The Big Thaw - Donald Harstad [111]
Volont, I’m sure, wasn’t accustomed to being talked to in quite that manner. He handled himself well, I thought.
“He’s here, Sheriff. What we do is use several things. Elimination is one of them. We have informants in three or four places he is most likely to be if he isn’t here. He’s not at those places. We use deduction based on knowledge gained over a long period of time. He’s invested heavily in this operation, with the heaviest investment being the two Colson brothers that he killed. He doesn’t like to do that. He’s got plans. Accomplices. He needs the cash. He’s not the type to let a subordinate run the main operation. He’s here. All the indications are, he’s here.” He looked at Lamar.
“So,” said my boss, “you boil it down, and skim off the fat, you’re still guessing. I’m not saying it’s not a good guess. But it is a guess.”
“That’s right. But it’s a truly good guess, and it’s right.” Volont flicked out one of those tight little grins of his. “Let’s see what to do with the bank.”
“Good guess” my ass. Volont was lying through is teeth, and if I hadn’t had that conversation with George, I’d have bought it hook, line, and sinker. He was good. As it was, I was now certain that he knew exactly where Gabriel was. And he really was close.
In the end, we decided to go really light on the other four banks. Whichever ones they might be. The main forces, so to speak, were to be concentrated on Frieberg. The “daylight, bank open” plan was to set up around the bank, at enough distance to ensure they would be well clear of the place before we hit them. Roadblock vehicles, surveillance teams, chase cars. All concealed. Manned mostly by FBI and DCI SWAT team members.
Our “nighttime, bank closed” plan was very similar, but brought the ring in a bit closer. Both plans included a helicopter on standby at Maitland Airport. We felt we had to use Maitland, because the only other airport with gas and any sort of facility was just across the Mississippi from Frieberg, in Jollietteville, Wisconsin. A Huey sitting there, so close to the Frieberg bank, would possibly be spotted by the bad guys. Tip time. We did send a delegation across the river, to meet with their people, and let them know they might have a bank robbery on Sunday, too. Just being neighborly.
For our cohorts in Conception County, this was a definite “need to know” situation. They were just across the Mississippi bridge, a trip of 1.6 miles without a turnoff. The actual width of the Mississippi there was about a mile, but the approaches on both ends of the bridge extend the trip. The Iowa and Wisconsin spans met on a small island in the middle. I really mean small. No structures, just a lump of dry ground about halfway across. Once on the bridge, a bank robber either had to cross, stop, or come back. No exits. Besides, if we actually got into a pursuit, crossing the bridge was as good a route as any for flight. The 1.6 miles would go by in a minute, literally, in a high-speed pursuit. Without forewarning, it was very possible that Wisconsin wouldn’t be able to get the bridge blocked in time.
Covered on that one.
Lamar was still skeptical of the entire plan. “Don’t forget, we want him for murder. Two counts, at least. Maybe more if we reopen an old case. What’s wrong with, we see him, we grab him?” He addressed Volont directly. “Is it good if we let him commit a bank job, too?”
“No, it isn’t. Not at all. But,” said Volont, “it is important that we be sure we have him. If we go to take down a suspect in a car, based on a glimpse of somebody, we might get the wrong man. We might tip off the right man. We can be sure,” he said, emphatically, “that he’ll be with the bank team. I have good information on that. Very good.”
“Wait a minute,” said Lamar. “You keep pullin’ this information out of your hat every time you need it, and we’re supposed to buy it.” He looked around the room. “Doesn’t it seem that way to you all?”
Before any of us could answer, Volont spoke rapidly. “My rules keep me from telling you certain things until you demonstrate a ‘need to know’ When you