A Cold White Fear

by R. J. Harlick

  “I guess you got caught.”

  From the corner of my eye I could see Jid working away on loosening his ropes.

  “Sort of. I got stuck in a really small window. The other guys took off and left me there. The house belonged to your guy, Eric. When he got home he found me. Gave me a big lecture about going straight, then sent me home with a warning to get new friends. I was only sixteen. I guess Eric figured there was something worth saving.”

  “It sounds like something he would do.”

  “Yeah, he said I needed a chance to smarten up. Said I’d had a tough childhood. See, my dad used to beat me up when he got drunk. Said if I didn’t act like a man he was gonna beat it into me. Anyways, your guy Eric got me playing hockey at the rec centre. Said it was good for building character.”

  Jid perked up. “What position did you play? Offense?”

  “Yeah, the only position for a little guy like me. But you know what? I was pretty good at it. I was a fast skater. The big guys couldn’t catch me. And I was good at scoring goals.”

  Jid smiled. “Me too.”

  “You keep playing hockey, you hear. Don’t give it up like I did. My dad made me quit. He and Eric got into a big shouting match. Eric wanted me to go to school. He was going to pay for my lodgings in town. See, he’d made all this money playing hockey.” He glanced over at Jid. “But I guess you know that, eh?”

  “He was one of the best players and one of the first Indians to make it big in the NHL. They used to call him Lightning Odjik, because he was so fast.” Jid beamed.

  “Never heard that name before, but it fits. Anyways, my old man refused. He pulled me out of hockey and made me go trapping with him. I was gone all winter. When I got back to the rez, hockey was finished for the season. My buddies wanted me to do another job. So I did.”

  “What did you do to make Eric kick you off the rez?” I asked.

  “He kept trying to get me to do stuff at the rec centre, but I wasn’t interested. My buddies said only sissies hung around the place. I made sure I never got caught stealing again. But a couple of my buddies got caught and got sent up. Eric caught me giving some weed to a bunch of kids. He was real mad at me. Threatened to turn me in to the cops if I didn’t tell him who the dealers were. So I did. He told me to leave the rez and never come back. I guess he’d given up on me by then.” He sighed. “Wished I’d listened to him instead of my buddies. Never woulda ended up in the pen. I figured the dealer set me up.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When the guy discovered I’d squealed on him, he got his buddies to frame me. No way I killed that guy. But I’ll never know. You see, I’d been drinking. Had too much and passed out. Professor thinks maybe they gave me something.”

  He lapsed into silence, staring at the fire. The wind continued to remind us that the blizzard was far from slowing down. The air wafting in from the hall seemed to have dropped a few degrees. I could feel coldness nibbling at my hands and ankles. Soon it would start to penetrate my clothes.

  Larry shook himself away from his thoughts and turned back to us. “You guys getting cold? The fire’s getting kinda low.”

  “Why don’t you get Professor to put some logs on?” I replied.

  “Nah, I can do it.”

  “Be careful. You don’t want to make your injury worse.”

  “No problem. Don’t hurt so much now.”

  He winced as he raised himself very slowly from the couch. Pressing his hands into his side, he shuffled over to the brass firewood rack leaning against the fireplace. He gingerly lifted one of the shorter logs and placed it on top of the coals. This he repeated a couple more times before shambling back to the sofa and collapsing with a painful groan.

  “Man, that don’t feel so hot. Guess I won’t be practising judo any time soon, eh?”

  “Wow, you know judo?” Jid asked.

  “Yeah, something I picked up inside. Professor said I needed to defend myself. Said judo would be good, especially for someone my size.” He glanced over at Jid. “I bet the bullies on the rez pick on you ’cause you’re small, eh?”

  “They used to, until Shome showed me a few tricks he learned playing hockey.”

  “I guess you mean Eric. He your grandpa?”

  “Nope. I just call him Shome.”

  “Good. A kid needs someone to look up to and to keep you on the straight and narrow. I weren’t so lucky. My mishomis was a drunk and died when I was little.”

  “I don’t have any real grandpas either. One died before I was born and the other ran away and never came back. I guess he’s dead now. Do you have your black belt?”

  “Not yet. I got my green belt. Only two more kyu to go before I get the black.” He picked away at some loose threads in the blanket, unravelling them more. “I’ve probably killed any chance of that happening now. The warden don’t take kindly to escapees.”

  “You’re never going to have to deal with the warden again, little buddy,” Professor said, leaning against the doorframe. “You’re not going to get caught. Neither of us are. We’re free, you hear?”

  “If you say so, Professor.”

  THIRTY

  The tattooed man stepped behind me and tugged at the ropes.

  “Ouch,” I cried out. “That hurts.”

  “Your hands haven’t turned blue yet, so they can’t be too tight.”

  “Can’t you loosen them a bit? My wrists are sore.”

  “Stop moving your hands.”

  I held my breath as Professor moved toward Jid’s chair. Hopefully the boy hadn’t managed to loosen his ropes enough to be noticed. But my worry was needless, for the man walked past without so much as a glance at Jid. He shone a flashlight through the window and growled, “When is this damn snow going to stop?”

  As if in answer, the house voiced its displeasure as another gust rammed against it.

  After poking at the fire, he sat down beside his lover and put his arm around him. “How are you doing, P’tit Chief? You’ve had a rough ride.”

  “The gunshot don’t hurt so much anymore, but jeez, I need a fix. You sure you don’t got something?” Larry pleaded.

  “Just hang in there. Maybe this is a good time to quit.”

  “You know I can’t do that. I don’t got it in me.”

  “Sure you do. Remember, you didn’t think you had it in you to finish high school, and yet you’re almost there. No reason why you can’t cure your heroin addiction. If you get through the next couple of days without the damn stuff you’ll be well on the road to being drug-free.”

  “If you say so, Professor,” Larry answered, barely above a whisper.

  “Do they really call you Viper?” Jid asked.

  “Da, Viper because he silent and deadly,” Slobodan answered, limping into the room. He punctuated it with a mock throw of a knife before flinging himself into the leather chair next to me. Placing his hand on my knee, he said, “I gotta get chair like this. Where you buy?”

  “Please remove your hand,” I whispered between clenched teeth. Every nerve ending in my body flinched.

  “Or you do what?” He let out a belly laugh while continuing to caress my knee.

  Helpless to do anything about it, I looked to Professor for support, but he seemed more interested in communing with his buddy than being my protector.

  “You leave her alone,” Jid said.

  “Or you do what, boy?”

  “Untie me and I’ll show you.”

  This caused an even louder crescendo of laughter. “You got balls, kid, like your aunt.”

  At that moment, a loud yelp from Shoni in the kitchen had Professor standing up. “Leave the woman and the boy alone,” he said. “I suggest you move to that chair over there.” He pointed to Eric’s liberally duct-taped La-Z-Boy chair, which he’d finally had to retire after the back springs gave up. Not wanting to part with it entirely, he’d shoved it into a corner until he was prepared to give it a fitting farewell.

  Slobodan firmed his jaw in re
sistance and then shrugged and stood up. “Sure, Viper, whatever you say.” And he walked over and dropped his bulk into the chair with a loud clunk as more springs gave way.

  “You had better be sitting in that chair when I return.”

  I watched with dread as the tattooed man left the room. I’d never felt so exposed in my life. If only I could convince him to untie me.

  “You tell me, why woman like you fucking an Injun?” Slobodan rasped.

  I wanted to spit on him and shout, “Shut up, you fucking racist.” But I knew that was exactly the kind of response he wanted from me. So I ignored him and kept my eyes down, while I kept my ears peeled for Professor’s speedy return.

  Beside me I felt Jid tense up at the terrible insult to his hero, his friend. I willed him to remain passive too. He must’ve sensed it, for he did nothing other than start jiggling his leg.

  “You probably like black meat too.”

  “Tiger, shut up,” Larry said. “Or I’ll tell Professor.”

  “Da, he like fucking red meat too.”

  I thought Larry was going to burst a vein.

  Professor rushed into the room and slugged the Serbian’s head sideways, cracking it against the wooden frame of the chair. Good. I hoped that hurt.

  I tried to slink farther into my own chair while I waited for the biker to draw his gun and shoot his attacker. But Slobodan merely firmed his fists and glared back. However, if looks could kill, this one would. Neither man said a word.

  The tattooed man continued to tower over the biker until the man unclenched his hands and shrugged. “Only a little fun. I do no harm.”

  Yeah, right. He’d only offended everyone in this room. I couldn’t understand why the man continued to goad Professor. He knew what the response would be. So far he’d deferred to his fellow con. But for how much longer?

  “Give me your gun,” Professor demanded.

  Slobodan crossed his arms over his chest in refusal and jutted out his chin to emphasize the point.

  “If you don’t, I’ll report you to the boss.”

  The Serb continued to resist. Finally, he shrugged and reached behind his back, but before he could pull the gun out, Professor grabbed his elbow.

  “Remove your hand. I’ll get it.”

  Just as well Professor couldn’t see the hatred etched into the other man’s face as he leaned behind him and eased out the gun.

  He handed it to Larry. “I give you leave to shoot him if he insults you again.”

  “But you know I don’t like guns. They get me into trouble.”

  “You’ve been very brave with this gunshot wound. I need you to remain strong for me, okay?”

  Larry swallowed. “I guess.” He shoved the handgun under the blanket while I slowly let out my breath.

  Like me, Jid had been afraid to move in case it diverted their rage to us. Now he visibly relaxed.

  You okay? I mouthed.

  He stretched his lips into a weak smile and nodded.

  “Everything gonna be okay, kid,” Larry said. “Professor will protect us.”

  I dared a glance at Slobodan. He continued to slouch in the chair, jiggling his leg. He shot me a look of pure venom when he realized my eyes were trained on him. I looked away.

  I had no idea how much longer Professor would be able to control this man. I only knew that I wanted to be far away from the two of them when it finally erupted. Even though it hurt my arms, I started straining on the ropes, hoping to loosen them. I noticed Jid doing the same thing.

  The biker thrust himself out of the chair and limped out of the room, muttering. “We no need you, big shot. I can do it too.”

  Only then did I realize Shoni was nudging my leg, wanting to be lifted onto my lap.

  “Sorry,” I whispered. “You’re just going to have to wait until my hands are free.”

  I couldn’t even bend down to kiss her on her head.

  It was at that point that I felt the tears begin to well up. I’d been trying so hard to put on a brave face, but I’d reached the point where I could no longer pretend. My world had gone to hell, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Down my cheeks they trickled.

  THIRTY-ONE

  “What’s the closest town to here?” Professor asked, lifting the puppy onto his lap.

  “Pardon?” I said, trying to gain some control over my emotions. I was so helpless, I couldn’t even wipe the tears from my face. “Did you say something?”

  “Yeah, the nearest town. What’s its name?”

  I took a deep breath and felt a modicum of control returning. “Somerset. You must’ve driven through it.”

  There were only two main roads to this isolated part of Quebec, one from the west through Somerset, a once-thriving logging town, and the other from the south through the village-dotted skiing country of the Laurentian Mountains.

  “We took mostly back roads. But I think I remember seeing a sign for Somerset. How far away is it?”

  “About fifty kilometres.”

  While I loved the remoteness of Three Deer Point, this was one time I wished the town were next door.

  “In this weather, I’m guessing a good hour away,” he said.

  Likely longer, I thought bleakly.

  “I assume Somerset has a police detachment.”

  “Yes.”

  “Hey, you’re crying.” He rose from the sofa and walked over. Pulling a tissue from his pocket, he wiped the tears from my face. Surprisingly, his touch was very gentle. This only brought on more tears. He wiped those too. “Look, it’s okay. I know we’re not your ideal houseguests, but we’ll be out of your hair in the morning, and you can get back to your normal life. Just hang in until then, okay?”

  I wished with all my might that I could believe him.

  He patted me on the arm and resumed his seat next to his lover. “How big a police force in Somerset?”

  I tried not to glance at Jid, who must have been wondering what was going on. “I’ve no idea, but it’s part of the Sûreté du Quebec.”

  I didn’t feel it necessary to mention that as the second largest provincial police force in Canada, the SQ would bring limitless resources into play to capture three escaped convicts who’d killed three guards. But they would only do this if they knew these killers had crossed the Ottawa River from Ontario into Quebec.

  “Where did you cross the river? At Ottawa?” Maybe someone saw them driving through the city.

  “Hardly. Like I told you, we took the back roads, staying well clear of towns.”

  That meant either they took the Cumberland ferry, which was unlikely given that they would have to come face to face with someone in order to pay, or they took the only other bridge crossing the Ottawa River before it flowed into the St. Lawrence at Montreal, the Hawkesbury bridge, which would require them to drive through the rural town to get to it. But no one would’ve noticed them. People would be more worried about navigating safely through the blinding snow than in noticing three escaped cons driving past them.

  “It’s like I told you, Professor,” Larry piped up. “There’s nothing close by. No way the police are ever gonna know we’re here.”

  “Just checking,” Professor replied.

  I was surprised Larry hadn’t mentioned the Migiskan reserve’s tribal police, but perhaps he thought the force too small and inexperienced to be a threat. Maybe they were, but if Chief Decontie had even an inkling these killers were in the area, he would bring in every SQ SWAT team in Quebec to ensure their capture.

  But Will had no idea these men were less than seven kilometres from his detachment, unless he’d heard my plea. And if he had, the SWAT teams would be converging on us even as we talked.

  “So why Three Deer Point?” I asked. “There are lots of other places that are more remote.”

  “We need to be close —”

  Professor butted in. “He knew of the house and thought it would be a good place to hide out for a few days. That’s right, isn’t it, P’tit Chief?”r />
  “Yeah, that’s right.” Larry glanced nervously at me before returning his gaze to his protector. He shrugged, almost as if he were apologizing.

  His actions only made me more suspicious. Close to what? Other than the Migiskan community and the odd cottage and farm sprinkled amongst the surrounding hills and lakes, there was nothing close by. Besides, few farms were occupied full-time anymore, and the cottages would be boarded up for the winter. So I had no idea what Larry could be alluding to.

  Jid shifted in the chair beside me. “Can you untie me? I gotta pee.”

  “You should’ve thought of that before, kid,” came the man’s clipped response.

  “I really gotta go.”

  “Please, untie him,” I chimed in. “He’s not going to cause you any trouble.”

  “The bitch lie,” Slobodan said, stepping across the threshold. A glass of what looked to be Coke sloshed around in his hand, though judging by his smirk, I wasn’t sure if something stronger hadn’t been added. “The kid make plenty trouble.” He held up his hand to remind us of the bite Jid had given him.

  Maybe if I were lucky, that, combined with the cut on his foot, would give him blood poisoning and he would die.

  “I trust you are drinking only Coke,” Professor retorted.

  The Serb shoved the glass under the other man’s nose and sneered. “Smell! Only Coke.”

  I was glad to see Slobodan wince when he put too much weight on his injured foot. Good, it was hurting him. I tensed as he hobbled past, expecting him to brush against me. But he ignored me and headed to the broken chair. However, instead of sitting on it, he spat on it, and then, with a challenging stare at Professor, he dropped his weight into the leather chair farthest from me.

  I waited to see how Professor would respond, but he chose instead to ignore the challenge as he patted Shoni, curled up in his lap.

  Jid squirmed. “Pleeease, I really gotta go.”

  I tried to move my chair closer in a futile attempt to loosen the ropes around his wrists. But before I’d managed to rock it an inch, Professor was untying the boy.