Winter Counts

by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

  THE NEXT DAY PASSED by in a blur. Marie stayed at her house; I suspected she wanted to keep out of our way while things began to happen. I watched mindless TV shows, the first one about people who made bids at auction on abandoned storage lockers and the contents inside. It took me a while to understand; I didn’t get why the people who’d rented the storage units would leave their belongings there. Why not just empty the unit if you didn’t want to pay for it anymore? This made no sense to me, not to mention that storage lockers were a crazy wasicu concept in the first place. On the rez, people would toss extra stuff in their backyard rather than pay rent on some tiny garage-like storage space. Or give it away to someone who needed it.

  Nathan came home after school, around three o’clock. Dennis was already at my house, waiting for him.

  “Let’s get you set up,” Dennis said. “First things first, how much cash do you need?”

  Nathan looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  “To buy the drugs. How much did they say they’d sell you? Ten hits? Or did you ask for more?”

  “Uh, yeah, they said they could do ten chunks.”

  “What’s a hit go for here?”

  “I guess ten or fifteen dollars.”

  Dennis handed Nathan some bills. “Here’s two hundred. If they offer you more, go ahead and buy it. I need you to sign this form; you’re acknowledging I gave you the money. Government makes us keep track of every dime.”

  Nathan scrawled his name on a piece of paper. “What do I do with the change? You know, if any’s left over?”

  “Hang on to it and give it back to me later. Or not. Main thing is, buy as much drugs as you can. Okay, next thing: You still have the burner phone I gave you?”

  Nathan nodded.

  “Let’s see it,” said Dennis. “How’s the battery doing?”

  “Charged all the way.”

  “All right, call me; make sure it’s working. There’s only one number programmed on there.”

  Nathan punched some buttons on the cell phone, then we heard a buzzing sound from Dennis’s pocket.

  “Okay, it’s operational. Remember, only use it if it’s an emergency. We’ll come in and assist if you call us. You remember the emergency code?”

  Nathan shook his head.

  “Say ‘Going to a friend’s house.’ That’s all you have to say: we hear those words, we’ll be there in one minute. You got it?”

  Nathan nodded and smirked. I could tell he thought Dennis didn’t trust him to take care of himself.

  “Last thing,” said Dennis. “Let’s get the listening device on you.”

  “You mean the wire?” I said.

  “Yeah. We don’t call it that anymore. It’s all digital now.” He took out a small black device that looked like a remote entry key for a car. “This is the transmitter. Just hook this on your key ring and keep it in your pocket.”

  “Where’s the microphone?” I asked.

  Dennis smiled. “The cell phone. The burner I gave him. There’s an app on the phone called Envoy that automatically records and sends data in real time to our people.” He turned his attention to Nathan. “But make sure you don’t turn the phone off. When you’re making the buy, just set the phone down like you normally would. The only thing you can’t do is stick it in your pocket. We won’t be able to hear you.”

  Now Nathan looked concerned. “Like, can you show me how to hold it? So I don’t mess it up?”

  “You don’t have to hold it any special way. Just put it down on a chair or carry it in your hand. Like I said, don’t jam it in your pants or turn it off.”

  Nathan looked dubious. “Uh, okay.”

  “There’s one other thing I need you to do.” He pulled his chair closer to Nathan. “Don’t overdo it, but I need you to describe—out loud—what’s going on at the buy while it’s happening. Say something like, ‘How many hits did you bring?’ We only have audio, so we need a verbal record of what’s happening. That make sense?”

  Now I was concerned. “Won’t he tip off the drug guys that he’s recording the conversation? If he says something that sounds weird?”

  “That’s the whole point,” Dennis said. “Be natural. Say things you’d normally say. Talk about what’s happening, ask questions. You think you can do that?”

  Nathan had an expression on his face that suggested we were the oldest and most ridiculous people in the world. “No worries. I can handle it.”

  “All right,” said Dennis, “let’s do a test, check the sound quality.” He took the phone from Nathan and clicked on it. “I turned on the app, so you’re in record mode now. You got the transmitter? Cool. Go in the other room and say some words. Virgil and I’ll go out to my unit, see how it sounds.”

  Dennis and I walked out to his unmarked police car and got in. There was a small black console on the seat. He flipped on a switch and turned a knob, presumably the volume.

  “All right, let’s test her out.”

  He and I waited. All I heard was a faint electrical hum and the sound of the birds chattering to each other. We sat there for about thirty seconds. It felt like hours.

  We waited some more. Still nothing.

  “Shit,” Dennis said, and started to open his door. Then some sound came from the device, surprisingly clear.

  “Ah, testing, testing, test, test. Can you guys hear me? I don’t know what to say, I feel kind of stupid, but I guess—”

  Dennis clicked a knob on the console. “We’re good.”

  We went back inside. Nathan came out of the bedroom with a curious look on his face. “Could you guys hear me?”

  “Loud and clear,” said Dennis. “When you meet with them, be sure to hold your phone that way.”

  Nathan nodded.

  “Okay, we’re locked and loaded. We’ll be in the tech car, listening to your conversation and recording it. Your uncle will be there with us. There’ll be another vehicle there—the follow car—watching you directly.” Dennis looked at his phone, then turned back to Nathan. “Buy the drugs and come right back to the house, don’t go anywhere else. I’ll need to snap some pics of the dope and take your statement. We won’t arrest them right away—that’d be a dead giveaway you set ’em up. We’ll probably put the arm on them later today or tomorrow. Game-time decision. You ready? Kickoff in thirty minutes.”

  Nathan rolled his eyes at me when Dennis wasn’t looking. The football references. Nathan hated football, thought it was stupid and violent.

  “All right,” Dennis said. “Head on out to the school. Any problems, call me and say the code. Like I said, the ghost car will have eyes on you.”

  Ten minutes after Nathan left, Dennis and I drove to the school and parked a few blocks away. “You sure we’re not too far to hear him?” I asked.

  Dennis was making some adjustments on the recording device. “Should be fine. Range is about a quarter mile. We don’t get good sound, we’ll move in closer.”

  We sat in silence, waiting for something to happen. After a while, the console began to make a scratchy sound. It sounded like a transmission from the moon landing. I realized I could hear the sounds from my car, the one Nathan was driving. I could tell he had the radio on, tuned to KOYA, the rez station, which was playing some powwow music. His phone was picking up the car’s radio and sending the transmission to us. The song ended, and I could hear the DJ talking. “Hey KOYA land, coming up by request is ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ the ukulele version, going out to little Robin Two Crow, who turns four today. Happy birthday, Robin, from your Unci Charlene!”

  “I think that’s the radio in my car. Are we hearing that from his cell?” I asked.

  “Yep,” said Dennis. “He probably has the phone on the seat by the car’s speaker. Or maybe not. Device is pretty sensitive.”

  The music continued for another few minutes, then stopped. We heard some rattling, the sound of a door slam, and then nothing.

  “He put the phone in his pocket,” said Dennis. “He needs to hold it in
his hand when the guys show up. I hope he remembers.”

  “Don’t worry, he’ll do it.”

  “Hope so. Otherwise, we have to go through all this again. Let me call Mike. He’s in the ghost over by the school.”

  Dennis made the call. “It’s me. You got eyes on him?” He paused, listening to the cop. I listened in, trying to make out what he was saying.

  “Uh-huh, uh-huh, right. Call if they move.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “He spotted Nathan and another male. They’re walking to the back of the school near the picnic tables.”

  “Is he with one of the dealers?”

  “No, they’re waiting for them. Probably another friend looking to buy dope. Don’t know which of the gang will bring the stuff—hope it’s Rick Crow, but it could be one of the younger guys. I doubt Loco will come, he usually stays at the house, sends the younger dudes out for the deliveries.”

  We waited about twenty minutes. Occasionally we’d hear little bursts of sound from the console, but nothing I could make out. I tried to be calm, but my agitation felt like jolts of direct-current electricity coursing under my skin. Finally Dennis’s cell phone rang.

  “Yeah?” He stopped and listened, then gave a few more uh-huhs and okays.

  “What’s happening?” I said.

  “The Denver guys are there. Three of them, one we think is called Manuel, the other we’re not sure. And good news. Your buddy Rick Crow’s there.”

  A jolt of pure adrenaline shot through my body.

  “Mike says they’re heading over to the tables now,” Dennis went on. “Perfect. That’s school property, right where we want ’em. Now we just need Nathan to take out the phone so we can hear the shitheads.”

  We waited some more—it seemed like an eternity—for the recording console to start transmitting their conversation.

  Silence. Goddamn it, Nathan, take your phone out of your pocket! Do it now!

  I decided to ask Dennis about the procedures in case we couldn’t hear their voices. “What happens if we can’t—”

  All of a sudden the console erupted with voices.

  . . . coming over later? I don’t know, I gotta do some stuff Homes come over and chill we got the new—Look at that bitch Who? Walking over there You know you want some of that Fuck you No fuck you skin Damn she’s fine You wish Go talk to her—Hell yeah You know her? Naw he don’t know shit Hey I gotta go soon check out my uncle

  Nathan’s voice came through. It was hard to make out who was speaking from the chorus of voices, but I recognized his speech. I looked over at Dennis, but he was listening intently to the conversation, staring straight at the black console as if the guys were inside the unit itself.

  It’s all good Where you been Rick long time no time You know little of this little of that Y’all heading to the shack later? Might go to V-town to chow You wanna come N? Can’t gotta do some stuff you know like keep it chill on the home front

  Nathan again. It sounded like he knew these guys well, which worried me.

  I do my shit and everyone leaves me alone you hear me? I hear We gonna be able to do this? I got some paypa Yeah it’s cool We got to head over to the car do the thing All good Let’s go What where you at

  The conversation ended, and we heard a rustling sound from the console.

  “Shit,” Dennis said, “he stuck the phone in his pocket.”

  I started to say something, but Dennis held up his finger, then made a call.

  “What are they doing?” he said into his phone. A short pause. “Okay, let me know.”

  He turned to me. “They’re walking, possibly to their car. Probably do the deal in there so no one can see them. Pretty typical. Not a problem, as long as Nathan keeps his cool.”

  “Will your guy be able to see them?”

  “Don’t worry, he’s a pro. One of my best men. He’ll move if he has to, just has to be sure he’s not made. Should be able to hear more in a second on the device—still within range.”

  We could only hear a rustling sound from the console. I wondered if I should go to the school and monitor the situation myself. Nathan, goddamn it! Take your phone out so we can hear what’s going on!

  Dennis’s phone rang. “Yeah?” A pause. “All right, do it, but be careful.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “They drove off. Nathan went with them. But don’t worry, Mike’s going to tail the vehicle.”

  I looked out into the field outside the car. It was early evening, when the snakes came out. Sure enough, I saw a small movement about a hundred yards away. A little rattlesnake, the brown-and-tan pattern barely visible, moving slowly between the rocks and the grass.

  “What do we do now?”

  “We wait,” he said. “Find out where they’re headed. Then we’ll drive out there, get back in range for the wire.”

  “Any idea where they’re going?”

  “Don’t know. Maybe they’re heading out to their cabin to get more balloons. Not good—we wanted this to go down on school grounds. Don’t worry, Mike is on them; he’ll let us know where they’re at.” He put his phone down. “No reason to stay here. Let’s go over to the gas station, wait for Mike’s call.”

  We drove a few blocks to the convenience store.

  “He’ll call as soon as he has a bead on ’em. I’m gonna grab a soda, you want one?”

  I shook my head. This was probably routine to Dennis, but I wanted him to be on full alert, not buying snacks. He went into the store, and I looked down at my old-fashioned phone, checking to see if Nathan had called me, even though I knew it was pointless. He’d call Dennis if there were any problems.

  Dennis came out of the store with a can of Dr Pepper in one hand and his cell phone pressed to his ear, talking to someone. He stopped in front of the store and continued his conversation. From the look on his face, it didn’t seem good. His expression was grim as he walked back to the car.

  “Everything okay?” I asked.

  “He lost them.”

  “What? Who lost who?”

  “Mike. In the follow car. He lost track of the dealers. It was a loose tail, so he was staying back a little—turns out he was following the wrong vehicle. He thinks there might’ve been two cars at the site; he tracked the wrong one. He’s looking for a red Dodge Charger now.”

  “So who was in the car? The one he followed?”

  “Some high school kids. Both vehicles were headed southbound. Mike’s headed back out to see if he can pick it up.”

  I tried to process all of this. “Does he know where they were going?”

  “Don’t know. Right now, it’s wait-and-see mode.”

  Wait and see? That didn’t make any sense to me. “They’re not just driving around, right? Maybe they’re going to their place—where they’re staying.”

  Dennis thought for a second. “Possibly. Worth a shot to go out there. Worst-case scenario, we drive back here. Either way, this buy is shot to shit. Let me take you back to your house, and I’ll head out to the gang’s shack.”

  “Take me back? No fucking way. I’m in this, all the way.”

  “We don’t know what’s going on out there. I let you ride along today as a courtesy. But you’re going back to your place. Nonnegotiable. I can drive you, or you can walk.”

  It had come to this. But there was no way I was abandoning Nathan after leading him into this clusterfuck.

  “Then you better put the cuffs on me,” I said. “If you think you can. Because I’m getting in that car.” I squared off in my stance, facing him. “Nonnegotiable.”

  He stared at me, wondering if I was going to back up my challenge.

  I looked right back at him.

  “All right,” he said. “Get in.”

  WE TOOK OFF FOR VALENTINE, where Loco and the others stayed and did their business. While we drove, Dennis started to tell me about the dealers’ cabin.

  “Yeah, I know about it,” I said. “The one at the travel park, outsi
de of town?”

  “You know where it is? Did Nathan tell you?”

  “No, I did some digging and figured it out. Drove out and took a look.”

  He shook his head in disgust. “Goddamn, we had to do a shit-ton of surveillance to locate the place. You go inside?”

  “No, just watched it for a while. I saw Rick Crow there.”

  “Not surprising. Let me check with Mike, see where he’s at with the Charger.”

  He made a call on his cell phone while we sped down Highway 83 to Nebraska. I listened to his end of the call as best I could while I watched the road shimmer in front of us.

  “Damn,” he said. “Mike can’t locate the vehicle.”

  “What? He can’t find the car?”

  “That’s what he said. He’s still looking.”

  I was close to boiling over, but I kept my temper in check. It took about thirty minutes to get to the campgrounds. We pulled into the entrance of the Pay-E-Zee and stopped. Same story as before, the place looked deserted, a ghost town. There was one beat-up camper parked off to the side but I couldn’t see any vehicles parked by the cabin in the back. The gang’s place. Dennis circled slowly around to the rear, a few hundred yards from the cabin behind some bushes.

  “We’ll monitor it. If we’re lucky, they’ll come by and we can pick up the wire again. Mike’s driving back to the reservation to see if he can locate them.”

  We waited in silence for a while. The only movement came from the wind and the birds. Dennis checked his phone periodically for text messages.

  “Fuck this, I’m going in,” Dennis said. “Wait here, just stay put.”

  He slipped out of the car and walked over to the cabin. First, he peered inside the window, then he tried the front door, which was locked. Then he went around to the rear. I watched closely, waiting to see if he’d found anyone inside. I opened the car’s window so I could hear any sounds of a struggle—or gunshots.

  Nothing. Minutes passed with no sign of Dennis. Something must have happened. Maybe they’d been lying in wait and got him from behind. Maybe they’d shot him, and I didn’t hear.