“Yeah. So?”
“So I was just thinkin’, you know, we worked so well together here in Prudhoe and all. Caught us a murderer … And I don’t really like Deadhorse all that much. Nothin’ to do to speak of. And I hear tell the pay in Barrow’s real good. I’d have to clear it with the sheriff first, a-course … Not certain what he’ll say.”
“What are you trying to tell me, Billy Bob?”
“I just thought … Well, maybe I might apply for that position.” He paused and chuckled dopily. “Just think, Ray, if I got the job, we could be partners, ever-day, all the time.”
“Wow … Just think.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allen, Lawrence J. The Trans Alaska Pipeline II: South to Valdez. Scribe Publishing Corporation: Seattle, WA, 1976.
Allen, Lawrence J. The Trans Alaska Pipeline III: Emerging Alaska. Scribe Publishing Corporation: Seattle, WA, 1977.
The Alaska Almanac. Alaska Northwest Books: Seattle, WA, 1994.
Bodfish, Waldo. Kusiq: An Eskimo Life History from the Arctic Coast of Alaska. University of Alaska Press: Fairbanks, AK, 1991.
Ellis, William S. “Will Oil and Tundra Mix.” National Geographic, October 1971, pp. 485–517.
Gavin, Angus. “Wildlife of the North Slope: a five year study, 1969–1973.” Atlantic Richfield Company, 1974.
Jans, Nick. The Last Light Breaking: Living Among Alaska’s Inupiat Eskimos. Alaska Northwest Books: Seattle, WA, 1993.
Langdon, Steve J. The Native People of Alaska. Greatland Graphics: Anchorage. AK, 1993.
MacLean, Edna Ahgeak. Abridged Inupiaq and English Dictionary. Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Press: Fairbanks, AK, 1980.
People of the Snow and Ice. Time-Life Books: Alexandria, VA, 1994.
Smelcer, John E. The Raven and the Totem: Traditional Alaska Native Myths and Tales. Salmon Run Books: Anchorage, AK, 1992.
GLOSSARY
aarigaa! —wow!
aklaq —grizzly
anjatkut —shaman
Eskimo —“eaters of raw meat”
igloo —house of any type
Inupiaq —the language of the Inupiat Eskimo
Inupiat —“The Real People,” Eskimos of northern Alaska
ivrulik —sod house
Ivisaapaatmiut —people of Invisaapaat or Ambler
kila —animal helping spirit
labret —a decorative shell or stone plug worn in the lower lip
mukluks —fur trimmed boots of seal skin and caribou
muktuk —whale skin
naluaqmiu —white person
naluaqmiut —white people
nigiluq —hunting ritual in which the throat of an animal is slit and the cartilage under the tongue removed in order to allow its spirit to escape and be reborn to be hunted again
Nunamiut —“people of the land”
piinjilak —ghosts
qaspeg —outer shell worn over a parka to keep it clean
taiku —thank you
Tareumiut —“people of the sea”
tukkuq —host
tuungak —spirits
ulu —a razor sharp knife with a fan-shaped blade, traditionally used by Eskimo women for scraping and chopping
umialik —“captain of the umiak”; leader
umiak —large, open skin boat
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I HAVE A confession to make: I am not a Native, a sourdough, or an expert on Alaska. Originally from the Southwest, my connection with the Last Frontier began in the mid-seventies when my father was transferred to Anchorage by an oil service company. I attended high school and then college in the state’s largest city. When I went Outside to finish my degree, I had no idea that I would not be returning, except as a tourist.
My wife is a true Alaskan. Though not a Native, she was nevertheless born at the Alaskan Native Hospital. Her father was stationed in Alaska in 1954 as a doctor with the Public Heath Service and was instrumental in the eradication of tuberculosis from among the Native population.
Anyone who has ever visited Alaska will testify to its extraordinary grandeur and unsurpassable beauty. The people there and the mysterious, almost magical land they inhabit are both unique and unforgettable. Which is why Elements of a Kill was so enjoyable to write. It afforded me an opportunity to explore and experience, if only vicariously, the Great Land once again.
I relied on several sources in the creation of this adventure. First and foremost, my father. As manager of Alaskan operations for Halliburton Company from 1974 to 1980, he had the opportunity to travel the width and breadth of the state, making regular trips to the North Slope. He was an inexhaustible fount of information regarding Prudhoe Bay and I am truly grateful for his assistance.
I also gleaned important research from a number of books, most notably, The Alaska Almanac, The Native People of Alaska, and Nick Jans’s lyrical essays in, The Last Light Breaking. Those interested in delving into the subjects touched on in this novel may wish to hunt down these volumes.
I would like to thank Lyssa Keusch and the rest of the Avon Books staff for their hard work, encouragement, suggestions, and long-suffering over the course of this project. My wife, Melodie, is responsible for helping to hammer the manuscript into submittable shape. Without her support and inspiration, it never would have been written.
Any inaccuracies, errors, or mistakes in the portrayal of oil exploration on the National Petroleum Reserve, the traditions of the Inupiat Eskimo, or the North Slope in general are mine. I have taken artistic liberties at several points in the story, adding to and subtracting from the reality of Prudhoe Bay and the surrounding region in an effort to enhance the drama. These embellishments, along with the characters and companies presented in the plot, were derived wholly from my imagination.
Having issued that disclaimer, I hope that you will receive this novel as it is intended: a fictional blending of Alaska’s natural majesty and noble people groups—with a mystery thrown in for good measure.
Enjoy.
Christopher A. Lane
1997
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. While some events, locales, and organizations in the story are real, they are used here fictitiously.
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Copyright 1998 by Christopher Lane
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