by R. R. Irvine
Nick said, “There should have been a man with her, with the forerunner.”
“There was,” Lily answered. “He is buried with her.”
“Where?”
“Very near where we’re sitting.”
“How did they die?”
“When the Japanese came we hid them. The forerunner made many promises, but there were some who did not believe. She told us that she was Mis’a’putam, the one who comes before, and that Mis’ta’putam, the one who comes next, would do many wonderful things for us. We all knew that she meant John Frum, but Thomas Yali, Henry’s father, grew tired of waiting. He betrayed them as he betrayed John Frum. The Japanese captured them and made them talk. That’s how they knew John Frum was coming. That’s why they killed everybody.”
Nick was dumbfounded. By a quirk of language the islanders had misunderstood what they were being told. She didn’t have the heart to tell Lily that Mis’ta’putam had nothing to do with John Frum. Instead she hugged Lily and said, “Balesin is going to be famous. Rich and famous just like John Frum promised.”
“I don’t think so,” Sam Ohmura said from the doorway. Nick had been so intent on questioning Lily that she hadn’t seen him slip across the threshold. He still had a gun, only this time it was pointed at her.
“You don’t realize what I’ve found.” She gestured toward the airplane. “See for yourself. It’s two planes, part B-25 and part Lockheed Electra. Amelia Earhart was flying the Electra when she crashed.”
“You don’t have to convince me. It’s the reason I’m here. It’s a shame really, to obliterate history, but think of the embarrassment if people learned that we Japanese had killed Miss Earhart.”
“Embarrassment,” Nick repeated, stunned. “What are you talking about? There was a war on.”
Ohmura smiled. “We have placed a very powerful explosive inside the plane. It will be over in the blink of an eye. You shouldn’t feel any pain. If you do, I apologize for it. Now, if you’ll both stand up and step inside the aircraft.”
Lily said, “This is a sacred place. You have no right to be here without invitation.”
“Please, inside.” He showed them a small remote detonator no bigger than a cell phone.
“You’re a scientist,” Nick said. “How can you do this?”
“Believe me, Dr. Scott, this is very painful, but I am very loyal to my people and my family. Besides, there are certain obligations of a financial nature that are owed by my wife’s family. It is all very distasteful. Perhaps you would prefer that I shot you where you sit?” He gestured them to their feet.
As Nick helped Lily stand, she weighed her chances of jumping him. Slim, she decided, but she had to try anyway. The alternative was to let herself and Lily be led to the slaughter. Tightening her grip on the Alclad, she was about to hurl it at him when she saw movement in the doorway. Even against the dazzling sunlight she recognized Buettner’s silhouette.
Buettner pointed a pistol at Ohmura, causing a shadow to fall across Nick’s face. Ohmura pivoted, but his reflexes weren’t quick enough. The pistol touched his head and went off. Ohmura collapsed instantly, dead before he hit the ground.
“Dear God,” Lily intoned. “This is John Frum’s ground. Blood must not be spilled here.”
“He was going to spill yours,” Buettner shot back, stooping quickly to retrieve the detonator from Ohmura’s hand. “Besides, that’s my plane he was messing with.”
“Yours!” Nick and Lily exclaimed in unison.
“Certainly. Discovering it is going to make me famous.”
“In case you haven’t noticed,” Nick said, “I was here first. Your gun doesn’t change that.”
“Unless, of course, I intend to shoot you like old Sam was about to do.” He nudged the body with his toe. “Which I do actually. Lucky for me he followed you here, because now I can tell everyone that he shot you two ladies. And lucky for me that I followed him, wouldn’t you say?”
“What the hell is going on?” Nick asked.
He shook his head at her. “You asked the wrong question. You should have said, „what’s gone wrong?’ To which I would have answered, „everything.’ ”
“You’re crazy.”
He winked. “All I’ve ever wanted to do was make an important discovery.”
He stepped over the body to get a better look at the plane. In the lantern light, his eyes shone greedily. “Ain’t she a beaut. She’ll make me the most famous anthropologist in the world.”
“Are you saying you knew the plane was here all along?” Nick asked.
“Yep. Finders keepers, as they say. I stumbled across it on my first trip. I walked right in on Henry Yali. That’s when I made a deal with him. I conned him into thinking that I’d help him turn Balesin into a resort. I told him he’d be as rich and powerful as any American.”
“I don’t believe it,” Lily said. “You’re lying.”
“It took some doing, but I finally convinced him that it was just a matter of time before America’s satellites spotted this place.” Buettner chuckled. “He actually believed that our satellites have X-ray cameras that can see through anything.”
“Poor Henry,” Lily murmured.
Nick said, “I still don’t get it. You didn’t need me or my father for any of this.”
“You’re as naive as Henry. The instant I laid eyes on this baby, I thought of your father, the Anasazi king, and you, the airplane virtuoso. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. You could verify my find and I would finally eclipse your father’s reputation, with him looking on so I could rub his nose in it.”
“I thought he was your friend.”
He snorted contemptuously. “You should know better than that. You’ve been living in the great man’s shadow all your life. Well, not me, not anymore. I want the spotlight to swing my way for once.”
“And your so-called Anasazi connection?” she asked.
“For Christ’s sake. It’s been my own personal joke for years. It was my way of poking fun at dear old Elliot. I never dreamed it would finally pay off and give me an excuse to get you here.”
“My father never believed it. He only agreed to come here because you’re his friend.”
Buettner shrugged. “Maybe so, but Walt Duncan bought it. The silly fool came looking for the Anasazi and got too close to my airplane.”
“And Tracy and Axelrad?”
He shrugged. “Who knows. Probably Henry got them when they were looking for a place to fuck. Well, I’m the one who fucked you all. Now, if you don’t mind, you’re holding a piece of my eminent fame in your hand. I want you to put it back where you found it.”
Nick glanced at Lily, who had her eyes closed. And who could blame her? No one wanted to see death coming. But she’d be damned if she’d give up without a fight, especially to a crazy bastard like Buettner. She hurled the Alclad at him. He ducked it easily, but in so doing he swung the pistol off target. She dived for his gun hand, forcing him to fling aside the detonator to fight her off with both hands.
“Run!” Nick screamed at Lily, knowing she wouldn’t be able to hold off Buettner for long.
Buettner pulled her close, snarling, his face a mixture of rage and delight. She tried to knee his groin, but she was off balance. Her knees hit his. Pain shot up her leg. She clenched her teeth, hoping he felt the same agony she did.
Nick gasped as Buettner swung her off her feet and slammed her against the metal wall. A burst of light flashed behind her eyes. Her vision dimmed. Not long now, she thought distantly. One more jolt like that and she’d be as good as dead. Yet she refused to make it easy for him, and dug her nails into his wrist. Hold on, she told herself. Hold on or die.
Buettner growled in her ear. “Shooting’s too good for you.” He wrenched free of her grip and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her in a bear hug. His crushing grip raised her off the ground. Her feet dangled uselessly.
Nick couldn’t breathe, yet somehow her eyes focused again, and she
saw Lily hesitating in the doorway. What was the woman thinking about? Did she want to die?
As if in answer to Nick’s unspoken question, Lily shook her head sadly.
Frantically, Nick sank her teeth into Buettner’s arm. He screamed and whirled around as if intent on throwing her off.
In the next instant, Nick found herself looking Lily in the face with Buettner holding her from behind, his back to the plane. Lily was backing away from the hangar, the detonator in her hand.
Nick couldn’t breathe at all now. Her vision narrowed to a single point, the detonator in Lily’s hand.
The explosion hurled Nick out of the hangar and into total darkness. She was wondering if she’d died when she landed on her face. Pain was good, she thought, trying to get her mouth open to scream. Pain meant she was alive.
Distantly, she felt hands on her back. Christ, not Buettner again. “Child,” Lily said. “Are you all right?”
Nick rolled over. With the dirt no longer in her face, the sun was agonizing. She groaned.
Lily felt her from head to foot. “There’s nothing broken, child.”
The pain ebbed. Nick blinked at Lily and said, “Are you hurt?”
“John Frum was with me, with us both.”
With Lily’s help, Nick sat up. She’d landed on the runway, where the long grass had cushioned her.
Buettner lay close by. He looked peaceful. He might have survived too, if it hadn’t been for the propeller blade protruding from his back.
CHAPTER 47
“Hey, old buddy, bet you didn’t expect to hear from me,” Farrington’s voice boomed into the office from the radio receiver.
Kobayashi felt as if a hand were squeezing his heart. Where was that fool Ohmura? They had arranged to make contact at this hour. He steadied himself so that his voice betrayed no emotion.
“It is always good to hear from you, Farrington-san.”
Farrington let out a whoop. “Koby, you must be sweating bullets. You always hide behind that Japanese son shit when you’re stressed. I guess you’re not too happy right about now.”
Kobayashi closed his eyes as if willing Farrington to go away.
“Well, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news, old buddy. Which do you want to hear first?”
“It is of no importance to me, Farrington.” Kobayashi paused for a moment and then deliberately added, “san” He fairly hissed that last word. “I am certain that you will tell me what you wish.”
“Might as well get the bad news out of the way then,” Farrington replied. “I’m afraid your boy Ohmura’s bought the farm.”
For a brief moment in time Kobayashi did not understand. Then the realization dawned and he bowed his head. There was a brother-in-law that would have to be informed, but he felt no personal loss. However, there was a sense of dread growing in the center of his being that would not be denied.
“How did this come about, this buying of pasture-land?” he blandly asked.
“Koby, you are a kick. Your boy got shot, and by an amateur, to boot,” Farrington said bluntly. “But then your boy was an amateur himself, wasn’t he? You really should have let me know in advance that he was coming. I had the devil’s own time intercepting him.”
“Considering the professional that you recommended, I preferred someone I could trust,” Kobayashi retorted.
“I admit, that was a mistake. People that exceed orders are nothing but trouble. All that killing, what a mess. But I took care of that. He won’t be around to tell tales. And you’ve got to admit, there were some tales to tell. In any case, now for the good news. I think I said that Ohmura got killed by an amateur? That anthropologist, Buettner, shot him to protect the you-know-what.”
“That is the good news?” Kobayashi said coldly.
“No, the you-know-what got blown to smithereens.” Farrington started to laugh. “Don’t know exactly how it happened, maybe your boy just managed to pull it off before he died.”
Kobayashi felt as if he might faint. After all this time he was free. The evidence of his grandfather’s behavior had been obliterated. No longer would he live in fear that it would be discovered that his grandfather had killed so important a woman.
“Of course, there is a little bit of more bad news,” Farrington’s voice cut into his thoughts. “The woman archaeologist did get a gander at the you-know-what, before it blew.”
“It was a plane,” Kobayashi spat out. He dug his nails into his palms to regain control. “This thing, this you-know-what, was a plane.”
“And we both know whose plane it was, don’t we, old buddy. In any case, she has no proof, and she didn’t have all that much time to examine it. Hell, most of it was B-25 anyway. Oh, and there’s one thing more that I need to mention. I took a roll of film off our mutual friend, before I had to, shall we say, clean up loose ends. Seems he made an extensive record of the, uh, plane, before he set the charges. I know you’re kind of sensitive-like about all this. Now you can rest assured that the evidence is in good hands. You’ll be hearing from me again, old buddy. Real soon.”
The connection was broken and Kobayashi was left to stare at the communications equipment. He looked up and the Tang horse was sitting on its pedestal, serene as ever.
He had his grandfather to thank for this one piece of beauty in his life and also for his enduring shame. His grandfather had served honorably at Nanking, although the world might condemn him now. But there was no honor in what he had done at Balesin. He had condemned that woman for a spy, and perhaps she was, but what honor was there in killing an unarmed female? And now Farrington had proof which could be used against him. Proof that Kobayashi’s family had been responsible for the death of . . . No, it didn’t bear thinking of. He couldn’t say the name, even to himself.
He looked once more at the horse. The eyes seemed knowing, reading the future as confidently as they had witnessed the past. Honor must be preserved. He would not become a pawn of Farrington. He turned his back on the horse and went to look for his grandfather’s sword.
CHAPTER 48
Nick’s ears were still ringing as she and her father sat in front of the church and watched their gear being loaded aboard the helicopter. They were seated on camp stools borrowed from the store. Farrington had declared the church off-limits.
Spots danced in front of her eyes as her headache, aggravated by the sun, grew worse by the minute. Even pulling the brim of her Cubs cap all the way down to her eyebrows failed to help.
She closed her eyes. The spots became explosive flashes. “I hope Lily feels better than I do.”
“While I was seeing to your cuts, Henry’s men came and carried her back to the village,” Elliot said.
Nick sighed through pain-clenched teeth. If the helicopter hadn’t come to investigate the explosion, she and Lily would still be on Mount Nomenuk, too weak to walk back on their own. Lily, who’d seemed untouched by the blast at first, had quickly collapsed on the grassy runway and refused to move. She just sat there, hugging herself, and staring at the scorched earth and dying trees that had been consumed by the fireball. She was, Nick had suspected, overwhelmed by the enormity of what she’d done, the total destruction of John Frum’s airplane. But then Nick had felt the same way.
“You look like you need more aspirin,” Elliot said.
Her stomach was already queasy, but the pain was definitely getting worse. She held out her hand. Elliot pulled a bottle out of his pocket and shook two tablets into her palm.
“I’ll get you some water,” he said, and headed for the store.
She raised her palm to eye level. Sweat was already dissolving the tablets. She licked them into her mouth and swallowed as best she could, intending to wash them down after the fact.
A shadow blotted out the sun. When she looked up, Lee Coltrane was standing in front of her. “Your father sent me with this.” He offered her a bottle of water.
She drank deeply to rid herself of the taste of aspirin.
He said, “I just
wanted to tell you I’m sorry. I had no way of knowing what Innis would do.”
“Didn’t you?” Nick replied coldly. “Did you hear a word I said to you on Balabat, or did you decide that because you’re a man you know best? You didn’t even have the decency to tell me what you were going to do.”
“Come on, Doc, it wasn’t like that. I just didn’t want to argue with you. Can’t we get past this? The Navy is lending me a hand at salvaging the Widgeon, so I’m going to be staying behind for a while. If you took a long layover in Guam, I could catch up. We could have a real date.”
“Mr. Coltrane,” Nick said, biting off every word, “I only go out with real men, not boys who feel they have to sneak around.”
His face went white. “Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me. I’d better get over to the Widgeon now.” He turned and left, his back braced as if he were on parade.
She nearly called him back, but the momentary impulse quickly faded. Dammit, she said to herself. She’d had such high hopes for him. He was funny and brave and she had to admit to herself that she’d been attracted by his good looks and the fact that he lived his life flying. I dig in the dirt while he soars, she thought. But he had been the cause of too much pain to others because he was self-absorbed and uncaring. She now had no desire to ever see him again although she realized that they had faced death together and she would never be totally free of him.
She stood up, wincing in expectation, but the aspirin had kicked in. The pain was no more than a distant ache. Or was that her breaking heart she was feeling?
She shook off the mood. Hell no, she told herself. Sure, she’d been attracted to him, but then, she had a weakness for airplanes and all the men who flew them.
She eyed the waiting helicopter. No romance there. It was too new and too functional. She’d take a B-25 or a Lockheed Electra any time. To her surprise, Elliot climbed out of the huge chopper, with Farrington right behind him.
“Nick,” Elliot called, “I see you’re on your feet again.”