Part 24 (1/2)
”Is it because the father of the guy whos going to be your boss was one of the crew members?
”No, Charles said. He shook his head. ”If only it were that simple.
Trust builds trust. ”Does it have something to do with the fact that the service records of the crew are cla.s.sified?
Charles regarded him with exasperation and, if Liam was not mistaken, maybe even some pride. ”So you know that, do you?
”I do.
Charles looked at the file, and set it to one side. Elbows on his knees, he linked his hands and stared at them. ”The copilots name was Lt. Aloysius March, and yes, he was General Marchs father. But there were two other members on board that flight. One was the pilot, a Capt. Terrance Roepke. The other was a navigator, a Sgt. Obadiah Etheridge.
”Where were they going?
”Officially? Krasnoyarsk.
”And unofficially?
”Oh, they were going to Krasnoyarsk, all right. After they had refueled, they would have continued on to Attu, and made a big circle back to Anchorage by way of Dutch Harbor.
”They were hunting.
Charles nodded. ”For the j.a.panese fleet. It was right after ”Pearl Harbor!
”Whos telling this story? Buckner and Eareckson and the rest of them were expecting an invasion at any moment. They wanted intelligence. This flight wasnt the only one of its kind.
”What makes this one special?
Charles was silent for a long moment. Liam kept quiet, thinking that if he did so he might actually hear the truth.
”There was reason to believe, Charles said, very carefully, ”that there was a spy on board.
”What kind of a spy? A j.a.panese spy?
”A German.
This was starting to sound like the script for a movie. ”I still dont get this mad rush to recover the wreckage. Let it lie, Dad, and the story will die with it.
”Orders. From General March himself. Charles smiled thinly. ”We dont know which member of the crew was a traitor.
Understanding came at last. ”And General March is afraid it is his father.
”Yes.
”Which would not be good for his confirmation hearing.
”No. And then theres that d.a.m.n gold piece.
”Why does it bother you so much?
”Im worried there might be more of it, Charles said in a level voice. ”And if there was more ”Youre worried about what it was going to be used for, Liam said. ”Smuggling? Spying? Sabotage?
Charles nodded. ”Any or all of the above.
”There was more gold, once, Liam said, and had the satisfaction of seeing his father look surprised.
”How do you know?
Liam told him, and at the end said, ”May I see the file?
Charles hesitated for only a moment before handing it over.
Only one of the names of the two people who had witnessed the crash surprised him.
December 19, 1941 We go tomorrow. Its cold as h.e.l.l. Peter showed me a poem by this guy Service which is about another guy named Mcgee who climbs into the furnace of a s.h.i.+p to get warm. Man if there was a s.h.i.+p with a furnace around here Id climb into it too.
We got the briefing on the route this morning. Supposed to be CAVU all the way. The Bering Strait is frozen over so it f.u.c.king well better be clear as a bell or were not going to know which way is up. The forecast calls for clear but this weather can turn completely around in twenty minutes or less you just never know. I asked Roepke what our mission was and he put his hands over his ears and looked under his bed. I dont think Hitler gives a s.h.i.+t where were going. But the emperor of j.a.pan might so maybe hes right. They told us to pack enough for a week so I reckon we wont be gone long.
No letter from Helen. No letter from Mom. I dont know whats going on but its a real war now and I cant think about that. There might be something I can do though. Ive got to try anyway.
Peter gave me a present of a brown leather valise. Its old but nice and it looks smaller than it is. Ill have to recalculate the fuel load.
NINETEEN.
Eric Mollbergs small, neat house perched on the extreme edge of the bank of the Nushugak River, where it looked as if it was of two minds, either to take flight or to topple down the cliff. It had a yard full of outbuildings, and a power line looped its way down the driveway between poles. A snow machine sat next to Erics dirty white pickup, which Liam recognized on sight from having pulled it over half a dozen times since hed come to Newenham. Next to the pickup was a small drifter on a trailer. The name of the drifter was the Mary M. Mary M.
A red Nissan longbed with a white canopy was parked in back of the boat. ”s.h.i.+t, Liam said, and parked in back of Erics truck.
”Its open, he heard Moses yell when he knocked, and he went in.
The kitchen had that thin layer of grime and that faint odor of fried everything a.s.sociated with many men who live alone. That said, the dishes werent piled too high in the sink and Liam wasnt afraid to take the seat opposite Eric, who sat nursing a mug in his gnarled hands. ”Eric, he said.
”Liam, Eric Mollberg said without looking up.
Liam nodded to Moses. ”Whats up?
”You still got that gold piece?
”Turned it over to the air force.
”There was a bunch more where that came from.
”I was getting there.
”I figured. Thats why I came out here.