And so, we come to perhaps the bloodiest chapter
in the long and violent history of the Midwest region.
And here I'm speaking of Luverne, Minnesota, 1979,
commonly referred to by laypeople
as the Massacre at Sioux Falls.
Readers will know that I've chosen
to file this case as a Minnesota crime
even though most of the murders
took place in North and then South Dakota.
But I believe the key to understanding this complex and nuanced crime
is to look at the butcher and small-town beautician at its center.
Ed and Peggy Blumquist
were just 29 years old on the night their lives changed forever.
Not much is known about Ohanzee Dent.
We have no birth certificate,
no tribal or family history.
He was the Gerhardts' man,
or he had been, until...
Jesus Christ, ya mongrel.
Just shoot these two and get me to a goddamn hospital.
So, this is what all the fuss is about?
Yes, sir.
Blumquist, Mr. and Mrs.
Took flight from Minnesota two days past.
They don't look like much.
You don't look like much.
We're realized.
What? What's she sayin'?
Says she realized somethin'.
Realized what?
That you're up a tree without a paddle?
It's a tri-state deal here, J.C.
We're talkin' bodies for miles.
Not just some dead hooligan in a cabin.
It's a goddamn shootin' war.
Yeah, I know. We got 'em, too.
Organized crime?
What the heck are you doing here with. With that one?
The eldest Gerhardt boy, Dodd?
He came to the house after Peggy
and she knocked him on his ass.
So, I thought
maybe trade him back to the family and make a deal for us to go.
A fresh start.
We're on a journey.
Can we just...
While we're skippin' down memory lane, here,
it's worth notin' that the Gerhardt Indian is out there free,
probably callin' for reinforcements.
So, if I were us...
I stabbed him.
I'd get them outta here.
Or cover 'em in bacon and leave 'em for the dogs.
I stabbed him!
The Indian.
He wanted a haircut and I stabbed him with the scissors.
In the back.
Boy, she makes us look like the gang
that can't shoot straight, doesn't she?
Our beautician.
It's worth mentionin', you know,
in the spirit of full disclosure,
my plan,
it worked.
I made a deal for Dodd.
With, what, the Gerhardts?
No, they wouldn't.
They said they weren't interested.
Well, that's what they told me.
So, I called Kansas City.
You did what?
I spoke to this fella, Milligan,
and he said he'd protect us
if we gave him Dodd.
So, have a meeting set at 8:00 a.m.
Where?
Sioux Falls.
They're comin' here?
Yes, sir. To the Motor Motel.
We need to get these two into custody now. Where's the nearest precinct?
Tell 'em.
We can't vouch for the safety of the precinct, is the thing.
What kinda chicken shit outfit you runnin' here, J.C.?
Zip it.
I don't drive to your backyard
and talk about how all your heads are flat.
What does that mean, you can't vouch for the safety?
We got graft, I'm sayin'.
Money changes hands.
Used to be Gerhardt money, now it's Kansas City.
- Corruption. - Allegedly.
But...
Well, you bring these two into custody
can't guarantee they won't hear about it down in Kansas City.
And you know they'll send, like, an army.
So, we take 'em north,
some place where people got their heads on straight.
My state.
My prisoners.
Well, wherever we're takin' 'em, we need to go soon.
I've been under siege once this week. Not really interested...
There's a third way.
We wire the redhead,
send him into the meetin' with this Milligan fella,
get the conspiracy on tape.
If we're lucky, we bust the whole operation.
No.
Son, I'm lookin' around
and you're outranked here nine ways to Sunday.
You can't... These two? You saw 'em.
Well, they're doin' better than us, so far.
Yeah, okay, through blind luck.
They're not up to... Believe me. Wearin' a wire?
They'll make the effort if they think it'll keep 'em off death row.
Look, I've met this Milligan fella. It's not amateur hour.
He gets one whiff
and Ed's dead before the time it takes to blow your nose.
Thought you were Gary Cooper.
Turns out you're Betty LaPlage.
Say that again. All right, look.
You brought your shit to town, son.
I'm just tryin' to clean it up.
And I say we squeeze the lemons we got
and use the juice to catch these big fish.
So, get with the program.
Kid.
Listen to me, they're gonna offer you a deal, okay?
Son. Don't take it.
Tell 'em you want a lawyer. Make them take you into custody.
What do you care? I'm responsible for you.
We don't need your conscience. You're half the reason we're in this mess!
Look, you're not ready for this.
Trooper, not another word.
You are not up to the task.
This is a war. Don't you get it?
I'm responsible for you and you're breathing because of me.
I can't just leave you behind.
Son!
You're turfed.
Now, pack your shit and get outta here,
or my boys are gonna show you what a South Dakota necktie feels like.
I'm goin'.
You've been lucky.
That luck's gonna run out.
This is on you!
That went wrong in a hurry.
You comin'?
No.
Good to have at least one grownup here, don't you think?
I'm gonna call my boss.
See if he can stop this madness on a bureaucratic level.
Worth a shot.
This thing's officially outta control.
You two are in the shit just about past your eyes.
Yeah.
But there's a rope in my hand.
Okay.
Do you want the rope?
Yeah, we'll take all the help we can get.
Good.
Gonna let you have your meeting with Kansas City.
Gonna put a wire on you.
What's that?
A recordin' device, son.
Are you stupid?
Hey!
Look, you get these Kansas City boys to impugn themselves on tape,
and I'll talk to the D.A. about pleadin' you out on lesser charges.
Well, I want it in writin'.
Meanwhile, at the crossroads separating Minnesota from South Dakota,
a different kind of betrayal was taking place.
Yes, sir, I do think that sounds strange.
Mike Milligan, the low-level enforcer for the Kansas City Mafia,
was playing a dangerous game.
Just hours earlier, he had been targeted for execution,
but he had turned the tables on his killers.
Well, they never showed up.
And now, in a desperate gambit...
I'm on my way, me and my man,
to collect the eldest Gerhardt male.
He sought to rout the Gerhardt family once and for all.
That's right. Dodd Gerhardt.
That's what I was thinking.
Grab him up,
see if we can't end things this minute,
tonight, with a trade or ambush.
Well, thank you, sir.
I won't let you down.
Finished.
That's a beauty.
Go show your mom.
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's hurrying
She's catching the nine 'o' clock train.
Mommy?
Sylvia's mother says, "Take your umbrella,
"'Cause Sylvie it's starting to rain."
And Sylvia's mother says, "Thank you for calling
"And sir won't you come back again?"
And the operator says,
"Forty cents more, for the next three minutes."
Please Mrs. Avery
I've just got to talk to her
I'll only keep her a while
Please Mrs. Avery
I just want to tell her goodbye.
Tell her goodbye
Clerk's dead inside.
Car keys are gone,
looks like there's a red Eldorado missin' from the parkin' lot here,
so, you should put out an APB.
Sir, I'm supposed to escort you outta state.
No, son,
this fella that killed the clerk,
he is wanted in conjunction with a double-digit number of homicides.
Yeah, I don't know about that.
But Captain Cheney's real scary, so...
I'm gonna have to ask you to get in your prowler
and I'm gonna follow you to the state line.
Car nine, come in. Over.
Go for Schmidt.
I got a Minnesota State cop on the line lookin' for Sheriff Larsson.
Okay. Put him through.
Listen, he's in a red Eldorado.
Who's that?
The Indian.
Shot the clerk
at the convenience store, the one who called him in.
Looks like our man patched up his scissor wound
and took the clerk's car.
Yeah, kid, it's me.
We're headed... What is it?
The Motor Motel.
We're headed to the Motor Motel.
The plan is to ditch the prowlers
and then hole up for the night under a low profile.
And then, prep Ed for the sting.
Listen, you need to...
I gotta bad feelin' here and they're...
I'm bein' run outta town.
But you need to watch yourselves.
This thing ain't over.
Here, give me that thing.
Listen, Trooper,
we appreciate your giddy up on this this thing,
but we're not fresh off the boat, here.
If these fellas wanna tussle
they're gonna find out a thing or two
about what a Dakota man can do.
Yeah...
Take a seat on the bench, is what I'm sayin', junior.
We'll handle it from here. Over and out.
Unload the prisoners, and ditch the prowlers around back.
Hey, Captain? Talk to you for a second?
Your man was outta line.
Yes, sir. Yeah. He...
He was havin' a feelin'.
This mess has got us...
You Minnesota boys don't got much
in the way a backbone, now do you?
Well, now, I wouldn't say that.
Just like to think things through.
Army?
Yes, sir.
Liberated France in the Great War.
Not singlehandedly,
but I like to think they couldn't have done it without me.
Well, then you know it's the generals that do the thinkin'
and everybody else just says "how high?"
Not gonna debate the merits of top-down
decision makin' with you, Captain,
except to say, I had a lieutenant in the war
and he told Eisenhower to go to hell once,
on account of his orders would have got us all killed.
I send that man a card every Christmas,
'cause I can.
Stay or go.
Makes no difference to me.
But tomorrow, I'm takin' the fight to the enemy.
Tell Simone to come see me.
I wanna apologize for yesterday.
She left in a hurry
when you were took.
Don't think she's back yet.
Sorry, Mrs., but...
What? What is it?
It's for your son, ma'am.
Supposed to talk to him directly.
It's okay.
We'll go into the barn.
No.
No secrets here.
Well, what is it, kid? Spit it out.
Your Indian...
He's on the phone. Hanzee?
Says he found Dodd.
Is he alive?
Yes, ma'am.
They got him, but he's breathin'.
Who's got him?
Historians of the region have long debated the next two words
spoken by the Gerhardts' Native man.
When, exactly, did he decide to betray the rest of his employers?
Yes, he had executed Dodd Gerhardt in cold blood,
but at what point did he decide to finish the job?
Was it here?
Or maybe earlier.
you gotta do is be straight with us.
I'm straight.
It's certainly possible that the move was spontaneous.
Who knows, maybe it'd been building inside of him
since Otto Gerhardt took him off the street
when he was eight years old.
Whatever the answer,
when Floyd Gerhardt asked who it was that was holding her son,
Ohanzee Dent said...
Kansas City.
That Milligan fella.
It was an ambush. Luverne.
Butcher grabbed Dodd, fled the state.
Why?
I tracked them to a motel in Sioux Falls.
They got numbers, but they're not expectin' anything.
I'll be there in three hours.
No, ma'am.
You send Bear and a dozen men, we can bring him home.
Are you tellin' me what to do?
No.
Just can't vouch for your safety is all.
Three times I sent men to do a job.
Three times they come back unfinished.
I'll handle this myself.
Yes, ma'am.
We'll lay waste to 'em in the devil's hours.
Wranglers and white tees.
Captain says we're goin' undercover for the night.
Poker later if you feel like losin' some money.
You better wear pants this time.
Aw.
Are we really doin' the right thing here?
What now?
Anyone want tea?
No, thanks, hon.
Officer?
It's "Detective."
Sorry.
Did you...
Tea?
No.
Hey.
What do you think?
When he's sleepin', we could just...
No.
Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh.
None o' that, now.
Don't make me separate you.
Okay.
It's Ben, isn't it?
Jamin.
Benjamin.
And you're from?
Sorry.
Fargo, North Dakota.
I work for Chief Gibson.
Which one is he again?
Does it matter?
I guess not.
Thanks.
I don't wanna feel down
'Cause my name is getting' around
I say the whole world is letting me down now
'Cause I don't know where I'm goin'
Yes, I guess I'm going down, down, down
And I feel I'm gonna drown
Yeah, I guess I'm going down, down, down
And I feel I'm gonna drown
Car 18, come in. Over.
Car 18. Over.
Solverson.
Yeah, just got a courtesy call from Sioux Falls P.D.
Say they found Constance Heck dead
in her room at the Southnik Hotel.
Guess she went out there for a conference.
You're kiddin'.
No, sir.
Strangled, they said.
I mean, when's all this madness gonna end?
I surely don't know.
I tried.
You heard.
Yeah?
Just checkin' in.
I got 'em.
Not sayin' you don't.
Just want to go over the details with 'em.
Explain their rights.
They know. I told 'em.
Son, I get the feelin' you don't want me to come in.
All things equal, Pops,
we got a lot a swinging dicks around here.
But, command's been delegated.
I'm in here, you're not.
Let's leave it at that.
You okay in there, Ed? Peggy?
Wire's secure and no one's the wiser.
We got the upstairs room bugged and ready for the meet.
Okay.
Move quickly and with authority, Troopers.
That's lesson one.
Yes, sir.
Ice machine's busted.
What?
I'm just sayin' it's your show.
You've made that clear,
which means I'm here to observe, and what I'm observin' is...
Ice machine's crapped out.
Yeah.
We bring this case in tomorrow,
and there'll be commendations all around.
From this point on, we're radio silent.
Motor Motel. Motor Motel, come in.
Motor Motel, this is Lou Solverson.
They're coming! Do you hear me? They're...
When we reach the motel,
I want you in the vehicle.
Make sure you're safe.
Hanzee'll stay, too.
Okay.
I miss them all.
We'll be together again.
On high.
Best piss I ever took was in a kitchen sink.
No wonder you got divorced.
I'm an outdoor guy myself.
It's liberatin', I think,
pissin' someplace where you're not supposed to.
When I was a sergeant,
I pissed in my CO's desk drawer when he was in Hawaii.
I drank six coffees and a Nehi first.
Now, that was a good piss.
Well, you got the hardware for it.
If that was me, I'd have had to climb up on the desk.
Two rooms upstairs, three down.
Got Dodd on the bottom, next to the office.
One man on guard.
Milligan's on the second floor.
Stay with Ma.
I like pissin' in the pool.
That's just gross.
Yeah, but, okay, so why's pissin' in a pool
so much worse than pissin' in a kitchen sink?
Screw this.
Well, first of all, son,
were there other people in the pool at the time?
No!
Brother?
All clear.
All clear!
Oh, Christ.
It's Rapid City all over again.
Brother?
They're cops!
No!
Then, as he killed both friend and foe alike,
it became clear that Hanzee was on a mission.
To find the beautician and her butcher's assistant husband,
and silence them once and for all.
Again, the question of why has puzzled historians for decades.
It's true that they had seen him execute Dodd Gerhardt,
and that they were the only ones left
who could reveal his treachery for what it was.
But maybe the reason was deeper.
- Professional, you said. - Yeah.
Tired of this life.
The fact that he had shown his true self
to them in a moment of vulnerability.
Oh!
Gotta make a break for it, hon.
Are you... Are you seein' this?
It's just a flyin' saucer, Ed.
We gotta go.
Officer down!
I should have gone home with you.
Turns out I didn't go.
Grateful for that.
What the...
Okay, then.
Yeah, all right.
Peggy? Ed?
On the run,
with the Indian in pursuit.
Go.
I can make it.
Dinner Sunday?
I'll be there in a suit of armor.