Better To Rest Part 18

"Sons and their fathers.

"What about them?

"Tell the truth. You guys just sit around thinking up ways to fail each other, dont you?

"Go to h.e.l.l, Liam said, and marched to the bar, wallet in hand.

Jo watched him go, admiring the straight spine that managed to broadcast every ounce of the offended dignity that he was feeling.

Fathers and sons, she thought.

There oughta be a law.

She was unaware that shed said the words out loud until Special Agent James Mason said, "Against what?

"Many things, she said, recovering. "Many, many things.

"There already are, he said. "And speaking as a member and on behalf of the law-enforcement community, I have enough laws to make people mind already. My old man used to say that every time Congress enacted another law, they took another little piece of our freedom away.

"Sounds like a right-wing reactionary to me.

He laughed. "Its early, he said, reaching for his jacket. "Youre at the Bay View Inn.

"Yes.

"So am I. Ive got a bottle in my room. Want a drink?

She looked him over with care. He met her eyes without guile, something to mistrust in any member of any law-enforcement agency. "Sure, she said.

After paying his tab Liam paused at the chess table. "Get the h.e.l.l outta my light, Clarence said. Eric Mollberg had gone to the bar for a refill. Moses looked up and growled, "What?

"Do you know who did it?

Moses moved his last p.a.w.n to the last row and exchanged it for his queen.

"Do you?

"Check, Moses said. Clarence swore loudly.

"G.o.dd.a.m.n it, old man, Liam said.

"G.o.dd.a.m.n it, yourself, Moses said. He reached for a bottle of Oly and flatfooted it. "Beer! he bellowed, and behind him Liam heard the bar cooler open. "I dont know, he said finally, glaring up at Liam, who seemed to have planted himself like a rock.

"Youd tell me if you did.

"It doesnt work like that. Youll find him. He tried for one of his fallen-angel smiles, not quite succeeding. "Besides, youre not a believer, boy. What you doing bothering the old shaman when you know youre going to do whatever the h.e.l.l you were going to do in the first place? Go on home. Shes waiting for you.

"I am. Liam didnt move.

"Go on, then! Quit interfering with my chess game.

Clarence gave a sudden cry that sounded just like the cackle of a raven, and moved his rook. "Checkmate.

"f.u.c.k, Moses said.

Clarence sat back in his chair and looked up at Liam beneath s.h.a.ggy brows. "You talking about Lydia?

Liam shifted his gaze from one side of the table to the other, and nodded.

"You should have seen her when we was all young, Clarence said. "That girl had boys buzzing around like mosquitoes, wanting to suck that juicy little thing dry.

Moses uttered a sharp bark of laughter. "Including you.

"Including you, Clarence retorted. His beady little black eyes sparkled and he all but smacked his lips. "Those were the days. Get hold of a truck and drive your girl and your friends and their girls to Icky and have an all-day party on the beach at One Lake. You remember that party out the beach that one summer?

Moses grinned.

"Yeah, Clarence said. "I see you do. Bet Leslie and Walter and Silent Cal and Stan do, too.

"Stans dead.

Clarence frowned. "Stans dead?

"Going on five years.

Clarence was outraged. "G.o.dd.a.m.n! Hows a man supposed to get drunk with his friends if they keep dying on him!

"What about Lydia at the beach? Liam said.

Moses and Clarence got matching faraway looks on their faces. "We went up to the fish camp used to be at Icky.

"Wasnt Icky, Moses said. "The fish camp was out the end of River Road.

"It was up Icky way, this fish camp, Clarence said, glaring. "A bunch of the guys and the girls in the school. We took some beer, and somebody had some records and had figured out a way to run a record player off his pickup battery. We stayed up there two days and two nights, dancing and singing and laughing and pulling fish out of the river. Clarence looked at Moses. "Remember the eagles?

Moses nodded. "Couple eagles sitting in this cottonwood snag, old Silent Cal got too close and one of those eagles hoisted up its tail feathers and shot a stream of yellow s.h.i.t straight into old Silent Cals face.

Both old men shook with remembered glee, until Liam was afraid Clarence at least might go off into an apoplexy.

"I think he thought he was going to get lucky that night, Clarence said, mopping his eyes. "But his girl wouldnt have anything to do with him after that. He winked at Liam. "Not to say she didnt get lucky herself.

Moses leaned forward and leveled a forefinger. "Clarence, you are a dirty old man.

"I wasnt then.

Again both men fell into choking fits.

"When was that? Liam said.

"Oh, h.e.l.l, Clarence said, knuckling his eyes. "Long time. Long time ago. Before the war.

"Not long before, Moses said instantly.

"Long time before, Clarence said, glaring.

"We werent that old long time before the war, old man.

"Set up the pieces; well see how old I am!

Liam left them to it.

December 15, 1941 Its cleer but G.o.d its cold they say its thirty-seven below the coldest in twenty-five years. Our mechanic Billy hes from Duluth in Minnesota hes a good guy he lost a filling the other day just by breathing in. He can only do a twenty-minute shift and even then he has to work in mittens. It took him two hours to replace a plug yesterday.

Havent written for a while because we spent a week tdy flying out of Anchorage One day we went to Adak to pick up eighteen patients. 1250 miles and usually eight to ten hours flying time. There was a front hanging off Umnak and it was rough as h.e.l.l. The nurse was a pistol she piled blankets all over the patients to keep them from bouncing around and give her parka to another. Roepke brought us down to 50 feet. Everybody puked. He brought us back up to thirteen thousand and the cabin temperature dropped to twenty below but at least it smoothed out. He put her down at Naknek in a forty mile an hour crosswind he had to really crab her in. Man that was no fun. While we were on the ground another Gooney crashed and burned on landing. The crew got out okay. We overnighted. The whole flight took two days two hours and ten minutes.

Came back to find a letter from Helen. She lost the baby. Says shes sick and needs money to pay the hospital.

Went to Petes for dinner when we got back. Hes a good guy knows not to talk to much. Wanted to know about Krasnoyarsk and what it looked like and how many people lived there. Told him it looked like Nome.

FIFTEEN.

Diana Prince caught a call just as she was headed out the door at the end of the day. Someone had made a charge of child abuse against Bernadette Kusegta, who ran a small day-care center out of her home. The complainant, one Gloria Crow, accused Bernadette of interfering with her three-year-old daughter, Tammie. Kusegta, plump and attractive, with her black hair permed into a ma.s.s of large curls, looked white beneath her brown skin. She sat, unmoving, her eyes fixed on a point somewhere beyond the large room decorated in primary colors. It was heaped with toys and books, and a small inflatable swimming pool filled with about four inches of water sat on the floor, one lone rubber duck floating in the middle of it.

"Well, go on, arrest her! Crow said. "What are you waiting for? She was slender and sharp-featured and vibrating with rage.

"When did you see the marks, maam? Prince said.

"Tonight! When my baby came home! She was crying and holding her bottom!

"Did she say that Ms. Kusegta had hurt her?

"No, but who else could have done it? Go on, arrest her! She hurt my baby!

"You said, When your baby came home, maam. From that, Im guessing you didnt go get her.

"No! So what?

"Who did bring your daughter home, Ms. Crow?

"Leslie did; he picked her up on his way home.

"Is Leslie your husband?

"Hes my roommate.

"Whats his full name?

"Leslie Clark.

"And when he brought your daughter home, she was crying and holding her bottom.

"Yes!

"And then you looked and found the marks.

"Yes! I know she did it; she was the only one who could have! Arrest her right now!

"Where is your daughter now, maam?

"Shes home, of course! I came here as soon as I saw what that b.i.t.c.h did to her!

"Is Leslie there with her?

"Of course! Did you think Id leave my baby all alone?

Diana flipped her notebook closed. "Ill need to talk to your daughter, maam. Right now.

They made it in the door before the boyfriend started beating on the little girl again, but only just. He was now in the lockup, protesting his innocence in spite of the similarity in size and shape between his hands and the marks on Tammies defenseless little bottom. Bernadette Kusegtas face had regained some of its natural color, and Gloria Crow was still insisting that Leslie could never have done such a thing, that she would have known if he could, that she would never have let him in her house or left her daughter with him if shed known. Diana took statements and called Bill Billington for an arraignment at ten A . M . the next morning. It was almost ten before she was through, and she was tired and heartsick and wanted nothing so much as a long, hot bath. Preferably with bubbles, but if no bubbles were to be had she might pour in a bottle of Lysol.

She had her hand on the k.n.o.b of the door when the phone rang. It would have forwarded to Liams cell after the second ring, but she seemed to be const.i.tutionally incapable of walking out on a ringing phone. Cursing herself, she s.n.a.t.c.hed it up. "Alaska State Troopers, Newenham post.

The voice was loud enough to make her wince away from the receiver. "Maam! Maam! Please, calm down, I cant understand a word!

There was a gulping kind of sob. "Please help me; I think my sisters dead.

"What happened to her?

"Oh, G.o.d, Karen, please, Karen, dont do this, please dont do this!

"Maam? Where are you?

"Were at my mothers. Please help us, please!

"Where is your mothers house, maam? Maam?

"Oh, G.o.d, I think shes dead. The voice dulled and flattened. "Oh, Karen. Oh, Karen.

"Maam? Diana clenched the phone so hard her arm ached. "I need you to tell me where you are. Maam?

After a long, silent moment, when she thought the caller might have hung up, the woman told her. Diana told her she was coming, called Liam, and called Joe Gould.

She got to Lydias house five minutes after Joe and a split second before Liam. The three of them stood once again in Lydias kitchen, looking at another body on the same floor.