by Chris Ryan
“Joe, there’s something up. See the cop on the back doorstep?”
“I see him. But what is he at?”
“Good question, Joe. He’s not armed. He’s trying to open the door. The door is open. He’s gone in. Joe, Joe, Leo is dead.”
“What?”
“Leo is dead . . .”
“Why do you think that?”
“Did you see the cop go in?”
“Yes.”
“Did you notice he wasn’t carrying a gun or shield? Leo is definitely dead. Why would he walk in there unarmed if Leo is supposed to be as dangerous as they have been saying all week? He’s dead, he’s dead, fuck, he’s dead.”
“Dutch, relax, man, relax. Didn’t you see the cops go in after the first fellow?”
“Yes.”
“Well, they were all carrying guns and shields.”
“Yes, Joe, they were. But they hardly sent in the first fellow as a decoy. He walked in with his arms swinging. He wasn’t even wearing SWAT team clothing. He’s fucking gone, he’s gone. Joe, don’t take your eyes off the back door. They’re coming out. He’s dead.”
“Why are you saying that, Dutch?”
“Their weapons are lowered and their shields are lowered. They’re milling around. If he was in that house, they would have literally dragged him out and thrown him in a police cruiser and flown to town. There probably would be multiple cars. One in the lead, with Leo in the second, and a third taking up the rear. They would probably have cops at all traffic lights, stopping all vehicles, to get Leo to the lock-up as quick as possible. And maybe with a helicopter for an escort. Or the plane that they had flying back and forth over Leo’s house this morning for no good reason. Some real work for the pilot. Being an escort to the most dangerous and most wanted person in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador. As per cop speak. I could see it in the Telegram on Monday. ‘Police Arrest Crockwell after Eight-Day Standoff.’ They get him to police lock-up in fourteen minutes. Good work, boys, good work. It would be funny. Took them over 190 hours to get him. But fifteen minutes to get him in a cell twenty-six kilometres away.
“Holy fuck, fuck, FUCK. This is not the ending I wanted. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Joe, those bastards, they killed Leo. Fuck them. Burn in hell, ye bastards.”
“Relax, Dutch, relax. We’re only assuming. We’ll know in a few minutes.”
“Joe, how can I relax? They’ve killed an innocent man. Over what? A fucking domestic dispute. We can tie this in with the police killings in Bonavista and Corner Brook. Number three. Took a while, but it came. Always knew it would.”
“Dutch, for fuck’s sake, settle down! We have no idea that he is dead.”
“Well, if he isn’t dead, where the fuck is he? If he was alive we would have seen them bringing him out of the house.
“But how? We never heard any shots being fired. Not last night and not this morning. If there were shots fired late last night or early this morning we’d be after hearing it in the media by now. They reported every morning after the shots were fired for the three nights. Well, I wasn’t here early. Did you hear anything, Joe?”
“Who fucking knows, Dutch? Look, they’re like flies over there. Count them. How many are there?”
“There’s two dozen, at least. There are at least a dozen hanging around the back door. And there are at least seven or eight standing in front of the front door. Joe, I don’t know if he’s dead, but there’s something major on the go. If this is over, where’s Leo? Why didn’t they bring him out of the house? How long is it going to take for us to get all the details? Joe, your cell on?”
“Yes.”
“Well, if he’s dead you’ll be getting a call very soon. Then we’ll know. They don’t transport bodies in ambulances anymore. I don’t believe this. This is wild. We’re missing something, Joe. But what? What? That’s a ten-million-dollar question. Hang on, Joe, my cell is ringing.”
I answered my phone. It was Tina’s father, Michael. “Hello. What? You’re joking. You’re serious? You can’t be serious! If I hear anything I’ll call you back.”
“Dutch . . . who’s that?”
“Joe, that was Tina’s father. You’re not going to believe this. The RCMP just called him thirty seconds ago to tell him to come get his trailer.”
“What? That’s weird.”
“They have just ended this standoff, after eight days, and they want Michael’s trailer moved immediately. Joe, there’s something up.”
“Yes, but what? What the fuck is on the go with Leo?”
“We’re missing something, or missed something, and it’s big, very big, whatever it is . . . but what? And how could we miss anything? We never took our eyes or optics off the house for a second. Turn on VOCM and leave it on. And turn it up. If there’s a story on the go on this, they’ll have it.
“Hang on, Kevin is coming. And he’s coming in a hurry. Guaranteed he has something on this. I can tell by how fast he’s going. He doesn’t normally drive that fast. He may have some interesting news on all this.”
Kevin hauled in and parked in front of us, jumped out, and ran over to the SUV.
“Boys, you’re not going to believe this.”
“What?”
“Boyd Merrill just did a media scrum down by your Uncle Tom’s and he said Leo Crockwell was arrested without incident.”
“But how? And where the fuck did they arrest him? They never brought him out of that house. I never took my eyes off the house. I was on it like flies on shit. I guarantee you, Leo Crockwell did not come out of that house.”
“Well, Merrill said he was arrested without incident, Dutch.”
“WHAT? Ask me, don’t tell me, what or who came out of that house. I know. I never took my fucking eyes off that house since the water stopped. LEO CROCKWELL DID NOT COME OUT OF THAT HOUSE! And nobody is going to tell me he did, I mean nobody. I know I wear eyeglasses, but my eyes are not that bad.
“Kevin, I was on the scope and Joe had the binoculars. We wouldn’t have missed it. We couldn’t have missed it. When Merrill was finished speaking, did he take questions?”
“He took a few soft ones. None were hard and factual. And he kind of knew which reporters to acknowledge.”
“Too bad I wasn’t there, Kevin, having seen that Leo never came out of the house. He most likely would not have taken questions from the general public. Only media, with credentials.”
“All right, I’m going back down by Tom’s. Maybe there might be more details on the go.”
“Kevin, promise me the second you hear a shred of news you’ll call me. Promise.”
“I will, Dutch. Don’t worry, I will.”
Kevin left and I turned to my brother. “Joe, there’s something big up with this. I’ll bet my right arm on it. No one other than cops went in that house and no one other than cops came out.
“First fellow was completely unarmed. Then six cops went in after him, all heavily armed. They came out a minute or a minute and a half later. And then there were dozens of cops going in and out, I guess having a look at what they destroyed. Having a look at their handiwork. Be proud, boys. Be proud.”
“Dutch, I’m going home for a nap. Maybe now that this is over I may be able to sleep peacefully. Listen, Dutch, you hear a thing, call me immediately. And I mean immediately.”
“Will do. Joe, I wouldn’t rush to sleep. Not for at least an hour or so. There’s something to this story. I’m going to Ann Marie’s for a coffee. I wonder, does she or the girls have any news other than what Kevin said?”
When I arrived at Ann Marie’s there were four or five people there, including Sharon and Brenda.
“Hey, Ann Marie, hello, girls. Did you hear the story about Leo?”
“Yes, we heard. But we’re finding it hard to believe.”
�
�You and the whole harbour. Kevin O’Brien just told me and Joe in the pit that Boyd Merrill just did an interview over by Uncle Tom’s. He said that Leo was arrested without incident. I find that very hard to believe. What’s your take on it?”
“Seems wild, doesn’t it, Dutch?”
“Yes, for so many reasons. He didn’t come out of that house. Myself and Joe were staring at the house. I had the scope, Joe had the binoculars. We never took our eyes off it for a second. He didn’t come out of that house.”
“That’s what everyone in the harbour is saying. I wonder if the cops are trying cover up something?”
“Well, Merrill was pretty vague, Ann Marie. Apparently he was struggling, trying to find words to explain himself. Hang on, my cell is ringing.”
I answered my phone. “Hello? Yes, yes—you serious, Kevin? I knew it, I knew it! I told you, didn’t I? I knew it, I knew he never came out of that house.” When I hung up there was a big smile on my face.
“Girls, sit down. You are not going to believe this.”
“What? Curiosity is killing us.”
“Leo was arrested in Goulds.”
“Who told you that?”
“Kevin Plumber.”
“He’s off his head. How the fuck did Leo get out of that house and get to Goulds?”
“But Ann Marie, it makes perfect sense. Leo didn’t come out of that house. I guarantee you that. We’re not blind.”
“Who told Kevin that?”
“A fellow he used to work with, Ann Marie. Called him the second he heard the rumour going around Goulds. I believe it. Hands down. Don’t doubt it for a second. He had to be somewhere, he wasn’t in that house. Well, just wait till the media gets a hold of this. I’m going for a run around the harbour. There has to be more to this story going around.”
“But who would have it, Dutch? Your visual on the house, and with what Kevin just said, that is most likely the best story going around. I won’t say best, but probably the only story.”
I had to call my brother and tell him that Leo was alive and safe in Goulds. “Joe, Leo was arrested in Goulds. I’m guessing at Billy’s.”
“What? Who told you that?”
“Kevin Plumber.”
“Yes! That make sense, why we didn’t see him come out of the house. Who told Kevin?”
“A fellow he used to work with. Listen, I’m going around the harbour. I’ll call you back in ten or fifteen minutes. You hear anything, you call me.”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
I went cruising around the harbour and ended up at the town hall. The parking lot was full of the RCMP officers who had been at Foodland and stationed around the Crockwell home. The Telegram reporter was there, too, standing on the side of the road leaning on his car.
“Hey, Chris. Going to talk now?”
Someone must have told him my name. “Well, I promised you an interview when it was over.”
“Yes, you did. Well, it’s over.”
“But I can’t comment on something that I don’t know the full story of or all the facts. I guess you heard the story of Leo being arrested in Goulds.”
“I heard it but find it hard to believe.”
“Well, I can tell you one thing. He didn’t come out of that house.”
“You serious?”
“Yes.”
“Can I quote you on that?”
“You most certainly can.”
“How do you know he didn’t come out of the house?”
“Myself and my brother Joe Ryan were in the pit, where you spoke to us the other morning. Well, I’m a birdwatcher. That’s one of my hobbies. Actually, it’s my main hobby. I have a spotting scope, something like a telescope, that cost nearly $3,000. And my binoculars cost close to $1,000. We were watching that house like hawks.
“The first cop that walked into the house had no gun or shield on his person. Arms swinging. So the first thing I said to Joe was, Joe, Leo is dead. And Joe said, why? Well, I said, they wouldn’t send a cop into that house unarmed if Leo is supposed to be as dangerous as the RCMP have been saying for the past eight days.
“Many cops went in and out of the house freely after the first cop. Within minutes. But they did not bring Leo out of that house. Not walked him out, not dragged him out. And they did not carry him out. And the RCMP haven’t called for a hearse.”
“How do you know that, Mr. Ryan?”
“Call me Dutch, not Mr. Ryan.”
“Okay, sorry about that.”
“No problem. No harm, no foul.
“My brother Joe is the undertaker for this area. And his phone hasn’t rung—no one has been looking for a hearse. If Leo had died, Joe would have been called, as he covers this area. Under no circumstance would another funeral home be called. Certainly not one from the city. And besides, all the RCMP members from Ferryland Detachment know Joe well. So you tell me, where is he? He had to be somewhere. Well, we know where he wasn’t. He wasn’t in that green house. And now we know where he is. Nice and dry in Goulds.”
“How did he get out of that house?”
“I guess we’ll know in the next few hours. This story is so wild you couldn’t make it up. And the interview Merrill gave a little while ago doesn’t add up. I guess you were there for the debriefing that Merrill gave?”
“Yes, I was, but I didn’t know what you just told me. I wish I had known this then. I would have questioned him. Especially with facts like that.”
“And he would probably have said, ‘End of questions.’ Because he knew he could not answer them, not truthfully, at least. He isn’t telling the whole story.”
“I have to agree with you, Dutch. Now, after what you just told me—you going to be around in the next few hours?”
“I’ll be cruising around the harbour all evening.”
“I might look for you later for a full interview. Got a cell number?”
“You won’t need it. I’ll be visible. You’ll see me. Liberal red car, hard to miss. You hanging around?”
“I wasn’t, but this story has gotten so much more interesting in the last half-hour or so. I might see if I can find Merrill and get some accurate facts on Leo. With the info you just gave me.”
“Good luck with that.”
“I have to stay in this community. If there is news to be had on this story, Bay Bulls is the place to be.”
“I agree. If this story is going to be put together in some context, in the next few hours Bay Bulls is the place to be. Go up to the Sapphire Pub, if it’s open. There should be plenty of good conversation and rumours going on in there. Pubs are places where people talk to people, especially if the suds are flowing.”
“I can’t, I’m working.”
“I thought fellows like you would go anywhere for a story.”
“Where is it?”
“Directly across the road from Leo’s house.”
“You’re joking. You serious?”
“Yes. Sure, it’s been closed all week. One of the businesses that has been closed since this started last Saturday. I thought you were on the ball. You should have known that.”
“Dutch, I’ve written so much this past week I’m starting to forget most of it or I’m repeating most of it. Been a wild week.”
“Anyway, I have to drive around and try to get more details on the story. See you later.”
“Thanks, Dutch.”
“We’ll talk again.”
“Soon, hopefully.”
“Not a problem.”
After talking to the reporter I beat it back to talk to the crowd at Ann Marie’s.
“Girls, did you hear any other news on this?”
“No, nothing, other than what you said, what Kevin had told you.”
&nbs
p; “Where are we going to get more details on this, Ann Marie? I’m wondering who I can call in Goulds for details.”
“Dutch, it might be a few days before we get all the details on this.”
“I can’t wait that long. I’ll have a nervous breakdown, or a heart attack, if I don’t get details. I have to figure all this out. I’m gone again.”
“Dutch, settle down, man. Go home and have a nap. Joe has.”
“I can’t. I can’t nap in the daytime. If I do, it’s in a rare case. And I’m too wound up to try and sleep.”
I said goodbye to the crowd at Ann Marie’s and went back to cruising the harbour. I stopped at the town hall again and made a few calls. Jeff was first on my list.
“Jeff, what are you hearing about Leo?”
“Nothing other than what Kevin told me.”
“I guess he told you the same thing.”
“It’s almost unbelievable.”
“Yes and no, Jeff, for so many reasons.”
“What do you mean, Dutch?”
“Well, I can guarantee you they never brought Leo out of that house.”
“You sure?”
“Jeff, you have used my binoculars and scope, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I have.”
“So do you think myself or Joe would have missed it if they brought him out through either door? Walked, carried, or dragged, Leo came out of that house in no form by them.”
“I have to agree with you. Kind of hard to miss. You haven’t missed anything all week.”
“You’re right on that, Jeff. So why would we miss anything today in broad daylight, with the sun shining? We never missed anything in the dark. But Jeff, can you believe it? The cops and volunteer firemen spraying water into an empty house, thinking Leo was in there, and he down on Petty Harbour Road enjoying a freshly brewed coffee and a Player’s Light. Anyway, where’s Kevin?”
“I don’t know. I guess he’s running around trying to piece this together, much like yourself.”
“Jeff, got to run.”
“Okay, Dutch.”
“Jeff, keep all lines open.”
“What, Dutch?”
“Keep your cell free for calls on this.”