Stabenow, Dana - Liam Campbell 04 - Better To Rest

by Better To Rest(lit)

  “You did what!

  He looked a little sheepish. “Its okay; somebody outbid me. It went for five forty-nine.

  She whistled, and he nodded. “So I been thinking, Bill.

  She matched his tone. “What you been thinking, Moses?

  “I been thinking there might have been more of those coins on that plane.

  She sobered. “I dont like the sound of that.

  “Me, either, he said grimly. “Imagine the treasure hunt a rumor like that would start.

  “Its already started. She told him about the Gray gang. He swore. She looked at the monitor screen. “Its too bad Lydia isnt still alive.

  “Why?

  “She knew about coins.

  Moses stared at her.

  “Its true. She had a collection of old American coins, old quarters and nickels and dimes and pennies, just pocket change really, that shed been saving up since she was a kid. She subscribed to a magazine, Quarters R Us or something like that. I used to see it lying around the house when we were at her place for book club. She brightened. “In fact, Id forgotten all about it, but I think she had some other, more valuable coins, too. Yeah, I remember she pulled out an album one time, it was really cool, had all these little pockets inside it for each individual coin. She smiled. “She was annoyed with me, because I was more interested in the album construction than I was in the coins. Her smile faded. “You know, now that I think of it, she might have... Her voice trailed away.

  Moses face had gone very hard. “Might have what?

  “Its silly, it couldnt possibly... She met his eyes. “Ive got to be wrong about this, Moses.

  He was inexorable. “Wrong about what?

  “Now that I think back, she might have had one of those coins in that album. Just like the one that was in the hand.

  Wy had a pickup in Ekwok she couldnt get out of, so Jo accompanied Liam to the post. They arrived at the same time as Diana, who looked as drug-out as Liam felt. He brought her up-to-date. She listened, nodding, and when he finished said, “Makes sense to me. I just rousted Brewster Gibbons out of bed and hauled his butt down to the bank. Karen bought her town house for cash.

  “How much?

  “A hundred and twenty thousand.

  “Jesus. Whatd she do, write a check?

  “She did, and this is the interesting part. She didnt have much left over.

  “Her bank balance looks pretty good.

  “Yeah, but thats the least amount its ever been. Gibbons says shes been steadily depleting her trust fund.

  “What else?

  “While I was at it, I checked on Lydias finances. Her house is paid off, too, although thats not quite so surprising. I checked on the other kids. All of them have very healthy cash balances, and none of them have any outstanding debts, at least not with Brewsters bank. Jerrys balance is just as healthy, its just that every check has to be cosigned by his mother.

  Liam frowned at the figures shed scribbled. “Healthy. Id call that filthy rich, myself. He picked up the phone and dialed a number in Anchorage.

  It rang five times before Jim picked it up. “Yeah.

  “Jim, its Liam.

  “Like I didnt know. There was a protesting female murmur in the background. “Sorry, honey. Ill take this in the other room; I have a feeling Im going to have to get on the computer.

  “Thanks, Jim.

  “Fuck you, Campbell. What do you want?

  “I need everything you can dig up on the Tompkins family in Newenham. He gave Jim the names. “Im particularly interested in their financial affairs. If they owe any money, if there is any money coming in. Like that.

  “Gee, Jim said without enthusiasm. “Is that all?

  “And I need it in thirty minutes. Liam hung up on the resulting explosion and looked at Diana. “Go down to the school. See if theyve still got records for who was enrolled in high school in 1941. Make it for four years either way. Since the students are in their seventies, there probably wont be any surviving teachers, but ask anyway.

  “Gone. She went.

  Liam looked at Jo. “I meant to ask you. Wheres Gary?

  She smiled. “I sent him home first thing this morning.

  He leaned back and gave her a long, considering look, which she met with equanimity. “Did you, now.

  “I did. That was a mean, rotten thing to do to you, Liam, and Im sorry.

  He cocked his head. “Once more, with feeling.

  She laughed. “Look, Wys the best friend I ever had. For a few months, she was even my sister-in-law. Friends watch out for their own.

  He couldnt resist. “Like the air force.

  “Even better than. The thing is, I got this idea you might be bad for her. You were, the first time around.

  “No, I wasnt.

  “No?

  “No. For Wy, the first time around I was a fucking disaster.

  “Thank you for not making me say that, she said primly, and grinned.

  “So Im not a disaster this time?

  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 friendship, 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 prick, 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 goddamn 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 goddamn 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, 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, hell, 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 bullshitted. 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 hell 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 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 damn 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 crevasse.

  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 damn 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.

  “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 classified?

  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 Japanese 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 Japanese 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 damn 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 hell. Peter showed me a poem by this guy Service which is about another guy named Mcgee who climbs into the furnace of a ship to get warm. Man if there was a ship 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 fucking 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 shit where were going. But the emperor of Japan 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.

  A red Nissan longbed with a white canopy was parked in back of the boat. “Shit, 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 associated 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.

  They both turned to look at Eric, who seemed to shrink visibly in his chair. “I didnt mean to do it, he said, his voice quavering.

  Liam stifled a sigh. The annals of criminal investigation were riddled with pleas of “I didnt mean to do it. If everyone who hadnt meant to do it hadnt actually done it, law-enforcement agencies all over the world could go to half-strength and no one would ever notice the difference. He got out his notebook, in which he rarely wrote a word but which worked remarkably well to fascinate and intimidate suspects. “Can you tell us about it, Eric?

  He was in love with her, with Lydia, madly, passionately, crazily in love. So were most of the junior and senior men at Newenham High School. Might have been because there were five guys for every one girl. Might have been because she was just so damned pretty. Lydia Akiachak was the belle of Newenham High School, and she had picked him. Shed picked him to take her to the Christmas dance at the high school, and after the dance she hadnt said no when he suggested driving out River Road to watch the northern lights. There was a place where they went to park, and somebody had been out to the end of it that morning and told him that the snow was packed down enough to make it there. He didnt care if they never made it back.

  So there they were, and just about the time things were getting interesting they saw the fireball. They drove back into town and told the first pilot they found, Bob DeCreft, who was two days away from leaving after hed joined up. Bob went up to take a look, and when he got back told them the wreckage was right on the top of Bear Glacier but that it was about to slide into a crevasse, and that there was nothing they could do. But Lydia, she was that kind of girl, she wanted to check for survivors, even though Bob told her there couldnt be any out of that wreck. What about parachutes? she said. What if theres somebody hung up on the edge of the mountain, just waiting for us to come get them?