Iron Lake

by William Kent Krueger

“Exactly. The file was there.”

  “All by itself? Just waiting for you to pick it up?”

  “No. I had to do some digging. Lytton had a lot of equipment in the shed. A slew of eavesdropping equipment, fancy camera apparatus.”

  “And that?” Cork pointed toward the white filing cabinet he’d noticed earlier.

  “And that,” Schanno admitted.

  “Mind if I look at it?”

  The sheriff considered it a moment. “I don’t see why not. Maybe it’ll help you understand my dilemma.”

  Cork opened the top drawer. It was full of folders like the one on Russell Blackwater. He recognized many of the names on the folder labels.

  “Try the middle drawer, midway back,” Schanno suggested.

  Cork checked the drawer, found a folder marked “O’Connor, C.” He pulled it out. It was thin. Inside were a couple of photographs, enlarged. Of Molly and him embracing naked on the shore by her sauna. Like the photos of Jo and Parrant, they’d been taken from somewhere out on the lake at night.

  Schanno rocked back carefully. “You know the equipment in Lytton’s unit at the Aurora U-Store was pretty sophisticated stuff. A lot of those files have photographs more or less like those. I’m sure they were shot by Harlan Lytton. All of the subjects have been caught in some indiscretion, things the folks here in Aurora would love to chew on for a while, but nothing really criminal, so far as I’ve been able to see. Blackwater’s file was different.”

  “You think Lytton was blackmailing all these people?”

  “Was he blackmailing you?”

  “No.”

  “Then he probably wasn’t. Kept it limited to where he could make the most with the least difficulty. Blackwater got a lot from his embezzling. Enough to share easily with Harlan Lytton.”

  “You really think Lytton was smart enough to figure out the thing with Blackwater and the casino?”

  “Look at those files, Cork. The man was used to nosing through other people’s crap. Man like that probably knows where to look for the worst.”

  Cork had to agree. Lytton was just that kind of man.

  “What do you think about Blackwater? What was he doing at the judge’s?”

  Schanno’s hand instinctively sought out his bandaged leg and felt it gently. “I read your statement this morning. You told Blackwater last night at the casino that you were going to have me check out his whereabouts on the night Lytton was killed. I think Blackwater followed you. I think he planned to kill you to keep from putting me onto him. He saw you go in the side door. He just didn’t see you go out the front. Bastard shot me by mistake.”

  “I suppose I ought to thank you, then,” Cork said. “You probably saved my life.”

  Schanno waved it off. “Getting things back to normal around here is all I want.”

  Cork closed the folder but didn’t return it to the drawer. “Will things ever be back to normal, Wally? Seems to me when you found this file cabinet, you latched onto a real Pandora’s box. Now that you’ve opened it, can you close it again?”

  Schanno looked uneasy. “I don’t know. I figure the worst is over. I’m not sure what purpose would be served by bringing all this to light. Seems like it would only lead to a lot of decent folks getting hurt. So far as I know, only you and me know what’s in there. I’d just as soon keep it that way.” He nodded toward the cabinet. “Whyn’t you put the folder back, Cork.”

  Cork slipped it in where he’d found it, then spotted a folder not far behind with the name “Parrant, S.” He pulled the folder out.

  “Cork!” Schanno hollered.

  Cork ignored Schanno and opened the folder.

  “Goddamn you, Cork, get outta there!” Schanno was struggling to stand, grabbing at the crutches that leaned against the wall behind him.

  There were several photographs inside. Shots like those he’d seen before. Of trysting around Parrant’s hot tub. Although several different women were involved, none of them was Jo. Cork recognized a couple. Parrant’s secretary, Helen Barnes. Sue Jacobson, the chancellor of Aurora Community College. Unlike Jo, they were not married. Cork noted quickly the time date at the bottom of each photo. They’d all been taken before Parrant began his affair with Jo. From the looks of it, the man had been faithful. In his way. That there were no pictures of Jo surprised Cork. But he was also relieved since Schanno had undoubtedly already looked at the folder.

  Schanno grabbed the folder angrily from Cork’s hands. His face was contorted with outrage and pain.

  “That was uncalled for, damn you, Cork! I ought to have your sorry carcass thrown in jail.”

  Schanno shoved the pictures back into Parrant’s folder and sat on the file cabinet. He squeezed his eyes shut a moment and held his leg. He breathed deeply, easing out the pain. When he opened his eyes again and looked at Cork, all the euphoria was gone. “Get outta here before I have you arrested.”

  Cork took his leather jacket from the coat tree and reached for the doorknob.

  “Cork?” Schanno’s voice was ragged with irritation and pain. He’d moved himself onto his crutches and was leaning on them heavily. “What would you do if you were me?”

  “I’d be tempted to burn them,” Cork answered honestly. “Save myself the worry over whose lives are ruined by what might come to light. But then, I’m not the sheriff, Wally, so I’m not even going to think about that.”

  He left Schanno’s office and checked with the desk officer on his way out. No one had found his revolver.

  28

  MAIDEN COVE WAS ON RESERVATION LAND just west of the state forest. Formed by a rugged arm of dark gray rock that nearly cut off the small inlet from the rest of the lake, accessible only by water and an unmarked inland trail, the cove was nearly invisible to those who did not know where to look. It had always been a special place in Cork’s thinking. Before his father was killed, they had often canoed in with Sam Winter Moon and camped there. Cork loved to jump off the gray rock that jutted up a dozen feet above the water. The cove was surprisingly deep. He had wonderful memories of the cool, still water in summer and of swimming deep among the big rocks on the bottom, where the refracted sunlight turned everything a rich greengold. Life seemed simple then—the quiet of the woods and lake, a welcoming campfire, and the two men he loved most still alive.

  That’s what Cork wanted. Everything simple again.

  With an ice spud he chipped a hole eight inches wide through ice that was more than half a foot thick. He cleared the ice chunks from the water with a plastic skimmer, then dropped a little vegetable oil onto the surface to keep the water from refreezing quickly. On a small Russian spoon, he put a grub, then sank it with a two-pound test line. He settled himself on a folding canvas chair. Holding his jigging rod in one hand, he reached into the deep pocket of his coat and brought out a bottle of peppermint schnapps.

  He opened the bottle, but before he had a chance to take a drink, the grind of a snowmobile engine came from a long way off. He hoped it would move on, pass the cove by. In a few minutes, all the rocks and trees rattled with the incessant whine of the little engine. Cork watched the snowmobile shoot through the narrow opening, swing toward him, and come to a stop a few yards away. It was an old machine. The oldest Cork knew of in Tamarack County. St. Kawasaki dismounted, lifted his goggles, and walked toward Cork.

  “What are you doing here?” Cork asked, not in a friendly way.

  “I thought you might need someone to talk to.” He adjusted the black patch over his eye.

  “How’d you find me?”

  “Jo told me this was your favorite spot. I took a chance.”

  Cork glanced behind him at the old Kawasaki. “I thought that machine was dead.”

  The priest smiled and shrugged. “That’s why I call it Lazarus.” He saw the bottle in Cork’s hand. “Mind if I take a shot of that? It’s a long, cold way out here.”

  Cork handed him the schnapps. The priest took a swallow and gave the bottle back.

  “Nice place,�
� Tom Griffin said, surveying the cove. “I wasn’t sure if I could find it. Are they biting?”

  “Not yet.” Cork jigged the line, drawing the baited spoon upward several times, then he let it settle back.

  “What are you fishing for?” the priest asked.

  “What are you?” Cork replied.

  St. Kawasaki smiled. “I thought you might need to talk.”

  “Nothing to talk about. It’s all settled. Bullets and lawyers, between them they’ve got a monopoly on the resolution of conflict.” Cork took a long drink of schnapps, then handed the bottle back to the priest.

  “If everything’s settled, what harm can a little talking do?”

  “What good can it do?” Cork pulled out his Lucky Strikes, took off his gloves, and lit a cigarette. “Let me ask you a question.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Do you believe in God?”

  St. Kawasaki looked amused. “Hell of a question to ask a priest.”

  Cork carefully watched the end of his rod, a spring device that acted as a bobber. It hadn’t moved at all in the time he’d been there. “I’m asking because I’ve been a cop most of my life, but I don’t believe in justice anymore. I just wondered if the same was true in your work.”

  “Why wouldn’t it be? Priests are only human. We question, doubt, even grow a little despondent at times because what the world shoves at us doesn’t seem to bear much mark of the divine.” The priest held the bottle toward the gray sky and squinted his one eye, as if making some kind of judgment about the schnapps. “But in the end I always come back to believing.”

  “Why? Why believe in something that continues to let you down?”

  “Like justice, eh?” The priest drank and made a satisfied sound. “Sure hits the spot, Cork.” He looked down where Cork sat on the folding canvas chair. “Everything disappoints us sometimes. Everybody disappoints us. Men let women down, women let men down, ideals don’t hold water. And God doesn’t seem to give a damn. I can’t speak for God, Cork, but I’ll tell you what I think. I think we expect too much. Simple as that. And the only thing that lets us down is our own expectation. I used to pray to God for an easy life. Now I pray to be a strong person.”

  “I’m glad you found a prayer that works,” Cork said. “Think you can find your way back to town?”

  “Cork,” the priest went on in a frank tone, “I don’t know if anybody’s told you this, but you look like hell.”

  “I don’t care, okay? Look, why don’t you just jump back on Lazarus there and leave me the hell alone.”

  “In my experience, only dead men don’t care.”

  “Then shake the hand of a ghost, Father.”

  Cork shoved his hand up at the priest, who merely put the bottle of schnapps in it.

  “I won’t try to argue you out of this pit you’ve climbed into, Cork. But if you want to talk to someone—when you need to talk to someone—I’m willing to listen.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind.” Cork turned back toward the hole in the ice.

  The priest returned to Lazarus, kicked the old machine over, and guided it out of the cove. Cork listened until the sound of it was finally lost in the direction of Aurora.

  He finished his cigarette and threw the butt in the snow. He considered finishing the schnapps. Instead, he heaved the bottle as far as he could.

  Think, he told himself. Think like you’ve trained yourself to think. Think like a goddamn cop.

  Wally Schanno was satisfied. Russell Blackwater had done it all. Embezzled. Killed Lytton. Then tried to kill him and Cork, too. It worked. It was a safe assumption. But Cork felt it was wrong. It was too easy an answer, had come right out of the blue, handed over by Sigurd Nelson in the form of a small, silver key that had been conveniently overlooked the night Lytton died.

  He hauled up his line. Not even a nibble. Well, some days were like that. He threw his gear into the back of the Bronco. As he came around to the driver’s side, he saw a huge black oil stain in the snow where the priest had parked the snowmobile.

  Lazarus was running again, but as always, running on borrowed time.

  29

  CORK CALLED THE CASINO from Sam’s Place.

  “Give me Darla LeBeau,” he said.

  After half a minute, Darla’s voice, with a forced cheerleader sweetness, floated over the line. “This is Darla. How may I help you?”

  “Corcoran O’Connor, Darla. How are you?”

  There was a pause that Cork interpreted as a wary silence. Then Darla replied, “I’m fine.”

  “I called to find out how Paul’s doing.”

  “I haven’t seen Paul since he disappeared last Thursday.”

  Cork thought about the groceries he’d seen her buy and was certain she was lying.

  “What about Joe John? Hear anything from him?”

  “No.”

  Simple answer. Nothing more offered than what he’d asked. How much was she hiding? Cork wondered, and why? Why now?

  “How are things there at the casino? I mean, considering Russell and all.”

  “Confusing,” Darla said. “I have to go.”

  “Sure. I understand. I was just concerned.”

  Darla hung up without thanking him for his concern. Although he couldn’t see her, he’d have been willing to bet she dropped that phone as if it were a scorpion about to sting.

  “Cork?”

  Wally Schanno looked surprised. He tried to get up from his desk chair, but Cork waved him back down.

  “Answer me a question, Wally. Those files, did you dust them for prints?”

  “Why?”

  “To see if anyone besides Lytton might have handled them.”

  “What difference would it make? I have what I need.”

  Cork glanced around the office. The white filing cabinet was no longer there.

  “You didn’t do it, Wally. You didn’t really burn them.”

  “There’s nothing left but ashes in the incinerator out back.” Schanno sat back, looking satisfied with himself.

  “Jesus Christ. I don’t believe it.”

  “It was your idea,” he reminded Cork. “Like you said, a Pandora’s box. The things in there could have hurt a lot of good people if they ever came to light.” He lifted a manila folder from his desk and waved it at Cork. “I have everything I need right here. Blackwater’s file. Why hold onto anything else? Burn it. You said so yourself.”

  “Christ, Wally, I can say anything I goddamn well please. I’m not the sheriff. Great police work.”

  “I suppose you’d have done it differently,” Schanno said angrily.

  “Goddamn right I would.”

  “If you’re so goddamn good at it,” Schanno shouted, “why am I the one doing the job?”

  Cork planted his hands on Schanno’s desk and leaned close to Schanno’s red face. “Did you have a file in there, Wally? Is that the real reason you were so quick to torch everything?”

  Schanno started to reply, but the words died on his lips and he looked down.

  “I guess I have my answer,” Cork said, and turned away.

  Ellie Gruber escorted Cork back to the office of Father Tom Griffin. The office door was closed and she knocked lightly. A moment later, the priest opened the door.

  “Cork.” He smiled. “Come in, come in. Thank you, Mrs. Gruber.” He ushered Cork in and cleared a chair. “Have a seat.” The priest sat on the edge of his cluttered desk. “So, change your mind about wanting to talk?”

  “Not about what you think. But I do want to talk.”

  “Fire away.”

  “You’re a priest.”

  “Glad you noticed.” Tom Griffin grinned.

  “People—a lot of people—would trust you with something they couldn’t confide to anyone else.”

  “I suppose so.”

  “Have you talked with Darla LeBeau lately?”

  “Sure.”

  “And she’s concerned about her son?”

  The priest gave Cork a slightly b
ewildered look. “Of course. Wouldn’t you be?”

  “But Paul’s with Joe John, isn’t he? And Joe John loves him.”

  “I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

  Cork pulled out his cigarettes. “Want one?”

  The priest declined with a shake of his head. He glanced at his desk and offered Cork a heavy ceramic mug as an ashtray. Cork lit up. He inhaled deeply and felt a stab of pain from his bruised ribs.

  “You okay?” Tom Griffin asked.

  “Got any aspirin?”

  “Sure.”

  The priest opened his desk drawer and took out a half-full bottle of aspirin. He tossed the bottle to Cork. “Let me get some water.”

  “Don’t bother.” Cork tapped out a couple tablets and swallowed them.

  “What about Paul LeBeau?” the priest pressed him.

  “Darla knows where he is,” Cork said.

  “That seems like a huge assumption.”

  “Is it? You talk with her every day. You tell me. Is she afraid?”

  “Yes,” the priest admitted.

  “Do you know why?”

  “Her son.” The priest shrugged as if it were obvious.

  “Let me ask you something else. Have you seen Joe John?”

  The priest gave a definite shake of his head. “No.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “If I knew that, wouldn’t I know where Paul is? Look, Cork, playing twenty questions won’t get you far. What is it you really want from me?”

  “I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell Darla I’m interested in what she’s afraid of, what the boy’s afraid of. Hell, what Joe John and everybody else is afraid of, too, for that matter. I’m not a cop anymore, so nothing I’m told is official.”

  There was a knock at the door, soft, the light tap of Mrs. Gruber.

  “Just a moment!” the priest called. His good eye bored into Cork. “Why should they trust you?”

  “Because that boy can’t hide forever. And sooner or later they’re going to have to trust somebody who knows how to protect him.”

  “From what?”

  “You tell me.” Cork ground his cigarette out in the bottom of the mug. He stood up to leave and handed the mug back to the priest. “Talk to them, then let me know. I can help, believe me.”