X.
Cascade was too warm, too humid, and smelled like fish. But there was no sense of wrongness to the place, and this had Vin stumped. Cascade was where the little sticks he's started to assemble into an okay sort of life had been lit afire. Where Eli Joe Vassiconelli had killed someone, maybe just to make Vin's life hell. And used Blair Sandburg to try to make it stick.
He'd fled this place on a stolen bike with eight bucks in his pocket. Cascade was supposed to wreak of evil.
"Man, it's good to be home," said Blair.
They went straight to the Cascade PD's main headquarters, where Jim and Blair were greeted by just about everyone and where Mary Travis was waiting, having flown out that afternoon. She was smiling, but that didn't mean anything; it was her job to be encouraging.
After being booked quickly and efficiently, several of Cascade's finest gave him a lift to the courthouse, where he signed a copy of the statement he'd given in Denver, and then he was done. Hardly seemed worth Mary's bother to be there; but maybe being lawyered up was why he wasn't warming a bench in the basement.
Coming out of the proceedings, the rest of the guys were waiting, all smiles.
"The locals did some digging," explained Ezra. "They've come up with the serial number of the missing Ruger. That is, assuming it was one of a pair of handguns reported stolen by a Mr. Henry Blake a week before the shooting. The other was the murder weapon."
"So this means nobody's going to think you planted the weapon we're going to find," said Josiah. "Makes life a lot less complicated."
Though it was unlikely that he had enemies in the city jail, it still seemed wise for him to stay out of it, so he accepted the invitation to 'camp out in the loft,' as Blair put it. The going theory seemed to be that Ellison and Sandburg's security system would deter Vassiconelli, eliminating the need for overnight watches, so he and Chris left the rest of the guys to find their own lodging and followed (well, more, drove) Blair and Jim home.
Vin didn't know what to expect. To him, lofts were in barns, like where he and Blair had slept several nights previous. Jim and Blair's place was - well, fashionable. Like someone had put thought into where things went, what pictures hung where. It was the type of place he imagined having some day; well, except that his other fantasy was to chuck it all and live off the land, and the two visions didn't really work together.
Ellison had a lifting easy chair that looked a little out of place; he didn't hesitate to raise it before sitting down, then leaned his head back and audibly sighed as it lowered. This, more than anything - more than the cane, or even the couple of times Vin had seen Ellison's leg fail him - brought home that, damn, the guy was really hurt.
Chris picked up on this too; Chris was like that, often saying what Vin was thinking. "You know, we could wait a few days before heading out," he said.
"No, we can't," said Jim, his eyes still closed. "How long can you justify having your men out here? And I don't like the idea of some gun lying around on the side of a highway. Our best chance for getting this all cleared up is to try to find it now."
"All cleared up?" asked Blair, handing Jim some aspirin and a bottle of water. "Finding the gun won't give Vin an airtight defense, will it?"
"Cleared up as we can get things without Vassiconelli's cooperation," said Chris.
Which would probably have to do for now. Some day, though, he'd somehow get Eli Joe to come clean. Clear his name for good. He had to.
Chris spent an uncomfortable night on Jim Ellison's sofa, and wasn't at all happy to see the rest of his team crowding into the suddenly small apartment just before seven. Though Buck had a steaming cup of coffee in hand for him and a big box of Krispy Kreme donuts; Wilmington seemed to still be enjoying playing scoutmaster.
They decided they'd keep to the three vehicles they'd taken and leave Ellison's truck (which he couldn't drive just then anyway because of the clutch) and Sandburg's vintage Volvo (which Ellison implied was less than reliable) in the city. Ellison and Sandburg managed to have a little argument about this using only their eyebrows, with, as far as he could tell, Sandburg finally convincing Ellison that they could trust Chris and his guys not to drive off and leave them in the middle of nowhere; and that, if they hadn't been trustworthy, they'd be in deep shit no matter how many cars they took.
Chris glanced at Vin; he looked like he'd also managed to follow the conversation, and was grinning. Chris directed him a small nod. I-won't-say-a-thing-if-you-don't.
It wasn't until he'd almost gotten to the minimart where the shooting had occurred, Jim directing him from the passenger's seat again, that Chris really thought about what they were about to do. This wasn't going to be easy for either Vin or Blair.
"Blair, you don't have to do this," said Ellison, turning to talk over the seat.
"We can't start at the beginning unless we start at the beginning, man," said Blair.
There were a couple of cars parked around the store, and the gas pumps were fairly busy with people tanking up for the weekend. A company rep was also waiting for them, who would have to be mollified with assurances that they'd be as quick and discreet as possible.
Hopping out of the Suburban, Chris grabbed Buck. "Deal with the lady, will you?"
Nate was helping Ellison out the passenger seat of the Suburban, something Blair had been doing since Jim had almost landed on his rear on the pavement in Idaho. Vin and Blair were still sitting in the back, staring at the store in front of them.
Vin looked at Blair, then Chris, then back at Blair. "Do this together?" he asked.
"Uh, sure," said Blair.
Emerging slowly, the younger men approached the building at half-speed, Blair looking around some, Vin focusing forward. "It hasn't changed," Blair said.
"You never came back here?" Vin asked.
"Are you crazy?"
Inside, they headed to the soda cases. "Inside's never been renovated neither," said Vin, looking around, presumably trying to place Blair and Vassiconelli. "You and Eli Joe were..."
"Yeah, and then..." Blair also looked like he'd done crime scene recreation before.
"You really came back in and looked at the body?" asked Vin.
Blair nodded.
Chris followed them back out the the store. "Boss, I don't know what sort of tracker this makes me, but I have no idea which way I went after I grabbed Blair's bike," said Vin.
"That way," said Blair, pointing south-east down a residential side street. "I chased you a little ways along that sidewalk."
"I don't remember that part," said Vin.
"Great," said Buck; he'd pawned the company rep off on Ezra, it looked like. "Let's go!"
Buck clamped Vin on the shoulder, but Vin didn't look like he wanted to be touched just them. "Let him concentrate," Chris said.
Blair trotted back to the Suburban and got out a map but Vin waved it off. "Let's walk a little," Vin said. "I made a few turns at the beginning and I want to see if I can recognize them."
Blair turned and held up a hand, then he and Vin headed in the direction he'd pointed earlier.
"They're doing pretty well," said Jim, leaning heavily on his cane next to Chris now.
Josiah, on the other side of Jim, nodded. "I think having each other helps."
Which might be true. Chris was pretty sure he knew where Blair was drawing the body of his strength from, though. But what about Vin?
Ten minutes later, Vin and Blair were back. "We figured out how Vin must have cut through, then taken Elm to 27," said Blair. "South, probably, from looking at the map. Let's go!"