well before one. If Liam's ready to go, we should be back here by, oh, say two-thirty to be safe. I don't know what he's got left to do on the ground.
“All right. Tell Liam I'm here, would you? Liam hates surprises. He donned his cap and smiled again, and this time she saw that his charm was more practiced than Liam's, and more conscious of effect. “I'm at the BOQ on base. I'll be expecting his call. Nice meeting you folks, he said to Bill and Moses. He nodded to Prince and left the bar.
“Whew, Bill breathed as the door swung closed behind him, and pretended to fan herself.
Moses growled something and hooked a hand around her neck to pull her forward. The passionate, carnal kiss then exchanged was enough to make Prince blink and McLynn's jaw drop. Wy was more used to it, but she still felt the temperature of the room go up a couple of degrees. She rolled her eyes, tried not to feel jealous and walked outside, followed by Prince and McLynn on self-conscious tiptoe.
Prince said, “I assume you're taking your Cessna to Kulukak.
“Yes.
“Am I correct in assuming I can't fly a Cessna on floats into the dig?
“Yes. A Cub's the only aircraft other than a helicopter that'll make it in and out of that strip. It's not even a strip, really, we just moved some rocks and pulled some bushes.
“I see. Do you charter your aircraft?
“Yes, Wy said, masking a flinch.
“Then I'll need to charter your Cub to fly out to the dig.
“Tulukaruk, Wy said. “That's the name of it. Look, I don't mean toI meanwellhell. It's a very short, very rough strip, with a forty-five-foot drop to a river at one end. How many hours you got on a Cub?
Prince's smile was smug. “Three hundred and four. I've been flying since I was thirteen, and I've done hundreds of Bush landings, Ms. Chouinard. Besides, she added, serious now, “you're insured, aren't you?
Smart-ass, Wy thought. She sighed and gave in to the inevitable. “You'll need a map. Follow me out to the airport.
“And when we all get back to town, I'll want to talk to you again, take a formal statement.
“Not a problem, Wy said, heading for her truck. “You know where I work, and I'm not going anywhere.
Except to Kulukak to pick up Liam, she thought as she started the truck. She felt her heart skip a beat. She hadn't seen him to speak to in almost three months, and now they were going to spend a minimum of forty-five minutes shoulder to shoulder.
Unwillingly, she remembered the first days of their acquaintance, when she in her innocence had thought they were just friends. The hours spent in the air on their way between Glennallen and various crime scenes, the grisly prospects before them muted by the pleasure they took in each other's company. They had never seemed to stop talking, she remembered painfully: books, music, politics, religion, art, people they both knew, places they'd both been, experiences they'd shared separately.
Oh, they had been such fine, fine days in the air, that summer that now seemed so long ago and so far away.
It was when they had stopped talking that they got into trouble.
She slammed the truck into gear and headed for the airport. The white Blazer with the gold shield on the side fell in behind her like a ghostly shadow.
FIVE
When Liam didn't respond, Ekwok repeated in a louder voice, “I know who did this.
The raven erupted with a staccato “Kuk-kuk-kuk-kra-kukthat sounded eerily like the cadence of Ekwok's own speech patterns. Ekwok looked up with an apprehensive expression. His eyes hardened and he said for the third time, “I know who did this.
Liam wished with all his heart that just once it could be that easy. Well, hell, maybe it could be. “And who might that be, Mr. Ekwok? he said, pulling out his notebook.
“That David Malone, he fired a guy last year. A deckhand. He wouldn't even give him a ride from Seattle when he brought theMarybethianorth. This deckhand, he was angry. He said he would kill Malone.
Ekwok shut up, his
“All right. Tell Liam I'm here, would you? Liam hates surprises. He donned his cap and smiled again, and this time she saw that his charm was more practiced than Liam's, and more conscious of effect. “I'm at the BOQ on base. I'll be expecting his call. Nice meeting you folks, he said to Bill and Moses. He nodded to Prince and left the bar.
“Whew, Bill breathed as the door swung closed behind him, and pretended to fan herself.
Moses growled something and hooked a hand around her neck to pull her forward. The passionate, carnal kiss then exchanged was enough to make Prince blink and McLynn's jaw drop. Wy was more used to it, but she still felt the temperature of the room go up a couple of degrees. She rolled her eyes, tried not to feel jealous and walked outside, followed by Prince and McLynn on self-conscious tiptoe.
Prince said, “I assume you're taking your Cessna to Kulukak.
“Yes.
“Am I correct in assuming I can't fly a Cessna on floats into the dig?
“Yes. A Cub's the only aircraft other than a helicopter that'll make it in and out of that strip. It's not even a strip, really, we just moved some rocks and pulled some bushes.
“I see. Do you charter your aircraft?
“Yes, Wy said, masking a flinch.
“Then I'll need to charter your Cub to fly out to the dig.
“Tulukaruk, Wy said. “That's the name of it. Look, I don't mean toI meanwellhell. It's a very short, very rough strip, with a forty-five-foot drop to a river at one end. How many hours you got on a Cub?
Prince's smile was smug. “Three hundred and four. I've been flying since I was thirteen, and I've done hundreds of Bush landings, Ms. Chouinard. Besides, she added, serious now, “you're insured, aren't you?
Smart-ass, Wy thought. She sighed and gave in to the inevitable. “You'll need a map. Follow me out to the airport.
“And when we all get back to town, I'll want to talk to you again, take a formal statement.
“Not a problem, Wy said, heading for her truck. “You know where I work, and I'm not going anywhere.
Except to Kulukak to pick up Liam, she thought as she started the truck. She felt her heart skip a beat. She hadn't seen him to speak to in almost three months, and now they were going to spend a minimum of forty-five minutes shoulder to shoulder.
Unwillingly, she remembered the first days of their acquaintance, when she in her innocence had thought they were just friends. The hours spent in the air on their way between Glennallen and various crime scenes, the grisly prospects before them muted by the pleasure they took in each other's company. They had never seemed to stop talking, she remembered painfully: books, music, politics, religion, art, people they both knew, places they'd both been, experiences they'd shared separately.
Oh, they had been such fine, fine days in the air, that summer that now seemed so long ago and so far away.
It was when they had stopped talking that they got into trouble.
She slammed the truck into gear and headed for the airport. The white Blazer with the gold shield on the side fell in behind her like a ghostly shadow.
FIVE
When Liam didn't respond, Ekwok repeated in a louder voice, “I know who did this.
The raven erupted with a staccato “Kuk-kuk-kuk-kra-kukthat sounded eerily like the cadence of Ekwok's own speech patterns. Ekwok looked up with an apprehensive expression. His eyes hardened and he said for the third time, “I know who did this.
Liam wished with all his heart that just once it could be that easy. Well, hell, maybe it could be. “And who might that be, Mr. Ekwok? he said, pulling out his notebook.
“That David Malone, he fired a guy last year. A deckhand. He wouldn't even give him a ride from Seattle when he brought theMarybethianorth. This deckhand, he was angry. He said he would kill Malone.
Ekwok shut up, his
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