Canyon Secret (28 page)

“I can’t leave you two alone for a minute without you gettin’ into some kind of trouble.” Anna laughed again and then secured her oxygen mask to help her breathing. Mikhail picked up one of his salami sandwiches and took a bite.

After lunch, Anna laid down in her bedroom for her required afternoon nap. She got stronger each day, and the naps revitalized her strength. Her walking improved with the use of a walker, but the effort sapped her energy. Each walk got a little longer, and she stopped less frequently.

In the kitchen, Katya and Mikhail sat at the table and listed the household items that would make the trip to Columbia Falls, which items went to the dump, and which items went to the Salvation Army or neighbors. “I think we can get new furniture in Columbia Falls. I got enough put away to pay for what we need to get started. Our stuff here is pretty old anyways.”

“What about the beds and dressers and those things?”

“Same thing. We’ll replace em’.”

Katya sipped on her black tea, “How about the dishes, pots and pans, and kitchen stuff?”

“I think we pack all that and take it with us.”

The black wall telephone rang and interrupted them. Katya listened and then handed the phone to her father. “Hello.”

“Hello, Mik. This is Jim Bugni. A few of us would like to try and talk you out’ a movin’. Can you come down to the McQueen Club later today?”

Mikhail paused before answering, “Ya, I’ll see yous at 2:30.” He hung up the telephone and looked across the table at his daughter. “I’m goin’ to visit with my friends at the McQueen Club. I’m sure it’ll be more of what we had with George this mornin’.”

“Oh Daddy, I’m so sorry you have to go through this. We can still get out of it if you want.”

His face contorted into a scowl, “Don’t you wanna go to Columbia Falls?”

“All I want is for us to be together. I was just tryin’ to take the easy way.”

“There ain’t no easy way! We jump in with both feet. Only way I know how.” He took a deep breath. “Sorry, Katya. I’m just nervous about—”

“It’ll be for the best. I’ll work on the list some more, and tomorrow we can start gettin’ ready to move.” She got up and walked over and hugged him. “We’ll do it together, Daddy.”

Mikhail checked out the cars parked outside of the McQueen Club. Four of the cars belonged to long-time friends and neighbors. He didn’t recognize the new two-toned beige Desoto. After he sucked in some fresh air, he stood as tall as he could and walked in. Five older men and one well-dressed man in his late twenties sat at a table drinking coffee. He nodded to each one of them and headed for the only vacant wooden seat. Jim Bugni smiled and said, “Want some coffee, Mik?”

“Ya.”

The younger man stood and introduced himself, “Mr. Anzich, you might not remember me, but I’m Frank Micholotti. I used to deliver papers to your house as a kid. My dad is that old geezer sitting over there.” The rest of the men laughed, and some of the tension snapped from the room.

Mikhail firmly shook his hand and forced a weak smile. “Sure I remember you, Frankie. It’s been a long time. Where you livin’ now a days?”

The younger man released Mikhail’s hand and took a step back, “I moved back to Butte this summer after I finished medical school. I opened up a new clinic up on West Broadway. My wife and I and baby live in my in-laws’ old house. They moved to Nevada and gave us the family home.”

“Your dad told me you become a doctor. Good for you, Frankie. Butte can use good doctors.” He nodded his head and slowly took his seat. Jim Bugni set the coffee cup down in front of Mikhail and took his own seat across the table.

Mikhail envisioned a meeting something like this for months. The time to face the music arrived. He set his coffee cup back down after a sip of the freshly made coffee.

His neighbor George Maletta sat with his arms folded and his eyes glued to the table. It was obvious George filled in the rest of the men about their argument from the morning. Jim Bugni spoke first, “Mik, we’re all old friends here. How about tellin’ us about your plan to sell your place and move to Columbia Falls?”

Mikhail felt the perspiration drip down the sides of his body below his armpits. The task at hand outweighed any of his visualizations. His mouth went dry. He took another drink of coffee. Talking wasn’t his strong suit. “Relax, Mikhail, relax. Take your time; you’ve practiced it a thousand times.”

“I need to move my family to Columbia Falls. There’s a good job waitin’ for me there. Should last for ten or fifteen years. I put money down on a new house. My daughter and granddaughter will live with me. After my son gets back from the Navy, he might join us. I need to sell my house to pay for—”

George Maletta interrupted him, “You got that here, too! You don’t need to go to no goddamn Columbia Falls.”

Bugni stepped in, “Come on, George. Take it easy. Let’s hear him out.”

After a deep breath and some needed self-talk, Mikhail continued, “If I sell my house now, I can pay for my house outright. Then I can put money away for my granddaughter to go to college like young Frankie over there.”

The older Micholotti cleared his throat and spoke in a low-tone husky voice, “Did you already sell to the Company?”

George Maletta pushed his chair closer to the table and leaned toward Mikhail, “Of course he sold out. He don’t give a shit about us no more.” His red face and neck stood out beneath his silver hair. His whole body shook as he waved his finger at Mikhail.

Again Bugni attempted to calm down Maletta, “Jesus, George. Let him answer the questions. Maybe this is too much for you to handle. You look like you’re gonna have a stroke.”

“Ya, well maybe it’s too much for me. I’m not goin’ sit here and listen to his bullshit!” He pushed his chair away from the table and left.

Bugni brought the focus back to Mikhail, “Go ahead and finish Mik. Mitch asked you if you already sold to the Company.”

Sweat soaked his back and his stomach flipped over. He gulped and gathered himself, “Not yet. I got the papers. Harbold’s comin’ back tomorrow.”

Bugni shook his head, “How can you leave us here Mik? If we stick together, the Company can’t buy us out. We need to stay solid. Besides, that open-pit might be just talk anyways. Even if it went through, it would be years before it ever reached McQueen.”

Mikhail lost composure. He stood up and raised his voice, “It’s comin’, Jimmy! No stoppin’ it! Meaderville, McQueen, East Butte, Dublin Gulch, Anaconda Road are all goin’. I can’t wait to see what’s gonna happen. Maybe it’ll be fifteen years. Maybe ten. Nobody knows. I hate to leave McQueen. But I gotta look out for my own. Now and down the road.”

Frank Micholotti stood up and buttoned his tweed sport coat, “Mr. Anzich, would you sell your house to me?”

The room went silent. The men looked back and forth at each other. Mikhail sat back down in his undersized chair, “You’d buy my house, Frankie?”

The dark, good looking young man smiled as he spoke, “My wife and I’ve always loved your house. We’ve driven and walked by a dozen times since we got back in July. We’ve driven through your alley. You’ve taken such great care of your house.”

Mikhail nervously tapped the table with his fingers, “Do you want to live in McQueen?”

“We love McQueen. We want our kids to go to Holy Savior School. We want them to play baseball on the Eastern Little League Field. We want them to go watch McQueen play in the Copper League at Clark Park. Our kids need to play on Sunflower Hill. And finally we want our kids to grow up next to their grandparents and become McQueen kids. Just like all of us got to do. We’re family here. We take care of each other. Even if it’s only for ten or fifteen years.” Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks as he cast a look toward his father. “We have someone who wants to buy our house up on Excelsior right now. It’ll bring more than you’ll need to buy your house up in Columbia Falls.”

His large knuckles rubbed the tears and snot from his nose and cheeks. Mikhail Anzich felt small compared to the young man who just brought tears to a salty group of men. He stood up, extended his hand to Frank Micholotti, and said, “I’d sell my house to you, Frankie. To hell with the Company.”

H
is birthday rolled in unannounced and passed without any celebration. September 21st went down as just another day in September for David Sednick. Quick memories of birthdays past flashed before him. His mother used to make his favorite dinner and birthday cake. Just three years earlier, his wife Kat surprised him with a babysitter and plans to go out for the night.

David set his dirty work clothes on the floor in his bathroom. He stepped into the tub, slid down into the hot water that he drew for himself, and closed his eyes. Time for me to soak and relax. It was time to clean up, go have a couple of drinks at the Dew Drop, and meet Ted Hughes back at his trailer at six. His mind wandered back to his conversation with Hughes at the Club Café. Ted’s serious words and face appeared in David’s mind. “I want you to meet someone. Trust me.”

David continued to soak and think. “What’s with all the mystery? For my own protection? What the hell’s he talkin’ about?” He checked his alarm clock and figured he had an hour and a half before meeting Ted. “I’ll feel better after talking to Jackie. She’s my kind of woman. Sexy, listens to me, and she likes to drink. She doesn’t pressure me. Never wants anything from me. She only wants to have fun.”

At the Glacier Inn in Columbia Falls, Ted Hughes sat in the easy chair in Agent Moore’s motel room. He proudly briefed his partner of his progress with David Sednick. “I think he’ll roll today if we do it right. The tough part will be for me to break the news that I work for the Bureau.”

“You’re right there, Ted. I thought about that on the drive up from Butte. Sednick most likely will spook after he sees you in that suit. We might have to block the door so he doesn’t try and run.”

Hughes ran his hand back and forth through his short crew cut and adjusted his black horned-rim glasses, “I think I’ll tell him that his life’s in danger and that we’re his only chance to stay alive. I don’t think we have to go into too much detail about the past murders or that.”

Moore adjusted the papers carefully placed on the round table. He moved the table lamp closer to see the papers. “What’s the best way to get him talking about his large bank account? How do we get him to talk about the man in charge? We need to find that out if we’re going to find out who killed the other two walking bosses. I’m pretty sure the head man hired the men killed.”

Ted Hughes unfolded the bank statements and copies of Sednick’s income tax forms from the previous three years, “We might just as well show him the copies of his bank statements and income tax forms. He’ll have to explain that somehow. Might be a good place to start. That should shake him up some.”

Moore stood up and looked out the window. The top of Columbia Mountain showed some sign of light snow from the night before. Still looking out the window he spoke, “It might be too much too fast. We don’t want to lose him.”

“Maybe you’re right. But we can’t waste too much time. Hungry Horse Dam will be finished in a couple of weeks. Something tells me we need to get it done in the next couple of days.”

She smiled in her favorite sexy way as David sidled up to the barstool at the Dew Drop. Jackie set him up with the usual. She inhaled the scent of his Old Spice aftershave. “So, you lookin’ to get yourself screwed tonight or something?”

He tossed back the shot of Jim Beam and shook his head as the taste burned his throat. David moved closer to her and whispered, “I might be. You offerin’?”

She leaned her large chest forward, raised her eyebrows, and whispered back, “Bet your sweet ass I am, honey. I’m off in about fifteen minutes. You interested?”

Thoughts of his prior commitment with Ted Hughes shot to the front of his brain. The back of his right hand felt the weight of her soft chest as she pressed against the surface of the bar. “Oh ya. I’m very interested. Fifteen minutes ya say.”

Jackie stood up, winked and mouthed the words, “Fifteen minutes.”

“He’s not going to show, Ted. You said 6:00 and it’s 7:15. Something’s wrong. I hope we’re not too late. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Ted Hughes looked at his wristwatch, “Let’s give him twenty more minutes. Maybe he just forgot about it.”

“Hey, you reminded him at work today.”

The two agents stretched in the front seat of the blue 1951 Ford sedan like they had done many times before in waiting for one person or another. Both men drifted away in their own thoughts. Ted Hughes stole a quick memory where he sat in his own living room and enjoyed a pleasant conversation with his wife. She found a way to switch his attention away from work. Her peaceful view of life allowed him to drift away to pleasant topics of discussion. Somehow she managed to take him away from criminals and sadness to places where he thrived. More than once she allowed him to become his real self. With her, his sense of humor came out of the closet. He craved her and the security blanket she wrapped around him in their small little home with the great view of the Highlands south of Butte.

Twenty minutes later his partner dropped him off in front of his trailer. “Well, Ted. How about calling me around noon tomorrow after you talk to Sednick? We can set up something again. I have to return to the Butte office in two days. So we’re under the gun a little bit here.

“Okay. I’ll find out what happened and call you at noon.” He hurried into his trailer and called his wife.

She rolled over in bed and crossed her right leg over his middle. He woke from a restless sleep. David grumbled something and moved her bare leg from his thigh. He realized he had to pee. After he hustled into the bathroom, he closed the door and flipped on the light switch. He cast a blurry look into her sink mirror. The bags under his eyes forced him to blink. He looked again. “Who was this worn out drunk looking back at him?” He finished peeing, put the toilet seat back down, and stepped over to the sink. After he splashed some cold water on his face, the thought of the missed meeting with his friend Ted popped into his sluggish mind. “Hell with it,” he thought and returned to bed. Jackie welcomed him back to her bed and snuggled him close. Before falling back to sleep, he told himself, “I’ll deal with Ted tomorrow. Can’t be that important anyway.”