Chapter 74

SEVENTY-FOUR

MARCH 2023

Whatcom County

"I told you I don't know nothing a blue Nissan or whatever," Len Thundercloud said, standing his ground in his driveway as Lucas approached. He was wearing a purple robe and slippers. Lucas was pleased to see he hadn't dressed up on his account.

"It was black," Lucas said. "And I'm not interested in that now."

"Then what the hell do you want?"

Lucas gestured beyond him at the door of the house, which was ajar. "Can we talk inside?"

Thundercloud's upper lip curled into an approximation of a smirk. "Not unless you have a warrant."

Everyone always plays that like a trump card; like it's a set of magic words that make the problem go away. It didn't often work out that simple, and it wasn't going to this time. Lucas took a step back and looked up and down the quiet street. A few houses down, an old guy was carrying a cardboard box full of books to the trunk of his car, moving painfully slowly.

Lucas took a step closer, so that he and Thundercloud were less than an arm's length apart. "I could get a warrant, Lenny. I would start with one for the salmon packing plant."

Thundercloud stiffened at the mention of the plant.

"After that, I'd bring you and Duke in for questioning. Melissa too. She could tell me all about her job in Ohio. But then the wheels are in motion and nothing you or I can do will stop it. You want me to do that?"

Without saying anything, Thundercloud turned and walked back toward the house. Not waiting for an invitation, Lucas followed him.

A short hallway gave way to the living room. There was a worn couch and a threadbare carpet and a coffee table that looked like it might have been pulled out of a dumpster and dusted down. Thundercloud sat down on the couch. His eyes narrowed as he looked up at Lucas.

"Look man, whatever you think you know…"

"Where's your gun?" Lucas asked, looking him up and down. He already knew there wasn't one; not concealed in a robe. Otherwise, he would have frisked him before letting him walk inside.

"I don't own a gun."

"Right. Well, you just stay on the couch. I wouldn't want one to suddenly appear from a drawer, you know what I mean? Not before we've had a little talk."

"I don't know what the hell this is about, but?—"

"It's about you and your buddies Duke and Melissa kidnapping and murdering OliviaGreenwood."

Thundercloud didn't flinch, didn't even blink. Lucas wouldn't have wanted to play poker with him.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

"You keep saying that. And yet you're talking to me. Because you're not entirely confident you got rid of all the evidence, are you?"

Thundercloud stared back at him, and Lucas knew if looks could kill he would be six feet under already.

Lucas started to pace around the perimeter of the room, never taking his eyes from Thundercloud. If he made a sudden move, Lucas would have his gun in his hand before he could take his first step.

"I couldn't work out the connection at first. A wealthy woman kidnapped in Ohio winds up dead in a creek thousands of miles west. Then I realized that was the thread I needed to pull. It was the one thing that didn't make sense, so I knew it had to be the key to the whole thing."

He stopped and looked out of the window at the street outside.

"Where's Melissa? She goes by ‘Missy', right?"

When Thundercloud didn't reply, he continued.

"Maybe she's out looking for a new job, huh? Something more local. I know she was working in Edward Greenwood's office in Cincinnati until last week. She kept her ear to the ground, knew about Greenwood's affair. She knew his wife would leave him if she found out about it, and she told you, and you came up with a way to make the situation pay. You knew how it would look if his wife was planning to divorce him and she disappeared. He knew too. So you came up with the plan to kidnap her, then make Greenwood look guilty as hell.

"The fact you were all the way out here was a plus. Two- or three-days' drive, but what was the hurry? You had a twelve-hour head start heading out of the city after you snatched her from the Park Plaza, and after that everybody was going to be looking closer to home. And it wasn't like you were going to have to make the return trip."

Lucas stopped pacing and leaned against the wall, staring at his audience. Thundercloud wasn't giving anything away, wasn't admitting anything despite everything he was saying. That was a good sign. It would be important later.

"So you brought her out here. You told Greenwood to call the search off, knowing he could explain that once the kidnap was revealed. You held her captive in that salmon plant. I don't know exactly when you got there yet, but I'm guessing the Monday. She was in captivity just over a week. What did you do with her in there? Torture her? Rape her?"

Thundercloud's eyes narrowed.

"Don't act offended, I know you cut her fucking finger off."

Lucas scratched his head. "So you held her there for days. She ate there. She slept there. She pissed and shit there. She bled there. How'd you clean up, Thundercloud? You hose it down?"

Thundercloud's face betrayed not a flicker of emotion.

Lucas shook his head. "Not good enough. You should have burned the place to the ground. And even then…"

Thundercloud said nothing. Still. Lucas couldn't help being a little impressed. A lot of other guys would be protesting, saying they had nothing to do with anything he was talking about. He knew how to keep his mouth shut.

That was a good sign.

"It would have worked. You were going to take the payout from Greenwood and then kill his wife, and you knew the police would assume he did it. But something went wrong. You killed her before you got paid. What happened?"

No response. Not that he had expected one.

"I'm speculating here, and it doesn't really matter, but I think someone—probably not you—left a door unlocked and she got out. She didn't get far, though. You or Duke ran her down and she hit her head in the struggle. After that, she was no good to anybody. You dumped the body and hoped you would still get the money. But when Greenwood found out she was dead and that the police were looking at him, he killed himself. Leaving nobody and nothing who could tie it to you."

Lucas paused for effect, then reached into his pocket.

"Almost nothing."

He showed Thundercloud Melissa Milligan's ID card from Greenwood's company.

"That was all it took to make the connection. As soon as I had that and the salmon plant, I put it all together. And here's the thing, Thundercloud. It was a great plan. Olivia would have disappeared, you would have got paid, and Greenwood would have taken the fall. If somebody hadn't fucked it up, it would have gone perfectly."

Thundercloud waited until he was sure Lucas had finished before he finally spoke. His voice was calm, like he was commenting on the weather.

"So if you think this is true, why are we having this conversation in my house?" Careful not to make any sudden moves, he got up off the couch. He went to the blinds and looked up and down the street. It was empty of people. No police cars screeching to a halt. "Why aren't you arresting me?"

"Arrest you?" Lucas shook his head. "Why would I want to do that? No. I'm not going to arrest you. I'm going to make you a proposal. This time, I'm going to help you do it right."