Better To Rest Part 3

"Man, Im going to be able to hire you on as an apprentice, you keep this up. Lucky because instead of pooling near and rotting the floor joists "Whats a joist?

"Same thing as a truss, only under the floor instead of the roof. Gary reflected. "Well. Sort of. Same principle, anyway, supporting the structure. So, the water from the leak migrated down and only ruined the Sheetrock in the downstairs bathroom.

"So what did you do?

"I gutted it right down to the studs, renewed all the plumbing. I closed off the door to the hallway, made it a master bath. I put the window back inI love gla.s.s brickand took out the wall-hung toilet and replaced it with a floor-mounted one. I built new cabinetsmaple slab, looks great, if I sez it who shouldntand laid down new linoleum. Now it looks about twice as big and feels ten times as light as it did before, and everythings new and done right. That bathrooms good for thirty years. His grin was not modest. He cut another piece of steak and inserted it into his mouth as if he were receiving the Years Best Contractor award.

"You like doing that?

Gary chewed while he thought. "Yeah, he said, swallowing. "Its fun to take something thats messed up and straighten it out, make it right again. You should have seen this woman; youd have thought I was some kind of magician. She acted like she hadnt had to pay for it, like Id given her a gift. Like I said, its fun. Except Im allergic to mahogany, he added, shaking his head, "and I sneezed all the way through the remodel. But other than that. It was fun.

"Whats your next project?

Gary let his gaze drift ever so slowly toward Wy. "Im between projects at the moment.

Wy felt heat rise up into her face. Tim looked from one to the other with a gathering frown. Jo grinned, and if shed been part Yupik and forty years older youd have sworn she was Moses Alakuyaks twin sister.

At this auspicious moment, Liam walked in.

He didnt see them at first, walking straight to the bar and pulling off the ball cap that seemed suddenly too tight for his head. "I need a warrant.

"Ill give you a warrant, Bill said, "if youll move this lush out of my bar.

Liam craned his head. "Oh. Eric.

"Yes. Again.

"Poor old b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

"What is it with you guys, Bill said, disgusted.

"Im sorry?

"Never mind. Whos the warrant for?

"Im not sure, exactly.

"Arrest?

"Yes. At least I think so.

"For what?

"Im not sure about that, either.

"Youre not helping me much here, Liam.

"I know. Im sorry. The d.a.m.nedest thing.

"What?

"I got something I need you to keep in your freezer until I can get it on a plane to the lab. Liam opened up the white plastic garbage bag hed carried into the bar with him.

Bill peered inside. "Sweet Jesus! she yelled, turning heads all over the bar, which was when Wy saw Liam for the first time. "What the Sam Hill h.e.l.l is that!

Since Bill didnt seem to be in any hurry to take custody of the bag, Liam, who was even less thrilled to be carrying it around, set it on the floor at his feet. "Its exactly what you think it is.

"Where the h.e.l.l did you get it?

"I first saw it coming out of John Kvichaks house on a fly pitch that nearly brained me. He shook his head. "At first I thought it was a prosthetic. That clenched fist looked like somebodyd forgotten to throw the switch on the circuits.

Bills face began to regain some of its natural color. "For crissake. Where the h.e.l.l did he find that? I mean, I know John and Teddy are scavengers, but... Her hands were shaking a little when she poured out two fingers of Glen-morangie, neat. She frowned down at them and they steadied as she put the gla.s.s on the bar. "Oh. I forgot. You on or off?

Liam sat down next to Eric Mollberg, who stirred and moaned a little, and turned his face to Liam in a preliminary attempt to surface from the sea of alcohol in which he had been submersed for going on three months. "I, said Liam, "dont give a d.a.m.n if Im on duty or off at the moment. He drank and felt the heat and flavor of the single-malt seep straight into his bloodstream. Comfort food, he thought, and finished it. Bill held up the bottle. He shook his head. "No. That did it. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You wouldnt believe the day Ive had.

Bill cast a surrept.i.tious glance over his shoulder at the group in the booth, one of whom was staring back with an undeniably guilty look all over her face, and thought, And its not over yet. Because she was a woman, too, and had her own men problemsfor starters the Alaska old fart sitting in the corner knocking back enough beer to fell Paul Bunyon and whooping it up with his palsshe bought Wy some time. "Whered it come from?

"Youll love this.

Bill ran a couple more margaritas down to the end of the bar for Moccasin Man, who was putting the moves on Susie Akiachak. Susie was a smart girl and knew better, but her defenses had been weakened by a nasty breakup with Jimmy Koliganek, and Evan Gray was first and foremost an opportunist. On the way back up the bar Bill hooked her foot beneath the bottom rung of the bartenders stool and sent it sliding into place across from Liam. "Okay, she said, settling in for the duration, "lets hear it.

"John Kvichak and Teddy Engebretsen were hunting.

"Theyre always hunting when they get into trouble. When theyre not in town and getting into trouble. Or out fishing and getting into trouble.

"All too true. Liam rolled the gla.s.s between his hands as if the heat of his palms would evaporate anything left of the scotch and he could inhale the fumes. "So they were hunting, up around Bear Glacier, and they found it.

"Found what?

"A plane wreck.

"What? What plane wreck? Did somebody go down?

"Evidently.

"I havent heard a thing.

"Neither have I, and neither has anybody at the airport. I called Anchorage Flight Service to see if anybody had gone missing and they said not to their knowledge. I called Elmendorf, to see if the air force was missing a mission. Nope. They checked with Eilson. Still nothing. So then I ask Teddy and John what are they talking about a plane wreck. And they say it was a plane wreck they found, and they found thathe jerked his head at the bag, on the floor between him and Eric"in the wreckage. So I take another look at it.

Bill repressed a shudder. "And?

"And its old.

"Old? What do you mean, old? You mean like from an old man? How can you tell?

"No, I mean like desiccated old. I mean like from an old plane wreck, years and years old.

"You can tell that just from looking?

"Bill, Im telling you, its practically petrified, its so old. You want another look?

"No.

"You dont see how old it is when you first look at it; all you see is... well.

"Yeah. Bill took a deep breath. "Bear Glacier, huh?

"Yeah.

"Ice is a great preservative.

"Yeah.

"No telling how long its been up there.

"No.

"Youre going to have to go look.

"Oh, yeah, Liam said, with no visible enthusiasm.

"So? Tell me more about Teddy and John.

"So I talked to Teddy and John, and John says its an old plane, and its painted army gray, and he knows that color because he slopped enough of it on anything that didnt move out of the way in time while he was in the army.

"He get the tail numbers?

"Said they didnt see the tail. Said there wasnt much wreckage, if it came to that. They werent real coherent about it.

"Probably werent real sober, either.

"I think they were sober when they stumbled across the wreck. They werent by the time I got to Johns house, thats for d.a.m.n sure, and I cant say I blame them.

"Why didnt they call you?

"I got the impression they were about to when we knocked on the door. By then, theyd had a few, and they panicked.

Bill reflected. "Is there a law against possession of a severed limb?

"Youd know that better than I would.

"Ill have to check my index of Alaska statutes. Im sure itll be right under Limbs, Severed. Right after Lifesaving Medical Procedures and right before Limitation of Actions. She shook her head. "Id love to preside over that case.

"Yeah, right. Liam tilted his gla.s.s and the last droplet of whiskey dropped onto his tongue with something approaching a sizzle.

Someone besides Moses had gotten to the jukebox, and Santana was telling everyone within hearing to make it real or else forget about it. On the tiny excuse for a dance floor, Mark Walker was showing Cindi Guttierez how to do a natural underarm turn, only he missed her hand. She, an enthusiastic if uncoordinated partner, spun wildly out of control, careened off the table where Jerry Lee Kwethluk and Lyle Willoya were hunched over their usual battle for the Newenham arm-wrestling championship, and slammed up against Eric Mollberg.

Jerked rudely from his peaceful slumber, Eric snorted, sat up, lost his balance, and fell off his bar stool. He might have stayed upright if that garbage sack hadnt been sitting at Liams feet. As it was, he tripped over it and fell flat on his face. The arm with its clenched fist was propelled out of the bag and slid across the floor to come to rest against Erics face.

The way hed kicked it must have loosened the fist, because suddenly the fingers relaxed. Something small and round and bright rolled out of the palm, around Erics head, and into the middle of the dance floor. The music kept playing but people had stopped dancing, and it looked like stopped breathing as well.

The coin rolled and rolled, right into the middle of eleven pairs of paralyzed feet, where it spun in an ever-shrinking circle and eventually came to rest, the side up gleaming dully in the dim light of the bar. Everyone watched it, mesmerized, or perhaps just reluctant to look again at the severed arm.

Eric, whose eyes had followed the coin like everyone elses and watched it until it came to rest, traveled back to the now almost-open hand, forefinger outstretched to where it nearly touched his nose.

He screamed, a high-pitched sound of pure terror. He screamed again, leaped to his feet, and raced to the door, hitting it with both hands held straight out in front of him and disappearing into the night.

"Oh, h.e.l.l, Liam said, and got down from his stool to stuff the arm back in the bag. He took a few steps forward and picked up the coin, trying unsuccessfully to read the raised print. It looked like it was in English, and it was heavy.

When he stood up, his eyes met Wys, who was staring in horrified incomprehension from his face to the bag in his hands and back again.

Tim sat next to her, and his eyes were pretty big, too. The back of Liams neck p.r.i.c.kled in an unpleasant sort of way, and he took a step forward to see who was sitting across from them.

"Hey there, Liam, Jo Dunaway said with a sunny smile that was all teeth. "You remember my brother, Gary.

December 3, 1941 The G.o.dd.a.m.n radio went out again. We were coming back from Attu and the ceiling came down and we were wandering all over h.e.l.l and gone. I know the way Ive been over it enough times but even I cant see through clouds. It doesnt help that the frigging maps are all wrong. Half the rivers are missing and the lakes are fifty miles away from their actual locations and we almost ran into a mountain that was only supposed to be 3600 feet high and was really 4600 feet high. Jesus!

Another letter from Helen. Theres some kind of problem with the baby she dosnt say what. I wrote and told her to go see the doctor and tell him well find the money to pay. If old Doc Bailey was still alive this wouldnt be a problem he knew my father and he delivered me he would know I was good for it. I wrote to Mom to go over there. I know they dont like each other but Helen shouldnt be alone. G.o.d how I hate being this far away.

Peter the old Eskimo guy is quite a storyteller. He says hes not really an Eskimo hes from a little village on the coast southwest of here. Hes got a name for his tribe but I cant p.r.o.nounce it let alone spell it. He was telling me the other day about how his people used to paddle big canoes from Alaska to Russia to fight each other. He showed me a vest he said was armor. It dint look real substantial to me but then I want to be bullet-proof and his folks probably only needed to be spear-proof.

FIVE.

The next morning was clear and cold enough to generate a thin layer of frost, but the wing covers were quickly removed and the problem solved. She was sorry for that. She wanted to be very busy. Liam had the worst case of fear of flying shed ever seen, and so long as she was doing things with the plane he wouldnt bother her. If she made it look too easy, they would have to talk about the night before.

They leveled off at a thousand feet and she drew a bead on Bear Glacier, which according to the map hung off the lip of Carryall Mountain. "Carryall, if the little Yupik she retained from her upbringing in Ikikika, a village on the sh.o.r.e of One Lake, was accurate, was an anglicized version of one of the many words her ancestors on the Yupik side of her family used for bear. bear. She didnt know if it stood for black bear or brown bear or polar bear, or feeding bear or sleeping bear or running bear, for that matter. She ought to study up on her Yupik. Maybe she and Tim could take a cla.s.s. Maybe she and Tim and Liam could take a cla.s.s. She didnt know if it stood for black bear or brown bear or polar bear, or feeding bear or sleeping bear or running bear, for that matter. She ought to study up on her Yupik. Maybe she and Tim could take a cla.s.s. Maybe she and Tim and Liam could take a cla.s.s.

She gave a mental snort. Yeah, right, thatd happen. Liam was all but packed for his transfer back to Anchorage, where he would have no use for Yupik. Other language skills, perhaps. Bureaucratese, maybe. Brownnosing, definitely.

She pulled herself up short, ashamed for automatically a.s.suming the worst. Just like Jo. Liam hasnt said if hes leaving or staying, she told herself. You could ask, instead of getting mad over nothing.

Then again, if she asked, hed have to answer. And then hed ask her to come with him, which would entail leaving her home, selling her air-taxi business, and pulling Tim out of school to start all over again in a city whose population thought Bush Bush meant half an hour out of town. meant half an hour out of town.

And then she would be faced with her own decision: Go or stay.

It wasnt like she didnt have a choice. It hadnt killed her to break it off with Liam the first time.

It had only felt like it had.

She found herself getting angry all over again. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, grateful the noise of the engine covered the sound. She cast a surrept.i.tious glance over her shoulder at the man sitting behind her, rigidly upright, knuckles white on the edge of his seat, his breathing audible over the headset. Liam wasnt noticing anything except how he was personally holding the plane up in the air.

According to John and Teddy, the crash site wasnt far from an airstrip not too overgrown with brush and long enough for a Super Cub, which in turn was accessible by what had been a game trail just wide enough to take a four-wheeler in from Icky. It was quicker to fly, though, and Liam had wanted to inspect the site as soon as possible.