“Yes,” he said. “She was there.”
“Her name’s Dorothy Parrish.”
“I know,” he said. He looked down at the floor.
“How do you know her, Vinnie? I asked her about you. She said she doesn’t know you at all.”
He let out a burst of air. I might have taken it for a laugh if he wasn’t sitting in a jail cell. “I’m not surprised,” he said.
“I don’t get it,” I said.
“Alex, I’ve known Dorothy Parrish since I was a little kid. She was a couple of years older than me. In high school, she was…” He shook his head. “She was so pretty, first of all. And a really good student. And popular. Everybody loved her. All the guys were hanging around her all the time. The white guys, I mean. The football players. She was the first girl from the tribe to be homecoming queen, did you know that?”
“I take it the two of you didn’t hang around together.”
“No,” he said. “Not hardly. Back then, the reservation was a bunch of shacks. It must have still been that way when you first came up here. You must have seen it.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“I suppose things are a lot better now, but back then… a lot of other kids from the tribe… well, it was hard. But not for Dorothy. She was the exception. When she was at school, at least.”
“Did you hate her for that?”
“Hate her?” he said. “I think Dorothy Parrish was the first girl I ever loved. As much as you can love somebody when you’re sixteen years old and she doesn’t even know your name. Or want to know your name. I would have just reminded her of where she came from. Where she had to go home to every night. She couldn’t wait to graduate and get out of town.”
“Why do you think she came back?” I said.
“I can’t even imagine why,” he said. “She hated this place so much. I never saw her again until the other night.”
“Vinnie,” I said. “She came to the Glasgow. She was looking for me. She wanted me to help her get away from Bruckman.”
He looked at me without saying anything.
“She stayed with me last night,” I said. “In one of the other cabins, I mean. This morning, she was gone. I think Bruckman took her.”
He closed his eyes. “Oh, no,” he said. “Please no.”
“What happened with Bruckman? You said you saw him at the gas station.”
“Yes,” he said. “Dorothy was sitting on one of the snowmobiles. She was right underneath one of the lights. I could see her face. She looked so cold sitting there. So miserable. Bruckman came over to her and started yelling at her. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she started… God, Alex, she was just cringing. And then he pushed her off the back of the snowmobile. She got up and went into the store next to the gas station. When she came out all the guys were ready to go. She just stood there in front of the door for a long time, and then she got on the back of Lonnie’s snowmobile and they took off. So I followed them, Alex. I don’t know why. I just had to. I couldn’t leave. Jimmy and Buck were in the back seat, but they were totally out of it. I followed Bruckman and his gang down the loop. They were riding right next to the road, so it was easy. They took a right on a little trail that goes west, so I lost them for a while. But I know that trail comes back out along Three Mile Road. So I just kept going west, watching for them. And then I saw their snowmobiles parked in front of Cappy’s, you know, that little place on the edge of town. I didn’t see them, so I figured they were inside warming up. I parked the car, waited for a while. I thought about going inside, but then I figured they’d recognize me. I mean, I had just played hockey with them, and then they saw me at the Horns Inn. So I just waited.”
When he stopped talking it was quiet in the cell, with only the humming of the lights above us. His three cellmates were listening intently, even Mr. Friendly against the wall. This was as much entertainment as he was going to get all day. I pulled my chair up closer to the bars. “Excuse us, gentlemen,” I said.
Mr. Friendly spat on the floor.
“So you waited,” I said, lowering my voice. “And then they eventually came out.” I know where this is going, I thought. They come out, Bruckman roughs her up again, Vinnie takes a hockey stick to him, and an off-duty Soo cop tries to break it up. And now here he sits in jail. But that’s not what he told me.
“He came out by himself,” Vinnie said. “He stood there and smoked a cigarette in the parking lot. And then Juno showed up.”
“Who’s Juno?”
“Juno’s my cousin. On my father’s side. He’s had a lot of problems in his life, Alex. He’s gotten into a lot of trouble. He did a little bit of jail time a couple of years ago. Hell, I’m sure he sat here in this cell more than once. Anyway, he comes in and Bruckman goes up to his car. Juno rolls the window down, and I saw Bruckman giving him something. Kinda obvious what they were doing. So Juno leaves the place and heads west down Three Mile Road, out towards the rez. Bruckman’s still standing out there. It’s cold as hell, but he doesn’t seem to mind it, even though he’s only got that leather coat on. I wasn’t sure what to do next, but Jimmy and Buck are still snoring in the back seat, so I figure I’ll just keep waiting, see what happens.”
He stopped and it was silent again, his cellmates still watching him. I didn’t say anything. I just waited for him to find the right words for whatever came next.
“So what happens is, Bruckman goes into the bar for a few minutes, and then he comes back out. He’s smoking another cigarette, just standing there in the parking lot. And Juno comes back. He couldn’t have been gone more than thirty, thirty-five minutes. Just enough time to go to the rez and back. This time when Bruckman goes to Juno’s window, Juno gives him something. Had to be money, I’m thinking. Bruckman was giving him drugs and Juno was taking them to the reservation. So, um…” Vinnie let out a breath and swallowed. “So I started to get mad. This is my cousin and he’s taking drugs back into the reservation. And Bruckman is the guy giving him the drugs, Alex. That’s what really got to me. My own cousin, Alex.” His voice became ragged. “Goddamn it, my father’s brother’s son, is… I just couldn’t stand it, Alex. And then Dorothy comes out of the bar, and she’s standing there under the light by the door. One second outside and already she’s looking cold again. And Bruckman’s yelling at her about something. So she went back inside. But that look on her face. This is the one member of my tribe, the one girl in my whole fucking tribe who found a way out of here, and now here she is back again with this asshole who’s selling drugs to our people. Like we don’t have a hard enough time, Alex. Like we already don’t even have the slightest fucking chance.”
“It’s all right,” I said.
“So I lost it, Alex. I went after him.”
“I understand.”
“I got my hockey stick out and went after him. All his buddies got out there in about two seconds. I think maybe they were already on their way out. I got a few good shots in, but then somebody jumped on me.”
“And then the cops tried to break it up? Did they identify themselves?”
“I don’t even know,” he said. “I don’t remember. I guess there were two off-duty Soo cops there. I was just swinging, Alex. I didn’t care who I hit.”
“What about Bruckman and his guys? The cops arrested you and let him get away?”
“Why would they arrest him?” he said. “I was the one who attacked them.”
“Didn’t you tell them he was selling drugs?”
“After I hit the cop in the face with my hockey stick? I’m gonna tell him what to do?”
“So they got away.”
“Yes.”
“So later that night, Dorothy runs away from him. And then he comes after her.”
“If anything happens to her, Alex… So help me God, I’ll kill him.”
“Save it,” I said. “Let’s just get you out of here.” “I told you, I don’t want the tribe bailing me out.” “I know a bondsman,” I said. “In fact, I think we’ll be his first customer.”
“You don’t have to do this, Alex.”
“Yes, I do,” I said. I stood up and pushed the chair away. “I need you to help me find her.”