“What was ‘it’? What was he going to bring to this person?”
“He didn’t tell me that. He just said he had to go see somebody right away. And that I should stay here and not talk to anybody about it. He promised me he’d call me as soon as he could.”
“That’s it? That’s all he said?”
“That’s all, I swear. He said he’d call me by the end of the day. He promised.”
“Delaney, think hard. Do you have any idea where he might have gone? Who he needed to meet with?”
“No, I really don’t.”
I leaned back and let out a long breath.
“Did something happen to a woman in Lansing?” she said. “That’s what the agents said. Did somebody try to kill her?”
“Yes, it looks that way.”
“Is she okay?”
“It’s too early to tell. But she’s got a fighting chance.”
“Oh, God,” she said, looking away again. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
I got up off the floor, feeling a sharp pain in my knees.
“Do you think you can find him?” she said. “I’m really worried. Before he left, he was just so… I don’t know. I’ve never seen him like this before.”
I reached out and took her hand. “I’ll do everything I can,” I said. “Thank you for talking to me.”
She wiped her nose with her free hand again and nodded.
“His father,” I said. “Do you know where he is right now?”
“No. I have no idea.”
“He wasn’t at the studio. Do you have his home address?”
“He lives with CC, I think. I mean, he was when CC was still alive. In that big house on Irwin Street.”
“I know where it is. I’m going to go there right now.”
“When you find Sean,” she said, “have him call me right away, okay?”
“I will. I promise.”
“That’s two promises I have now,” she said. “One from him and one from you. So how come I get the feeling something horrible’s going to happen today?”
“You can’t think that way,” I said. Yet even as I said it I knew I was sharing that exact same feeling. I thanked her again and I left her there. Then I headed out to find Conrad Wiley.
I drove up to the northern edge of town, to that big half-restored Victorian on Irwin Street. I parked in the driveway, got out, and knocked on the door. No answer. I was right back to my string of bad luck.
I got back in the truck and drove down to the center of town. I tried the Grindstone building again, but there was still nobody inside. I slammed my open hand on the door and said a few choice words. Then I went across the street for one more try at the theater. This time, finally, the door was unlocked. I pushed it open and saw a woman at the concession stand, going through a cash drawer.
“Movies don’t start until four o’clock,” she said.
“I’m looking for Connie Wiley.”
“He’s not here.”
“Do you have any idea where he is?”
“He was across the street this morning, talking to some men in suits. It looked pretty heavy. If he’s not there now, I think he was gonna go out scouting today.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what that means.”
“Scouting locations for the new ending to his movie. I bet that’s where he is now.”
“You mean the movie he was making about his father? He’s still working on it?”
“With the new ending, yeah. Kind of a different deal now, huh? I still can’t believe it.”
“So where exactly would he be?” I said.
“Well, he was going to film in the lake house eventually, but he can’t get in there yet. Personally, I think that’s a little morbid. You know what happened up there…”
“Yeah, I believe so.”
“So if he’s not there, I think he was gonna set up some of the outdoor scenes first. You know where Port Crescent State Park is? It’s just about a mile down the road from the house. Take the left instead of the right and you can’t miss it.”
“Okay,” I said, “I really appreciate it.”
“Are you with the other film company? The one that’s putting up all the new money?”
“No, I’m not. What, you’re saying they’re not only still making the movie, they’re making it even bigger?”
“Biggest thing that ever happened to Bad Axe,” she said. “Can you even imagine?”
I just shook my head at that one and got out of there.
It was strange to be driving up that same road again. I took the left instead of the right, like the woman had said, and headed west along the Lake Huron coast. It didn’t take long to get to the park. It was mostly empty at this time of year, just a few cars in the parking lot and one unmarked van. Beyond that, just spring mud and dead grass, bare trees, and the cold water of Lake Huron in the distance. I parked and walked toward the water, passing empty picnic tables. I didn’t see anybody at first. Then I finally spotted a small group of people to my left. They were all congregated down by a small clearing on the edge of the water.
As I made my way closer, I saw that Connie was among them. There were three other people, two men and a woman, all of them young. They were all looking up into the trees while Connie took a camera off its tripod. A modern camera, surely digital instead of film, nothing like the old Bolex camera I had just seen at his son’s apartment. None of them heard me approaching on the wet ground.
I was ten feet away from them when I saw the rope hanging from the tree branch. That stopped me dead in my tracks. I stood there looking at the rope and the way the trees framed the view of the lake and it all hit me at once. The way this part of the land jutted out into the lake, we were even facing west. With the clearing and trees and everything else, it was as perfect a place as you could find to reenact the hanging, without actually driving all the way to Misery Bay.
Connie finally turned and saw me. “Oh great,” he said. “I should have known. If the FBI comes around, that means you’ll show up, too.”
“Are you really doing what I think you’re doing?”
“I’m finishing the movie, pal. I’m telling the story, no matter where it goes.”
“No matter where it goes? Are you kidding me? Seven people were murdered.”
“I know that. Don’t you think I know that? I have to live with it every day.”
“So why not turn lemons into lemonade, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I assume the agents told you what happened last night.”
“Yes, they did. They talked to the woman I was with all night, too. So they know it couldn’t have been me.”
“I need a minute alone with you,” I said. “Tell your crew they’ll have to wait to film your sickening little scene here.”
“We’re not filming, genius. There’ll be thirty people here when we do that. Have you ever seen a movie being made before?”
I stepped closer to him. “Tell them to leave us alone for a while.”
He didn’t even blink. “Take five, guys,” he said.
The three kids all looked at each other, probably wondering where the hell they were supposed to go take their five. We were standing on the edge of a lake, after all.
“Go to the van,” Connie said. “I’ll let you know when we can get back to work here.”
I waited for the kids to leave. “This is sickening,” I said, nodding to the rope.
“I’m sorry if you disapprove. But it’s not your family’s story and it’s not any of your business to begin with.”
“Whatever, I don’t care. I came to tell you something important about your son.”
“He had nothing to do with this,” he said. “And neither did I. We’re both in the clear, and you know what? Think about it. Some other police officer’s daughter takes a handful of pills? Are they gonna come back here every time somebody tries to kill themselves?”
“She didn’t try to kill herself, you idiot.”
He took one step closer to me. “How do you know? Did you talk to her personally? People do commit suicide, you know. I’m sorry if she did, but that’s life. And that’s all I have to say to you. You’re not even a cop, remember?”