four-wheeling it through the new four inches that had accumulated since the last plow run.
‘You sure there are woods up here?’
Magozzi was concentrating hard, trying to see the edges of the road. ‘Hell, I don’t know. We’re heading north. There are woods in northern Minnesota, right? Lean back. You’re fogging the windshield.’
Gino tried to sit back and relax, but within seconds he was canted forward again, squinting through the driving snow. ‘You’re going too fast.’
‘Goddamnit, Gino, relax. You’re driving me nuts, and you sound like an old woman. Back when we were on the street you used to drive like a maniac.’
‘Yeah, but then I got married and had kids, and I’d like to make it to their graduations.’
Magozzi sighed and eased up on the accelerator. ‘There. I’m going thirty. Can you live with that?’
‘I’ll let you know. Damnit, this trip better not be for nothing – it already took at least ten years off my life.’
‘It’s either the same guy or a copycat. Bad either way, and I’m not exactly clicking my heels about working a tandem with this particular sheriff.’
‘Tell me about it. Chief said English teacher, and I had a high school flashback to Miss Kinney,smacking her ruler on the desk. Tall, sour-faced old biddy. Pursed her lips all the time like she was pissed off at the whole world. She talked just like this Rikker woman, and I could never understand her, either. Spewed words like they were old pennies she was dumping out of a jar all at once. Just because you know a lot of words doesn’t mean you have to use them all in the same sentence, you know?’
‘Maybe she was nervous.’
‘Whatever. Just get ready to translate for me. When cops get more than one adjective going I think it’s multiple choice and my brain stops dead … Jeez, Leo, the damn snow’s going sideways. Can you see the road?’
‘Nope.’
It took them exactly two hours to travel sixty miles, and that was on the freeway. By the time they took the right exit and hit the secondary roads, Magozzi was wishing he’d brought a snowmobile instead of an SUV. They sailed sideways through the first turn, then kissed the ditch a couple of times plowing through the rutted snow on a puny two-lane road with no shoulders. Gino was not happy.
‘Man, this is starting to look like Fargo. Don’t they have snowplows up here?’
Magozzi’s knuckles were white on the wheel, something that rarely happened. ‘Open fields in this spot, nothing to stop the wind. They could haveplowed this ten minutes ago, and you wouldn’t be able to tell. Keep an eye out for road signs, we got another turn coming up.’
‘Thanks for the great news. Are we gonna go through that one sideways, too?’
‘You want to drive?’
‘I don’t even want to be in a car in this stuff. We pass any kind of a hotel, just drop me off, pick me up in April.’
Another twenty minutes and they were fishtailing through the left turn onto Kittering. Once the SUV straightened out, Magozzi hugged the right edge of the road, looking for some purchase on the snowcovered slope. Gino squinted through the snow, but couldn’t see the top of the hill. ‘Forget Fargo,’ he grumbled. ‘This is a mountain, and the way our luck is going, it’s probably Donner Pass … Oh, man, that’s a hell of a drop-off on the left, Leo, so you don’t want to be doing any of that sideways stuff on this road, okay?’
‘Spoilsport.’
Magozzi felt the back end begin to slide and eased up on the accelerator, hoping like hell they didn’t start sliding backward down the hill. By the time they finally reached the top, it took a full five seconds for him to unclench his jaw. He pulled up between two county cars parked along the side of the sheriff’s office and shut down the car. Heand Gino just sat there for a moment, breathing.
Finally Gino stirred and released his seat belt. ‘I kind of feel like we oughta get out and kiss the ground or
‘You sure there are woods up here?’
Magozzi was concentrating hard, trying to see the edges of the road. ‘Hell, I don’t know. We’re heading north. There are woods in northern Minnesota, right? Lean back. You’re fogging the windshield.’
Gino tried to sit back and relax, but within seconds he was canted forward again, squinting through the driving snow. ‘You’re going too fast.’
‘Goddamnit, Gino, relax. You’re driving me nuts, and you sound like an old woman. Back when we were on the street you used to drive like a maniac.’
‘Yeah, but then I got married and had kids, and I’d like to make it to their graduations.’
Magozzi sighed and eased up on the accelerator. ‘There. I’m going thirty. Can you live with that?’
‘I’ll let you know. Damnit, this trip better not be for nothing – it already took at least ten years off my life.’
‘It’s either the same guy or a copycat. Bad either way, and I’m not exactly clicking my heels about working a tandem with this particular sheriff.’
‘Tell me about it. Chief said English teacher, and I had a high school flashback to Miss Kinney,smacking her ruler on the desk. Tall, sour-faced old biddy. Pursed her lips all the time like she was pissed off at the whole world. She talked just like this Rikker woman, and I could never understand her, either. Spewed words like they were old pennies she was dumping out of a jar all at once. Just because you know a lot of words doesn’t mean you have to use them all in the same sentence, you know?’
‘Maybe she was nervous.’
‘Whatever. Just get ready to translate for me. When cops get more than one adjective going I think it’s multiple choice and my brain stops dead … Jeez, Leo, the damn snow’s going sideways. Can you see the road?’
‘Nope.’
It took them exactly two hours to travel sixty miles, and that was on the freeway. By the time they took the right exit and hit the secondary roads, Magozzi was wishing he’d brought a snowmobile instead of an SUV. They sailed sideways through the first turn, then kissed the ditch a couple of times plowing through the rutted snow on a puny two-lane road with no shoulders. Gino was not happy.
‘Man, this is starting to look like Fargo. Don’t they have snowplows up here?’
Magozzi’s knuckles were white on the wheel, something that rarely happened. ‘Open fields in this spot, nothing to stop the wind. They could haveplowed this ten minutes ago, and you wouldn’t be able to tell. Keep an eye out for road signs, we got another turn coming up.’
‘Thanks for the great news. Are we gonna go through that one sideways, too?’
‘You want to drive?’
‘I don’t even want to be in a car in this stuff. We pass any kind of a hotel, just drop me off, pick me up in April.’
Another twenty minutes and they were fishtailing through the left turn onto Kittering. Once the SUV straightened out, Magozzi hugged the right edge of the road, looking for some purchase on the snowcovered slope. Gino squinted through the snow, but couldn’t see the top of the hill. ‘Forget Fargo,’ he grumbled. ‘This is a mountain, and the way our luck is going, it’s probably Donner Pass … Oh, man, that’s a hell of a drop-off on the left, Leo, so you don’t want to be doing any of that sideways stuff on this road, okay?’
‘Spoilsport.’
Magozzi felt the back end begin to slide and eased up on the accelerator, hoping like hell they didn’t start sliding backward down the hill. By the time they finally reached the top, it took a full five seconds for him to unclench his jaw. He pulled up between two county cars parked along the side of the sheriff’s office and shut down the car. Heand Gino just sat there for a moment, breathing.
Finally Gino stirred and released his seat belt. ‘I kind of feel like we oughta get out and kiss the ground or
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