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“Sounds like something you should tell her yourself, at your first opportunity. You don’t want to squander chances with your family,” added Robie, drawing a quick glance from Reel. “You never know if you’ll get a second shot to
make it right.”
Holly smiled. “Good advice. I’ll take it. And I hope you find Mr. Walton.”
“We will,” said Reel. “Guaranteed.”
As they drove back to Grand, Robie said, “Think they’ll be okay?”
“I think they have a far better shot of surviving than we do. They’re getting out of the storm. We’re heading right back in.”
Chapter
27
“I CAN’T GUARANTEE your protection,” said Valerie Malloy. “I don’t have enough resources, and the state police aren’t going to come up with any.”
Robie and Reel were sitting opposite Malloy in her office. Deputy Bender was standing next to her.
“We can look after ourselves,” said Reel curtly.
“Did my sister tell you anything else about this Clément Lamarre?”
“No, just what we told you,” said Robie. “Do you know him?’
She shook her head. “Missing people. Hoods. Armed guards. I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean.”
“It means people are being held against their will,” interjected Reel.
“That I get. But is it the skinheads?”
Bender said, “What about Doctor King and his group?”
“That’s a possibility,” said Malloy. “Although they were helping Holly.” She turned to Robie. “She really was okay?”
“She was fine when she left us. We dropped her and Luke at the bus station. It was leaving shortly after we left.”
“And you really think he’s a good guy?”
“I do, for what it’s worth. It was a plus in my book that the skinheads were trying to kill him.”
“Maybe they discovered what Clément told her somehow. Maybe through JC Parry. Maybe they’re the ones involved in that.”
“And you say JC Parry has also vanished?” said Bender.
“As far as we could tell. We saw no sign of him and he left his dog behind, as you know.”
“I found a temporary home for it,” said Malloy. “I hope JC gets back to reclaim it.”
Robie said, “And it’s clear now that he was the go-between with Walton and Holly. He wasn’t acting as Walton’s guide. He didn’t need one.”
“That was a good catch on your part,” conceded Malloy. “I should have seen that one.”
“If the skinheads are the ones with prisoners, where would they be holding them?” asked Robie.
“They have a compound about twenty miles east of here,” said Bender. “It’s a fortified camp. Nobody goes near there unless they have business with them.”
“Sort of like the King’s Apostles folks?” said Reel.
“I’ve been out to Doctor King’s,” said Bender.
“So have I,” added Malloy. “The skins are a whole other story. And you’ve shot up a bunch of them and now you’ve wrecked their ATVs. They’re going to want blood.”
“Well, they kidnapped Luke and were trying to kill him and Holly. Would you rather we just left them to fend for themselves?” snapped Reel.
“I didn’t mean it that way. I’m incredibly grateful that you helped Holly. I’ll never be able to repay you for that. I wish she had told me what she was planning to do. I could have helped her.”
“You ever been there?” asked Reel. “To the skinheads’ compound?”
“Once. To serve a warrant to appear.”
“What happened?”
“I served the warrant and they never appeared.”
“And you let that slide?”
“I had no choice. The witness against them disappeared, and the case fell apart and was dismissed.”
“Tell us about the compound.”
“There’s nothing for miles around it, which means they can see anyone coming from a long way away.”
Bender added, “It’s got a perimeter wall, with concertina wire on top of it. There’s only one road in and out. There are guard towers all along the perimeter. They have their own water source and a generator for electricity.”
“How many people are there?” asked Robie.
“About a hundred or more,” replied Malloy. “At least there were when I went out there. There’re probably even more now. They’ve got lots of firepower.”
“Any idea how they generate the cash to pay for all that? When I asked the bartender how the Apostles make a living he suggested drugs or guns or human trafficking. But he said he really didn’t know.”
“I don’t believe that Doctor King and the Apostles are involved in any of that,” said Bender. “But the skinheads sure could be. They definitely got money. They come to town every so often and buy whatever they need and pay in cash. So they’re getting it from somewhere.”
“They’re like a cancer,” added Malloy. “I’d love to cut it out but I’ve got nothing on them, so my hands are tied. Any time they do something wrong, people vanish or clam up or get paid off. You saw what happened after they shot up the town. The state police dropped their investigation. I argued with them until I was blue in the face, but they’re not following up. I think palms are getting greased high up. Or maybe people are just afraid.”
“Who’s the leader over there?” asked Reel. “The equivalent of Doctor King?”
“You’re going to think this is funny, but it’s not,” said Malloy. “He calls himself Dolph.”
“As in Adolph?” commented Reel. “Wow, how creative.”
“Yeah. I guess he doesn’t feel he even needs a last name. He sometimes wears an old Nazi uniform with medals and everything.”
“Have you had interactions with him?” asked Robie.
“A few times. He’s an older guy and slick. Comes off as more of a college professor than a hatemonger. But he runs that group with an iron hand.”
Reel glanced at Robie.
Malloy noted this and said, “What?”
Robie replied, “We know a little bit about the neo-Nazi movement. We spent some quality time with them a while back. And it didn’t end well for them. But we had firepower on our side that we’re apparently going to lack here.”
“How do the Apostles and the neos get along?” asked Reel.
Bender said, “They don’t. Simple answer is they hate each other.”
Malloy nodded in agreement.
Reel said, “Well, that might be useful down the road.”
“Could be,” said Malloy.
“We need to find out about this Clément Lamarre person,” said Reel. “He’s got to be the key to this.”
“How so?” asked Malloy.
Robie answered, “He told Holly about the prisoners. She told Parry, who told Walton. Walton visited her at the rehab, and shortly thereafter he was taken. So was Parry. That’s the connection. We thought maybe this might have something to do with his past, but Walton has been coming out here for years and nothing has ever happened to him. But then he finds out about these prisoners, starts poking around, and boom, he goes missing.”
Reel added, “If Lamarre saw the prisoners, we need to figure out how. Maybe he worked near the place where they’re being held, or was passing by where it was happening.”
Malloy said, “I started digging into the scrapbook you left me. Ran down some leads. But I found nothing. Most of the people associated with Walton are either dead or they’ve moved from the area. Claire Bender is one of the few left.”
“This is all about his present, not his past, I’m convinced of that,” said Reel. “We need to find Lamarre.”
“Which means we go back to the rehab facility,” said Robie.
