Mad River

started.
    •   •   •
    WITH THE REPORTERS screaming at him, and as Virgil turned away, he thought the noise was probably audible all the way to the other end of town, where Duke sat in his car, looking down at the death truck.
    Virgil walked back to his 4Runner. Jenkins was leaning against the door, grinned at him, and said, “Good show. But better you than me.”
    Shrake said, “You got some balls, buddy.”
    Virgil said, “Let’s go get a cheeseburger. I’m gonna need my strength.”

24
    THE SATELLITE UPLINKS put the news of the shooting into the Cities within ten minutes, and every station in the state broke into their early-morning broadcasts to relay it. The video of Virgil was right behind that, and further video of Duke was ten minutes behind that.
    Duke was uncharacteristically somber at the beginning of the press conference, and he lied like a motherfucker: “Gave us no alternatives . . . turned the truck at deputies on the side of the road, accelerated toward them . . . we weren’t planning to ambush them. We wanted to make sure we closed the gate behind them, so whatever happened in town, they wouldn’t get away to kill more people. . . . We’ll cooperate with any investigation . . . proud of my men and what they accomplished today.”
    Ruffe Ignace yelled, “What’d they accomplish? The state agents arrested McCall, and they would have arrested Sharp and Welsh if you hadn’t killed them.”
    Duke raised his voice to say, “Unless they opened up on the people waiting in town . . .”
    “With what? They didn’t have any guns.”
    “We didn’t know that,” Duke said. “They sure had enough guns during the last week. What were we supposed to do, wait until they opened fire on my men? Get some more people killed?”
    It went rapidly downhill from there. Virgil, Shrake, and Jenkins watched reruns on the television in the motel lobby, along with a bunch of other guests who’d gathered around the television.
    “You know what bothers me?” Shrake asked.
    “Nothing,” Virgil said.
    “That’s not true. I’m a very sensitive individual. What bothers me is, you could see the TV people pulling for a shoot-out. If you’d just arrested them and slapped them in jail . . . what fun is that? They were a hundred percent in favor of a shoot-out. So then they got it, exactly what they wanted, and then they turn on the sheriff like a bunch of wolves. Now they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re all protecty about, you know, the right to a trial and innocent until proved guilty, blah blah blah.’”
    “The sheriff deserves a bunch of wolves,” Virgil said.
    “We’re gonna have to agree to disagree about that,” Shrake said. “I think those kids got pretty much what they deserved.”
    “It’s not about the kids,” Virgil said. “It’s about us.”
    “Aw,” Shrake said. “Poor little kids.”
    Virgil said, “So you would have gunned them down.”
    “They give me any excuse, damn right I would,” Shrake said.
    “But that’s the point—they didn’t give them an excuse,” Virgil said. “They threw away the guns, called ahead, and were coming in to surrender. So you would have stood in the ditch and blown them up with a machine gun?”
    Shrake sighed and said, “No, I guess not. Any excuse, though . . .”
    Virgil said, “Attaboy.”
    But then a thin, gray-faced old man in a tan button-front farmer shirt and green Sears work pants stepped over to Virgil, poked a finger at his chest, and said, “I saw you on TV. You’re an asshole.”
    “Thank you for your support,” Virgil said.
    •   •   •
    DAVENPORT CALLED AND SAID, “Henry—I mean, they’re gonna have to send in an environmental clean-up team to hose out his office.” Henry Sands was the BCA director, a recent political appointee. “And Rose Marie is madder than a hornet. You’re gonna take some shit.”
    “And where are you in all of this?” Virgil asked.
    “I’m behind you,” Davenport said. “Like, way behind you.”
    “Yeah . . .”
    “But you’re okay,” Davenport said.
    “I’m okay?”
    “Yeah. The governor called, and told me he didn’t want to call you directly in case anybody ever asked, but . . . he likes it. As far as he’s concerned, you can be Queen of the May. And with Henry and Rose Marie being like they are, they will pay very close attention to what the governor has to say.”
    “I don’t even see how they can hear him,” Virgil said. “You