Thief River Falls

Noah Power sits in a taproom in Fargo, drinking beer. As he drinks, Noah thinks about how he and Lisa had always had a sort of twin telepathy as children. Noah reflects, “Throughout his life, there have been moments when he was all alone and he would hear Lisa say something, as vividly as if she’d been standing next to him” (122). After the deaths of their family members, the connection they shared had been one of the things to drive Noah to leave. Noah remembers, “It was one thing to live with his own grief, but he’d had to deal with hers, too. When she felt the pain, so did he” (122). When Noah left Lisa, leaving her nothing but the goodbye note, “He’d felt a rush of fury in his head like a lighting bold while he was on the road, and he knew—he knew—that Lisa was reading the note he’d left for her” (122). Since that moment, Noah hadn’t been able to hear or feel what Lisa was thinking. However, the previous night, Noah began to feel Lisa’s emotions again, and could tell that she was in trouble.

Next to Noah, his fiancé, Janie, whom he’s been seeing for six months, asks Noah what he is thinking. Noah tells Janie his sister, Lisa, is in trouble. Janie doesn’t understand how Noah knows Lisa is in trouble, but “she read his eyes again, and somehow she understood what he was saying. He didn’t need to explain how he knew. They were twins, and that was enough” (125). Janie tells Noah to go to Lisa, but Noah knows Lisa doesn’t want to see him.

Meanwhile, Will is at his office at the FBI main office in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Will thinks about Lisa and remembers the crush he used to have on her. At that moment, Will’s phone rings. When he picks up, it is the assistant county attorney in Pennington County, the county of Thief River Falls. He is following up on Will’s inquiries that morning and confirms that there is no manhunt or activities related to a human trafficking operation happening in Pennington County. The assistant county attorney asks who came to Will with the inquiry, and Will tells him it was Lisa. The assistant county attorney confirms that there are rumors involving Lisa Power, but that two deputies had already spoken to her that afternoon. Before he hangs up, Will asks for the name of the county attorney in Pennington County. The assistant county attorney explains that it is Denis Farrell, and he’s held the position for almost thirty years.

At the Thief River Falls airport, Curtis explains that it is too stormy for them to fly that night, but they could try again in the morning. Curtis suggests they get rooms at a local motel for the night. Lisa offers to pay for a rental car for Curtis so he can go home, but Curtis explains, “Laurel made it very clear I wasn’t to leave you alone. Not for a second’” (129). Curtis, Lisa, and Purdue approach a nearby taxi. The taxi is a rusting car with the word “TAXI” written on a piece of cardboard and taped to the rear window. The driver has a “distinctive punk/New Age look” (130). As Lisa gets into the car, the driver turns around and recognizes her. Excited, the driver gets out of the car, comes around to the backseat door, and hugs her. She introduces herself as Shyla Dunn.

Hearing the name, Lisa recognizes Shyla as a young patient from when she worked as a nurse. When Shyla was eighteen, she came into the hospital after having been beaten by her boyfriend. Shyla remembers that the police hadn’t cared, but Lisa has pushed for them to do something, and they had finally put the boyfriend in prison. Lisa agrees that she’s never gotten along with the county attorney, Denis Farrell. Shyla, thankful for Lisa’s help, offers Lisa, Curtis, and Purdue a free ride. When they explain that they are going to the motel, Shyla insists they spend the night at her house instead. Lisa tells Shyla she is trying to keep a low profile, and Shyla promises not to tell anyone she is in town. The group drives to Shyla’s house. As they park outside, several stray cats appear in Shyla’s front yard. Shyla explains that the cats know she’ll feed them when she gets home. Shyla opens her garage to get the cat food. Inside the car, Lisa and Curtis are shocked to see a perfectly clean 1990s-era Camaro, a collector’s car, as well as the back wall of the garage, which is covered with “enough guns to start a small revolution” (133). Shyla explains that she inherited the car along with the house from her uncle but that she’d purchased the guns herself. Shyla explains, “After what I went through, I’m not taking any chances. My parents think it’s overkill, but let me tell you, if anyone ever comes after me again, they are in for one big-ass surprise” (134).

Lisa and Purdue share a spare bedroom at Shyla’s house. Early in the morning, Purdue whispers to Lisa, asking if she is awake. Purdue tells Lisa they shouldn’t be in Thief River Falls. Purdue likes Shyla, but he believes the murder he witnessed the night before occurred in Thief River Falls, and he doesn’t feel safe. Purdue says, “It’s just a feeling I have […] I don’t think I’ll ever leave Thief River Falls” (136). Lisa suggests she get them some leftover pie from Shyla’s kitchen. She gets out of bed and walks to the kitchen. It is about five in the morning, and the whole house is dark. From the kitchen’s back door, Lisa sees the light from a glowing cell phone screen in the backyard. She grabs a stone pestle from a mortar and pestle set in the kitchen and goes to knock on Curtis’s door. When Curtis doesn’t answer, Lisa opens the door and sees the bed empty. She figures Curtis must be the person in the backyard, talking on his cell phone. Quietly, Lisa goes out into the backyard and overhears Curtis’s conversation; he is telling someone not to send anyone over to Shyla’s house. Curtis says, “Lisa’s obsessed with this boy, and she’s determined to rescue him” (138). He explains that he plans to take Lisa and Purdue back to the airport in the morning, where they can have Garrett and Stoll waiting for them.

Hearing this, Lisa realizes, “Curtis was one of them. She’d been set up. The forced landing in the plane was a fake; it had all been done to keep her here in Thief River Falls, to make sure she didn’t escape with Purdue” (138). Lisa also realizes Laurel must be in on it too. When Curtis hands up, he turns around and sees Lisa in the yard. Lisa becomes angry and accuses Curtis and Laurel of setting her up. Curtis explains that they only want the boy. Hearing that they intend to harm Purdue “made something break inside her” (139). Lisa hits Curtis in the head with the pestle, causing him to fall to the ground, unconscious. Purdue appears in the yard. Lisa explains to Purdue that they need to leave immediately. As they cross Shyla’s driveway, Shyla appears on the front porch holding an AR-15, demanding to know who is in her yard. Lisa “had no doubt that the rifle was loaded and ready to fire” (141). When Shyla sees Lisa, she lowers the gun. Lisa explains that she and Purdue can’t trust Curtis after all, and they need to get away. Shyla lends Lisa her Camaro along with a semiautomatic pistol and an AR-15 and plenty of ammunition.

Curtis gains consciousness just as Lisa and Purdue drive off in the Camaro. Seeing Shyla with her gun, Curtis limps off Shyla’s property and hurries down the street. He takes out his phone and redials the number of the person he was just speaking with, Denis Farrell. Curtis explains that Lisa and the boy have escaped in Shyla’s Camaro and that Shyla most likely lent Lisa some guns. Curtis tells Denis to be careful going after Lisa. According to Curtis, “I listened to how Lisa talks about that boy. As far as she’s concerned, she’ll die to keep him safe and away from us. She isn’t giving up without a fight” (144-145).

Denis Farrell hangs up the phone. Laurel is with Denis at his house, having driven all night. Denis explains that Lisa hit Curtis on the head and escaped with the boy. Denis looks around at his bookshelves, where he has a wide collection of books, including Thief River Falls by Lisa Power. Denis remembers the book as the one “in which she’d humiliated him” (146). As Denis and Laurel try to decide what to do next, Laurel encourages Denis to put his personal grudge against Lisa aside. Laurel says she doesn’t believe Lisa would ever turn to violence, but Denis reminds Laurel that Lisa was just violent toward Curtis. Laurel promises Denis that they’ll eventually convince Lisa to give them the boy, whom they refer to as Harlan.