Black House Chapter Twelve

12A FEW MINUTES LATER, the break apartup lurches to a h gaga up between the last of the trees, where the macadam disappears into the weeds and t all grass. The Th on a lower floor Fives motorcycles root word tilted in a neat row a a few(prenominal) yards ahead and off to his left. Wendell, who has replaced Freddy Saknessum on the seat, gets out and moves a few paces forward, hoping that no(prenominal) of the ripe aroma of dried sweat, unwashed flesh, and stale beer emerging from his spouse passengers has clung to his c contendhing. Behind him, he looks Freddy jumping down from the put up of the motortruck as the others climb out and shut the doors without making any more(prenominal) than in two ways as much go as necessary. All Wendell can beguile from his position is the colorless, rotting rear wall of Eds Eats rising from a thick tangle of Queen Annes lace and tiger lilies. Low voices, wholeness of them Beezer St. Pierres, pick out to him. Wendell drop deads the Nik on a quick once-over, removes the lens cap, and cranks a new document of film into place before moving with slow, quiet steps by the bikes and along the side of the ruined structure.Soon he is able to put by means of the overgrow access road and the patrol elevator car astride it equivalent a barrier. Down close to the highway, Danny Tcheda and Pam Stevens wrangle with half a cardinal men and women who have left their cars strewn comparable toys behind them. Thats not passing play to work much longer if Tcheda and Stevens argon supposed to be a dam, the dam is about to spring some serious leaks. Good intelligence operation for Wendell a maximum amount of confusion would give him a lot more leeway and make for a more colorful story. He wishes he could murmur into his recorder right now.The inexperience of Chief Gilbertsons ferocity was evident in the futile efforts of Officers Tcheda and Stevens to turn moxie the numbers of those citizens keen to witness for themselves t he latest evidence of the Fisher humanss insanity . . . Ah, something, something, then solely this diarist was able to place himself at the heart of the expectation, where he felt soaring and humbled to serve as the eyes and ears of his readers . . .Wendell hates to lose such deli drope stuff, but he cannot be sure he will return it, and he does not dare to take the risk of being overheard. He moves closer to the front of Eds Eats.The humble ears of the public take in the beneficial of Beezer St. Pierre and Dale Gilbertson having a surprisingly amiable conversation directly in front of the mental synthesis the humble eyes of the public observe jack Sawyer walking into view, an empty plastic root word and a baseball cap swinging from the fingers of his right hand. The humble prod of the public reports a truly awful stench that guarantees the presence of a decomposing body in the shabby inadequate structure to the right. zany is moving a little more quickly than usual, and although it is clear that he is clean outlet to his pickup, he keeps glancing from side to side.Whats going on here? Golden boy looks more than a little furtive. Hes acting like a shoplifter nevertheless stuffing the goodies under his coat, and golden boys shouldnt behave that way. Wendell raises his camera and focuses in on his target. There you are, jacklight old boy, old fellow, old sport, crisp as a new bill and twice as sharp. Look fine for the camera, now, and let us see what youve got in your hand, okay? Wendell snaps a flick and watches through his viewfinder as Jack approaches his truck. Golden Boy is going to stash those things in the glove compartment, Wendell thinks, and he doesnt fate any champion to see him do it. Too unwholesome, kid, youre on Candid Camera. And likewise bad for the proud provided humble eyes and ears of French County, because when Jack Sawyer r individuallyes his truck he does not climb in but leans over the side and fiddles nigh with so mething, giving our noble journalist a fine view of his nates and nothing else. The noble journalist takes a picture anyhow, to establish a sequence with the next photo, in which Jack Sawyer turns away from his truck empty-handed and no longer furtive. He stashed his grubby treasures back on that point and got them out of sight, but what made them treasures? Then a lightning bolt strikes Wendell Green. His scalp shivers, and his crinkly hair threatens to straighten out. A great story just became unbelievably great. Fiendish Murderer, Mutilated Dead Child, and . . . the Downfall of a submarine Jack Sawyer walks out of the ruin carrying a plastic bag and a Brewers cap, tries to make sure he is unobserved, and hides the stuff in his truck. He found those things in Eds Eats, and he squirreled them away right under the nose of his friend and admirer Dale Gilbertson. Golden Boy removed evidence from the scene of a crime And Wendell has the proof on film, Wendell has the goods on the hi gh-and-mighty Jack Sawyer, Wendell is going to bring him down with 1 god-almighty huge crash. Man oh man, Wendell feels like dancing, he does, and is unable to restrain himself from executing a clumsy gigue with the wonderful camera in his hands and a sloppy grin on his face.He feels so good, so triumphant, that he almost decides to go forth about the four idiots waiting for his signal and just pack it in. still hey, lets not get all warm and fuzzy here. The supermarket tabloids are heave for a nice, gruesome blast of Irma Freneaus dead body, and Wendell Green is the man to give it to them.Wendell takes another cautious step toward the front of the ruined building and sees something that boodle him cold. Four of the bikers have gone down to the end of the overgrown lane, where they see to be helping Tcheda and Stevens turn away the people who want to get a good look at all the bodies. skid Runkleman heard that the Fisherman stowed at least six, maybe eight half-eaten kids i n that shack the news grew more and more sensational as it filtered through the community. So the cops can use the extra help, but Wendell wishes that Beezer and crew were blowing the palpebra off things instead of helping to keep it on. He comes to the end of the building and peers around it to see everything that is going on. If he is to get what he wants, he will have to wait for the perfect moment.A second FLPD car noses in through the vehicles hovering out on 35 and moves up bygone Tchedas car to swing onto the weeds and rubble in front of the old store. Two youngish part-time cops named Holtz and Nestler get out and stroll toward Dale Gilbertson, onerous hard not to react to the stench that gets more sickening with each step they take. Wendell can see that these lads have even more obstruction concealing their dismay and astonishment at seeing their chief prosecute in apparently amiable conversation with Beezer St. Pierre, whom they probably suspect of myriad nameless cr imes. They are farm boys, UW?CRiver Falls dropouts, who split a item-by-item salary and are trying so hard to make the cross as constabulary officers that they tend to see things in rigid black-and- uncontaminating. Dale calms them down, and Beezer, who could pick each of them up with one hand and smash their skulls like soft-boiled eggs, smiles benignly. In response to what must have been Dales orders, the new boys trot back down to the highway, on the way casting worshipful glances at Jack Sawyer, the poor saps.Jack wanders up to Dale for a little confab. Too bad Dale doesnt know that his buddy is concealing evidence, hah Or, Wendell considers, does he know is he in on it, too? One things for sure it will all come out in the wash, once the Herald runs the telltale pictures.In the meantime, the swell in the straw hat and the sunglasses just stands there with his armor folded across his chest, looking serene and confident, like he has everything so under control that even the smell cant reach him. This guy is ostensibly a key player, Wendell thinks. He calls the shots. Golden Boy and Dale want to keep him apt you can see it in their body language. A touch of respect, of deference. If they are covering something up, theyre doing it for him. But why? And what the devil is he? The guy is middle-aged, someplace in his fifties, a generation older than Jack and Dale he is too stylish to live in the country, so hes from Madison, maybe, or Milwaukee. He is obviously not a cop, and he doesnt look like a businessman, either. This is one self-reliant mother that comes through loud and clear.Then another police car breaches the defenses down on 35 and rolls up beside the part-timers. Golden Boy and Gilbertson walk up to it and greet Bobby Dulac and that other one, the fat boy, Dit Jesperson, but the dude in the hat doesnt even look their way. Now, thats cool. He stands there, all by himself, like a general surveying his troops. Wendell watches the mystery man pr oduce a cigarette, light up, and exhale a plume of white smoke. Jack and Dale walk the new arrivals into the old store, and this bird keeps on grass his cigarette, sublimely detached from everything around him. Through the rotting wall, Wendell can hear Dulac and Jesperson complaining about the smell then one of them grunts Uh when he sees the body. hullo boys? Dulac says. Is this shit for real? Hello boys? The voices give Wendell a good restrain on the location of the corpse, way back against the far wall.Before the one-third cops and Sawyer begin to shuffle toward the front end of the store, Wendell leans out, aims his camera, and snaps a photograph of the mystery man. To his horror, the Cat in the Hat instantly looks in his guardianship and says, Who took my picture? Wendell jerks himself back into the protection of the wall, but he knows the guy must have seen him. Those sunglasses were pointed right at him The guy has ears like a bat he picked up the noise of the shutter. Come on out, Wendell hears him say. Theres no point in hiding I know youre there.From his reduced vantage point, Wendell can just see a State Police car, followed by French Landings DARE Pontiac, barreling up from the congestion at the end of the lane. Things seem to have reached the boiling point down there. Unless Wendell is wrong, he thinks he glimpses one of the bikers pulling a man out through the window of a nice-looking green Olds.Time to call in the cavalry, for sure. Wendell steps back from the front of the building and waves to the troops. Teddy Runkleman yells, Hoo boy Doodles screeches like a cat in heat, and Wendells four assistants charge past him, making all the noise he could wish for.