Part 23 (2/2)

She met his eyes head-on. ”No. Understand me, Liam, I can get along with the devil himself, if the devil is dating my best friend. Nothing gets in the way of the friends.h.i.+p, not for me. Loyalty is what I do best.

”Its my favorite thing about you.

She looked surprised, and suspicious, and maybe even a little flattered. ”Wys family. Wy loves you. That makes you family, too.

”A cop and a reporter, he said. ”Itll never last.

She laughed again. ”Thats what they said about Chuck and Di.

The phone rang. ”Okay, you p.r.i.c.k, Jim said, ”get a pencil. He dictated rapidly, without checking to see if Liam was keeping up. ”That do you?

”That does me just fine.

”Dunaway there?

Liam was surprised. ”How did you know?

”I know everything. Put her on.

Liam handed Jo the phone. ”Somebody wants to talk to you.

She took it. ”Dunaway. She listened for a moment. Liam watched as her face flushed a deep, dark red. ”None of your G.o.dd.a.m.n business, she said, and slammed the phone down. Liam got his fingers out of the way just in time.

”What was all that about?

”None of your G.o.dd.a.m.n business either, she snarled. ”Just so you know, Campbell, that family business doesnt extend to your friends.

”Okay, he said, and refrained from any comments about younger men because it seemed safer. He made a mental note to call Jim back at his earliest opportunity.

”What do we do now? she said, seeming to master her rage.

”I dont know about we, we, he said. ”Im going out to the base. he said. ”Im going out to the base.

”Can I come?

”No.

The base officer quarters was of a piece with the rest of Chinook Air Force Base, freshly painted and tidy, the sidewalks neatly shoveled and the storm windows fastened down. He found Charles in the same room he had stayed in that summer. The colonel was surprised to see him and, Liam thought, somewhat wary. ”Come on in, he said.

Liam closed the door behind him. ”Whats with the crash site, Dad? What do you expect to find?

”I expect to find the bodies of three men who died serving their country in time of war, Charles said.

”One of whom fathered the man currently nominated for the air force spot on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Charles looked startled and then rallied. ”Who he happens to be related to doesnt lessen his sacrifice.

”No, Liam admitted. ”But theres something else. He was suddenly sick of the dance they always did. ”Ah, h.e.l.l, Dad. Wild Bill Hickok died in 1876.

Charles was taken aback. ”I What?

”The coin we found with the arm was minted in 1921.

”Oh, Charles said blankly. A sudden and unexpected grin spread across his face. ”I never was a very good liar.

Liam sat down without invitation in the rooms only chair. ”Unless youre doing something illegal by recovering that plane and the bodies of the crew, and I cant see how you are, I dont care why. I just dont like being bulls.h.i.+tted. I can keep my mouth shut. After last summer, Charles had to know that was the absolute truth. ”Tell me enough so that Ill want to and Ill go away. Or Ill buy you a beer, or take you caribou hunting, or whatever you want.

They stared at each other in silence. It was hard to tell which of them had been more surprised by Liams words.

Finally Charles said, ”Youd really take me caribou hunting?

”Sure. Liam shrugged. ”Ive never been, but theres a h.e.l.l of a herd northwest of here, the Mulchatna herd. Hundreds of thousands of them, the Fish and Games practically begging people to go shoot some so they wont eat themselves out of house and home and wind up starving to death.

The years of armed truce werent easy to shake. ”I dont know, Liam, you might shoot me and bury the body, once you got me out there.

Liam got to his feet, disgusted.

Charles rose, too. ”Dont go, Liam. It was a joke. A bad joke, I admit, but it was a joke. Sit down. He hesitated. ”Please.

Liam couldnt remember his father ever having used that word with him before. He sat down again, partly because he wasnt sure his legs would carry him to the door.

Charles reached for a plain buff file marked Restricted Access Restricted Access in big red letters and held it up. ”The official investigation into the crash. in big red letters and held it up. ”The official investigation into the crash.

”What happened?

”It was too clear.

”What?

Charles smiled. ”I know, doesnt make a lot of sense, does it? But it was. Unlimited ceiling, fifty-mile visibility. It was too d.a.m.n clear, and too cold, and the aurora was out in full force, hanging right down to the ground, if you can believe the eyewitnesses. All the colors they come in and all over the sky. There was no distress call from the crew, no indication that anything was wrong.

”What were they doing so low? And werent they a little off course?

Charles laugh was short and unamused. ”A little. Their flight plan was for Krasnoyarsk. Instead, they were on a heading for Dutch Harbor. Either their instrumentation was off or they were, or they were just blinded by the lights. A couple on the ground saw the fireball when they impacted, and then a plume high up on the mountain. They called a pilot who was living in Newenham at the time, some Scots name... He thumbed through the file.

”DeCreft? Liam said. ”Bob DeCreft?

Charles looked up. ”Thats right. How did you know?

”One of the original Bush pilots. Hed lived here a long time. Go on.

”DeCreft was in the air within the hour. Said in his interview that he followed a creek up so he wouldnt get fuddledhis wordby the lights. Said he saw the impact site at the eleven-thousand-foot level, and then where the remains of the plane had fallen three thousand feet onto a glacier and into a creva.s.se.

Liam was silent for a moment. ”I dont understand, Dad. Why are you so hot to pull this particular wreck out? Everything Wy said was true; itll be difficult and d.a.m.n dangerous. Not to mention which the weather around these parts is not at its most reliable at this time of year. Your people could be getting themselves into some serious trouble.

”I know that, Liam. Im not doing this because I want to; Im doing this because Ive been ordered to.

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