Primary Justice

by Dave Conifer

  The meeting location seemed strange, but he’d scrawled the directions down as he drove without saying a word. He knew Minot was scheduled to be in Princeton, if he hadn’t arrived there by helicopter already, so Central Jersey made sense. But the rest of it didn’t. Usually they met in the back of a limousine or in a quiet room of whatever hotel Minot was staying in, but not this time. It was as remote as it could get. Maybe these characters were too slimy to take the risk of having some photographer stumble onto the meeting and get a shot of Minot with them. It didn’t matter, in the end. They’d told him where the meeting was and he would be there.

  It took a while to reach the meeting site, but the directions that had been provided were perfect. When he pulled through the woods up the long dirt driveway of a modest cabin there were already several cars there, but none that looked like anything that Minot preferred to travel in. There were two men on the porch, neither of whom he recognized. One was a grizzled old fellow who didn’t look like he could hurt a fly. The other was a tall, burly man with long yellow hair. That one looked like he could do some damage, but these didn’t look like the kind of men that Minot used for the black bag work. The truth was that he didn’t know who these people were.

  To be on the safe side he pulled his revolver from its covert holster and slipped it under the seat after removing the magazine, which he shoved into a pouch on the door. No use giving anybody a reason to be uneasy. Both men on the porch stared him down as he stepped out of the car. He was glad he wasn’t in his uniform, something he usually left behind when he met with Minot because it would attract the wrong kind of attention. If these men were who he thought they were, that would definitely rub them the wrong way. On the other hand, the closer he got, the less sure he was about exactly what he was walking into. Maybe leaving the gun behind had been a bad idea. Something didn’t look right.

  Both men nodded at him as he stepped onto the porch. “You armed?” the bigger one asked.

  “No. I left it in the car,” Colfax answered, surprised.

  “Turn around and put your hands over your head anyway. Russ, frisk him. Then get his keys and check out his car.”

  “Stay out of my car,” Colfax ordered. “And nobody’s frisking me. Do you know who I am?”

  “I know exactly who you are,” the bigger one said. He reached into his coat and pulled out a pistol, a Glock to be exact, and pulled back the metal column on top. He was locked and loaded, and Colfax could see right down the narrow barrel. “Now turn around and shut up.”

  Colfax turned around, spread his legs and placed his hands high against the side of the cabin, the same way he’d ordered hundreds of people to in the line of duty. “Guns and phones,” the big man said to his elder partner. The old guy didn’t know what he was doing, but eventually his hands had patted down most of the places where he could be concealing a weapon. “Now the car,” the bigger man ordered when the frisking was complete.

  After receiving the larger man’s nodded assent Colfax reached slowly into a pocket that the old man had missed and pulled out the keys, which he tossed over. “You’re going to regret this,” he said.

  “I don’t think so. Now get inside. There’s somebody in there I’d like you to meet.”

  “Who are you people?” Colfax demanded. “Where’s Mike Minot? I was told he’d be here.”

  “You were told that by me. I lied. Now get inside.”

  ~~~

  Fargo could hear heated words being exchanged on the porch all the way from the back bedroom that he’d been told to stay in. Nobody would tell him who was coming, but he knew. Keeping control of himself wasn’t going to be easy. Colfax had taken a lot from him, almost everything he had, and what he’d taken couldn’t be given back. It wasn’t just the eleven years. It was bigger than that.

  Kevin Morris was presumably still out there, although he wasn’t saying much. He was probably sorry for coming. Fargo didn’t want him there, either. He didn’t belong. He heard the women, Gail and Joanie, talking quietly, but everything stopped when the cabin door swung open and heavy footsteps announced that the men were coming inside.

  “Who are you people?”

  That had to be the voice of Officer Colfax. He’d never heard it before, but it had to be. Remembering the warning to keep quiet, he crept to the door, not wanting to miss a word.

  “Colfax, it’s all over,” Willmar said. “We know everything. We know you work for Minot. We know all the things you’ve done. And we know it was your lies that put Billy Fargo in prison for eleven years. Under oath to a grand jury, I might add. You know what kind of sentences they’re handing down for that these days?”

  “You’re playing with fire here,” Colfax said. “When I’m done, you’ll know this was the biggest mistake you ever made. But I’ll make a deal with you. I walk out that door and get in my car, and we’ll forget this ever happened.” Fargo heard scuffling, a thud, and then a groan.

  “You ain’t going nowhere,” Willmar said. “Stop running your mouth, or I’ll hit you harder. You won’t even remember your name. And lose that bass in your voice.”

  “We know all about you,” Bismarck said. “Minot ain’t gonna be able to help you now.”

  “Any surprises in the car?” Willmar asked Bismarck.

  “Just his service revolver. I left it where it was.”

  “Good. Do yourself a favor, Colfax,” Willmar said. “No more of this ‘you don’t know who you’re messing with crap,’ okay? Because we know. We also know enough about the things you’ve done to bury you in prison for the rest of your life. So shut up and listen.”

  “What do you want?” Colfax grunted. Fargo could hardly understand him. Willmar must have hit him hard.

  “Simple. Two things. First, you call the dogs off Billy. Stop chasing him.”

  “That’s not up to me.”

  “Too bad. Do it anyway. Second, you give us everything you got on Minot. Everything. All the particulars. We already know about the campaign worker he was in the sack with. That’s enough to knock him out of the race even before we talk about how she ended up under the bridge. It’ll do for starters.”

  “He’ll kill you,” Colfax said.

  “Not if we take him down first.”

  “He’ll kill you all,” Colfax said again. “But he’ll kill me first. He’s crazy enough to do it. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you really don’t want to tangle with him.”

  “You’re going down either way, Colfax,” Willmar said. “But if you give Minot up to us, it won’t be as bad.”

  “Sure it will,” Colfax said. “You think you know something about me that he doesn’t know? That’s a laugh. If he goes down, I go down.”

  “For attempted murder?” Willmar asked. “That’s a lot worse than perjury or fraud. More years. Scarier prison. Can he pin attempted murder on you? Because we can.”

  “What are you talking about?” Colfax asked.

  “Don’t you remember?” Willmar asked. “You know. The man you sent yesterday to kill me in my office? The police saw him.”

  “No way. That wasn’t me. Look,” Colfax said. “There were things I wouldn’t do, and Minot knew it. He had others working for him for those jobs. I had nothing to do with that.”

  “Well, I know about a certain scrap of paper that says different. It must have fallen out of your assassin’s pocket just before I wasted him,” Willmar said. “I think it’s still in the closet where your man bled to death. The police didn’t see it. Not yet. I’m pretty sure it has all your contact information all over it. Even the email addresses that nobody knows about. I have a feeling that if the cops come back, they’ll find it this time.”

  A defeated Colfax blew the air out of his lungs. “So this is all about blackmail.”

  “No,” Bismarck said. “This is all about justice. You reap what you fuckin’ sow. You did some bad shit. Putting Billy in prison was the worst of it as far as I’m concerned. What do you have to say about that?”

  “It
wasn’t personal,” Colfax said. Fargo heard another soft thud, followed by the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the floor.

  “They told me he was just some street punk who was going to jail for something else, anyway,” Colfax said as he wiped his mouth with a hand.

  “He’s a human being,” Bismarck said. “He’s my friend. And he was innocent. Something you can’t say about yourself.”

  “It was wrong. I know that now. I was young and stupid, and I got caught up in it.”

  “Don’t try to be the victim, here,” Willmar warned. “I know all about the promotions and the perks. You went right along with it all.”

  “Yeah,” Colfax admitted. “That’s true. I did. You got me.”

  “What about Billy?” Bismarck asked. “I want to hear what you have to say about him.”

  Fargo couldn’t wait any more. He pushed through the bedroom door into the room and was shocked to see Colfax sitting awkwardly on the floor between Willmar and Bismarck, bleeding from his mouth as well as a gash on his forehead. He was holding one arm against his ribs as he slouched. Morris stood behind Willmar, while Gail watched from the kitchen doorway. Joanie was nowhere to be seen, but she could have been in the kitchen out of his view. The sight of Colfax lying on the floor after getting the shit kicked out of him made it easier for Fargo to restrain himself. “Perfect timing, Billy,” Willmar said. “Billy, meet Trooper Colfax. Or is it Commissioner Colfax?”

  “This is the man you framed, you lying sack,” Bismarck fumed. “Now what do you got to say?”

  Colfax wiped some blood from his upper lip as he sized Fargo up. Before he spoke he pulled himself up high enough to slide back onto the chair. “I’m sorry, Billy. I don’t know what else to say. You probably won’t believe this, but I was sorry almost as soon as I did it. Only by then it was too late. If I backed out I’d have gone to prison, too. Minot would have made sure of it.”

  “That don’t do me no good,” Fargo said. “Sounds like bullshit, anyway.”

  “Don’t worry, Billy,” Bismarck said. “He’s gonna be doing time real soon. He’ll have plenty of time to think about it.”

  “You been doing the dirty work for Minot all these years?” Willmar asked.

  “There hasn’t been that much since then,” Colfax answered. “Until now.”

  “So why did the promotions keep coming every year since then?”

  “Mostly to keep me happy and quiet,” Colfax explained. “I’d rather have just walked away, looking back on it. The man’s nuts. Now that he’s got the White House within his reach he’s completely insane. He’ll do anything to get there. He dabbed at his face with a finger to check for fresh blood. “Anything.”

  “Fuck him!” Fargo yelled. “What about me? I was in there for eleven friggin’ years! You ever been fucked up the ass? You ever eat fuckin’ boiled horse meat for dinner for three weeks straight?” He could feel the tears rolling down his face. “You ever lay at night listenin’ to some sad fuck getting raped all night and then find out he offed himself the next day? The whole time thinkin’ you could be next?” Willmar took Fargo’s arm like he was going to lead him away, but Fargo shook it off and got into Colfax’s face. “You don’t know shit. I ought to kill you right now. I’m thinkin’ about it.”

  “Billy, we—“ Willmar began.

  “Fuck you, too!” Fargo shouted. “Don’t fuckin’ tell me what to do, ya’ fuckin’ fairy! I owe this asshole.” He had to stop because he was out of breath, and the room was suddenly spinning. Willmar caught him just as he felt like he would tumble, and walked him to the couch.

  “Breathe,” Willmar said. “Lay back and breathe.” But Billy wouldn’t. He wasn’t giving this sleazy-ass policeman the satisfaction. Instead he sat with his head in his hands, breathing hard as he tried to slow his racing heart.

  “I’m sorry for what I did,” Colfax said. “Especially to you, Billy.”

  “That don’t mean shit anymore,” Fargo said without removing his hands from his face, embarrassed that he’d cried.

  “On my way here I decided I was telling him I was done,” Colfax said. “I swear to God. Because I thought he’d be here. That’s what I was told.”

  “Shut up,” Bismarck said. “We heard enough. You make me sick.”

  “Gail, could you come in here for a minute?” Willmar yelled without taking his eyes off Colfax. He waited for her to walk over from where she’d stood in the doorway. “This is Gail. Gail Mankato. But I guess you already know that. You know her father-in-law, Rip.”

  “Yeah, I know who she is,” Colfax said, staring at her feet.

  “Look at her!” Bismarck commanded. “Look what you people did to her!”

  “And what about her two children that died that night?” Willmar asked. “You hurt a lot of people, Colfax.”

  “I didn’t know. You have to believe that,” Colfax pleaded. “The house was supposed to be empty. At least that’s what they said. I was supposed to nail him for arson. That’s all. When I found out what really happened, I was sick about it.”

  “You weren’t sick enough to ditch the plan, were you?” Bismarck demanded. “You kept going.”

  “It was already done when I found out. I didn’t even know about the two little girls until the next day,” Colfax said. “I swear on my life.”

  “They took those girls away in a sandwich bag!” Willmar shouted. “There was nothing left but a handful of ashes!” He looked at Gail and winced. “What do you think about that?”

  “I didn’t know,” he said to Gail, looking her in the eye. “I didn’t know. I didn’t light the fire.”

  “But you weren’t done yet,” Willmar said. “It was a busy night for you. You still had another life to wreck. It’s bad enough you framed Billy once that night. Then you left the fire and did it again.”

  Colfax hung his head, focusing on his own feet. “I didn’t know the body under the bridge was going to be pinned on you,” he said without looking up. “I was just supposed to find it, that’s all. I was just following orders.”

  “Piss off,” Fargo said from the couch.

  “I’ll help you,” Colfax said.

  “Damn right you will,” Willmar said. “If you do, we might let you live. That’s something the other side won’t say, I’d be willing to bet. I’m sure they could arrange an accident. I see it all the time.”

  “I’ll do everything you ask. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I’m going to prison either way. Just one thing. Leave my family out of this and leave them safe, okay? They had nothing to do with this. They don’t even know.”

  “And you’ll help us take Minot down?”

  “This could be dangerous,” Bismarck said. “There are a lot of dirt bags out there on his payroll. You met one yesterday,” he said to Willmar.

  “Nah, I’m not worried,” Willmar said. “This isn’t the mafia we’re dealing with. These are hired hands. They’re working for a living, that’s all. They don’t have any loyalty to Minot. They probably don’t even know who they’re working for. Minot’s no fool.” He pointed at Colfax. “It’s you I was worried about.”

  “Where’s Rip Mankato at?” Fargo demanded. “I’m gonna kill him if it’s the last thing I do.”

  “You’re too late,” Colfax said. “Minot took care of that a long time ago. He knew too much.”

  “What about the ankle bracelet?” Willmar asked. “You all made that happen, right?”

  “I pulled some strings.”

  “And you passed the GPS data to Minot’s people?”

  “He didn’t need it,” Colfax said. “Tracking Billy Fargo was my job.”

  “One thing I still don’t understand,” Willmar said, “is why you passed it to the reporter. That would have led right back to you and Minot.”

  Colfax sighed. “She wasn’t really a reporter,” he admitted. “We were just trying to scare Billy off.”

  They heard a car start up outside. “Where’s Joanie?” Fargo asked.

  M
orris walked to the window. “There’s a silver car flying down the driveway in a cloud of dust. Is that hers?”

  “Is it the Honda?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” Morris said. “Looks like she’s in a big hurry all of a sudden.”

  “Maybe she just remembered that she hasn’t voted yet,” Willmar said.

  -- Chapter 21 --

  There was still some daylight left later that day when a bruised and battered Ryne Colfax gingerly slipped back into his car for a ride to the Hyatt Hotel on Route 1 in Princeton. Willmar and Bismarck knew he could do whatever he wanted once he left, but both were certain he’d follow through with the plan they’d discussed. For Colfax it was now all about saving his family and minimizing his prison time. The way for him to do that was to work with them, not Minot. Colfax understood this. Willmar knew he was on board after he watched him call his wife and tell her to grab the kids and go somewhere. Anywhere. “I’ll explain later,” Colfax had told her. “Just get out of there. Now.” It was a reminder of how ruthless Minot was. Maybe he’ll explain it all to her later, Willmar thought. But he’ll be in leg irons when he does it.

  After watching him drive away they all settled back into the cabin to wait, except for Willmar, who hauled some electronic gear in from the trunk of Bismarck’s car and set it up inside. Gail and Morris rattled around the kitchen trying to build a meal from Fargo’s leftovers and whatever else they could find. Fargo slithered into the corner and pretended to be asleep.

  While dinner was cooking Bismarck turned on the TV. “We forgot to check the election results,” he reminded Willmar, a crooked smile on his face.

  “They won’t have any up yet,” Willmar answered. “It’s too early. But I hope our boy wins it all. It’ll just make it sweeter when we take it away from him.”

  It took only a few seconds with the remote for Willmar to find some election coverage, which wasn’t surprising given the significance of Super Tuesday. “There’s not much going on for the Democrats, given that the incumbent president already has the nomination locked up,” a well-groomed FOX News talking head told them, “but the Republican party is buzzing with activity on this crucial day. All three front-runners spent the day in New Jersey, the only state in today’s primaries that experts believe is still in play, before leaving to vote in their home states. Mike Minot cast his ballot in Trenton before moving on to a campaign rally at the Princeton Hyatt, where he’ll remain for the rest of the evening. Spokespersons for all the candidates issued upbeat statements in the last hour, which we’ll show you in just a few minutes.”