by Jack Hunt
“Get back here, you brats!” a guy in his sixties said. He glanced at Alex and smiled before hurrying after them. Welcome to Whittier, Alex told himself as he headed for the elevator. All the doors in the place were painted the same. The only difference was some had an anchor door knocker, or a wreath, and on one he saw a notice of an exterminator’s next scheduled visit. Was the place infested? He tapped impatiently a few times and glanced up and down the corridor. There were four elevators and two stairwells, and while the building itself was one large tower, it was divided into three parts, a purposeful design that was done to ensure it could withstand an earthquake. Stepping into the elevator he felt like a fish out of water. On the way down he tapped his fingers against the steel and looked up at the mirrored elevator ceiling tiles. What are you doing here? he mulled. Maybe Jess was right, perhaps he had been too hasty in taking the offer. There was a chance he could have landed a job with one of the other cities in Alaska if they didn’t have bills to pay. But without Jess working, all the pressure was on him to provide and he didn’t have the luxury of waiting.
As the doors to the elevators opened, three unsavory-looking guys squeezed past him. Alex turned back for a second and one of them grinned at him before the doors closed.
An uneasy feeling washed over him. Alex pushed it out of his mind and headed on down the hallway to locate the Kozy Korner. The door was slightly ajar and on the wall it listed the scheduled open hours. Alex pushed in to find an old guy with a huge white beard doing squats while holding a broomstick over the back of his shoulders with two cans of household paint dangling off the ends. If that wasn’t strange enough, he was wearing a sleeveless AC/DC T-shirt, tight black shorts and construction work boots.
“Fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine.”
“Hello,” Alex said.
The old-timer ignored him, focusing on his reps and breathing. Alex noticed a familiar tattoo on his arm. It was of a bulldog and below it had the letters U.S.M.C. The United States Marine Corps. Down the back of his weathered-looking calf muscle was the phrase SEMPER FIDELIS.
“Sixty-one, sixty-two.”
“Um, Ed Solomon told me to see you if there were any problems.”
“Sixty-four, sixty-five.”
Alex raised an eyebrow and surveyed the room. It was cramped with stacked shelving containing all types of canned and bottled foods. There was a small desk with a cash register and laptop, various types of fruit, muffins and cereal stacked up in front of it. Behind the counter two shelves were full of old and new DVDs. There was even a small blackboard with the names of five new releases, and Kip’s recommended movies — Apocalypse Now, and The Deer Hunter. A shelf to the right of that had a few packs of smokes, some chewing tobacco, lighters, vape juice, and several boxes of condoms, batteries, lip balm, and playing cards. Beyond that was a small blue washroom with a bucket and mop, and leaning against the wall was a bolt-action rifle. It was odd to see it out in the open like that. He might have said something if he was in uniform but with being new and all, and having no idea how things worked around here, he opted to say nothing.
Alex jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “My family and I just moved into apartment 1003.”
“Seventy-eight.”
“Yeah, seems we have a leaky faucet, the TV might be on the blink, and uh… one of the lights is blown.”
No response, he continued. “You uh… going for some world record there, old-timer?”
The old man paused in the middle of a squat and glanced at Alex, looking him up and down before finishing off with a few more squats.
“Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred.”
He tossed the wooden bar back, letting it hit the floor and clatter, then he rose. For someone of his age he was in good shape.
“So you’re the new kid Solomon hired?”
“That’s right.”
He sized him up and cracked his head to both sides and did this thing with his jaw that made it sound like it was unhinging. He walked around his desk and sat down and tapped at his computer mumbling under his breath. Alex assumed he was checking some kind of schedule or looking something up. He twisted in his seat, stuck a pair of spectacles on the end of his nose and turned on a small radio, extending the antenna before twisting the knob until he landed on weather.
“So you think you can come and take a look?”
“Later.”
“How much later?”
He peered over his specs. “You city folk.”
“What’s that mean?”
He snapped his fingers a few times. “Everything has to be now.”
“Well it would be good to be able to see.”
“It’s daylight.”
“But it will eventually be evening and let’s face it, this place doesn’t appear to get much sunshine.”
“It gets enough.”
“Oh yeah?”
“We had eleven eight-hour days of sunshine last year.”
“Wooh, let’s throw a party,” he joked, thinking that Kip would laugh. He didn’t. His eyes narrowed and turned back to what he was doing which appeared to be absolutely anything else but coming and checking out the apartment issues.
“Anyway, you’d probably be best off with a flashlight,” Kip said.
“What?”
He motioned towards the shelf where there were two.
“Oh right, for now,” he said leaning forward and picking one up. “Thanks.”
“That’ll be forty bucks.”
“What?”
“For the flashlight.”
“But you said…” Then he clued in. “Okay then, maybe I’ll just figure out the problem myself. You want to direct me to where the fuse box is?”
“You probably just need a new bulb.” He pointed to a box on the counter. Alex frowned growing a little tired of his subtle sales pitches.
“Look, man, do you think you can come take a look?”
“I’m not in charge of maintenance. That’s a different department.”
“Of course it is.” He rolled his eyes wondering why he’d spent the last five minutes going back and forth with him. “Well, would you mind pointing me in the right direction?”
“I would but Dougy, the guy who’s in charge, is away. Yeah, on vacation in Hawaii, lucky bastard.”
“So who do I speak to?”
“Well that would be me.”
Alex reached up and squeezed the bridge of his nose feeling a headache coming on. Before he could find the words to say how utterly confused he was, Kip jumped up and laughed. “I’m just shitting with you. Of course I’ll take a look. We don’t get many new folks around these parts, and I just couldn’t resist.” He got up and picked up a toolbox from underneath his desk and headed over to the door. “Well come on then, lead the way.”
They stepped out and he locked up and turned over a sign that said, “Back Later.”
“Aren’t you going to be a little cold?” Alex asked, pointing out the obvious.
That only made him laugh hard. “You city folks. This isn’t cold. You wait until the storm of the century hits.”
“The what?” Alex asked falling in step and trying to keep up. For a man of his age, Kip was one peppy little guy.
“The storm. Haven’t you been following the news? Hell, take a look outside.”
His mind flashed back to the TV in the restaurant that morning.
“Oh that.”
“Yeah, that.” He shook his head. “This is going to be the big one. I’ve been telling folks around here for the last four years but will they listen? Nope.” He stepped into the elevator and tapped the tenth floor button. The steel jaws sealed closed, and the elevator lurched upward.
Chapter 6
The phone rang as Ed Solomon slipped into his police uniform. He scooped it up and answered. “Yeah go ahead,” he said as he continued adjusting his tie. It was the AKRR dispatch in Anchorage.
“Chief, we have to shut the tunnel early due to the weather. It’s just too b
ad out there.”
“What?”
He walked over to the window to take a look. Sure enough, it was a complete whiteout, heavy winds battered the public safety building and kicked up snow making it virtually impossible to see beyond a few feet.
“Weather reports coming in are saying it’s going to get worse.”
“Worse?” Solomon asked.
“Look, I just thought I would give you the heads-up.”
“But not all of my guys are in yet.”
“Sorry. If the weather changes, we’ll call back but we’re shutting down for now.”
“And the tourists?”
“What tourists? It’s the winter. If there are any, they’ll have to hole up there for the night. It’s no different from when we close at night.”
“Yeah but at least people are aware. Shoot!” Solomon ran a hand over his head thinking about all the complaints that they’d receive. “Okay, Martin.”
“Anyway, you’ve got the key for any emergencies. Stay safe.”
“Will do.”
He hung up and Solomon stood there gazing out at the extreme weather that had swept in like a sudden tidal wave. Sure, it had got worse overnight, but he figured it would level out as the morning went on, but by the looks of it, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. He tucked the phone into his pocket and adjusted his duty belt and headed into the office. “Debbie, who have we got in?”
Debbie had long curly hair and wore an extreme amount of makeup. She was in her late forties and had been working for the department almost as long as Solomon had. She spun around on her chair and tapped a pen against her lower teeth.
“Scott Black, and Lucas Parker. Why?” she asked.
“Where are they?”
“On patrol.”
“Did the others call in?”
“Two did to say that they couldn’t get through the tunnel.”
He sighed. “Yeah, they have to shut it down.”
“But it’s only morning.”
“It’s the weather.”
Her brow furrowed. “That might explain why the phone line has been up and down.”
He reached for a landline phone and picked it up but there was no dial tone. He tried his cell and it appeared to be working but the bars had dropped.
“What about internet?”
“It’s up so far.”
“Do me a favor and bring up the Weather Channel and give me an update on what’s happening. I’m going to make a call.” She nodded and started tapping on the keys in front of her. He headed over and picked up the radio and got in touch with Officer Black.
“Hey Scott, we are going to be short on officers today. How are things looking out there?”
“Terrible, chief. I can barely see a damn thing out here. The wind is brutal and the water in the bay is choppy, splashing over onto the dock.”
It wasn’t uncommon to experience winds that went from sixty to ninety miles an hour, all year round. Over the course of his career, he’d seen it hit vehicles so hard that windshields shattered and it even tore doors off hinges. It certainly wasn’t something anyone wanted to be caught out in.
“Listen, Scott, they are shutting the tunnel. I want you and Lucas to head to the Whittier Inn and the Anchor Inn, as well as the harbor, and update folks. I don’t want anyone outside. The last thing we need is to deal with a missing person.”
In years gone by, there had been those who had wandered and got lost and were never found again. The winters could be brutal and that was without a storm.
“Roger that. And after?” Scott asked.
“Head back here.”
“Chief. I saw you with a new guy today, is that the replacement for Danny?”
“Sure is.”
“How is he?”
“Seems like a nice enough guy. Time will tell.”
The call ended. He slipped into a thick insulated down jacket, poured a coffee and spent the next ten minutes going throughout the building bringing everyone up to speed on the tunnel closure. Most took it well barring a few hotheads who said they had appointments in Anchorage. But that was the cost of working in Whittier. While extreme weather did occur, they usually knew what was coming down the line at least a week out. This had come out of the blue.
It was rare for them to encounter trouble in Whittier. If anything was going to happen it usually occurred in the summer season when tourists overran the town before and after cruises. Still it didn’t mean they wouldn’t be called upon if the weather knocked out power. It had happened a few years back but thankfully the power company was able to get it up and running within a matter of twenty to thirty minutes.
After doing the rounds and making sure everyone was aware of the situation, he returned to his office and pulled out the file on Alex Riley. He felt bad about calling him in on such short notice, especially since he’d just arrived and wasn’t down to start until Monday, but there was no better way to learn the ropes than to be thrown in at the deep end, and besides there was a good chance they wouldn’t need to respond to any calls but at least if there were four of them they could cover more ground.
He held up his phone trying to get a signal but all the bars were now gone.
“Great.”
“The internet is down as well,” Debbie said.
“Let’s hope the radios keep working,” he said wandering around the office holding his cell high. “I’m going out to see if I can get something.”
Solomon wrestled with the front door as if some invisible force was pushing against it. He squeezed out and gasped as high winds pushed him across the icy parking lot. He lifted up his phone and cursed under his breath. “Come on!”
Finally he got two bars.
He dialed in the number for Alex and waited as it rang.
“Hello?” Alex said, his voice crackled over the line. Solomon hoped the connection didn’t drop.
“Alex. Ed here. I hate to do this to you, bud, but it looks like I’m going to need you in earlier than Monday.”
“No worries. When?”
“Now.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, unfortunately the tunnel has been closed and won’t open until tomorrow, and some of the guys who commute can’t get in, so we need as many hands on deck as possible. Listen, I know it's last minute but…”
“I’m coming. No problem.”
“Right. Thanks.”
He already liked his attitude. That was the kind of person they needed in the department; someone who was willing to step up to the plate at a moment’s notice. While they had six good officers, not all of them were as willing to come in when one of them was ill. He couldn’t blame them, Whittier didn’t exactly offer them a thrill ride. He knew that for most of them it was just a stepping-stone to landing a better job in Anchorage. Hell, it wasn’t like they paid them much here. It was almost the same as what they got paid while they were going through training but that’s because the workload wasn’t as heavy.
He hung up and Solomon hit the button on his key fob and hopped into his SUV to collect some paperwork.
“Who was that?” Jess asked as she started unpacking clothes and putting them away in the closet.
Alex fished through his bags looking for the uniform they’d given him. “Jess, you seen my uniform?”
“It’s in the red suitcase. Why?”
“I have to go in early. Seems the tunnel is closed due to bad weather, and they need an extra hand.”
“But we’ve just arrived. We still have to unpack. I was hoping…”
Alex grabbed up his uniform and came around. “It’s fine.”
She jerked his head towards the kitchen where Kip was banging around underneath the sink. “And what about him? You going to leave us alone?”
“He’s harmless. A little eccentric but harmless.”
She groaned with an armful of clothes.
“Jess. This is my job. This is what I signed up for.”
“I know, I just…”
“Look, we discussed this. You know about you staying home and all.”
“But is it always going to be like this? You darting off whenever they call?”
He sighed and looked out the window. “The weather is really bad out there. I don’t think he would have called me unless it was necessary. Sorry, but I have to go. Okay? If things are fine later, I’ll check back in with you but…” He went to give her a kiss on the lips and she turned her cheek. If he had more time, he might have got into it with her but duty called and first impressions mattered. Alex headed out into the kitchen. “Kip, how we doing?”
“Nearly done here. Seems one of the washers needed to be replaced.”
“Look, I have to head into work.”
“Already?” he asked poking his head out from underneath the sink.
“Afraid so, the tunnel is closed because of the weather and they’re short on staff.”
Kip glanced at Hayley who had been sitting on the sofa watching him work. “Well you leave this with me.”
“Alright. Thanks again.”
“No problem.”
As he went to head into the bathroom to change, Kip noticed the tattoo on his arm.
“A fellow jarhead. How long you serve?” he asked.
“I did three combat tours. You?”
“Twenty-two years.” Kip banged around beneath the sink while looking at him as he got changed with the door open. “So you decided to switch career paths?” he asked.
“Something like that.”
Kip nodded.
“You miss it?” Alex asked cutting him a glance as he slipped into a dark navy blue shirt, which went over a white undershirt.
“The work not so much but the brotherhood I do.”
“Yeah, that’s probably why I opted for the police. That and I needed the job.” He started doing up the buttons and came out to tell Hayley to give her mother a hand.
Hayley lowered her cell. “But…”
“No buts. Go.”
She groaned and padded into the bedroom.
“Kids,” Kip said smiling.
“You got any?” Alex asked.
“One daughter.”