Better to rest (20 page)

Mason, caught with his mouth full, chewed and swallowed without any noticeable embarrassment. “The only interest the FBI might have is if the wreck was anything other than accidental. We dont really think it is. He smiled, and Jo noticed because she was incapable of not noticing that it was a very nice smile, if not of the full wattage of Colonel Campbells, then with its own amount of shy charm. “Im here mostly on a field trip. My boss wants to get as many of the Anchorage-based agents into the Bush as possible. This was an opportunity for him.

An expression passed over Charles face that was as unpleasant as it was fleeting.

“I think Ill stick with the plan, Dad, Liam said. “The ME will turn it over in due course.

“There are families waiting for word, for some kind of closure. These men have been missing a long time. They deserve an honorable burial as soon as possible.

“Its not like the families dont know how or when they died, Liam said. There was no answer to this. “Oh, and I guess youll probably want the gold coin, too.

“The what!

Charles exclamation was somewhere between a bark and a shout. It had a parade-ground kind of feel to it, and if activity in the bar did not come to a halt, it slowed down and heads turned their way.

Liam, not expecting this reaction, said, “The gold coin in the arms hand. It, uh, fell out. He didnt say where or when.

Charles had himself under strict control. The smile was gone, though, and Jo gave him a long, thoughtful look. This was the face behind the gun sight on his jet. She wouldnt care to have that face on her tail. He lowered his voice. “There was a gold coin in the hand?

“Yeah. Liam, for his part, didnt know what this was leading to. “Its an American twenty-dollar gold piece. Bills got it.

“Get it.

Liam raised an eyebrow at the snapped order, but he got to his feet and walked to the bar, aware that most of the bar was eyeing him, openly or covertly. Moses was one of the former, that connoisseur of upheaval and disaster, and he grinned at Liam as he walked by. Eric Mollberg was one of the latter, nearly tucking his head beneath his arm to avoid eye contact. Clarence took advantage of Moses distraction by nipping off with Moses other knight. Liam and rest of the bar learned some new Yupik when Moses turned back and discovered the loss.

“Well? Bill said.

“He wants the gold coin.

Bill jerked her head. “Top drawer, in the office.

“Thanks. He found it and brought it back.

Charles almost snatched it out of his hand and then seemed to notice the odd looks he was getting. He laughed. It didnt convince them. He saw it. “Im sorry, he said. “It took me aback a little. I have a list of personal effects from the families, things the flight crew might have had with them on board. One of the copilots grandchildren said he remembered his grandmother talking about a lucky gold piece that her grandfather had carried. It had quite a legend attached to it, was supposed to have been won from Wild Bill Hickok in the poker game before the one he got shot in, and been in the family ever since. In the normal course of events, it would have gone to the son and then to the grandson. Itd be nice to get it back to him.

It was a charming story, told with style and just the right touch of sentimentality. It was a pity that the only person at the table who believed it was the storyteller himself. He seemed to want to move on, and quickly, too. He looked at Liam and said, “Does anyone else know about this piece?

Liam thought back to the scene in the bar two nights before. “Pretty much everyone in Newenham by now, Id guess.

“Damn it. Liam, we cant wait until spring to recover the bodies. We have to do it now.

“Dad, I told you, and so did Wy. Thats pretty much next to impossible. Its Octoberhell, its almost November. Winters coming on. Its snowing right now. That airstrip isnt maintained, and theres no way to get the wreck down off the glacier even if it were.

“Well use helicopters. Ill call Elmendorf, see whats available. And theres an Air National Guard base, tooKulik, isnt it? Ill ask them what theyve got.

“I know those guys, Dad, Liam said evenly. “Theyre on call for rescues all over the state. I dont think theyre going to volunteer their crews and their equipment to recover bodies that have been lying there for sixty years. Were coming up on storm season. Theyll have plenty of work on their hands rescuing the living.

Charles eyes narrowed. “Those guys who came busting up on the four-wheelers when we were out at the wreck...

“What about them? Liam said, wondering where this was going.

“They were treasure hunting.

“They said they were caribou hunting.

“Crap. They knew about this gold coin and they went looking for more where it came from.

Liam couldnt deny it. “So?

“So if we dont get that wreck out of there youre going to start losing Newenhammers who think there might be gold in them thar hills.

Liam remembered the slab of ice that had nearly killed him and Wy the previous morning. “Youll lose just as many going after it.

“Not if I round up good equipment and good equipment operators. Leave it to me. Charles stood up and threw down a couple of bills. “Excuse me. Ive got some calls to make.

The three of them watched him stride out the door. When it closed behind him, Liam looked at Mason and said, “Whats going on?

“I dont know, Mason said. “I dont, he added when he saw Liams skepticism. “My boss heard about the wreck and called the commander out on Elmendorf. The BOC told him that Colonel Campbell was flying in. My boss asked him to ask Colonel Campbell to let me hitch a ride to Newenham. He said okay. I have to say we were all a little surprised. I mean, the United States Air Force doesnt exactly hand out rides on an F-15.

“So the inference is he wanted you here. Why?

Mason was using a french fry to mop up the last drop of steak juice and was very intent on the job. “He said that co-operation between federal organizations was essential to the smooth working of government, and that he was happy to be able to contribute to it, in however small a way. He met Liams eyes with a bland expression in his own.

“What can you do here?

“Not much, Mason said. “I dont have a lot of authority over the sixty-year-old wreck of a military plane. If it was sabotaged, or the flight was in any way related to espionage of some kind, then I could step in, maybe. And only maybe. He smiled. “In Alaska the FBI is more concerned with Russians importing underage girls who come thinking theyre going to be part of an ethnic dance group and who wind up shaking it down in the strip clubs.

“Were you on that case? Jo said.

“From the start. Mason didnt sound happy about it.

“Were the girls in on it?

“The older one, the twenty-year-old, maybe. The two younger ones, no way.

“Are they still in jail?

Mason winced. “We prefer to call it protective custody.

“Waiting on the INS?

“That, and the fact that we need them to testify against the guys who brought them into the country.

Liam reached for his wallet. “Im due home.

“Give Wy my love.

“Wheres Gary? Liam said, suddenly noticing her brothers absence.

“Relax, Jo said. “Hes doing some patchup work for a guy he knows in Ikikika.

Liam tried not to show his relief.

She waited until he was inches from a clean getaway. “Whats going on with your father, Liam?

“I know as much as you do, Jo. And sometimes I think, he added, a trifle grimly, “a lot less.

“Man, she said.

“What?

“Sons and their fathers.

“What about them?

“Tell the truth. You guys just sit around thinking up ways to fail each other, dont you?

“Go to hell, Liam said, and marched to the bar, wallet in hand.

Jo watched him go, admiring the straight spine that managed to broadcast every ounce of the offended dignity that he was feeling.

Fathers and sons, she thought.

There oughta be a law.

She was unaware that shed said the words out loud until Special Agent James Mason said, “Against what?

“Many things, she said, recovering. “Many, many things.

“There already are, he said. “And speaking as a member and on behalf of the law-enforcement community, I have enough laws to make people mind already. My old man used to say that every time Congress enacted another law, they took another little piece of our freedom away.

“Sounds like a right-wing reactionary to me.

He laughed. “Its early, he said, reaching for his jacket. “Youre at the Bay View Inn.

“Yes.

“So am I. Ive got a bottle in my room. Want a drink?

She looked him over with care. He met her eyes without guile, something to mistrust in any member of any law-enforcement agency. “Sure, she said.

After paying his tab Liam paused at the chess table. “Get the hell outta my light, Clarence said. Eric Mollberg had gone to the bar for a refill. Moses looked up and growled, “What?

“Do you know who did it?

Moses moved his last pawn to the last row and exchanged it for his queen.

“Do you?

“Check, Moses said. Clarence swore loudly.

“Goddamn it, old man, Liam said.

“Goddamn it, yourself, Moses said. He reached for a bottle of Oly and flatfooted it. “Beer! he bellowed, and behind him Liam heard the bar cooler open. “I dont know, he said finally, glaring up at Liam, who seemed to have planted himself like a rock.

“Youd tell me if you did.

“It doesnt work like that. Youll find him. He tried for one of his fallen-angel smiles, not quite succeeding. “Besides, youre not a believer, boy. What you doing bothering the old shaman when you know youre going to do whatever the hell you were going to do in the first place? Go on home. Shes waiting for you.

“I am. Liam didnt move.

“Go on, then! Quit interfering with my chess game.

Clarence gave a sudden cry that sounded just like the cackle of a raven, and moved his rook. “Checkmate.

“Fuck, Moses said.

Clarence sat back in his chair and looked up at Liam beneath shaggy brows. “You talking about Lydia?

Liam shifted his gaze from one side of the table to the other, and nodded.

“You should have seen her when we was all young, Clarence said. “That girl had boys buzzing around like mosquitoes, wanting to suck that juicy little thing dry.

Moses uttered a sharp bark of laughter. “Including you.

“Including you, Clarence retorted. His beady little black eyes sparkled and he all but smacked his lips. “Those were the days. Get hold of a truck and drive your girl and your friends and their girls to Icky and have an all-day party on the beach at One Lake. You remember that party out the beach that one summer?

Moses grinned.

“Yeah, Clarence said. “I see you do. Bet Leslie and Walter and Silent Cal and Stan do, too.

“Stans dead.

Clarence frowned. “Stans dead?

“Going on five years.

Clarence was outraged. “Goddamn! Hows a man supposed to get drunk with his friends if they keep dying on him!

“What about Lydia at the beach? Liam said.

Moses and Clarence got matching faraway looks on their faces. “We went up to the fish camp used to be at Icky.

“Wasnt Icky, Moses said. “The fish camp was out the end of River Road.

“It was up Icky way, this fish camp, Clarence said, glaring. “A bunch of the guys and the girls in the school. We took some beer, and somebody had some records and had figured out a way to run a record player off his pickup battery. We stayed up there two days and two nights, dancing and singing and laughing and pulling fish out of the river. Clarence looked at Moses. “Remember the eagles?

Moses nodded. “Couple eagles sitting in this cottonwood snag, old Silent Cal got too close and one of those eagles hoisted up its tail feathers and shot a stream of yellow shit straight into old Silent Cals face.

Both old men shook with remembered glee, until Liam was afraid Clarence at least might go off into an apoplexy.

“I think he thought he was going to get lucky that night, Clarence said, mopping his eyes. “But his girl wouldnt have anything to do with him after that. He winked at Liam. “Not to say she didnt get lucky herself.

Moses leaned forward and leveled a forefinger. “Clarence, you are a dirty old man.

“I wasnt then.

Again both men fell into choking fits.

“When was that? Liam said.

“Oh, hell, Clarence said, knuckling his eyes. “Long time. Long time ago. Before the war.

“Not long before, Moses said instantly.

“Long time before, Clarence said, glaring.

“We werent that old long time before the war, old man.

“Set up the pieces; well see how old I am!

Liam left them to it.

December 15, 1941

Its cleer but god its cold they say its thirty-seven below the coldest in twenty-five years. Our mechanic Billy hes from Duluth in Minnesota hes a good guy he lost a filling the other day just by breathing in. He can only do a twenty-minute shift and even then he has to work in mittens. It took him two hours to replace a plug yesterday.

Havent written for a while because we spent a week tdy flying out of Anchorage One day we went to Adak to pick up eighteen patients. 1250 miles and usually eight to ten hours flying time. There was a front hanging off Umnak and it was rough as hell. The nurse was a pistol she piled blankets all over the patients to keep them from bouncing around and give her parka to another. Roepke brought us down to 50 feet. Everybody puked. He brought us back up to thirteen thousand and the cabin temperature dropped to twenty below but at least it smoothed out. He put her down at Naknek in a forty mile an hour crosswind he had to really crab her in. Man that was no fun. While we were on the ground another Gooney crashed and burned on landing. The crew got out okay. We overnighted. The whole flight took two days two hours and ten minutes.

Came back to find a letter from Helen. She lost the baby. Says shes sick and needs money to pay the hospital.

Went to Petes for dinner when we got back. Hes a good guy knows not to talk to much. Wanted to know about Krasnoyarsk and what it looked like and how many people lived there. Told him it looked like Nome.