Chapter 28
I call an old friend
I probably should have gone back to bed, but I decided to get breakfast instead. How many more buffalo omelet opportunities would I get? I went back to the restaurant by the provincial offices. It seemed even emptier this morning. Were people still leaving town? My favorite policeman was there, and he waved me over when he saw me.
“I hear Foster left town.”
“Yes. He said they would shoot him if he stayed.”
“Too bad.”
“Too bad he left, or too bad they didn’t shoot him?”
“Both, really. How about you. Ready to leave?
“I’ll leave when my conscience allows.” He had no response to that. Meanwhile, a waitress came over and took my order. “You want your regular?” she asked. I liked that. I had eaten here once and had a “regular.” I nodded and she headed to the kitchen.
“One of the things Foster told me,” I said, “was that the Dubuissants are both criminals. I had a thought. Last night all the fire fighters and cops and every adult male in town were on the west side of town looking at fires. Any chance there were other crimes being committed while we weren’t looking?”
“Nothing has been reported yet this morning. But it is worth looking into.” He finished his coffee and got up. “You might be useful after all.”
“That’s my goal in life – to be useful after all.” He gave me a funny look and left.
I was halfway through my omelet and on my third cup of coffee when another idea struck me. Who knew – I might be useful twice in the same day. I gave Elise a call.
“How are the green houses today?” I asked.
“I am back at my hotel packing. We have finished our Arkansas appreciation tour and are going back to Green Bay.”
“Did it go well?”
“It will go better when we send down the checks we promised to promote research. We are backing some pretty odd research projects, but if it makes a few friends…”
“I understand. Speaking of friends, can I ask a favor?”
“Do you need a lift out of there? By the way, I heard about the fires and about you going out looking for the arsonists. You aren’t going to do that again, are you?”
“Of course not. Besides, I was surrounded by twenty other guys, and all I did was walk around a little and try not to get frost bite.”
“I am glad you are not a good liar. It will make our marriage easier.”
“I am all for an easy marriage. In the meantime, could I ask a favor? Last summer I had some dealings with a New Orleans attorney who had this fantasy about being an army officer. His name was Goulet, and he was a major in the LNA. I am sure by now he is a general at least. I suspect you have people who know how to get in touch with him. Could you get me a cell number or email address?”
“Do you plan to join up?”
“I would, but Louisiana is too hard to spell. Besides, the love of my life lives in Green Bay.”
“Very smooth, Professor Murphy, very smooth. Let me see what I can do.” We had a few more things to say after that, matters a bit more intimate, or at least as intimate as you can get speaking on a cell phone in a restaurant.
I worked on my breakfast, had yet another cup of coffee and wondered how long it would take to track Goulet down. And if I called him would he even answer? We had traded punches enough to make our positions very clear.
Even though the restaurant was nearly empty, I felt some guilt about keeping a table too long. Time passed, and finally I decided it was time to move on. But just as I pushed back my chair, in walked Charles. He pulled the chair out from the other side of the table, sat down, and handed me a piece of paper. On it was a phone number and the word “Goulet.”
“You should know we will monitor your call.”
“Then why are you here?”
“To let you know we will be monitoring your call.”
“Not very subtle, are you? You do know I am on your side, right?”
“Of course.” How can you say “of course” and have it sound like “I don’t trust you for a minute?” Somehow, he managed. I decided to ignore him and make the call. Goulet let it ring a very long time. Was he staring at the caller ID and wondering first who it was, then why that SOB would be calling? It was about ring twenty when he picked up.
“What do you want?” Not very friendly, but at least he had answered.
“I want to do you a favor, and if you find the favor valuable, I want you to do me a favor.”
“Let me guess, you want to meet in a ring, put on some boxing gloves, and settle this?”
“That sounds like a great idea, but it will have to wait. Maybe after the spring elections when you guys all have more time.”
“Your friends need to keep up on politics. We are going to sweep the elections and all of us will be very busy running a new country.”
“Sure. But let’s get back to the real world for a few minutes. You have heard a few things are happening in DeSmet.”
“I hear the usual. The forces in Green Bay are oppressing some poor hunters.”
”Yes, of course. That captures it exactly. But oppressors aside, you might be interested in two of the hunters. And here is the favor. I give you names and a basic plot line, and you determine if I am telling you something helpful. If you agree this information saves your butt, you do me a favor in return.”
“You want to save us?”
“Not really, but it turns out we have a common enemy.”
“Let’s hear about it.”
“Two brothers are up here – Philippe and Guy Dubuissant. They are currently running a show that includes about two dozen deaths and now involves arson here in DeSmet. They have seventeen men taking orders from them in the belief that the Dubuissants are officers in the LNA, are here under orders, and will soon be joined by hundreds of LNA soldiers.”
“You lie.”
“I am sure you wish I were. But you see the problem. If they really are officers in the LNA, then you will take the blame for everything up here, and earn the perpetual enmity of the Sioux nation. I think that would be bad for you, no? If these guys are lying, then you still get the blame for every nasty thing they do. Heads you lose, tails you lose.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“As I said, as a favor to you. If these guys are legitimate, you now know not to send men up here. It would be suicide. If these guys are lying, you now have some time to distance yourself.”
“And what favor do you want in return?”
“I want you to get off your dead ass and deal with these thugs.” I shouted into the phone. At this point the entire restaurant was staring at me – all seven people. “People are in danger up here and will continue to be in danger until the Dubuissants are gone. You can speed the process – and save some lives – if you find out who these guys really are, and once you have the goods on them, get it to the desert rat radio station they all listen to.”
“I will talk to some people.”
“Do it.” I don’t know which of us hung up on the other first. It might have been a tie.
“Not bad.” Was Charles’ only comment as he stood and left. I paid the bill and left too, after apologizing to the waitress for shouting. I did notice she kept her distance while I paid the bill. I was sorry about that.