by David Nees
A different voice spoke. “Don’t take the blindfold off. Just listen. You can ask questions later.”
For the next ten minutes Charlie got an earful. He thought that there were at least five people in the room. They took turns speaking to him, their voices all hard, giving him terse, cold information that made him increasingly uncomfortable. They told him about other people disappearing, other families taken away. He didn’t recognize the names. With each new description, they asked him if he knew about it. Each time he told them that he didn’t. They told him about the doctor that had disappeared last year. Charlie had thought the man left to go to another town, but now he learned that he had been wrong. He was asked repeatedly why they weren’t having any town meetings to elect officials, why the militia was still running things. At length, there was a pause. “You wanted to know about Jim Bishop,” the voice that had first spoken to him after his arrival said.
“Yes.”
“Jim Bishop is dead.”
Charlie exhaled shakily.
“We don’t have a lot of good sources within the militia or Joe’s gang, but we're sure of that fact. We also know he was tortured during questioning. Maybe he died from that or was killed after. That no one knows.” The voice now seemed very close to Charlie’s face. “He was tortured, Chief Cook. You understand?” Charlie barely nodded his head. The voice paused. “We don’t know how much he told them. Did he confirm there is a resistance group? How much detail did he give them? We’re sure he told them something. He was part of our group so he knew what we know. We’re now fewer by three. He’s dead, and because of what was done to him, two others of our group have opted to leave us and go into hiding after they heard the militia had been asking around about them.”
Charlie was silent.
“You know about Jim’s wife, Donna?”
Charlie nodded.
“We figured that might be the reason you were nosing around, asking questions. Did you find out what’s happened to her?”
“She’s been taken as a prisoner. She was seen in the militia compound.”
“You know who Leo Stupek is, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I figured you would. Joe and Leo tend to go together, don’t they? But maybe you don’t know Leo all that well. He’s worse than Joe. And Donna Bishop is not being kept in any normal detention. Seems Leo has taken her for his personal woman, his personal captive. You understand what that means? You understand just what’s going on in our nice little town?”
Charlie’s body stiffened in shock.
“Maybe you didn’t know. Do you know what Leo does?”
Charlie just sat there.
“That’s not a rhetorical question. Answer me.”
Charlie started at the sharp command. “He’s Joe’s right-hand man. He runs Joe’s gang.”
“Partly right. You mean to tell us that’s all you know about him?”
“I don’t know…I don’t know what you mean, what you’re asking.”
“He’s playing stupid,” another voice spoke out.
“I’m not. I don’t know what you think I should know about Leo other than that.”
“Let me educate you, Mr. Chief of Police,” the first voice said. “When the militia was set up, you weren’t directly involved. You just kept running the police department, right?”
Charlie nodded. “Frank was to organize the militia. It would be civilian run.”
“But Frank needed help so he turned to Joe.”
“He had the resources,” Charlie replied. “But we told him it had to be separate from his group…his gang.”
“Of course you did. But Joe had Leo doing most of the work, quietly, so you wouldn’t notice. Maybe that was one of the things you didn’t want to notice. Anyway, Leo pretty much runs the militia now, and from what we can tell, it’s hardly different from his gang. There’s a guy in charge that Frank talks to. But no matter what it may say in the City Hall paperwork, Leo’s been nudging promotions and recruitment from the beginning. The head of the militia takes his real orders from Leo. And Leo takes his orders only from Joe.”
“I…I…didn’t know,” was all Charlie could say.
“Apparently there’s a lot you didn’t know…or didn’t want to know.”
Charlie just sat there in the black. He had a knot in his gut, and his heart was hammering in his chest.
He had thought that he and Frank working with Joe, who had corralled most of the resources, would help the town stabilize. He had thought that, through Frank’s control of the militia, they had maintained a balance of power with Joe. But that was just an illusion. The militia and Joe’s gang were both led by Leo. Joe was turning the town into a criminal operation, and he and Frank were actually helping Joe do it.
While Charlie had been uncomfortable with Joe, he had felt that Joe’s taking on the role of helping the town might make him a more upright citizen, that it might somehow reform him. Now that all seemed like a foolish rationalization. A wave of shame swept over him and he felt himself blushing. Joe was treating the town like an extension of his gang. You followed the rules. If you stepped out of line, discipline came swift and hard.
“You got anything to say?” a new voice asked.
“I’m digesting what you’ve just told me,” Charlie replied.
“So you maintain this is all new to you?”
“Most of it. And the parts I knew about, I didn’t think were indicative of something wrong.” His explanation sounded lame, even to his own ears.
“It’s easy for you to dismiss these events. You get to live pretty nice.” The voice had a hard, rough edge to it.
“Things have to change,” another man said. “We can’t keep supporting the authorities. Joe’s only going to get more powerful as people get more comfortable. And we’re helping him accomplish that.”
“What do you plan to do?” Charlie asked.
There was a silence. Then someone said, “We’re not sure. But I’m afraid things may get worse before they get better.”
“Are you talking about an uprising? Why not bring these issues…your demands up at a committee meeting. I could get you on the Safety Committee’s agenda for one of our meetings.”
A couple of men laughed in derision. “And within a week we’d disappear. That what you want? Haven’t you even been listening? Who’s on your committee anyway? You, Mason, and Stansky? Or does his muscle Leo sit in for him? That’s a joke.”
“I told you this was a waste of time. Now he knows about us. Maybe he shouldn’t leave, ‘cause if he rats us out we’re dead.”
“Hold on.” Charlie recognized the voice of the superintendent. “I promised him safe passage. He hasn’t seen any of you, and I’m the only one at risk.”
Charlie sat in the dark, looking about even though he couldn’t see through the blindfold. He suppressed an urge to rip it off. If he saw them, that would only give them more of a reason to kill him. He was beginning to sweat.
“Maybe I can start lobbying for better treatment for everyone,” he said. “I could promote the idea that we don’t need martial law anymore since things have calmed down.”
“Good luck with that,” one of the men said.
“You know Stansky runs things. I don’t think Mason, or you, can control him,” the voice that had spoken to him longest said.
“Well, we are the civic authority in town,” Charlie began.
“You don’t have any power. You buck Stansky and you’ll be out of a job and out digging latrines…or worse. I’m guessing you don’t want to do that. So you go along.”
Charlie sucked in his breath. The town was heading towards becoming a criminal enterprise. If Joe continued, he’d just kill the opposition. He had the guns, the militia, and the resources that Hillsboro survived on. Soon he and Frank wouldn’t be needed. How long were they going to last? If Roper left with his troops, it might be all over for the two of them. He had to take a chance—do something.
“I’ve got a small gr
oup of police that are loyal to me. They still believe in the duty and honor of police work, in keeping our town safe. I’m not without support.”
“How’s that going to help?”
“I just want you to know that I’ve got some backup. I’ll start by trying to change the direction of where we’re going. I hear you. It may not work, but I’m willing to try.”
“But not so hard as to get yourself in trouble. Am I right?” one of the men said.
“I’ll try, but…” Charlie stopped for a moment as he made a decision; one that meant danger, to him and to Mary. When he continued, his voice was soft but firm. “It won’t do your cause any good for me to be kicked out of the inner circle. I’ll help you. I’ll help you stop Stansky, somehow. But I can help better from the inside than the outside.”
The words hung in the air. The room was absolutely silent.
Mary’s sleep-puffy face was ashen as she stared up at him. “Charlie. This is terrible. You’re telling me that Jim was killed and Donna has been taken by that guy Leo? What for?”
Charlie sat on the edge of the bed by her side, fidgeting with his hands, trying to find ways to skirt the more sordid details of what he thought was taking place. Otherwise he told her everything, right up to where he had been led back to the mill and told to count to sixty before taking off his blindfold. They talked until sunrise. Mary was scared. So was Charlie. But they both felt they should not stand idly by while the city was being transformed into something they didn’t recognize; a place in which they didn’t want to live.
Chapter 24
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I send the three of you out there to locate the seeds and you come back with nothing. All you can tell me is the seeds ain’t in Jason’s barn. You didn’t check the other farms?”
Leo sat quietly in a corner, away from Frank and Charlie where they sat in front of Joe’s desk. Joe’s reaction wasn’t a surprise to Leo. He figured he would leave the talking to Frank, who usually filled in the silences almost by instinct.
“We drove all the way up the valley road before we left,” Frank said. “Saw the other farms but didn’t stop. We didn’t want to tip our hand…you know, get too aggressive. We were specifically told not to wander around.”
“Told ‘not to wander around’?” Disdain dripped from Joe’s voice. “Who the hell do you take orders from?”
Joe had only been getting angrier and angrier as Frank talked, and now he was pacing and chewing hard on his cigar. Frank stopped talking when Joe leaned over his desk, his eyes blazing, putting his face close to Frank. Beside him, Charlie’s face had turned white.
“Leo,” Joe said in a low, dangerous voice.
Leo straightened up in his chair. “Yeah, boss?”
“Did Frank here screw this up?”
Leo looked at Frank. Frank’s eyes met his, almost pleading for his support.
“No, Frank did okay, Joe,” Leo said calmly. “He’s a smooth talker. Was even better than usual.” Actually, he thought that Frank had stumbled when the topic of seeds had come up. Frank hadn’t been very persuasive with his story. “The thing was,” he said, “we couldn’t blow the bigger job. They were nervous, cautious. Frank made his play, but they didn’t bite. There was no way to do more snooping without making them more suspicious.”
Leo didn’t see any sense in sacrificing Frank. Getting at the seeds had been a long shot from the beginning. And Leo had other ideas about that.
Joe ran his hands through his hair. He shook his head in disgust. “It’s time to put an end to this crap.”
“Whaddaya got in mind?” Leo asked.
Joe didn’t answer right away. He walked over to the window behind his desk and looked out on the city, taking a deep breath. “I worked hard to set this town up,” he said, his back to them. “It’s my town. I’ve made it safe to live here. We have food, we have resources, and we have a militia for defense.” He turned back to his desk and brought his fist down on it with a crash. “I did this. Not you, not the engineers, not this guy Jason. If they get in my way, I’ll crush them. I want the fertile seed and I don’t want to have to deal with that independent son of a bitch to get it. He doesn’t get to be the town’s hero. ”
Everyone was silent. Joe crossed the room restlessly, scowling.
“We could raid the valley when they’re harvesting,” Leo suggested. “Forget finding the hidden seeds. The grain would be there for the taking, before they grind it up. Later we’d have time to find the seeds.”
Frank shook his head quickly. “That could interrupt our food supplies.” Frank struggled to meet Joe’s eyes. “Remember how tight things were last winter? We’ll have another one like that.”
Joe glared at him, still angry.
“We’d get pushback from the town,” Charlie said. The chief sounded cautious.
“You two are like a goddamn broken record,” Joe said in disgust. “Be nice, don’t upset things. I’m damned tired of being nice.” He paced back and forth.
“We need to play this out for a bit longer,” Frank said. He put up a hand as Joe turned toward him. “Hear me out,” he said. “If you attack the valley, you’ll have to kill some of them. The army won’t like it. Hell, Lieutenant Cameron and that girl are a couple. Let’s get the army out of here first. Let me work on Roper. Once they’re gone you’ll have more freedom to act…to do what you want.”
Joe stopped in the middle of the room. He nodded after a moment. “All right. You talk with Roper, but don’t take too long.”
Charlie spoke to Frank as they left Joe’s building. “Are you willing to let Joe attack these people once Roper leaves? You know that’s what’ll happen.”
“It looks like this group doesn’t want to cooperate with us. Seems to me they want to hoard the seed and use it as leverage against us. You heard them.”
“So that’s a reason to attack them? Kill them?”
“They’re bringing it on themselves.” Frank was walking quickly, angrily. Charlie had to hurry to keep up. “Why should we care about them?”
“If that happens, where do we go from there? Frank, remember that engineer Joe told us he interrogated? I think Joe killed him. I can tell you his wife’s been taken. Don’t you see what’s happening?”
“How do you know she’s been taken? The whole family could have left town. Maybe they’re afraid of getting caught trying to start an insurrection.”
Charlie paused. Talking to Frank suddenly felt dangerous. Telling him about Danny and about Donna being Leo’s personal prisoner now seemed like the wrong thing to do. There it was between them for the first time, a lump of distrust. He only said, “People don’t padlock their door from the outside if they’re leaving. And they don’t ransack their own apartment. Bad things are going on, Frank.”
Frank came to a sudden stop and grabbed Charlie by the arm. “What the hell have you been doing? Are you snooping around in Joe’s business? You better be careful.”
“It’s the town’s business. And it should be your business as well as mine. We were once elected to run and protect the town.”
“Joe wouldn’t like it if he thought you were going against him,” Frank said. His tone had grown threatening.
“So you’re going to knuckle under to whatever Joe and Leo come up with? Leo’s a gangster, you know that. And Joe came out of that same background. He’s Leo ten times bigger.”
Frank didn’t look away. After a moment, he said levelly, “I’m playing this out for my benefit…and for the town’s. If I can keep Joe acting more like a proper citizen and less like a gangster, it’ll be better for all of us. Look at what we’ve accomplished so far.”
“It’s the cost that bothers me. I’m seeing it more clearly now…the lack of concern for life, the willingness to eliminate people to get what you want. Frank, do you want to be a part of that?”
Frank just shook his head. “You’re not hearing me. We’re protecting the town and working to civilize Joe.”
Charlie remembered the way Joe had looked at Frank upstairs. He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s going so well.” He turned and started walking.
Frank caught up with him and grabbed his arm. Charlie didn’t look at him. Frank’s voice almost sounded pleading for a moment. “Just don’t get on the wrong side of Joe. We’ve known each other for years, but I can’t help you if you cross Joe.”
Charlie didn’t answer. They walked together in silence.
Chapter 25
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T his time there was a red mountain bike with lots of gears in the police bicycle room. Charlie smiled at his good fortune. He rode it over to the army’s compound. With Colonel Stillman gone, the encampment was a shadow of its former size. It didn’t take Charlie long to find Lieutenant Cameron in one of the storefronts being used as an office.
“I need to talk to you…if you have time,” Charlie said. He motioned with his head to indicate that they go outside.
Cameron got up from his desk and led Charlie outside. They walked to the edge of the compound and sat down on a concrete barricade.
“This is not easy for me to say,” Charlie began. “And I could be stirring up a hornet’s nest, but I think you can be trusted…from what I’ve seen of you, from what others say. I hope I’m right.”
The lieutenant looked at Charlie for a moment. Charlie couldn’t read his expression.
“You can trust me, unless you’re asking me to do something unlawful. Now tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I talked with some people. I can’t tell you who they are. They’re good people. At least I think they are.” He paused for a moment. “They’re people I think are telling me the truth. Anyway, I’ve got confirmation about some of the things they told me.”
Cameron waited for him to continue.