Free Blood Is the Sky: An Alex McKnight Mystery by Steve Hamilton Page A

lay on the bed across from me. “I wish I knew, Alex.”
    “And these other two guys, the ones who are looking for them. Who are they?”
    He didn’t answer. He stared up at the same ceiling. We both listened to the night, a long way from home, and waited for the morning.

Chapter Six
    The chirping woke me up. Some kind of bird was making a racket, and it was doing it about three hours too early. I opened one eye and saw a dim ray of light coming through the window—whose window I could not say. I had no idea where the hell I was.
    I sat up. There was a dull ache in my right hand. The bird started chirping again. What in goddamned hell, I thought. And then it came back to me.
    I was in a motel room—in Wawa, Ontario, of all places. Vinnie was face down on the other bed, still wearing his clothes from the night before. The ache in my hand told me that I had gotten at least one good shot in before the fight was broken up. And that damned chirping had to be—
    My cell phone rang again . Where the hell was it? I picked up my pants, then my coat, but I couldn’t find it. Finally, I stood still and listened. The ring was muffled, and it seemed to come from Vinnie himself, like maybe he had swallowed the damned thing. I rolled him over and picked it up off the bed.
    “Hello,” I said. I looked at the clock. It was 6:32.
    “Mr. McKnight?” It was a woman’s voice.
    “Yes.”
    “This is Constable Natalie Reynaud of the Ontario Provincial Police.”
    I thought of two things at once. One was the sick feeling that the previous night was coming back to haunt us. Somebody must have filed charges—probably Stan, the guy Vinnie did a number on. The other thing going through my mind was just how little this woman sounded like a police officer. It was too early in the morning to be politically correct about it. Hell, most of the women officers I had known had voices like drill sergeants.
    “Constable—” I said. That’s all I got out.
    “You left a message on Mr. Red Albright’s cell phone,” she said. “That’s how we got this number.”
    I ran my hand through my hair. “Albright’s phone? That was actually my friend calling.”
    “Mr. Albright’s wife called the Michigan State Police yesterday. I assume they’ve been in contact with you already?”
    “The police?” I needed to wake up, and fast.
    “In Michigan, yes.”
    I stood up and gave Vinnie a nudge. “No,” I said. “We haven’t made it back to Michigan yet. We’re in Wawa.”
    “You were up at the lodge yesterday,” she said. “On Lake Peetwaniquot.”
    I nudged Vinnie again. He slapped me away. “Yes, we were,” I said. “We were looking for Albright and the men who were with him.”
    “We just spoke to Mr. Gannon and Ms. St. Jean. They told us you were up there.”
    “Yes, we drove up to see if we could find out anything. The men were due back a few days ago. Are you telling me that Albright never got home, either?”
    “None of the men did. Mrs. Albright and the other wives apparently decided to give them one more night, and then call the police. It’s been five days at this point.
It doesn’t take that long to get back down to Detroit.”
    “Even less to Sault Ste. Marie.”
    “Now, that’s where we’re getting a little mixed up. You see, I’ve got four names here, Mr. McKnight. These were the names called in from Detroit. I don’t see anybody from Sault Ste. Marie.”
    “They picked up another man on the way,” I said. “That’s the man we were worried about.”
    “Okay, it’s starting to make sense now. That’s what Mrs. St. Jean seemed to be saying. There were five men on the hunt.”
    “Yes, exactly.”
    “Can I get this man’s name, please?”
    “LeBlanc.”
    “LeBlanc,” she said. I could tell she was writing it down. “What’s the first name?”
    I looked over at Vinnie. He was out.
    “Mr. McKnight? I need that first name.”
    “I know, I know.” It was way too early to try to keep the story straight.