Tribal Court by Stephen Penner

something.
    "Are you even going to talk?" he asked.
    Brunelle sighed deeply. "Yeah, I'm going to talk."
    Sixrivers paused for a moment, thoughts hidden behind his dark eyes, then he reached out and turned on the recorder. "Good."
    He pushed it between them. "This is Detective Thomas Sixrivers of the Duwallup Tribal Police Department. The time is now nineteen-fifty-two hours. This is the statement of David Brunelle. Mr. Brunelle, you have the right to remain silent…"
    Sixrivers read each of the rights on the form into the recorder, even though they both knew them by heart. When he'd finished, Brunelle signed the form and the interrogation could begin.
    Brunelle wondered whether Sixrivers might employ some of the same psychological techniques he'd seen Chen and other detectives use on suspects. Apparently not.
    "Okay, Mr. Brunelle. Why don't you just tell me everything you know?"
    So Brunelle explained it all. The initial murder of George Traver. The reasons Quilcene did it. The defense Talon put forward. Freddy checking the knife out of property. The murder of Quilcene's cousin. Freddy's argument in court. His comments at the casino. Brunelle confronting him. And ending with the gunfire that took Freddy's life. When he finished, Sixrivers just stared at him, chiseled chin on thick fist.
    "Are you fucking kidding me?" he finally asked.
    Brunelle was taken aback. He could feel his face flushing. "No, I'm dead serious. That's exactly what happened."
    Sixrivers pursed his lips into a disapproving frown. "The witnesses in the parking lot make it sound like a drive-by of the police station by the NGBs. They observed multiple males in the car, flashing gang signs as they drove away. McCloud just stepped outside at the exact wrong time."
    Brunelle shook his head. "No, I'm telling you. Traver molested Quilcene's niece. Quilcene killed Traver. Freddy killed Quilcene's cousin. Now Quilcene's gang has murdered Freddy. Hell, Quilcene's out on home detention. He probably was the shooter."
    Sixrivers leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
    "I know it sounds crazy," Brunelle admitted, "but Freddy practically confessed to it in open court this morning. And if I could figure it out, Quilcene sure as hell could have."
    Sixrivers tapped his chin for several seconds. Then he leaned forward and turned off the recorder.
    "I think we're done," he announced.
    Brunelle looked Sixrivers in the eye. "You're not going to follow up on this, are you?"
    The detective met his gaze, then stood up. "I said we're done. You can go now, Mr. Brunelle."
    Brunelle stood up too. "I'm telling you—"
    "Goodbye, Mr. Brunelle," Sixrivers interrupted. "You really don't belong here. Maybe you should go back up to Seattle and let someone else worry about Quilcene."
    Brunelle was about to argue, then he remembered that's all he'd wanted since Duncan had first explained the arrangement to him. Maybe he could finally get his wish.

Chapter 19
     
     
    "No."
    Duncan was firm. The morning sun shone across his desk, giving him an aura of divine righteousness as he denied Brunelle's plea to get off the case.
    "I'm sorry, Dave, but no way. This is your case. You know how big a deal this is. Everybody will be watching this trial. I can't give it to just anyone, especially not at this late juncture. I'm counting on you."
    Brunelle threw his hands up at the 'I'm counting on you' card. "Come on, Matt. This thing has spun totally out of control. I'm a witness to two murders, for Christ's sake."
    "Eh, not really," Duncan replied. "You didn't actually see the murders. You just came up afterward."
    "Immediately afterward," Brunelle argued.
    "Just a difference in timing," Duncan countered. "You came up on the first murder too, just a lot later."
    "I came up on Traver's murder because Chen called me at one in the fucking morning. These two happened while I was right there. I heard the gunshots."
    Duncan paused. "I thought Quilcene's cousin was stabbed."
    Brunelle pinched the bridge