The Land of Death and Devil’s Club, page 17
“It’ll grow back.”
His face falls and he looks at the blankets. “That will at least.”
I approach the bed and put my hand on his shoulder. He looks at me. There are tears forming in his eyes. Mikey sighs deeply. He looks so tired. I should go.
“I’ll see you again soon, okay?”
He nods and closes his eyes. I shut the door behind me and nod to the nurse as I leave.
Chapter Thirty-three
Valeria gives me the conference room. It looks like it’s just me and Jeannie, but I know there’s a whole team of agents watching, including Mensel, who will be ready to step in if he feels it’s necessary. Jeannie looks oddly comfortable sitting there in the police station. She almost looks relaxed. It makes me wonder what her life has been like for the past decade.
Time to find out.
“Hello again.” I’m interviewing her as an Alaska State Trooper with one colleague dead and two injured, one maimed for life. And I’m interviewing her as Special Liaison to the FBI who is the lead on the Mr. Drew investigation. In theory, Jeannie is a bad guy. She’s been his lead chemist, creating incredibly dangerous drugs and allowing this whole operation to run for ten years. And yet she also killed Mr. Drew and saved my life, as well as Ryne’s, Mikey’s, and Joe’s. I want to remind the agents watching us of that, since they weren’t there.
“Before we start, I wanted to let you know that Chief Harper is going to survive. He’s lost his legs, and it’ll be a long recovery, but he will be okay. So, thank you for helping me get him out of that cave.” She just nods and smiles. “I’m sure you know that I have a lot of questions for you.” I smooth the top sheet of a fresh notepad.
“Am I going to go to prison?” She sounds merely curious when she asks it. She’s not crying or shaking like most people in her situation. She’s not angry. She looks perfectly serene.
“That’s very likely. You were making drugs. You were fully aware that Mr. Drew was recruiting vulnerable young people to make and distribute them. You knew people were being murdered and dumped in Portlock.”
She closes her eyes for a second. “I know. I was one of those young people.”
“Why don’t you start from there? How did you get involved?”
She pulls a plastic cup of water toward her, takes a sip. “How long do we have?”
“As long as we need.”
“Oh, good.”
* * *
The story Jeannie tells flows with everything Ryne learned about how Mr. Drew and his recruiters operate. She was offered a lot of money—enough to keep her family more than comfortable. One hundred thousand dollars up front, and more every year. She has it stashed away in the cabin Mr. Drew set her up in. I make a note that Mensel will want to search the place. Mr. Drew promised her she’d be queen of the hive and that after ten or fifteen years, she could retire.
She brushes her dark hair off her round cheeks, leans back. She keeps eye contact with me while she talks—not like most people in her situation. It’s hard to think of this woman as a villain, especially because the longer I look at her, the more I can see the resemblance to Dolly.
“The thing is, I was good at it. I knew within days what we were making. I knew it could kill people. I knew it ruined people’s lives. But I was really good at the science, and I was a good leader. Morale was great. The guys were pretty happy, overall. And I thought…” She sighs. “At first, I thought Mr. Drew really respected me. He didn’t seem misogynistic or racist at first. I didn’t realize how awful he was until I realized how he was preying on people he thought didn’t have other options.”
“None of the men you worked with ever gave you trouble? Mr. Drew didn’t?”
She thinks, shakes her head slowly. “Mr. Drew? No. I’ve never known him to be with a woman or talk about one, and he certainly never hit on me. The guys on the team—some of them would get restless. These were young men. They should have been dating. I knew they snuck off sometimes, but I didn’t live with them, so I pretended I was oblivious. None of them were bold enough to try anything with me.” She laughs. “I just tried to keep them happy in their work. Because I knew what would happen to them if they stopped working.”
“Mr. Drew would have them killed.”
She nods. “There were a couple…” She shakes her head, once again displacing the hair she keeps trying to push behind her ears.
“Go on.” I pour myself some water and refill her cup.
“There were a couple who wanted to try to fight Mr. Drew. They realized too late what they’d gotten into, and they wanted to go back to their families and their towns. They started to argue about the work. One of them started showing up high and getting belligerent. He was a recovered addict, but he was so stressed out he started sampling the product.”
“What did you do?”
“I sent him away with the cash he’d gotten up front.”
“What do you mean you sent one of the men away?”
She repositions herself in the metal chair, which was meant to be uncomfortable. “More than one of them. I couldn’t send them back home, of course. He’d just find them there. I told them to get as far away as they could go. Then I told Mr. Drew they’d died in lab accidents. Or, one of them, I told Mr. Drew he’d killed himself.”
“And he never suspected?”
“I don’t know. If he sent men after them, I’d never know. He could have snooped around, I guess, but I don’t think he did. The men were gone. He didn’t have to give them money anymore. None of them ever turned back up as far as I know, so what did he have to worry about? Hopefully, they just went off and started new lives. But who knows. He could have been paying attention all along and found them, killed them.” She shakes her head slowly, as if picturing it.
“You never heard from any of them again?”
“No, but how would they get in touch? I didn’t even have an address. It’s just a little cabin in the woods. Most of the men lived in the caves around Portlock, so not exactly easy to give them a call or drop them an email, right?”
“Some of them lived in caves for years?”
“Yeah. It sounds worse than it was. I mean, it was bad. Obviously. But at a point, I think…you know how sailors can either fight like hell or just become a big family?” Not really, but I nod. “It was kind of like that. They’d fight initially, but once they’d been there long enough, it was like family. And they left the caves sometimes in the evening to hang out in the houses around Portlock. I understood. We all needed some fresh air. The only rule was they had to clean up after themselves.”
That explains the tidying of the buildings and the trash disposal. I lean back in my seat. It’s a lot to digest.
“Did you ever try to fight Mr. Drew about what you were doing?”
“I did fight him. He just didn’t know it until the very end.”
“Tell me.” I lean my elbows on the table, temporarily forgetting about my notes. The whole thing is being recorded anyway.
“About a year ago, the team was getting really restless. The kids coming in were getting younger and younger. Some of them saw their family members coming in. They realized that Mr. Drew was targeting kids from the tribes, but also kids who were kind of outsiders. Loners. Kids with no parents. And it pissed them off. When he recruited us, it had at least felt…I don’t know. I won’t say fair. But we were getting ready to graduate. We were at least legally adults. We could make a choice. But then there were sixteen-year-olds coming in who were literally getting ready to go to foster care. That’s just taking advantage.”
“Yes, it is.”
“So, I started feeling out the guys on my team, chatting with them. Listening to their conversations while we worked. And I realized it was time.”
“For?”
“Time to make a plan. We wanted to get Mr. Drew, but he’d started going full reclusive. We never saw him anymore. I knew all of us together, we could kill him if I could get him to Portlock, but I didn’t know how. Still, we started working on weapons. We had the advantage—we knew those caves so well. We had all those chemicals. We outnumbered him even with his guards and those pilots. The nice thing about him not visiting is that he never knew that we were planning a full-fledged revolt.” She smiles to herself.
In a way, I wonder if it’s a good memory, that camaraderie with her team, that shared mission. It’s a bit like the FBI seems, and it’s why I’d like to be part of it.
“It was a bomb you threw.”
“Yeah. Homemade. The tunnel he was standing in has a lab in it too, so I knew if I could throw it far enough, it would set off other explosions. And that’s what happened.”
“You could have killed us all.”
She nods. “I know. I’m sorry. And I’m especially sorry about the officer who was killed. But once Ryne was out, I figured it was worth the risk. He was going to kill Ryne, and he would have killed you and Dolly and Chief Harper’s team too.”
I nod. She’s right.
“I still can’t get over Ryne trying to catch Mr. Drew out. That kid’s gotten bold.” She grins, and I stifle a laugh. Clearly Ryne gets it honestly.
“How much did you already know when the pilot brought Ryne to you?”
She shakes her head, and her long black hair makes a sound like beach grass blowing in the wind.
“I knew someone was coming to meet me, but that’s normal for the new recruits once Mr. Drew has vetted them and they’ve signed on. Mr. Drew showed up with a bunch of guys in the morning—now that was unusual. The last few newbies, he’s had pilots bring them to meet me. He didn’t join us. But this time, he showed up unannounced and told me to get the kid they were bringing talking, then they were going to ambush him. I had no idea why, or what he’d done. Or who it was. As you might imagine, I was distracted trying to figure out whether we were ready to take out Mr. Drew.”
“You didn’t know it was Ryne he was bringing?”
The way her eyes go wide, and she puts her hands flat on the table as she leans back makes it look like she’s still somewhat in shock.
“I had no idea. As soon as I saw him, them, I had the pilot go out to guard the entrance so we could talk. Ryne was great. He,” she pauses. “Sorry, I have to get used to the change. I knew Ryne as a boy.” She sighs, finally looking regretful. “That’s what I get for leaving, I guess. I don’t know my own family.” I give her a moment, and she gets herself composed again. “Ryne didn’t let on that we had any connection to each other until the pilot was gone. Though once I thought about it, I wonder if maybe Mr. Drew knew Ryne and I were connected. Maybe that’s why he recruited them.”
I’d been wondering the same thing. If Mr. Drew was making such an effort to identify potential recruits, how could he have missed the fact that Jeannie and Ryne were related? Did he recruit Ryne thinking it would keep Jeannie around? It’s likely I’ll never know, unless I can get the other pilots talking.
“Did Ryne tell you about me?”
“Yeah. Right away. Ryne told me you were staying in the park because you were investigating the pilots that were showing up in Nanwalek, and their connection to Mr. Drew. I told Ryne I was planning to go after Mr. Drew too, and that’s when we realized we were on the same side.”
Chapter Thirty-four
She’d disappeared into the tunnel and grabbed the bomb as soon as she realized Mr. Drew would kill Ryne. She’d wanted to wait until her team was assembled and could attack Mr. Drew together, but that’s not how it happened. She’d had to make up her mind to do it alone. Mr. Drew was so distracted by me that he never even noticed.
I can’t tell her before I leave that I’m going to try to convince the FBI to cut her a deal—she can identify nearly every single person in Mr. Drew’s operation. If she’ll do so, they might be willing to keep her out of prison, though she’ll forever be on their radar. I do, however, ask her to write down the names of the men she sent away and anything she can think of that might indicate where they went. She doesn’t hesitate or stop to think at all. These men are clearly on her mind often. When she’s written everything she can remember, I glance at the list. A name strikes me immediately. Marty Gussido. I met his parents five years ago when they came to see if one of the bodies found was his. It seems they will have to wait a bit longer to learn where he is. I take the list and slip it into my bag. I’ll try to track down these men as soon as I can. I’ll let them know they can come home, though they won’t be able to avoid questioning.
I don’t realize how long Jeannie and I talk until I emerge into the lobby of the police station. There’s a warm, amber-colored light seeping through the windows, cast by the late-setting sun. Yet despite the fact this should be a quiet part of the evening in the station, I’m surrounded by people, all seemingly talking at the same time. Mensel and several other agents stood there and watched the entire interview. But it’s not their energy that permeates the room. When I step into the main lobby, there are dozens more people there. The building is packed. We’re surely violating the fire code. The air is charged, and the excitement is contagious, even though I don’t know what’s going on.
The crowd is overwhelming, but as I start to adjust and see individual people, I realize some of them are familiar. There’s a journalist I’ve met before from the Seward paper, as well as his cameraman. There’s Mr. Stanley Gussido, a veteran in a wheelchair who has grown a long beard since last I saw him. I’ll need to go talk with him. At least I can tell him that Marty’s been seen alive recently, even if we don’t know where he is, and even if he’s likely back to using. I scan the room and see his wife, Lena, deep in conversation with another pair. Several of the others in the crowd I remember from that same time. They’d told me the stories of their loved ones’ disappearances. Some of them had even given me photos.
I fight through the warm bodies to Valeria, who stands near the front desk and tries to hold three conversations at once. I add a conversation to her plate.
“Valeria, are these all the families?”
“That’s right. As the men from the mines came in, they all gave me their names and the names of their families. I looked them all up and called.” She looks at me like she’s daring me to challenge her. “Don’t worry. I got your FBI guy’s permission. Not that I should need to.” I wasn’t going to challenge her. I would have done the same thing. These families have been worried sick.
“The Gussidos are here, but their son left the mines.”
“Yeah, one of the men mentioned that Marty had been there. I told the parents he hadn’t been recovered, but they wanted to come anyway. Friends of theirs have kids who were.”
“Are the men even here?”
“Oh, yeah. Your people have got them in every room we could spare, questioning them. Who knows how long that will take.” They must have all filtered past the room where I was interviewing Jeannie.
“They haven’t said when the families will be able to see them?”
She shakes her head. “But I don’t think they’re going anywhere anytime soon. If they don’t hurry up, I’m thinking about pulling out some army cots.”
“I’ll check in and see what we’re looking at.” Before I head back down the hallway, I return to Stanley Gussido. He puts his hand on my arm and thanks me for what I’ve done. When I explain what Jeannie told me about sending Marty away, he gives a faint smile.
“It’s more than we’ve heard in years, and it’s something to cling to.”
I pull out the notes Jeannie made about the men she sent away. Next to Marty’s name she’s written that they’d talked about Hawaii.
“He was obsessed with Hawaii, even as a kid. Always wanted to see it. That’s a start, and Lena and I will go out there if we need to.”
“Well, hopefully it won’t come to that. I’m going to do everything in my power to track him down. It might take a while—I’m sure he’s changed his name—but we’ll find him. I’ll be in touch soon, okay?”
Stanley nods as Lena returns to him, looking at me inquisitively. I wish I could stay and repeat what I’ve said to her, but there’s so much to do right now.
I turn down the hall, passing the room where I left Jeannie, who is now talking with another FBI agent. I pop my head in to ask the agent where Mensel is.
“In the break room,” she says.
When he sees me, Mensel inclines his head in the way he does when he approves of something or someone. “Linebach. Yes, come in. We’re almost finished here.”
“Yes, sir. Sir, can I have just a moment?”
He nods and motions with his hand to a young agent who looks unsure of where to go. The agent stands still while Mensel follows me to the other end of the room.
“Sir, were you aware that their families are here?”
“Linebach, I’ve been aware of nothing for the past”—he looks at his watch—“seven hours. The agents”—he nods toward the one who is pretending not to listen—“have interrogated every single man. Twenty-seven of them came out of those mines.”
“Any trouble, sir?”
“Oddly, no. Your scientist demanded their full cooperation. Seems they listen to her.”
“Sir, I’m not sure what procedure normally is. They haven’t been formally charged, have they?”
“No. We’ll need to regroup and consider what we want to do.”
“In that case, sir, will it be possible for them to see their families? Some of the people out there thought these men were dead. You can imagine how they’re feeling.”
He looks thoughtful for a moment, then nods slowly. “Hmm. I suppose so. We can release them to their families, but they all need to understand that they will be charged, and if they disappear, there’ll be hell to pay if we have to go tracking them down. Make sure we’ve got addresses and phone numbers for where every single one of them is going. And no one goes out of state. Pat them all down before they go. Anything they had with them in those mines stays with us, and nobody leaves with a firearm. Got it?”
I stand straighter but remind myself that I’m not a soldier and he’s not my drill sergeant. “Yes, sir.” I start for the door, then turn around.
