Winter of the Wolf Moon: A Mystery by Steve Hamilton

Author:Steve Hamilton [Hamilton, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Amazon: B003G93Z2M
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 2010-04-02T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I left the hospital on a Thursday morning, after three nights on the machine and one more night just to make sure my ribs were going to stay put. The doctor took one more X ray, gave me strict orders to do nothing more strenuous than drive home and go to bed for a couple more days, and then I was a free man.

The wind was waiting for me as I stepped out the front door of the hospital. It hit me across the face with a blast of air so cold it made my eyes water. Vinnie was sitting in my truck.

“Welcome back,” he said as I eased myself in. “How d’ya feel?”

“Cold,” I said. Even with the heater going, the car seat felt like a slab of ice.

“The wind chill is minus forty today,” he said as he put it in gear. “I say we point this truck south and keep driving until we run out of gas money.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I eat breakfast,” I said. “I mean real food.”

“Jackie’s waiting for you,” he said. “Soon as you drop me off at the casino. My car wouldn’t start this morning.”

“Some day I’ll get this window fixed,” I said. It felt strange to be sitting on the wrong side of my own truck, especially with the cold air whistling through the plastic.

“I saw your man Leon this morning,” he said. “He looked like he hadn’t slept in three days. He came into Jackie’s for a cup of coffee. When he saw me he took me outside and told me he was checking on a couple guys at one of the motels. I’m supposed to tell you that he’s already working on the other, what did he say, the other individuals at large in Canada.”

“He’s something else,” I said.

“Alex, don’t you think he’s a little weird?”

“Just drive,” I said. “I’m too hungry to talk.”

As the snow blew across the road, it swirled in an ever-changing pattern, hypnotizing me as I watched it. I wrapped my coat tight around my body and leaned back in the seat. Somehow I dozed off, even with the cold wind in my ear. When I opened my eyes again, we were just coming to the Bay Mills Reservation. Even on a freezing cold Thursday morning in the middle of January, the casino parking lot was mostly full.

“Thanks for picking me up,” I said as he opened the door.

“Watch out for snowmobiles,” he said.

I slid over and took the wheel. My head started to hurt again as I concentrated on the road, but I thought about Jackie’s omelets and that kept me going. On the main road into Paradise, I looked for the Brass Anchor Motel on the left. There it was, just after the welcome sign. It was a simple string of doors, maybe eight units in all. A dark green Jeep was parked at the end closest to the road.

Alex is back in town, boys.

The Glasgow Inn was mostly empty. It was late in the morning, so the snowmobilers were already out on the trails.

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