned out of her driveway, but the sky was so dark that it could have been a quarter after midnight. Huge snowflakes began to tumble across the highway, and she could see people hurrying for shelter. Normally she never would have ventured out in weather like this, but she didn't know how much time she had left before the Wendigo found out where Jeff had taken Tasha and Sammy. It might be too late already.

She drove as fast as she dared, sliding sideways around corners and running red lights if she could see that there was no other traffic around. It took her less than twenty-five minutes to reach the turnoff that led to Black Crow Valley. The snow was falling so furiously now that she almost missed it. She jammed on her brakes and the Rainier skidded for thirty yards before it stopped. She backed up, with two fountains of slush spraying from her front wheels.