Part 2 (2/2)
Not that shed ever asked him to move in in the first place. What was her problem with that, anyway? They were single, in love, in heat, had a boy who needed two parents, had jobs that gave them financial security; just what the h.e.l.l was was her problem? Was it him? Was it marriage? her problem? Was it him? Was it marriage?
He could have asked. He could win everything or lose it all, but he feared his fate too much. What was the name of that poem? After a moments thought it came to him. ”My Dear and Only Love. Figured. The author, as he recalled, had wound up with his head on a pike outside London, the only proper end for anyone who dared to put that much truth into rhyme. The road straightened out and he stepped on the gas, only to send the vehicle into a protesting fishtail.
”Did you say something, sir? Diana Prince said, knuckles white on the door handle.
He let up on the gas. ”No.
Sometimes he thought he read too much poetry.
John Kvichaks house sat on the rivers bank, too, although too far upstream of Wys house for Liam to see the lights. Liam hoped she wasnt p.i.s.sed that he was late. He could have called before he left the office. But then she might have picked up instead of the answering machine, and he would have had to talk to her. Or Tim.
Tim hadnt exactly been a barrel of laughs lately, either. Seeing his first girlfriend shot in front of his eyes the month before had been traumatic enough. Now his adoptive mother Wy had invited his birth mother into the house. This was the same woman under whose porch Wy had discovered a broken and bleeding Tim a little over two years before. Tims hatred of Natalie Gosuk was fierce and visceral; he openly resented being forced to spend time with her, and the house was, to say the least, unsettled after one of her visits. Wy was allowing one a week. Today had been her third. Liam and Tim had been forging a relations.h.i.+p one cautious step at a time, their mutual love for Wy the impetus behind the journey. Now Tim had barricaded himself behind a wall of resentment that even Wy was having trouble getting through. Not that she would stop trying. Shed die first.
Liam had met Wy three years before, when hed had to fly into the Bush to investigate a murder. It hadnt been a memorable murder, a subsistence fisherman shooting a sports fisherman over some alleged trespa.s.sing of fis.h.i.+ng territory. He couldnt even remember now if the investigation and subsequent arrest had resulted in a conviction.
But he could remember every single second of the flights out and back, and for once his memories had nothing to do with his fear of flying. He remembered Wy had her hair pulled back into a ponytail, the easier to wear the headset. He remembered hearing her laugh, loving the sound of it, and trying deliberately to provoke a repeat. He remembered the feeling of instant recognition when she introduced herself as his pilot, the brief feeling of incredulous dizziness when their hands clasped for the first time in greeting, the dismayed realization of instantaneous attraction, of sharp-edged, undeniable need.
A need that a four-day weekend in Anchorage had only whetted. A weekend that, due to Wys uncomfortable conscience, const.i.tuted the main portion of their affair, before she sent him back to his wife and son. They had parted in grief and in anger, and the first time they had seen each other again they had coupled in the front seat of her truck like a pair of randy teenagers.
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 s.p.a.ces, 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. Later. Wy would be there when he was ready to open it again. 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 s.h.i.+ngles, 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, s.h.i.+t, 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, pus.h.i.+ng 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 h.e.l.l 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! smack! followed by a howl of outrage and the thump of a b.u.t.t hitting the ground, hard. followed by a howl of outrage and the thump of a b.u.t.t hitting the ground, hard.
Still crouching, Liam turned to look.
Brewster Gibbons was sitting on his f.a.n.n.y 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 h.e.l.l? 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 appet.i.te, 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?
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