Better to rest (4 page)

Oh, yeah, the need was still there, as strong and as certain as it had ever been. Need wasnt enough, though. Sometimes even love wasnt enough. He used to know what was, but he was no longer as sure of himself as he had once been.

It was with relief that he pulled up in front of Johns house, where, to judge from the lack of parking spaces, there appeared to be a monster truck rally in progress, and consigned his personal life to a folder in the back of his mind marked
Later.
Wy would be there when he was ready to open it again.

John Kvichaks house had started life as a dugout, a pit with sod walls and roof, and over the intervening hundred and fifty years had migrated up and out. One wall was log, another plywood with tar-paper shingles, the third and widest of round river rock that rose into a chimney that, however unsteady in construction, appeared to be functional, if the smoke pouring out of it was any indication. The fourth was a bright blue vinyl siding Liam tried to convince himself wasnt the same shade as the new siding Seafood North sported across from the small boat harbor. On a drive-through of the dock area the day before, Liam had noticed that part of one wall of the cannery was still bare except for the Tyvek house wrap. Probably, he told himself, Seafood North had ordered short. Probably.

“Dont look now; its Delinquentville, Diana Prince said. “Thats Teddys Ranchero, isnt it? And Kelley MacCormicks Dakota? And Paul Urbanos Cherokee Chief. Whats with those tires, anyway? He could drive over a moose without grazing the rack, the body sits so high. She released her seat belt and looked at Liam. “The gangs almost all here. You think theyre planning their next heist?

“I hope not, Liam said, and he meant it. He didnt know Paul that well, but Teddy and John were the sole support of their families, and pretty good at it so long as they stayed sober. Mac MacCormick was fresh out of the hospital and was in no shape to do more time. “Might as well get it over with.

He got out of the Blazer just in time to see Brewster Gibbons haul his Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer to a halt and bounce out. Gibbons must have been behind them the whole way and Liam had been so preoccupied that he hadnt spotted him, which did not improve his temper. “Brewster, he said, his voice very different from the irritating drawl he had used before, “what are you doing here? We dont need you. Go home.

“I didnt think you were going to do anything. Gibbons panted up, full of righteous wrath. “I came to warn them to stay away from my bank.

“As you can see, its not necessary. Were here, and well handle it. Now go home. To underscore his command, he stepped forward to take Gibbons arm and escort him back to the SUV. He even went so far as to open the door. With bad grace, Gibbons climbed in.

Liam caught Diana as she reached the porch, which along with the stairs up to it and the overhang looked brand-new, the wooden planks neatly lined up and not yet gray from weathering. Liam wondered who next would be pounding on the trooper posts door to report a theft.

The door swung open.

“Hi, John, Diana Prince began.

She didnt have time to say anything else. The man standing in the door took one look at her uniform, another at Liams blue-clad bulk looming up behind her, said, “Oh, shit, and vanished.

From behind him there was a panicked yell and some shouts and a lot of swearing and a rush of footsteps. Something crashed inside the room and the lights went out. There was a thump and a moan and some more swearing.

“Okay, guys, were coming in, Diana Prince said, pushing the door wide and feeling for a wall switch. She found one. An overhead light revealed a terrified Teddy Engebretsen with something in his hand and that hand pulled back to throw. “Whats Teddy? Teddy, what the hell is that? Teddy, dont Christ! Look out, sir!

She ducked, and on instinct Liam followed suit. Something pale and elongated sailed over their heads.

There was a loud
smack!
followed by a howl of outrage and the thump of a butt hitting the ground, hard.

Still crouching, Liam turned to look.

Brewster Gibbons was sitting on his fanny in the snow at the foot of the stairs, staring at the thing lying half on the bottom step and half on his lap. As Liam watched, he let out a yell and scuttled backward on his hands and feet. The thing slid from his lap and skidded across the icy path to bounce off the berm on one side and back off the other. “Keep it away from me! Keep it away from me!

“What the hell? Liam said, and went to investigate.

On closer inspection, he didnt blame Brewster for yelling.

The object was a human arm, the left, severed above the elbow.

Its hand was clenched into a tight fist.

FOUR

They were having a great time until Liam walked in.

Tim was a math whiz, and Gary, a building contractor, was showing him how to calculate how many trusses were needed to hold up the roof of your average split-level house. Jo was not helping by telling the story of the time Gary had made the family of a burned-out home wait through three tries before he got the truss size right.

“It wasnt me; it was the fabricator, Gary said in protest. “And in the interest of full disclosure, he told Tim, “it took four tries for them to get it right. I was downtime thirteen days on that job. He shook his head and drained his beer. “Plus the granite for the kitchen counter kept breaking. Hard to get quality work done right and on time in this state.

“Unless they get you to do it, Jo said, regarding him with a sisters sapient eye.

Gary grinned and did not deny the accusation.

“So you build peoples houses, Tim said.

“And remodel them.

“Remodel?

“Yeah, rip em apart and start over.

“Like?

Gary tucked into his New York strip. Wy had always appreciated an enthusiastic appetite, being a feeder herself. “I just finished up the remodel of a split-level home in Spenard. The owner has had the house for three years and shes just getting around to correcting everything the previous owners did to it.

“Like?

Gary cut off another piece of steak and used it for punctuation. “Like, they put up teak paneling, and stained all the trim mahogany and took down the old kitchen shelves and put the new ones up wrong. In the bathroom, they walled off the window and put in a six-hundred-dollar wall-hung toilet, which leaked. Lucky there wasnt any insulation between the floors.

“Why lucky?

“Man, Im going to be able to hire you on as an apprentice, you keep this up. Lucky because instead of pooling near and rotting the floor joists

“Whats a joist?

“Same thing as a truss, only under the floor instead of the roof. Gary reflected. “Well. Sort of. Same principle, anyway, supporting the structure. So, the water from the leak migrated down and only ruined the Sheetrock in the downstairs bathroom.

“So what did you do?

“I gutted it right down to the studs, renewed all the plumbing. I closed off the door to the hallway, made it a master bath. I put the window back inI love glass brickand took out the wall-hung toilet and replaced it with a floor-mounted one. I built new cabinetsmaple slab, looks great, if I sez it who shouldntand laid down new linoleum. Now it looks about twice as big and feels ten times as light as it did before, and everythings new and done right. That bathrooms good for thirty years. His grin was not modest. He cut another piece of steak and inserted it into his mouth as if he were receiving the Years Best Contractor award.

“You like doing that?

Gary chewed while he thought. “Yeah, he said, swallowing. “Its fun to take something thats messed up and straighten it out, make it right again. You should have seen this woman; youd have thought I was some kind of magician. She acted like she hadnt had to pay for it, like Id given her a gift. Like I said, its fun. Except Im allergic to mahogany, he added, shaking his head, “and I sneezed all the way through the remodel. But other than that. It was fun.

“Whats your next project?

Gary let his gaze drift ever so slowly toward Wy. “Im between projects at the moment.

Wy felt heat rise up into her face. Tim looked from one to the other with a gathering frown. Jo grinned, and if shed been part Yupik and forty years older youd have sworn she was Moses Alakuyaks twin sister.

At this auspicious moment, Liam walked in.

He didnt see them at first, walking straight to the bar and pulling off the ball cap that seemed suddenly too tight for his head. “I need a warrant.

“Ill give you a warrant, Bill said, “if youll move this lush out of my bar.

Liam craned his head. “Oh. Eric.

“Yes. Again.

“Poor old bastard.

“What is it with you guys, Bill said, disgusted.

“Im sorry?

“Never mind. Whos the warrant for?

“Im not sure, exactly.

“Arrest?

“Yes. At least I think so.

“For what?

“Im not sure about that, either.

“Youre not helping me much here, Liam.

“I know. Im sorry. The damnedest thing.

“What?

“I got something I need you to keep in your freezer until I can get it on a plane to the lab. Liam opened up the white plastic garbage bag hed carried into the bar with him.

Bill peered inside. “Sweet Jesus! she yelled, turning heads all over the bar, which was when Wy saw Liam for the first time. “What the Sam Hill hell is that!

Since Bill didnt seem to be in any hurry to take custody of the bag, Liam, who was even less thrilled to be carrying it around, set it on the floor at his feet. “Its exactly what you think it is.

“Where the hell did you get it?

“I first saw it coming out of John Kvichaks house on a fly pitch that nearly brained me. He shook his head. “At first I thought it was a prosthetic. That clenched fist looked like somebodyd forgotten to throw the switch on the circuits.

Bills face began to regain some of its natural color. “For crissake. Where the hell did he find that? I mean, I know John and Teddy are scavengers, but... Her hands were shaking a little when she poured out two fingers of Glen-morangie, neat. She frowned down at them and they steadied as she put the glass on the bar. “Oh. I forgot. You on or off?

Liam sat down next to Eric Mollberg, who stirred and moaned a little, and turned his face to Liam in a preliminary attempt to surface from the sea of alcohol in which he had been submersed for going on three months. “I, said Liam, “dont give a damn if Im on duty or off at the moment. He drank and felt the heat and flavor of the single-malt seep straight into his bloodstream. Comfort food, he thought, and finished it. Bill held up the bottle. He shook his head. “No. That did it. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You wouldnt believe the day Ive had.

Bill cast a surreptitious glance over his shoulder at the group in the booth, one of whom was staring back with an undeniably guilty look all over her face, and thought, And its not over yet. Because she was a woman, too, and had her own men problemsfor starters the Alaska old fart sitting in the corner knocking back enough beer to fell Paul Bunyon and whooping it up with his palsshe bought Wy some time. “Whered it come from?

“Youll love this.

Bill ran a couple more margaritas down to the end of the bar for Moccasin Man, who was putting the moves on Susie Akiachak. Susie was a smart girl and knew better, but her defenses had been weakened by a nasty breakup with Jimmy Koliganek, and Evan Gray was first and foremost an opportunist. On the way back up the bar Bill hooked her foot beneath the bottom rung of the bartenders stool and sent it sliding into place across from Liam. “Okay, she said, settling in for the duration, “lets hear it.

“John Kvichak and Teddy Engebretsen were hunting.

“Theyre always hunting when they get into trouble. When theyre not in town and getting into trouble. Or out fishing and getting into trouble.

“All too true. Liam rolled the glass between his hands as if the heat of his palms would evaporate anything left of the scotch and he could inhale the fumes. “So they were hunting, up around Bear Glacier, and they found it.

“Found what?

“A plane wreck.

“What? What plane wreck? Did somebody go down?

“Evidently.

“I havent heard a thing.

“Neither have I, and neither has anybody at the airport. I called Anchorage Flight Service to see if anybody had gone missing and they said not to their knowledge. I called Elmendorf, to see if the air force was missing a mission. Nope. They checked with Eilson. Still nothing. So then I ask Teddy and John what are they talking about a plane wreck. And they say it was a plane wreck they found, and they found thathe jerked his head at the bag, on the floor between him and Eric“in the wreckage. So I take another look at it.

Bill repressed a shudder. “And?

“And its old.

“Old? What do you mean, old? You mean like from an old man? How can you tell?

“No, I mean like desiccated old. I mean like from an old plane wreck, years and years old.

“You can tell that just from looking?

“Bill, Im telling you, its practically petrified, its so old. You want another look?

“No.

“You dont see how old it is when you first look at it; all you see is... well.

“Yeah. Bill took a deep breath. “Bear Glacier, huh?

“Yeah.

“Ice is a great preservative.

“Yeah.

“No telling how long its been up there.

“No.

“Youre going to have to go look.

“Oh, yeah, Liam said, with no visible enthusiasm.

“So? Tell me more about Teddy and John.

“So I talked to Teddy and John, and John says its an old plane, and its painted army gray, and he knows that color because he slopped enough of it on anything that didnt move out of the way in time while he was in the army.

“He get the tail numbers?

“Said they didnt see the tail. Said there wasnt much wreckage, if it came to that. They werent real coherent about it.

“Probably werent real sober, either.

“I think they were sober when they stumbled across the wreck. They werent by the time I got to Johns house, thats for damn sure, and I cant say I blame them.