Page 82 of At Midnight Comes the Cry
“I hope so, too. Let’s take a look at your files.”
The deputy set up the laptop and opened a program. “Can you give me the parameters of the suspect search, sir?”
“Yeah. All men, all Caucasian, youngest around thirty, the oldest fifty. Two men were veterans. There are probably several with hunting licenses.” He was going to have to go through something similar at the Warren County Sheriff’s in Lake George. And then the whole thing over again at his own department. His town’s department, he corrected. He wished the state was a little less concerned with individual privacy and a little more focused on catching bad guys; he wouldn’t have to drag himself all over the Adirondacks if they had a uniform database.
The deputy entered the information and then stood up, holding his chair out for Russ. “It’s ready for you, sir. Use the arrow key to move forward and back. Press the button at the top left of the picture if it’s a match.”
He clicked through one photo after another after another. He selected one match he definitely recognized—the man who had been in the militia leader’s command tent and who had escorted him to the firing range. “I think this guy might be the XO.” There was another one that was close, but hard to confirm, since he was clean-shaven. Hegestured for the deputy. “Is it possible to put a beard on this one? A little redder than the hair color.”
The deputy bent across him and entered the information. The altered picture sprang into place. “Oh, yeah. That’s one of them.”
That was the last of his luck. When Russ finished, he pushed back and removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes. “Sorry. That’s the best I can do.”
Pelletier nodded to the deputy, who collected the laptop and left. “We’ll get officers out to their known addresses right away.”
“Have the forensics on the bullets I had come back?” They had found the few pieces he’d hidden still in his jeans pocket when they’d stripped him at the Elizabethtown hospital.
Terrance’s mouth twisted. “None were a match to what the medical examiner removed from my uncle’s body.”
“We’ve got to pull one of these guys in. Some of them were idiots, yeah, but several of them know what they’re doing.”
“Which is what?” Pelletier braced his arms on the table.
“My best guess is they want to blow something up. My wife and Assistant State Attorney Zhào found materiel in Cal March’s house that could be used to make IEDs. Acetylene. Paint stripper. Sterno. That’s methylene chloride and ethanol. Very easy to conceal and very, very flammable. And I saw a burn scar in a cleared-away area while I was there.” Russ set his hand on the table. “If this is the camp, it was up here.” He pointed to a spot near his forefinger.
Terrance nodded. “My people saw that when we searched the area. Looked like a big bonfire, maybe? They had kicked snow all over it.”
“It wasn’t a bonfire. I was in the camp it at least twenty-four hours after we had the last snowstorm, and when I saw it was still so hot nothing had stuck.”
“Could either of you feel the heat?” Pelletier asked.
Russ shook his head. “I couldn’t get close enough.”
“It was cold by the time we got there.”
Pelletier folded his hands. “Gentlemen. I’m in a tough position here. The sheriff wants to keep the investigation focused on finding anyonewe’ve positively ID’d as being on the mountain at the time Ranger Laduc was killed. He’s not interested— No, let me put that another way. He doesn’t want us to pursue more general inquiries into the militia.”
“Why?” Russ looked at Terrance.
“Because he’s running for election, and he thinks his voters are right-wing racists.”
Pelletier shifted in his seat. “I wouldn’t phrase it like that.” He opened his hands. “But it’s true he doesn’t like the possible political ramifications. And he’s convinced they’re harmless.”
Paul snorted. “I’m just going to point out, if it was a bunch of Indians at an armed encampment in the Park, he’d have every one of ’em rounded up.”
“What about the evidence of bomb-making?” Russ tried not to sound as frustrated as he felt. This wasn’t Pelletier’s fault.
“I’ll present that, absolutely. But March’s place is in Warren County, and I can guarantee you the sheriffreallydoesn’t want some sort of cross-jurisdictional task force. That’s the sort of action that gets noticed by journalists.”
“So we just wait until they set off explosives at the Empire State Games in Lake Placid? Or the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival? How many tourists come to that, Charles?”
“About twenty-five thousand.” Pelletier closed his eyes, as if envisioning the carnage a few well-placed bombs could create. He blinked, then focused on Russ. “I’ll do what I can. I give you my word. But—”
“I know. It’s not your call.” Despite the early hour, Russ was suddenly weary. He stood. “Paul, let’s head for Lake George. I think we’ve reached the end of the line here.”
15.
He’d been able to ID one man for the Warren County Sheriff’s office. They reported the results of their rundown to Lyle while Russ was in the MKPD squad room: the suspect wasn’t at home and his roommate had no idea of his whereabouts. He came up empty with his own—with the MKPD’s—booking database.That didn’t surprise him; after ten years as police chief, he felt he’d recognize anyone they’d brought in in the past.
