Lost in the Wild

by Leigh Mayberry

  “Are you closing down the area? Did you call in the rest of your officers?”

  “Dana, you need to relax. You’re taking this way out of proportion.” Meghan hadn’t intended to raise her voice. The last thing she wanted was a splash on Calvin’s social media page that quoted her saying that a missing or abducted child wasn’t a big deal. “I have Oliver checking on Christine’s friends. He’s headed to the places where the kids hang out.”

  “Duane, you and Ulva can talk to neighbors. See if you know anyone who knows Christine. You can go home. Thank you for staying.”

  “We’re going to have a conversation,” Duane said.

  “I’d expect nothing less.”

  Meghan saw Dana turn her back on her as she continued sending texts. Meghan left the center of the basketball court and wandered over to Eric and Linda.

  “How well do you know the Tuktus?” Meghan asked.

  “They seem like okay, people. They don’t shop at my store.”

  Eric and Linda were owner-operators of the Ammattauq Native Trader Store. A traditional Native Alaska trading post which allowed rural subsistent families to barter goods from the Kennedys in exchange for Alaska Native artwork, gold nuggets, precious metals, and antique jade jewelry and anything that had value. Eric and Linda usually placed family heirlooms in safekeeping and loaned families supplies, until they got back on their feet. Linda was the local curator for the Native Alaska Heritage Center in Anchorage. She was the person who made sure people got fair market prices for their valuable artwork. Eric paid the market price on gold for people who found nuggets or harvested gold dust in tundra streams.

  “Did you see Eugene Tuktu here tonight?”

  “I did,” Linda said. “I saw him talking to Earl Melton.”

  “I assume this was before we had a missing child?”

  “Yeah.” Linda leaned over the table toward Meghan and whispered. “She’s a little intense.”

  “Well, you understand it’s all relative. When Dana hears about a missing child, it’s usually long after local law enforcement dealt with the disappearance. She deals a lot with missing and exploited children in New York.” Meghan didn’t want to downplay the potential for the same problem in Alaska, because it happened. She didn’t want to jump the shark either. “She has good intentions.” Meghan left it at that and returned to where Dana paced.

  Meghan caught Calvin smiling at her. She veered toward him. He slipped off the stage and met Meghan halfway.

  “Can I count on you to get the word out?”

  Calvin held up his smartphone. It showed a social media page.

  “I put out a message for any of my subscribers to look for Christine.”

  “I don’t expect anything to come of this,” Meghan said. “But if you can get a picture of her from Joane and post it, that would help.”

  “I’ll go find her.”

  “Thank you, Calvin.”

  He motioned to Dana with his chin. “She’s a little intense,” he said.

  “Tell me about it.”

  Meghan stood close to Dana as the woman paced in her tight blue jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. Meghan heard one side of the conversation. She knew Dana contacted someone from the agency. Her jaw muscles ached from clenching her teeth since Oliver’s phone call.

  When Dana ended the call, she glared at Meghan.

  “Are you done?” Meghan asked.

  “I cannot believe you’re not making a big deal out of this. You got a girl who goes missing right under your nose and look at you. I thought you cared.”

  “Dana, do not presume anything about me. I am doing my job. And now, thanks to you, everyone attending knows exactly what is going on. They already think the worst of it.”

  “But you think you know what happened, and you’re doing nothing.”

  “I went with Joane to the apartment. I saw the kids’ room, and I talked to her mother. I don’t have anything to go on right now. Except for the report from her brother, a thirteen-year-old boy.”

  “Who happened to find you and asked you to help find his sister,” Dana said. “You used to be on top of this stuff. What happened to you? Your ass isn’t the only thing that got soft around here.”

  Meghan shook her head and held back the insult. “Right now, everyone in this village is looking for Christine Tuktu. You did most of the work before I even got back.”

  “You think nothing of this. You think that little girl is walking back through that door.”

  “I’m hoping she will, yes.”

  “And if she doesn’t and you didn’t respond immediately, what then?”

  “What would you have me do?” Meghan asked.

  “Close the highway.”

  “The town is self-contained. We have about five miles of drivable roadways. That doesn’t include the four miles of Cape Blossom Road.”

  “What about the airport?” Dana asked.

  “The last commercial flight left here at six this evening. Children aren’t allowed to travel unaccompanied on charter flights.”

  “What are you doing?” Dana asked. “You act like you don’t care.”

  “Don’t you dare say that to me,” Meghan said. “I am doing my job. Just because I’m not stomping around and making demands like a lunatic doesn’t mean I don’t care.”

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I made some phone calls. I got authorization from my supervisor. He’s contacting the Anchorage field office.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “Time is crucial, Meg, or did you forget about that living out here?”

  “No, no way, you don’t come here and start telling me how I do my job. That’s not how it works. It’s been less than a half-hour, Dana. You’re way out of line.”

  “And you’re too lazy to do what needs doing. So, I’m going to make sure something gets done properly.”

  Chapter Seven

  There were more times than Meghan remembered or cared to think about given the current circumstances when she went out of her way for Dana. The woman had a good head on her shoulders but never rose to the level of quality expected of field agents. She had a beautiful face, a good figure, and the bureau liked using pretty people to sell the job. Dana was a mediocre agent at the best of times. She devoted a lot of time to her career, but in the fine-tuning of a case, the less Dana handled, the better off everyone was with the outcome. It wasn’t something Meghan or anyone in the bureau shared with Dana. Her evaluations put her with ‘room for improvement’ notations. The FBI wasn’t a place to fill with warm bodies. Everyone had a job to do. The problem with Dana, she never quite understood that doing her job right meant to allow others a chance to get something done first.

  Meghan left George Hall Sports Arena shortly after eleven that night. She finished interviewing the few people who stayed for the show. The school custodians allowed her and Oliver to search room by room the entire school. They checked every available place on the property.

  Cecil went home with Earl Melton to join his mother, waiting at the apartment. Anyone with cell phones and social media broadcast the picture of Christine across the entire North Slope. Lester Graves didn’t go to the gymnasium when he started work. He rode the snow machine out to the lagoon to scan the boats making their way back upriver. There were very few people heading back to the villages that late at night.

  Dana, in her fit, took a ride from Calvin back to Meghan’s house. What Dana did once she got there wasn’t Meghan’s concern. If what the woman said rang true, by daybreak, City of Northern Lights would have federal agents storming the town.

  Oliver started brewing coffee. He didn’t drink it. He knew Meghan functioned better when she had a few cups to clear her head. Oliver knew after the pissing match between her and Dana, Meghan wasn’t going home again until after they located Christine. She appreciated Oliver’s anticipation regarding the coffee and the quiet space to cool off.

/>   Meghan dropped heavily in the office chair and switched on the laptop. A few minutes into seeing the positive responses for spreading around the Amber Alert about Christine Tuktu, Meghan heard Lester come through the front door of the department. She noted the time. From the desk in the private office, Meghan heard everything that went on in the lobby. It had a tremendous acoustical advantage that she appreciated. It gave Meghan a snapshot of complaints and a prelude to visitors. She heard Oliver and Lester mumbling. They knew Meghan had her ear to the door. She listened to the heavy boot treads across the threadbare grimy carpeting inside the situation room of the building. Lester appeared at the doorway.

  He wasn’t a man who spent a lot of time leading up to the main conversation with a lot of added small talk. He looked grim with the short black hair, brown eyes, mustache, with a smattering of gray that found its way through the black in single strands. Lester sat in the chair opposite Meghan. If he had news, it came out faster than him taking his time.

  “Word got out fast,” he said.

  “I’m curious how much you know about the Tuktus,” Meghan asked.

  Lester nodded. He got up from the chair and left the office. Meghan followed him because she realized he sensed the freshly brewed coffee. They had ceramic cups. Lester poured Meghan’s cup and then poured himself one. Oliver joined them when they sat at the giant conference table.

  “I knew Clifford before he died. I used to hunt with him. Eugene works as a dockhand at the shipyard. He lived with Clifford for years before his brother died.”

  “So, I’m trying to work out the relationship between Joane and Clifford. They got married at some point. They had two kids.”

  “Well, they went to the magistrate and had paperwork signed. I think it was Clifford more than Joane. It seemed like they didn’t get along from the time the ink dried on the marriage certificate.”

  “I am trying not to panic about Christine. I know there were about a hundred kids at the arena tonight. The Amber Alert went out about twenty minutes after I heard about it. That was thanks to Calvin. He got right on social media and started spreading the word. But I don’t see anything that suggests child-endangerment. I know she’s young, but kids around here are resilient.”

  “Well, she’ll turn up.”

  “Joane doesn’t seem too broken up about Christine wandering off,” Meghan said.

  “She’s not exactly ‘Mom of the Year,’” Lester said. “They don’t have a lot of money.”

  “I checked the logs. We’ve never had a domestic call with the family. She lives in 3F, right across the hall from where Nancy lived.”

  Lester sipped at the mug and nodded. “They lived there since Christine came along.”

  “What about Earl Melton?” Meghan asked. “Is he Christine’s father?”

  Lester waited to answer. His eyebrows did a little talking as they danced on his forehead.

  “He works a lot of odd jobs now. He used to work construction when Alaskalytical was around.” Lester let it drop there. It wasn’t Meghan’s fault someone murdered the guy who ran the biggest construction contract company on the North Slope. She solved the crime, not shut down the business. “I think he hauls mail for the post office. There’s a close rumor that Christine is Eugene’s daughter. They got close after Clifford’s death. I don’t know much about that. I don’t know if they ever found out.”

  “Again, he’s not in any incident reports. How does he fit into the picture with the ready-made family?”

  “Well, he moved in with Joane as far as I understand it. That was about three years ago.”

  “So, we’ve got a missing girl. A mother that doesn’t seem too broken up about it, and a town full of people looking out for her,” Meghan said. She rubbed a hand over her face and saw Oliver pressing his lips together. She narrowed her eyes at the sergeant. “You want to talk about the big elephant in the room, don’t you?”

  Oliver looked around as if expecting to see the elephant. He took a sip of soda from the 20 oz bottle he carried from the front counter to the situation room. It meant to help break Meghan’s stare.

  “I’m not saying anything about your friend,” he whispered.

  “Well, I will, if you don’t.”

  “She started telling everyone to stop dancing, to stay in one place. She wanted someone to bar the doors. When Duane went to calm her down, I think it was as bad as poking a stick at a wolverine. Everyone took off.”

  “I saw a lot of that. I think it’s not over.”

  “What do you want us to do?” Lester asked.

  “What are we not doing now?” Meghan asked. “I checked the sex offender registry. Two known registered sex offenders are living in Mountain Manor. Both are currently up to date in registration. Neither fit the profile for child endangerment.

  “In the morning, one of us needs to get to the terminal as soon as TSA gets there. Let’s make sure they checked the CCTV footage for the whole day. I want to know if anyone allowed Christine to board a plane with a guardian.” She took a deep breath feeling the weariness pulling at her shoulders and lower back. “This is one time when I truly appreciate living here.”

  “Why, Chief?” Oliver asked.

  “The entire town rallies together for a missing child. We don’t have to wait long before someone calls or brings in the child. It’s rare in the lower forty-eight when a community acts so fast to reach out and help. And right now, everything is on autopilot.”

  Someone banged on the front door. After midnight, keeping the door locked at the police department, even with officers on-duty, was an added layer of safety for her crew. Oliver answered the door. Lester and Meghan exchanged glances when they heard Duane’s insistent voice. He barged through, banging the swinging gate as he passed through the archway.

  Meghan saw Ulva walking quietly behind her husband. She smiled at Lester.

  “What is going on around here?” Duane said. “Your friend, the FBI agent who wanted everyone to sit on the floor until she had a chance to interview everyone—” Duane said.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot that part,” Oliver added.

  “She is out of control,” he said.

  “Did anyone find Christine?” Meghan asked.

  “Not that I know of,” Duane said. “What are you three doing, shouldn’t you be out patrolling?”

  “Duane, in my experience, in a situation like this, burning up more gas, driving from one side of the city to the other, using a lot of added labor hours, isn’t in our best interest,” Meghan said. “We’ve had this happen before, and we’re doing what we always do.”

  “Well, Agent Wyatt thinks you’re doing it all wrong.”

  “She upset a lot of the elders tonight,” Ulva added. “I think it needed better handling.” There was a look from the woman that suggested Meghan had control over the federal agent.

  “I agree,” Meghan said. “She’s a little outspoken.”

  Duane shook his head. “She told us to stay out of the way. She refused to let us leave. We can do better as a community working together and out searching for Christine than waiting around for her to point fingers at us.”

  “I had a conversation with her.”

  “Well, we just saw her marching up Third Avenue on her way here, I presume.” Ulva had a small smirk that suggested a walk in the cold on a cloudless night above the Arctic Circle was a way to cool off after what Dana put everyone through.

  “Why did you leave?” Duane asked.

  Meghan wanted to remind him that what she did in the capacity as police chief had nothing to do with him. Instead, for the sake of Christine, Meghan gave a glimpse of what she did and how she prepared for a missing or endangered child.

  “I went with Joane back to the apartment. I wanted to see the place. I wanted to talk to her one on one. Joane wasn’t too upset with Christine taking off from the school. Oliver and I walked the entire property with the custodians. Oliver spent time scanning Shore Avenue to see if any kids were hopping on the ice flows while
everyone went to the celebration. Lester went to the lagoon and flagged all the riders leaving Kinguyakkii.”

  “Everyone who took off knows we’re looking for Christine,” Lester said.

  “We are doing everything we need to do this time of night.”

  “What else can you do?” Duane asked.

  “Well, I checked the registered sex offender list for Kinguyakkii.”

  “Are there a lot?” Ulva asked. It was as if she half-heard the conversation until Meghan mentioned something she felt affected her directly.

  Meghan gave the mayor’s wife a straight look that suggested more than she said. “It’s a free website. I don’t want to point fingers. You can look up anyone. But I am confident; the few people on the list, none are involved in anything to do with Christine.” She stood up and gave Duane the best look she had regarding the seriousness of the business. “We’re not shucking off our responsibilities, Duane. This is serious business. Just because you see us sitting here drinking coffee and soda, doesn’t mean we’re not doing something.”

  After what they endured, Meghan felt Ulva and Duane needed to hear she did her job. The city paid her to do it.

  “Go home, get some sleep. I will let you know as soon as we know, I promise.”

  “Thank you, Meg,” Ulva said. Duane didn’t say anything as he left the three of them in the station. Oliver saw them out.

  “Should I lock the door?” Oliver asked.

  “Dana’s on her way here,” Meghan said.

  “I know.” Oliver grinned.

  Meghan felt a smile form on her lips. She shook her head. They had to wait for the FBI agent to show up at one in the morning. The day already started sour.

  Chapter Eight

  Dana pushed open the door like something came out of the tundra and chased her down. She pushed through the small swinging white gate to face Meghan in the central area of the department. The look on Dana’s reddened face made Meghan regret ever inviting the woman up to visit. She walked through the chilly breeze from Meghan’s house, a good three-quarters of a mile. Dana dressed for fashion and not warmth. Her tight blue jeans made it look like she wore nothing against the elements as the wind chill dipped low.