by Patrick Lee
CHAPTER THIRTY
The next afternoon, Hannah knocked on Mikhail's door. Katya answered and invited her inside. “Come on in, Hannah. We’re just finished puttin’ the knickknacks here and there. We most likely threw away some good stuff and hung onto junk. Dad’s hangin’ the curtains in the living room. It’s nice having somebody tall for jobs like that.” She moved closer and whispered, “But he’s all thumbs. Do me a favor. Take him away for a few days. He’s drivin’ me nuts. We been together entirely too much.” After a good laugh together, they joined Mikhail in the living room.
Hannah walked in with her arms folded. Katya just gave her the opening she needed for their overnight trip to Whitefish. She quietly slipped up next to him. “I think tomorrow night will be fine for our trip to Whitefish.”
The hammer banged his left thumb as he missed the bracket nail. He shook his throbbing thumb and set the hammer on the couch. “Did you say tomorrow?”
“Yes. What’d you think about that?”
“Well, I, I think so.” The redness in his face matched the glow in his left thumb. “We’re pert’ near done here. Sure.”
She unfolded her arms and smiled at the effect she had on him. “Pick me up around three, and we’ll drive up to West Glacier and meet the 3:30 train for Whitefish. I’ll call and make reservations at the Cadillac.”
The flow of blood raced around his body like a racecar around the Butana Speedway in Butte. “Ah, I’ll be there at three o’clock. It kinda snuck up on us didn’t it?”
“Not really. It seems like it took forever to get here. I packed two weeks ago.” She turned and slowly left the living room. On her way by Katya, she whispered, “Kat, you owe me one. I’m gettin’ him out of your hair for at least twenty-four hours. He’ll tell you all about it.”
Katya hugged her and raised her arms in celebration. “Thank you,” she whispered back.
Ted Hughes donned his carpenter’s belt and walked to the carpenter’s shack at the northwest corner of the Dam complex. Operation scaled down to dayshift and afternoon shift. With the downsizing, workers totaled less than two-hundred. The walk across the Dam roadway only lasted about ten minutes. Two days earlier, the day shift removed the footings for the roadway. The final concrete pours included the viewing walls and the elevator towers. Workers already dismantled the last footings and cleanup hit fast-forward. David met Hughes as he reached for the shack door handle. “Oh, hi Ted. We’re gonna set the frames for tower two.”
As the two men walked back across the Dam roadway, Ted spoke to a crew of electricians as they rolled up cable and excess wire. He moved closer to David, “Did you think over what we talked about last night?”
“Ya. I did. I’ll talk to ya, but I need a good deal.”
“If you tell us who’s involved, the Bureau will guarantee a plea bargain agreement and your safety.”
“Will I have to testify at court?”
Ted rearranged his heavy belt as they walked, “You’ll have to testify. The money laundering is one thing, but the murder of those other two men is serious. You’re our first lead. We’ll make sure you’re safe.”
They reached the second tower and assessed the work to be done. “Ted, when will all of this take place?”
“My partner is in Kalispell right now. Our boss will arrive there in about an hour. We’ll meet with you tomorrow at nine to take your statements. We’ll have to get a judge to sign warrants for arrests. That might take a day. We most likely will pick up those involved in two days. I’ll transport you to Butte right after that and put you up until the trial. We’re only guessing but we think a pro has been hired to kill you. And if so, he’s still out there with a contract.”
He licked his chapped lips before he spoke, “That means today is my last shift on the Dam.”
“That’s right. I won’t leave your sight until we meet him at nine.”
“Well, I gotta meet my wife tomorrow afternoon to settle up with our divorce. Especially since I’ll be most likely leavin’ the next day.”
Ted unloaded the two by fours from the truck and stacked them near the tower door, “Good idea. Maybe you can do that while we make the arrests. After that you’ll be safe anyway. You’ll need to square away your trailer.”
The 25 X 52 Lieberman Gortz Spy Binoculars hung from his neck as Roy Devers pretended to observe the final stages of the completion of Hungry Horse Dam. A few minutes earlier, he zoomed in his binoculars on Hughes and David Sednick. Devers followed David the night before and witnessed the two FBI agents enter and exit David’s mobile home. He followed Sednick to work and studied the conversation with Ted Hughes. His adrenaline flowed generously as he realized time drew near for him to perform. No doubt about it, Sednick talked to the police. Slick Hansen wanted the timetable moved up by one day. They argued. Devers convinced his employer that you can’t hurry a safe kill. Too risky. They agreed to do Sednick in two days. In the meantime he’d get close to his target while Slick made a road trip to Spokane. After he killed Sednick, they’d meet at the Davenport in Spokane. “I might even buy Slick a drink or two before I sight him in too. Too many loose ends. We’ll split company, but only one of us will eat dinner that night.” He laughed and placed his treasured binoculars back into their brown leather case.
The twenty-five minute drive into Kalispell went by quickly. Neither man said much as Ted Hughes sped down Highway 2 West. As they neared the outskirts of Kalispell, David nervously reached for a couple of aspirin that he stashed in his shirt pocket. He swiveled his neck and searched for relief from his headache. The aspirin stuck in his throat and came back up. Agent Hughes looked over at him and said, “You might try and wash those down with some coffee. Help yourself to my thermos.”
David swallowed the aspirin and coffee and struggled to compose himself, “Who all will be there this mornin’?”
“My boss, partner, and us. Most likely we’ll have a tape recorder running. That’s about it, David.”
“I’ll get immunity for my part, right?”
“That’s what we promised. You’ll have to give back any money you received as a commission.”
David reveled in the fact that he’d get off without going to jail. But the thought of losing his stash sickened him. He congratulated himself for withdrawing the money from his bogas accounts. David squirreled that foxy money in the safe in the Dew Drop Inn with his friend Jackie. At least he had that to show for his trouble.
The meeting in the courtroom at the Flathead Court House in Kalispell took about an hour. After sworn in by the court recorder, David described in detail how he deposited the money into the bank accounts in Whitefish, Kalispell, and Columbia Falls. He carefully relayed the details of the most recent days with mailing the checks in an envelope to Palm Springs. He named the bank in Palm Springs and listed R.J. Hansen as the owner of that account. Finally David listed which banks and which savings accounts he just cleaned out. Agent Moore pushed the stop button on the tape recorder and the meeting ended.
As agreed, Katya met David in her lawyer’s office on Main Street in Columbia Falls. David still wore the dress slacks and white shirt and tie that he wore with his business with the FBI. Agent Hughes waited outside the building in David’s truck. Katya sat next to her lawyer and greeted David as he entered, “Hi David. How’re you doin’?” She wondered about his attire and for a moment regretted going through with the divorce. “Was there anything more I could have done to save our marriage? Was it my fault for giving so much of myself to Anna?”
He sat down across the table and quietly spoke, “Hi, Kat. You look good. How’s the new house doin’?”
“We’re gettin’ moved in alright. Lots more little things to take care of. But it’s comin’ along.”
“How’s Anna feelin’?”
She straightened up in her chair. She prayed David would not push for joint custody. She didn’t want to have to drag up his terrible side in order to prevent him from seeing Anna on a regular basis. But she promised herself
that she would if she had to. “Anna’s doin’ a whole lot better. We like her doctor up here.”
Katya’s lawyer cleared his throat, “Hmm, we best be getting down to it. First of all, Mr. Sednick, I’m John Longheart. Your wife wants to make this as easy as possible on everybody. She is asking for child support only. Everything else you own is yours. In return she is asking for full custody of your daughter. That is the long and short of it.”
Hearing Kat referred to as his wife seemed so distant to him. Time took care of that. They hadn’t been husband and wife for nearly a year, and before that things were very tenuous at best.
“I want it to be easy on all of us too. Especially for Anna. I think Kat should have complete custody for Anna. She’s all the parent Anna has and will need.”
Katya’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. “Thank you, David. Thank you so much.”
“What is child support to cost? My job at the Dam ends tomorrow, and I plan to leave the area.”
The lawyer shuffled the papers in front of his desk and retrieved a pad that contained monthly figures of Anna’s expenses. “According to the figures your wife finished for me, looks like your daughter will need just a little over a hundred dollars a month.”
“What?” What expenses could she have? She’ll live and eat free with her grandfather. I mean what costs are there?”
He cleared his throat again, “Medical costs will take the big bite of the cost. Your wife also wants to start putting away money for college. Then there is—”
“College? She’s only five years old. I can’t be in charge of her goin’ to college! Her mother might think about gettin’ a job if she wants Anna to go to college!”
Katya promised herself and her lawyer she’d keep quiet and contain herself. She tried, but her emotions won out. “David, I need to be home with her. I can’t be off workin’. Maybe in a couple of years when she gets stronger, but not now. I’m only askin’ for your help until she turns eighteen.”
He stood up, slapped the table hard with his right hand, and yelled, “Eighteen! You expect me to pay a hundred bucks a month for the next thirteen years. Yer crazier than I thought.”
This wasn’t the first time an angry husband blew his top in one of these meetings. Longheart took control, “Mr. Sednick, I’ve been around awhile, and I’m pretty damn sure a judge would take a look at what your daughter and wife have gone through the last half a year and demand a whole lot more than what’s being asked. You could have your monthly check sent directly to your wife. Or any savings or other accounts you might have could go to her. You’re getting off easy.”
David visualized his stash of money going up in flames. He sat back down and drummed his fingers on the table. “Okay. Okay. Hmmm. When would this start?”
“If we filed the papers tomorrow, we could most likely get a judge to decree within a couple of weeks. My best guess would be around the first of November.”
He blinked his eyes as the headache blurred his vision and his thoughts. “Fine! I’ll sign your paper there and be done with it!” Katya battled hard to not give in and tell him to go to hell. Her lawyer warned her that many women do that and later learn to regret it. She bit her lip and fought back tears of anger and frustration. It would be over soon. Too many good things lie ahead for she and her family. David Sednick no longer existed. He didn’t even ask to see Anna. His own flesh and blood. “Screw him,” she screamed inside of her head. “Screw him!”
That night David attempted to play poker with the two FBI agents. The motel room they rented smelled of cigar smoke and onions from the hamburgers Agent Moore picked up for the three of them for dinner. From time to time, David craved a drink. He promised himself that tomorrow while they made their arrests, he’d make a break for Columbia Falls and get loaded. He already lied and told the agents he’d pack his trailer and that he’d be ready to leave the following day.
After the lights went out, David reviewed his meeting with the FBI and later with Kat and her big-mouthed lawyer. The terms of the child support ate at him. His plans to vacation for a few months just went out the window. Now he most likely needed to work just to pay the monthly child support. “If Kat’d get off her fat ass and work, I wouldn’t have to pay so much. College? Who’s she kidding? Anna would be lucky to graduate from high school.” His stomach tossed as the heavy dose of aspirin nauseated him. The shitty burger and greasy fries didn’t help either. It promised to be a long night for David Sednick.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
At 3:15 the next afternoon, Hannah and Mikhail anxiously waited for the arrival of the Great Northern Streamliner. The depot agent informed the dozen or so waiting passengers that it would be only a few more minutes before the train arrived. Hannah identified events in her life as good or bad omens, and when the picture perfect autumn day showed such beautiful cooperation, she sensed that this planned adventure would be more than satisfactory. Wondering what Mikhail thought wasted time and energy.
Mikhail tried to enjoy the gentle breeze and peace offered by the weather, but feelings of doubt and inadequacy haunted him. His thoughts ticked off one by one when he imagined how the events of the next twenty-four hours would unfold. Wait for the train, get on the train, make small talk, get off the train in Whitefish, and eat a nice dinner at the Cadillac Hotel. This followed by feeling foolish as he approached what he wanted so badly to happen. He just didn’t know how. At this juncture in his thoughts, he quickly returned to just get on the train.
Hannah’s thoughts brought her back to recent conversations she shared with her mother. With lots of hugs, tears, and emotional overload, her mother helped Hannah come to grips with the fact that she suitably grieved for her deceased husband, and it was time to begin again. Her mother stated that however it played out, meeting a man and becoming happily involved was nothing to feel guilty about. “Hell,” thought Hannah, “she even gave me her favorite sweater twin set to wear when the occasion presented itself.”
And this was the occasion. The sound of the train engine interrupted each of them as the required triple horn blasts sounded as it crossed the intersection. They glanced at each other as if to say, “No turning back now.”
Mikhail reached for Hannah’s well-worn canvas satchel to assist her with boarding. This gentlemanly gesture was not lost on Hannah as she made direct eye contact, smiled, and said, “Thanks, Mikhail. Good move.” Why did she always have to use the smile that caused him to melt when he felt most uncomfortable or out of place? It didn’t help matters.
The weight of the satchel briefly caused Mikhail to speculate on the contents, but he knew better than to make any guesses and he certainly didn’t ask. What he knew about women and overnight packing could fit into a small shot glass. He already felt embarrassed. He hadn’t packed a thing. Not even clean shorts or socks. At least he had his wallet and felt somewhat manly with money to spend on this intriguing and very fascinating woman. The rendezvous in Whitefish had been her idea. He remembered that he agreed fairly quickly as long as she understood he paid.
Mikhail followed Hannah up the grated, metal steps and caught more than just glimpses of her behind as it swayed from side to side with each step. Why hadn’t he noticed that before? As she proceeded down the narrow aisle way looking for two seats together, he observed that the sway was hidden when Hannah simply walked. He decided that they needed to find more steps in the future. Hannah located two seats and immediately claimed the window. “I get the window,” she pronounced with her typically assertive tone when argument was out of the question.
Mikhail give Hannah her way when she used that particular voice because her requests were usually no big deal and simply part of her personality. He figured out, too, that if she looked out the window, he’d more easily take her into the safety of his own thoughts and not converse. He promptly did just that as Hannah sat back and gazed out the large glassed area. Quietly, Mikhail started with her attire, clothes he never saw before. Hannah wore a well cared for, pale pink sweat
er twin set that included a dainty silver fox fur collar and gray pearl buttons. Mikhail knew little of women’s sweaters, but it crossed his mind that it might be cashmere.
Again, it was safe to wonder about Hannah. Flat out asking was dangerous. To match the twin set, Hannah chose a neatly pressed lightweight gray pleated wool skirt. He noticed the shear nylons and quickly averted his eyes from her legs and made the assumption that she surely had shoes on of some kind. He decided to check that out later.
As his gaze returned to above the little fur collar, he saw that face. The face that stopped him in his tracks several months ago. The face that seldom appeared confused or without thought. It was the face that for today showed hints of blush and perhaps a little mascara. She covered her lips with a peachy pink color. Right now that face looked more deeply in thought than he ever observed before. “What’s on her mind? Is she having second thoughts? Did I already do something wrong just a few miles into the trip? Did I need my own satchel? Hell, I haven’t done anything yet! How can she be having second thoughts? Take it easy you big mope!”
Hannah continued to take in the landscape as the train slowly picked up speed winding to Whitefish and the eventual shit canning of her past celibate-like life. She smiled to herself thinking about how much she loved this time of year. There was just a tinge of color coming to the trees, and the river rolled ever so low on its banks. From experience, she knew that one good frost and the trees would be the vibrant gold, red, and yellow shades of fall. Hannah never tired of the change in the larch trees, a species of evergreen that turned the most beautiful golden yellow in autumn and dropped its needles to cushion and protect the forest floor in winter.
