Without Virtue

by Trevor Scott

  Bram Simmons had attended a meeting at the Forest Service district office, where a nimrod from Milwaukee had briefed all of the law enforcement officers and volunteers who had tried to find Pam Joki over the past week. He wasn’t sure calling off the search was the right call, but he also knew they didn’t have the manpower to make much of a difference in the vast Boundary Waters.

  His phone buzzed and he saw that it was one of his patrol officers, a young man on the job less than a year.

  “Yeah,” Bram said. “What do you have?”

  “The disturbance call I checked on north of town turned out to be Yogi knocking over a garbage can.”

  “Copy that,” Bram said. “Everything else quiet?”

  “Yes, sir.” He yawned.

  “Get some coffee out at the truck stop.”

  “You want me to bring you some?”

  “No. I’m heading home soon.”

  The two of them hung up almost simultaneously. Bram stood up and went to the large map of their area on the wall, which included the western edge of the Boundary Waters. Where was Pam Joki? Technically, this question wasn’t his responsibility, since she had disappeared outside of his jurisdiction. But he knew Pam. They volunteered together at the Bear Center on the outskirts of town. If Pam had encountered a bear, she would have known what to do. He knew that to be true deep in his gut. He also knew Kim Joki, and she had mentioned bringing in a couple of people she had hired from the internet to find her sister. He hoped like hell Kim knew what she was doing. Desperation was not the best motivator for rational decisions.

  6

  Ely, Minnesota

  Max woke to the sound of someone moving about in the kitchen. He rose up over the edge of the sofa and saw Kim Joki making coffee. She had already showered, her hair still wet and settling over her strong shoulders.

  He started to get up and realized he would need to wait a moment. He really needed to go to the bathroom. He slipped on his jeans and buckled his belt. Then he pushed everything in place and said, “Morning.”

  She turned and smiled. “I thought you were an early riser.”

  “Normally I am,” he said, finally satisfied he could face her. “I guess the drive was more than I expected.”

  “Coffee in about five,” Kim said. “The bathroom is just down the hall to the right.”

  Max shuffled off to relieve himself. While there, he noticed the young sister missing was a neat freak. Everything was in its place. He wandered back to the kitchen in time for Kim to pour him a cup of coffee.

  Together, they sat at the kitchen table in the tiny nook with a view of the front yard.

  “Are you ready for today?” she asked.

  “I was born ready.”

  “I figured that,” Kim said. “But the Boundary Waters can be a difficult place for first-timers.”

  “I spent over twenty years in the military. I think I can handle it.”

  “You look too young to be retired.”

  “I get that a lot,” he said. “But when you join the military at eighteen, they let you retire at thirty-eight. That was a couple of years ago now.”

  “So, you have ten years on me.”

  “Maybe a little more.” He considered his next question carefully and proceeded with caution. “You’re a very attractive woman. Why hasn’t some Minnesotan brought you down the aisle?”

  “This coming from a hot cowboy without a ring?” She gave him an endearing smirk and sipped her coffee.

  “Truthfully? I traveled so much in my younger years that I never stuck around long enough to lock in a relationship.”

  “And since retirement?”

  She had a damn good point, but he had the perfect answer for her. “I live in Wells, Nevada, population under two thousand. If you don’t nab a young lady by age twenty, she’ll be taken by a miner or rancher. Anyone still available past thirty will have more baggage than the airlines.”

  “Don’t let him fool you,” came his sister’s voice as she entered the main living area. “I’ve tried setting him up with a number of girls from Salt Lake.”

  “I left a cup for you next to the pot,” Kim said. “Help yourself.” Then she turned back to Max and asked, “Do you have an answer to that?”

  “I live a hundred and eighty miles from my sister,” he said. “That’s about three hours.”

  Robin sat down with her coffee. “Not the way he drives.”

  “Heavy on the gas?” Kim asked.

  “Have you been across the salt flats?”

  Kim nodded the negative.

  “You can see a car coming for at least twenty miles. That’s where they’ve set land speed records. Anyway, her friends are all city girls. Mostly lawyers.”

  “That’s not true,” Robin complained. “He just doesn’t like the idea of living in a big city.”

  “You’ve got that right,” he said. “I’m a bit of a dysfunctional veteran. I just want people to leave me alone.”

  “Thank you for your service,” Kim said.

  Max was never sure how to respond to this, so he simply nodded. Then he finished his coffee and stood up. “Any chance I could shower?”

  “Of course,” Kim said. “Towels are in the bathroom.”

  He left the two of them to finish the pot of coffee.

  •

  Robin watched her brother take off down the hallway. Once she was sure he was in the shower, she turned back to Kim and said, “He does appreciate those who acknowledge his service, but he’s just a humble guy. You wouldn’t know it from looking at him, but he’s a highly decorated officer. Actually, prior to becoming an officer and special agent, he worked as a combat controller, imbedded with special forces in the Army, Marines and with Navy SEALs. He earned a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars with Valor, and three Purple Hearts while deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times.”

  Kim was speechless. Finally, she said, “You’re wrong. I would know it from looking at him. He looks like he could snap someone’s neck with his bare hands. Do you know how sexy that is to most girls?”

  Robin shrugged. “I guess I never thought about it that way. He’s always just been my twin brother. The last time he got hurt I didn’t even go see him in the hospital.”

  “He doesn’t look like he’s been hurt.”

  Not wanting to get into details, Robin simply said, “All the guys who come back from war have problems reintegrating into society. Especially those who have seen what he has.”

  “Does he talk to you about it?” Kim asked.

  “Only once in a while. He usually says that he was just doing the job he was trained to do. I do worry about him.”

  Kim gave Robin a concerned glance. “Will he be okay to deal with the search?”

  Robin laughed. “Seriously? He lives for stuff like this. You get him out in the woods or in the mountains and he’s right at home. But, I swear, he could get lost in a city in about two blocks going for coffee.”

  Kim giggled and then got up to get more coffee. Without asking, she filled up both of their cups before taking her seat again.

  “What’s the plan for today?” Robin asked.

  “Eat, buy provisions, and then head toward the Boundary Waters.”

  “Out west, our biggest problem is finding water,” Robin said. “But I’m guessing that’s not a problem here.”

  “Nope. Back in the day, folks would drink right from the lakes. But most of us filter the water or boil it now. Ninety percent of the water is just fine, but it’s best to be safe than sorry. I’ve had giardia before. It’s not pretty.”

  Max came back from his shower with his bottom half wrapped in a towel. “Sorry. I forgot to bring a change of clothes with me into the bathroom. Turn your backs.”

  Robin had her back to her brother, so she didn’t have to turn. But she did notice Kim admiring her brother’s body. Then the young woman lowered her head and covered her eyes with her right hand.

  “Don’t forget,” Robin said. “We’ll be in a canoe toda
y.”

  “Got ya, sis. I’ve got some flexible tactical pants. You can open your eyes now, Kim.”

  “I saw some of the scars,” Kim said softly to Robin.

  “He’s got them all over his body,” she said.

  “Are you girls talking bad about me?” he asked, and then came back to the kitchen table, but he didn’t sit down.

  “All nice things, bro. Did you save any water for me?”

  “I was in there for less than five minutes,” he complained.

  “I know. Just kidding.”

  “We need to eat something and get going,” Kim said.

  Robin got up and said, “I’m almost as fast as my brother.”

  Max laughed. “Right. I’m the hare and she’s the tortoise.”

  Putting her hands onto Max’s shoulders, Robin said, “And the tortoise always wins.” With that she sauntered off to the bathroom.

  7

  Max drove them in his truck around town, where they picked up freeze-dried food and any other supplies they might need. Then they stopped one more time at Kim’s sister’s place to grab her gear.

  On the way out of town, they pulled into the Forest Service Ranger District Office.

  “What do we need here?” Robin asked from the back seat.

  Kim turned to Robin and said, “I normally work in the Duluth office now, but I’ve been assigned here temporarily. I need to let them know I’m heading back into the Boundary Waters.”

  “Should we wait here for you?” Max asked.

  “No. You should see the place and talk with those who have given up the search.” Kim said this with snarky derision.

  They went inside and Max was impressed with the excess expenditure of his tax dollars. The place resembled a high-end mountain lodge.

  Kim introduced them to a number of Forest Service workers, including the District Ranger Chris Johansen, who gave Kim a big hug when they met. The ranger was a bit thick about the midsection and had the physique of a middle-aged man. She was nearly gender indistinguishable.

  “I have your permit,” Chris said, with a husky voice. “I see that Donny’s going with you.”

  “That’s right,” Kim said.

  “Good luck,” Chris said. “You know we’ve tried our best to find your sister. Pam is special to me.”

  Kim rubbed the older woman’s arm and said, “I know. I thought it might be best to have some fresh eyes, though. We’ll keep in touch.”

  Finally, Kim brought them to a small conference room where a stout man got up to greet them. He wore a gun on his right hip, so Max guessed he was Forest Service law enforcement. She introduced the man as Special Agent Wayne Cranston from Milwaukee.

  Max shook the man’s hand and said, “You’re a long way from the land of cheese heads.”

  The special agent said, “You have a western vibe to you.”

  “Guilty,” Max said. “Nevada.”

  The man said, “Oregon.”

  Robin reached out her hand and said, “Utah.”

  “You don’t live together?” Wayne asked.

  “She’s my twin sister,” Max said. “Maybe they do that in Oregon, but not where we’re from.”

  Robin shook the man’s hand and nearly brought the man to his knees with her strength. Max knew how much she hated men who wouldn’t give her a strong handshake.

  After glances all around, the special agent finally said, “I’m a bit confused why the two of you are here. Are you friends of the family?”

  “You could say that,” Max said coyly. “Why do you ask?”

  “Are you law enforcement?” the Forest Service man asked.

  “Former,” Max said. “Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Retired now.”

  “I guess that explains the bulge.”

  “Why you checking out my bulge. Are you a pervert?”

  “No. I meant under your T-shirt.”

  “As you should know, former federal agents are allowed to carry concealed for life in any state.”

  “I am aware of that fact. I wasn’t. . .”

  “I’m busting your balls,” Max said.

  Wayne shook his head. “Tell me you’re not taking this young lady’s money to investigate her sister’s disappearance.”

  “Somebody’s gotta do it,” Max said.

  “That’s disgusting,” the man said with venom.

  “Don’t be a fucking tool,” Max said. “We aren’t taking any money from Kim. But I would like to know why you’re in here whacking your weasel when Pam Joki is still missing.”

  “Now just a minute. I only got here a couple days ago.”

  Max felt his sister’s hand on his back, meaning to settle down somewhat. “And you’ve already thrown in the towel?”

  “I am assessing the situation,” Wayne said. “We still don’t have a completed autopsy on the man who died.”

  “Sweet,” Max said. “You investigate that, while I go out and find the missing woman.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “Life isn’t fair, asshole,” Max said. “You think it’s fair to Pam Joki? She needs our help and we’re standing around in this nice shrine to excess waste of my tax dollars and arguing over semantics.”

  The special agent’s jaw slacked and he was suddenly speechless.

  Kim interjected. “I just stopped in to let you know that we’re going into the Boundary Waters to look for my sister.”

  Wayne nodded understanding.

  “I’ll be checking out a SAT phone,” Kim said. “If you need to update me, you can get my number from dispatch.”

  The three of them left the conference room and walked toward the front door.

  Kim stopped them and said, “Let me get the SAT phone.”

  “I’ll wait outside,” Max said.

  He and Robin went to his truck and got inside. The temps were already starting to rise, so he opened his windows all around.

  Robin got into the back seat again, but leaned forward toward Max and said, “You were a little harsh on that man.”

  “He’s a typical bureaucratic pencil pusher sent here to make everything better by sweeping everything under the rug.”

  “That’s very cynical, brother.”

  “Maybe so. But I don’t think I’m wrong. They’re concerned with catching a bear that probably only scavenged on the dead man.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because I know black bears,” he said. “They’re not normally man eaters. But they are opportunists. Meat is meat. Especially when they’re fattening up for a harsh winter.”

  Max saw Kim walk back to the truck with a smirk on her face. She was carrying an older SAT phone.

  Kim got into the front seat across from Max and fastened her seatbelt. Then she turned to Max and said, “Holy crap. I almost lost it when you called that guy a fucking tool.”

  “I call them like I see them,” he said.

  “I see that. I’m glad someone has the balls to do that. Let’s go meet a friend.”

  8

  Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota

  After driving to the northeast about a half hour, winding down some narrow roads that got increasingly narrower and turned from paved to gravel, Max finally pulled into the grass driveway of an old house and shut down the engine. The cabin was at the very end of the road.

  “Who lives here?” Max asked. “Sasquatch?”

  Kim laughed and said, “You’re not far off. He’s an old friend in his mid-sixties. His name is Donny Beck. He’s a legend in the Boundary Waters, and a big-time bear expert.”

  As they got out of the truck, a wiry man with a gray ponytail floating over thin shoulders walked out onto his back yard and waved at them. He was wearing khaki shorts, a tank top and hiking sandals. When he approached, he put on a green hat that read ‘Boundary Waters: Pack it in, pack it out.’

  Max and Robin shook the man’s hand and then they walked toward the lake side of the house. Donny obviously wanted them to see the
highlight of his place.

  “This is Snowbank Lake,” Donny said. “It’s one of the main entry lakes to the Boundary Waters on the western side.”

  “That’s a big lake,” Robin said.

  “Beautiful,” Max intoned. “Is this considered the wilderness area?”

  Kim took this question. “There are a number of houses on the southern shore that have been grandfathered into the wilderness act.”

  “The BWCA Wilderness Act of Nineteen Seventy-Eight designated more than a million acres of land,” Donny said. “But some of the old timers already had permanent residences on this lake under lease from the Superior National Forest. But we’re limited to what we can do to the property.”

  “They can’t add on or cut down trees down by the lake,” Kim said. “Eventually, the leases will run out and then these houses will be torn down and blend back into the wilderness.”

  “Some of that has gone on out west as well,” Max said.

  “The waves look a little rough,” Robin observed.

  “Snowbank can be a tough lake to paddle,” Donny agreed. “Small motors are allowed on this lake, but we won’t be using them.”

  “Why not?” Robin asked.

  Kim said, “Because we’d have to ditch them in the woods to portage into the wilderness.”

  “We’re not officially in the wilderness where we stand,” Donny said. He pointed out to the lake. “The wilderness cuts through the center of the lake and back to the south. There are even a few lodges and small commercial camps along the southern shore. If you don’t think you can paddle this, I can get a friend to pull us to the first portage. The lakes get smaller after that.”