by Chris Ryan
“Now, drop it.”
“All right, b’y. I was only trying to be nice, inviting you to come with me birding.”
“Dutch, drop it! You and your fucking birdwatching. I’m some sick of hearing about birds the last twenty years. Sure, it would drive you nuts. Now drop it.”
“Okay, b’y, relax. Joe, this is soon going to explode. These cops are into their fourth day. They can’t leave him there too much longer. I’d say this is the start of the end.”
“Dutch, you fucking stupid? How many fucking times have I got to tell you, the ending of this is not up to the cops. It’s up to Leo when this will end, and on his terms, not theirs.”
“All right, boy. Don’t blow your top.”
“I’m not blowing my fucking top. I hate repeating myself.”
“Joe, you got to get some sleep, b’y. This lasts much longer, you’ll be in the Waterford. Almost every topic we bring up, you flip. Time to chill, my man.”
“Anyway, when I went home last night one of the boys I used to work with at Caul’s Funeral Home had left a message for me. I called him back. He told me he came in on a flight from Halifax late last night and that there were at least twenty cops on the flight. Half were wearing the full RCMP uniforms. The rest all had the typical short haircuts. And they all were sitting together, so he took all of them for RCMP members.”
“You telling me that they had to bring in cops from the mainland to get one man out of a house? Another Newfie joke. I can see that in the Globe and Mail in the next day or two. ‘RCMP in Newfoundland request the help of their brothers in Maritime provinces to get one man out of a house.’”
“Dutch, think about it. How many officers can they spare for this standoff? There must be thirty or forty cops here. They’re taken from somewhere, which is leaving posts vacant somewhere.”
“I guess you have a point. Never really thought about it. I have to call Brenda and tell her what she and Sharon are missing.”
I dialled Brenda’s number. “Brenda, get out of the bed. You’re missing it.”
“Missing what?”
“There are six, sometimes eight cops on the side of Leo’s garage, the side towards Bernie Mullowney’s.”
“Which garage?”
“The one closest to Bernie’s.”
“What? When did they make that move?”
“I got here about half an hour ago, and as soon as I hauled in I noticed them. They’re fully dressed in SWAT team clothing. Where’s Sharon?”
“We had a few extra beer last night. I’d say she’s sleeping it off.”
“Go get her and get up here. Joe and I are thinking that there’s a possibility they may attack sometime in the next few hours. If they don’t it’s because they’re there familiarizing themselves with the surroundings.”
“Be there in a half-hour. Jesus, I don’t want to miss anything after spending so much time watching this since it started.”
“Okay, see you when you get here. Bye. Joe, you seeing anything in the scope?”
“Not really, they’re just there milling around. Two left and went down the road in the Suburban, the blue one. The black one is still there. I’d say they’re gone down to warm up. Imagine how fucking cold it is standing down there with the wind blowing. I’d say it’s colder than yesterday. I know how cold we are here sitting in the cover of a vehicle. They’ll deserve every bit of overtime they get for this stakeout.”
“Joe, there are no less than four blue Suburbans in the harbour since this started. I counted six black ones yesterday, too. How many vehicles are in the harbour since this all started?”
“I don’t know, but someone said that they’re all gassing up into Vincie Crane’s North Atlantic.”
“He’s making a killing off this standoff. Yes, if he’s not making it on gas, he’s making it on a wing and a potato. Imagine the gas they’re burning. Sure, those two vehicles up by Sharon’s are running ninety per cent of the time. Talk about polluting the environment. I guess Leo trumps the environment this week. They don’t give a fuck about the environment so long as their asses are warm.
“I wonder if they’ll use the robot today? They haven’t used it in the daytime yet, so they may use it today. There’s definitely something brewing. All those cops are not standing by the side of that garage for nothing. I’m wondering if they’re just standing there to try and intimidate Leo.”
“Never thought of that.”
“Kind of showing off their strength in numbers. That won’t bother Leo. They could stand every cop that’s in the harbour in his front yard and, knowing Leo, he would just laugh at them. He’d say something like, ‘Enjoy your fucking overtime, pigs. And GET THE FUCK OFF MY PROPERTY!’
“Joe, I’d say Leo is writing down everything that’s happening since this started. I mean everything. Every word that was said by every person who was on the PA system. Like when they sent in the robot. When they change out the snipers at the back of his house. They said he took dozens of pages of notes during his release trial in 1998. It was reported that he took more notes than Jerome Kennedy.”
“Dutch, I said it when this started, that the cops were up against one smart and tough individual.”
“I’d say smarter than he’s tough. And we know how tough he is. You mark it down, Leo will make them look like fools by the time this is over. Didn’t he in ’98? He said to me a dozen times that he thought they had it out for him, and by Christ, wasn’t he right. If someone else had a domestic dispute with their sister, do you think the cops would have handled it differently?”
“Definitely, Dutch.”
“This standoff has become what it is because of who they have cornered in that house. Cops don’t forget. You embarrass them and they will get you. It may take a few years, but they’ll be back. Look at the Drukens. One of them jaywalks downtown, they’re getting a ticket. No questions asked.
“Don’t get me wrong. I have respect for the RCMP, and all police for that matter, but some stuff they do is certainly questionable. Definitely how they’re handling this situation is. All Leo needed was a little time to cool down. The cowboys from Ferryland or Holyrood could have had him out of the house and this would not have turned into the fiasco it is. If Ferryland cops had to be left alone to handle this, all they had to do was wait for Leo to make his daily run to Tim Hortons in Goulds. And then all they had to do was box him in with a few ghost cars on the highway. He wasn’t up in a window brandishing a gun, threatening people on the street. He was in the house being silent. If they had to take their time they would have had him by seven or eight o’clock the day it started. Or the next day. End of story. Instead of having him in that house being terrorized.”
“If Ferryland and Holyrood officers never had to call it in to HQ in St. John’s they would have gotten him out themselves.”
“I agree with that, but they have protocol to follow. They had no other choice. It was not up to them. Anything and everything big like this goes through RCMP headquarters in the White Hills. But when you think about it, that’s wrong. If the Ferryland cowboys had to ask a few people about Leo, or for that matter ask one of his buddies like you or myself to go in and have a chat with him, we most certainly would have. And then they could have had Leo in detention in an hour or two. This standoff was not handled properly from the get-go.
“Joe, you think someone is not going to answer for what this has become? We should not be here today. And poor old Leo shouldn’t be over there in that house freezing to death, with the window beat out of the front of it, with the wind blowing through the place. And with no heat for the last day or so.”
“Dutch, don’t fool yourself. Leo is a lot tougher than those cops. He’ll keep this going all week and into next and the week after that, if he wants. He could have replaced Sylvester Stallone in Rambo. What a soldier he would have made. Act
ually, his father fought in World War II. Have you ever seen all the medals Dermott was awarded? I saw them on him a few times down at the Remembrance Day services, down by the old parish hall. Before he passed away. Rumour had it he saw action a number of times.”
“Getting back to Leo. A pity that he didn’t go into the military. Didn’t his brother Francie enlist when he was eighteen or nineteen? Joe, you remember that?”
“I do. But apparently he only lasted a few years. I think he dropped out because of injuries. Or got an honourable discharge.”
“When the news of the cops by the side of the garage gets around the harbour it will block this place today. No one knows they’re there yet, really, other than us. And you know how rumours spread in Bay Bulls.
“Joe, here, take the scope. I brought the attachment to connect it to the window. Wind up your window about two inches. Slip it down over the glass and screw it tight. Not too tight, you might shatter your window.”
“Why didn’t you use it before?”
“I forgot it. Remembered it last night when I was online looking for another set of binoculars.”
“Why are you buying new binoculars?”
“I’m looking at a pair of Swarovskis EL 10x42s. I’m waiting for the price to drop on them. They’re nearly $2,600, plus tax. But they’re worth every cent.”
“Dutch, you’re nuts to pay that much for a pair of binoculars.”
“Joe, you haven’t used Swarovskis. In comparison to these Bushnells, it’s like going from a Chevy Chevette to an XJ8 Jaguar. They’re so smooth, with the focusing wheel. They are so much brighter. You can see much longer coming on dark than with any other glasses. The best glass in the world is used in them. You could look through them for hours and hours without any negative effects. Much longer than the Bushnells. The best binoculars in the world, hands down. You watch Nascar? Keep an eye on the spotters for the drivers. The majority of them have Swarovskis hanging around their necks. It’s been a dream of mine to own a pair since I started birding. All the top birders around here have them.
“Can you imagine what it would be like here without these high- powered binoculars and the scope? Sure, we would have missed ninety per cent of what’s going on over to Leo’s. Just as well we stayed home and waited for updates on the tube.
“I wonder how we’re going to find out why the cops are there alongside of the garage? Who do you think would know?”
“Dutch, they’re not letting out any details on their strategy. Sure, anyone could be relaying messages to Leo with a cellphone. Dutch, you think the cops don’t know by now if Leo has a cellphone? I’m sure they know by now, and if he does, guaranteed they’re after blocking his number.”
“Are they allowed to do that? I guess if they get a court order they can do whatever they want. You know how they abuse those court orders. I blame that on the Department of Justice and the judges sitting on the bench. Have you ever heard of a judge refusing a police force a court order?”
“I have. But it’s very rare.”
“Do you remember the time they bugged the fellow’s phone in Witless Bay? Should have never been allowed. It wasn’t his phone, it was his mother’s. And I say if a phone is not in the person’s name you’re investigating, then you should not be allowed to bug it.
“I said it here the other day, or it might have been yesterday. I respect the RCMP and police in general, but some of the power they have is questionable. Way too much power. Sometimes it feels like we’re living in a communist country. Joe, anything happening over there?”
“No, not really. The two cops that left earlier are back and two others have left.”
“I said that, didn’t I, that they were taking turns, going down to the town hall, warming themselves up. They’re all wishing and wondering when this is going to be over. I’d say some of them are going on very little sleep every day. That’s why they brought in the extra cops from Nova Scotia. Who ever heard of it, cops from outside of the province coming into our province to do police work?”
“Dutch, it’s no big deal. They’re a national police force.”
“Yes, Joe, but their detachments are not in Newfoundland, they’re in Nova Scotia. Or whatever other province they brought them from.
“I’d love to know exactly what the numbers are of cops in Bay Bulls at any given minute. I’d say Janet O’Brien or Sandra Cahill would know. They’re the clerks for the council. Actually, Janet is town clerk and Sandra is assistant town clerk.
“Someone said that the RCMP wouldn’t allow either of them into the building. Apparently Janet would have none of it. She told them that there are bills and the mortgage has to be paid monthly. Apparently, Harold spoke with the most senior officer in charge and he allowed her one hour in the office. And he told Harold that if it’s still going on in two days that she could have another hour.
“Apparently they blocked out the glass around her office. You know the glass that was put in place instead of walls around the clerks’ office? Rumour has it it was all covered by brown paper.”
“Dutch, who told you that?”
“Actually, I was talking to young Neily O’Brien last night on Facebook when I went home. That’s what his mother told him after she got home from the town hall. I guess they don’t want anyone other than police officers knowing what exactly is going on in there. I can’t wait for Sharon to come up. I wonder if she noticed the brown paper around the clerks’ office the other day when she was in there trying to get Peanut? Yes, she’d know. But knowing Sharon, she wasn’t worried about what was around the clerks’ office. All that was on her mind was Mr. Peanut.”
“Where are they?”
“Who?”
“Sharon and Brenda.”
“Brenda said she was going to get Sharon out of the bunk. Knowing Sharon, she has the house phone off the hook. Door locked. And Judy is gone to work. Sure, Sharon might be in the bunk half the day. Her loss. Finally getting some movement with the cops and she’s asleep. Joe, put the scope on the cliff. That looks like Brenda’s car going down the harbour.”
“Where?”
“There, by Mike Deagan’s house.”
“I don’t see it.”
“You fucking blind? Pick up the road by the church, by the cannon gates, and follow it with the scope until you catch up with the car. Do I have to give you lessons on how to use a spotting scope? You’ve had that in front of your face long enough to know how to use the goddamn thing. You’ll know her car by the box of tissues she has on her back dash. On the right side.”
“Okay, okay. That’s Brenda’s car or one identical to hers.”
“Joe, look at the back window. You see a box of tissues? The box is blue.”
“Okay, Dutch. Keep your cool. It’s Brenda.”
“You don’t miss much with cars.”
“Lord grant me the patience to get through this, before I lose it. There’ll be two people locked up by the time this is over, Leo in jail and me in the Waterford.”
“Guaranteed she had to go down and beat on the door to get Sharon out of the sack.”
“If Sharon misses the assault on the house she’ll flip.”
“Her own fault. Why did she have to overdo it with beers last night? A weeknight.”
“Well, Dutch, one turns into two, two turns into three, and so on and so on. Don’t you go saying anything to her about beer. She’ll flip.”
“Yes, and then we’ll have to listen to her all winter about how we never got her out of bed when something big started to happen. I’m not a babysitter. My days babysitting are almost over. Stacie just finished college and Hollie is in grade eight, so my babysitting will be very limited going forward. I babysit Rogan every now and then when Wanda wants to go for a run.” Wanda is Tina’s sister; Rogan is Wanda’s son.
“Dutch, when did Wanda star
t running?”
“She’s at it around three years. She does the Tely 10 road race every year, and every year she beats her time from the previous year.”
My phone rang. It was Sharon.
“Hello, Dutch, what’s up?”
“Oh, finally got out of the sack, did ya?”
“Fuck off, Dutch. I wants none of your bullshit this early in the morning.”
“Sharon, it’s almost noon.”
“Any details?”
“What did Brenda tell you?”
“She told me something about cops being alongside of Leo’s garage. That’s all she said. She had to take off and go get the mail in Witless Bay.”
“Well, when I arrived around eight, as soon as I looked in the scope, first thing I noticed was six SWAT team members by the side of Leo’s garage. On the side facing Bernie’s.”
“What do you think they’re up to?”
“I don’t know, but if I had to guess I’d say they’re having a forward assault on that back door sometime today.”
“Jesus, Dutch, don’t tell me that. I was hoping Leo would just walk out with his hands in the air.”
“Sharon, you’re dreaming in Technicolor. You know as well as me that Leo is not walking out with his hands in the air. Not going to happen. Not going to be done. I’d bet on it. You coming up?”
“Yes, but I have to grab a shower. Be there in a half-hour.”
“Okay, see you then.”
A short while later I saw a car driving up the cliff.
“Joe, have a look on the cliff. Looks like Sharon’s car coming up the harbour.”
“That’s her car, Dutch.”
“Keep an eye on her to see if she goes into the town hall.”
But Sharon passed it by and came straight to the pit. She parked in front of us and came over and got in Joe’s SUV.
“Dutch, anything happen since I was talking to you on the phone?”
“Nothing, really, other than the cops by the side of the garage relieving each other every twenty to thirty minutes.”