Part 22 (2/2)
She snapped her fingers. ”The coin!
”What if there were more of them? He drew another square and put all Lydias kids inside it. ”One thing thats been bothering me, all the Tompkinses have enough money not to work. I know the bay used to be a bonanza for salmon fishermen, but I dont see anyone else in Newenham with a lifestyle like theirs. Most of the old-timers, their houses are paid off and some of them their boats, but theyre still out there hustling for anything with fins that swims into range. Lydia, yes, I could understand her being provided for, but the kids, too, and so well? Well, what if the money came from Lydia, not Stan Sr.? What if it came from what she and her date found at the crash site?
”She could have gone up there alone.
”Then shed still be alive. He sat back. ”And then, sixty years later, the wreck resurfaces. I bring the arm to Bills and everybody sees the coin.
Wy was still puzzled. ”I still dont understand. Why was Lydia killed?
He was sitting in Lydias chair, and he thought of her again as he had seen her the evening he met her, feisty, strong, independent, with a bawdy eye and a fearless spirit. ”Maybe she wanted to tell the truth, that theyd stolen the gold from the crash site. Maybe he didnt want her to.
”Who, Liam? Do you know who?
He looked down at the sheet of paper, and traced over the outline of the box marked swain. swain.
”Yes, he said.
EIGHTEEN.
”I love younger men, Jo said, bouncing into Wys house an hour later. ”Give your friend Mr. Wiley my compliments, and tell him I said so.
”First thing on my list, Liam said.
Jo peered at Wy. ”You look like youve been up all night.
”So do you, Wy said, and shoved a cup of coffee at her and another one at Liam.
Jo perched on the stool next to Liams. ”Your father is a piece of work, she told him.
”Tell me something I dont know, he said before he thought, and then scowled away any lingering trace of willingness to discuss his father with the press, or with anyone, for that mattter.
Jo sipped her coffee, looking at him over the rim of her mug. ”He came here planning on retrieving that C-47.
Liam sent Wy a warning glance, and shrugged. ”So? Like he said, the air force brings back its own. Nothing new or wrong in that. He kept his inevitable reflections to himself.
”This wasnt an ordinary crash, Jo said. ”I just got off the phone with a friend in D.C. This wasnt an ordinary crew on board this flight, either.
”What do you mean?
”The copilots name was Aloysius March.
Liam and Wy exchanged glances. ”That name supposed to mean something to us?
”Aloysius March was Walter Marchs father.
”And Walter March is...?
Jo huffed out an impatient sigh. ”How the h.e.l.l am I supposed to make a living if my own friends wont read my own paper? Snit over, she smiled, and it was a low-down, mean, dirty, nasty little snake of a smile. ”Gen. Walter March is the nominee for chief of staff for the U.S. Air Force.
They absorbed that in startled silence. ”So Dads going after his bosss dads body, Liam said. ”Sucking up to the n n th degree, one more step up on the career ladder, but so what? th degree, one more step up on the career ladder, but so what?
”Hes using air force funds to do it.
”Im shockedshockedto hear of misappropriation of funds going on in the U.S. armed forces, Liam said, very dry.
Wy agreed. ”I dont see the big scandal here. Like he said, hes going after three of their own. I dont think thats a bad thing, frankly. I think its kind of, I dont know, right. Were still looking for the bodies of American servicemen in Vietnam. We should be. How is this any different, other than being a different war?
Jo added half-and-half to her coffee. ”I dont think recovering the bodies of the honored dead is what this is about, Wy.
”Why not? Why does it have to be any more complicated than that? Honest to G.o.d, Jo, you see more conspiracies than John Birch.
”Maybe youre right, Wy, maybe Ive been in the newspaper game too long, I cant see the simple truth when its staring me in the face. But I dont think so. Not this time, anyway.
”Why not?
”Because I asked my friend to pull the service records of the three crew members.
”And?
”And he couldnt. Theyre listed as cla.s.sified.
Moses side of the bed was empty when Bill woke up. She found him down at the bar when she got there, back in the office growling at the computer. ”If this keeps up, Im going to hire you to keep the books, she told him.
”Id rather spend the rest of my life listening to Puff Daddy, he said. ”Look at this.
She came around the desk to look over his shoulder. ”Oh, man. Are you back at that?
”I think its important.
”Think, or is something telling you so?
He leaned back. ”Im telling you, babe, theres nothing going on here except my nose is itching.
”I can fix that, she said.
He dodged her hand. ”Wheres the coin?
”I gave it to Liam.
”d.a.m.n it. Id like to get another look at it.
It was an hour before opening and she had time to humor him. ”Tell me why you think its important.
He decided to give her a little history. ”The U.S. didnt even make twenty-dollar gold pieces until the California gold rush. Until then, 1849, the U.S. minted only one-dollar, two-fifty, five-dollar and ten-dollar gold coins.
”Two-fifty?
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