Misery Bay: An Alex McKnight Novel

by Steve Hamilton

  “You look like a decent kid,” I said to him. “I know you were only trying to do what you thought was best, but it wasn’t the brightest move in the world.”

  “Am I gonna be in serious trouble for this?”

  “I don’t think so. If it comes to it, I’ll vouch for you.”

  That didn’t seem to make him feel any better. He sat there rubbing his hands together, looking out the window like he was still thinking about making a run for it.

  “Tell me more about your grandfather,” I said. “What’s he really like?”

  “That’s what this whole movie is about,” the kid said. “Him growing up here, and everything that happened. You ever see Eight Mile?”

  “Was that another movie?”

  “Yeah, that was Eminem. You heard of him, right?”

  “He’s the white rapper,” I said. “From Detroit. That’s about all I know. I confess I don’t have any of his records.”

  “You sound like CC now. ‘Records.’ But anyway, Eminem made this movie about his own life, how he grew up in Detroit. I guess Eight Mile is an important street down there.”

  “It’s the northern border.” I didn’t want to sidetrack him, but just hearing that name took me way back. Eight Mile Road, the line dividing Detroit from the suburbs. You cross that street and you go from one world to another.

  “That movie was kind of a rags-to-riches story. But CC, his story was more like rags to insanity, to more rags to more insanity, to riches back to insanity again. It’s just called Bad Axe. What do you think?”

  “Sounds perfect. But what do you mean by insanity?”

  “Well, he grew up right here in town, and apparently his mother and father … my great-grandparents, I mean … I never met them but I guess I didn’t miss much. They were both absolutely batshit crazy. Like seriously delusional, psychotic, pretty much whatever you want to come up with. This was back in the old days, when they didn’t take your kids away just because you were abusing them all the time. I guess he was hiding from them like every day, running away from home and getting dragged back there. The house is right over there on King Street. We even filmed there in the actual house, which must have been kinda weird for CC. If it was, he didn’t show it. Anyway, he says it was the movie theater that saved him.”

  “The one right down the street?”

  “That very one. He used to sneak into the movies all the time. Actually, the man who owned the place knew he was sneaking in and let him keep doing it. We filmed that scene, too. When CC came back from Hollywood, he bought the theater and fixed it up. Now he’s trying to make this movie about growing up in the town and he’s even talking about starting up a film festival here. Like they’ve got up in Traverse City. The Bad Axe Film Festival. Not bad, eh?”

  “So when CC got arrested and went to prison,” I said. “Did you film that scene, too?”

  “Yeah, but that happened a lot later. When he was eighteen he finally escaped and ran off to California. Some guy saw him on his bike and liked the way he looked, and asked him if he wanted to be in the movies. I think CC told him to go jump in the ocean or something, but the guy was legit and that’s how CC ended up doing Road Hogs. That was his very first movie, if you can believe it. Nowadays they’d never cast an unknown as the lead in a big film. I mean, you don’t have a big name attached—”

  “I don’t mean to cut you off,” I said, “but getting back to that arrest…”

  “That was one of many arrests, actually. He got busted out there for marijuana. This was back before anybody could walk into one of those clinics and get it legally. Anyway, he ended up doing jail time and getting himself all messed up. You gotta remember, he came from a family of crazy people. Like he says all the time, it’s in his blood. I’ve got bad blood, he says. I just can’t help it sometimes. Which means maybe I’ve got some bad blood, too.”

  “So he’s been arrested more than once, you say?”

  “A few times, yeah. After he got bounced out of Hollywood, started making those low-budget horror films on his own. He was always his own worst enemy, but like he says, the movies were always there for him. They always kept him coming back from the edge of madness.”

  Now we’re getting to it, I thought.

  “So, this last arrest. It was about ten years ago.”

  “About that, yeah.”

  “It was up north here. He was coming down from the UP…”

  “That was a tough couple of days, when we were filming that scene. He doesn’t like to talk about it much, so you can imagine. I mean, it was really hard to relive it. I could tell it took a lot out of him.”

  “He played the part himself?”

  “We had another actor playing the young CC, but the later years … yeah, a little makeup and he can still pass for sixty.”

  “Okay, so this scene with his daughter…”

  “They let us use a holding cell over at the county jail. He had to take himself back to that day, when he found out. I swear he just about broke his hand on the wall all over again. And it wasn’t even real this time.”

  “Maybe it’s always real,” I said. “No matter how many years have gone by.”

  “I was just a kid back then.” He looked down at his hands. He was taking deep breaths now. Still scared, and now with this other family business … he was really starting to sweat.

  “Don’t bring it up with my grandfather,” he said. “Okay? That’s the one thing I have to ask you. He’s relived it enough.”

  “Okay, I got it. Just tell me, where is he right now?”

  “I don’t know. He’s probably at his house. Like I said before, just resting.”

  “Can you take me there?”

  “My father would kill me if I did that.”

  “Can you just tell me where the house is?”

  “My father would find out I told you. And he’d still kill me.”

  “Your father’s a little crazy, too, I take it?”

  “He’s one-quarter crazy. That’s the official amount, he says. Just ask him.”

  “So that means you’re what, one-eighth crazy?”

  “That sounds about right.”

  I couldn’t help smiling at that. “Okay, well, I don’t want to get you into any more trouble. Maybe I’ll just go talk to your father. Conrad, you said his name is?”

  “Yeah, but he goes by Connie. He hates it when anybody calls him Conrad.”

  “He’s gonna hate a lot more than that today, I got a feeling.”

  “Just do me a favor,” the kid said. “If you talk to my grandfather today—”

  “Don’t mention his daughter. I got it.”

  “No, besides that. Just take it easy on him, okay? He’s really not in good shape these days.”

  “What’s the matter with him?”

  “Well, come on. He’s seventy-two years old.”

  “There’s young seventy-two and there’s old seventy-two,” I said. “I thought he was a real tough guy back in his day.”

  “He was, but after everything he’s been through? Drugs and prison and whatever else? He’s still getting his strength back, he says. But it might be too late.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Why do you think he’s doing all this? Coming back here, making up with my father. You know, those two haven’t exactly been close for a long time. My grandmother, she sorta took him away when things started getting too crazy. He was like seven years old then, so he didn’t see much of his father for a long time. Once in a while, maybe, when CC was trying to get things together again. But now that CC’s on his last lap, like he says, he’s trying to make things right. Just these last couple of years, after he got out of prison. Getting back with whatever family he has left, buying the theater, making this movie. Telling his story, how he came through all the madness and the drugs and everything. It all makes sense, right?”

  “It does. It’s making more sense every minute.”

  “It’s just like he told me,” the kid said, summing it a
ll up and sending an icy chill right down my back. “He doesn’t have much time left, so he’s finally doing all the things he should have done long ago.”

  That was all I needed to hear. It was time to go find Clyde C. Wiley.

  And we’re rolling …

  … Let’s get a nice buildup on this one, okay?

  … Yes, that’s it. Nice and slow.

  … Where is he? He’s in here somewhere! We’ll get some really great music here.

  … You can’t hide, Sergeant Steele.

  … There you are.

  … Oh, and who’s this?

  … I don’t believe your husband would approve of this, ma’am.

  … Nice walk-on, by the way. We can use that. You’re a natural.

  And cut.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The man behind the counter had the two sandwiches ready for Sean to take back to the studio. I told him to keep his money in his pocket, paid for both of the sandwiches myself, and gave him his.

  “It sounds like you’ve been working pretty hard,” I said. “You must really love this film business.”

  “Are you kidding? If you’re a Wiley kid, CC gives you a camera as soon as you’re old enough to hold one.”

  “I bet you really know how to use it. But as for right now, why don’t you go on home. I think you just got the rest of the day off.”

  “That’s not gonna go over very well. I should really talk to my father first.”

  “Trust me on this one, okay? You go home. I’ll tell him I gave you no choice.”

  He still didn’t look convinced, but eventually he agreed. I thanked him for sitting down and talking with me, then I sent him on his way. I took his father’s sandwich with me and I headed down the street to the Grindstone building. When I got to the front door, I rang the buzzer. I heard the door unlock. I pushed the door open and went inside.

  “What the hell took you so long?” the man said. Just like the first time I’d been here, he was inside the little cubicle in the back of the big room, staring at the video screen, and he did not turn around to see me. He was wearing a different shirt today, but over it he still had the same leather vest.

  “Sorry for the delay,” I said. “Your son and I were having a little talk.”

  He spun around in his seat. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “It’s time for you and me to talk now.”

  “Where’s Sean? What did you do to him?”

  “Nothing. I told him to take the rest of the day off.”

  “You can’t just walk in here like that. I’m calling the police.” He picked up the phone and started hitting the numbers.

  “I’ll tell you the same thing I told your son,” I said. “It’s a felony to lie to a federal agent. While you’re calling your local police, I’ll be calling the FBI.”

  He stopped dialing. “What are you talking about?”

  “You know what I’m talking about,” I said, taking out my cell phone. “Go ahead, make the call. How’s your cell service here, anyway?”

  I started hitting numbers on my phone at random. I could have looked up Agent Long’s number if I really wanted to, but I was hoping I wouldn’t have to.

  “Not bad,” I said. “Better than the UP. This call should go right through, no problem.”

  “Just hold on,” he said. “Before we both go stirring up trouble.”

  “I want to see your father,” I said, putting my phone away. “Right now.”

  “Why?”

  “I just want to talk to him.”

  “About what?”

  “About a matter that I’ll discuss with him and not you.”

  He stood up from his console. He came over to me and he got way too close, and this was probably the sort of thing that had worked for him in the past. He was big enough, after all, and he looked scary enough. One-quarter crazy, like the kid said.

  I didn’t move. I didn’t blink.

  “I need to talk to your father, Conrad.”

  His eyes widened just a little bit at the sound of his given name.

  “I understand you prefer to be called Connie?”

  “I prefer that you’d get the hell out of here.”

  “It’s not going to happen. One way or another, I’m going to talk to your father.”

  “As you can see, he’s not here.”

  “Yeah, I got that part. Where is he?”

  “He’s at the house. He hasn’t been well. I don’t want you bothering him.”

  “This won’t take long,” I said. “I just need to talk to him for a few minutes. That’s all.”

  He stayed close to me. I was thinking he probably wanted me to make a move, give him a good excuse to sucker punch me.

  I didn’t. I kept my cool.

  “I’m going to call him,” he said. “I’ll ask him if he wants to talk to you.”

  He took a step backward and pulled out his cell phone. He listened for a few seconds. He had the volume way up, so I could hear a man’s voice on the other end, asking him to leave a message.

  “He’s probably asleep,” he said. “He gets tired easy.”

  “How far away is the house?”

  “Just across town, why?”

  “Let’s go, then,” I said. “I’ll even drive.”

  Better to keep an eye on him, I thought. Otherwise he’d call the cops on me, or call his father on another line to warn him off, or God knows what else he’d do.

  “Why on earth would I agree to do that?”

  “I’ll give you one good reason,” I said. “Because then I’ll leave and you’ll never have to see me again.”

  * * *

  He sat in the passenger’s seat with his arms folded. He looked at his watch and made a big deal of shaking his head and sighing.

  “This won’t take long,” I said. “Just tell me where to go.”

  “Take a right here,” he said as we came to the main intersection. “Then a left on Irwin Street.”

  I followed the road north, almost all the way to the edge of town, then I took the left and went down half a block. Connie nodded his head as we came to the house. It was one of the biggest houses in town, I was sure of that. An old Victorian, half-restored and begging to be finished, with most of the painting done but much of the trim still missing. I pulled into the driveway. There was a detached garage. The door was open.

  “Where the hell is his car?” Connie said.

  “He’s not here?”

  “If his car’s not here, he’s not here, genius.”

  I let that one go. We ended up sitting there another minute while he tried his cell phone again. I overheard the four rings and then the voice mail picking up.

  “What the hell,” he said, putting the phone down.

  “Is there somewhere else he could be?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure he’s somewhere.”

  It was all I could do to not reach over and slap him in his smart mouth.

  “He could be at the lake house,” he said, “but what would he be doing up there? He knows we’ve got work to do today.”

  “Where’s the lake house?”

  “Up by Port Austin.”

  “How far away?”

  “Twenty minutes, maybe.”

  I put the truck in reverse. “Let’s go.”

  “Since when are you calling the shots?”

  “Since I’m the one driving. I assume I keep going north here?”

  “Yeah, that’s where Port Austin is, last I checked.”

  I went back to the main road and went north. It was all empty farmland now, dusted white with the snow.

  “Mind if I ask you a couple questions?”

  “You can ask,” he said. “I may not answer.”

  “When did you last see him?”

  He didn’t say anything. He kept looking out the window and I thought that was probably the only answer I was going to get.

  “Couple of days ago,” he finally said.

  “That’s the same day the ag
ent came?”

  “Yeah, I suppose it was.”

  “So the agent came and asked his questions. Then your father disappeared.”

  “He didn’t disappear.”

  “I understand he’s been doing that a lot. Ever since you finished filming.”

  He looked over at me. “My son tell you that?”

  “Yes, he did.”

  “Then you’ve already got your answer.”

  “So ever since January, he’s been gone off and on, for a couple days at a time. Is that fair to say?”

  “He’s been gone because he gets tired. He hates for other people to see him like that.”

  “I understand he’s a pretty good actor. Is it possible he just seemed tired?”

  He didn’t even try to answer that one. Another minute of silence passed.

  “Tell me about your sister,” I said. “What was her name?”

  “I swear to God,” he said, “if you came down here to ask my father about Corina, you can just forget it right now. Do you understand me?”

  “Relax,” I said. “That’s not why I’m here.”

  It wasn’t a total lie. If Clyde C. Wiley was really the person hunting down former state troopers and their children … well, then the death of his daughter was obviously a big part of the reason why. But there was no specific reason why I’d have to bring her up now.

  “Sounds like a sensitive topic,” I said. “Doesn’t he ever talk about it?”

  Connie shook his head.

  “He must have said something to you about it.”

  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Relax. I told you I won’t bring it up with him. But he’s not here now, right? You can talk about her.”

  “There’s not much to say,” he said. “I never really got to know her.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because he basically had two separate families, okay? I grew up in California, after my mother walked out on him. Corina grew up in Michigan. She ended up getting married to the biggest loser in the world, which my father blamed himself for because the daughter always tries to marry a younger version of her father, and all that other crap. End of story.”