Stabenow, Dana - Liam Campbell 04 - Better To Rest

by Better To Rest(lit)

  Liam got to his feet. “Hi, Dad.

  Charles smiled. “Hello, son. Great to see you again.

  Uh-huh. Liam shook the hand extended to him and offered no explanation of his swan dive out of the office chair. Charles was tactful enough not to ask for one. “You must have had a late night.

  “Yeah. Liam glanced surreptitiously at his watch. It was past ten. Where was Prince?

  Firm footsteps sounded on the stairs, and the door opened to admit Prince. “Charles!

  “Diana, Charles said, a wealth of information in that single word.

  Prince recovered fast; Liam had to give her that. “How nice to see you again, she said, eyes cast demurely down.

  “How very nice indeed, Charles said.

  More footsteps. Already the morning was not turning out well, and when he saw who it was, he groaned inside.

  “Liam, Jo said, “I need to talk to you about this crash site. How do I get to it, and

  At that moment Col. Charles Bradley Campbell sprang into her dazzled view. Liam, while not a vain man, knew that he was good-looking, and knew that he looked like his father, but although hed had his share of women there was something about the elder Campbell that made them go down like ninepins in his presence. Jo, the hardest of hard-nosed reporters, all but went over flat on suddenly very round heels.

  Charles was a tall man, as tall as Liam, and the similarities didnt stop there. His eyes were as blue, if less warm, his dark red hair, if shorter in style, as thick and as yet not gray even at the temples. His jaw was as firm, his shoulders as broad, his waist and hips as trim, his legs as long, and he looked just as good in the snug jacket and slacks of his dark blue air force uniform as Liam did in his trooper blue and gold.

  Liam, looking at Charles through Jos eyes, remembered his state of deshabille and snugged up and straightened his tie. It was pretty much all he could do without a dry cleaner.

  For her part, Jo, not a woman easily impressed, for the first time received an inkling of what was itching at her friend, Wy. What she didnt see in Liam was manifestly obvious in Liams father. “Jesus, she said, looking from one man to the other and pleased that her voice was light and steady. “The apple sure didnt fall far from this tree.

  Charles Bradley Campbell grinned, a quick, lethal grin with razor-sharp edges. “Why, thank you, maam.

  Liam, Jo was interested to note, looked less than thrilled. “What are you doing in town, Dad?

  Charles looked wounded. “What, I cant drop in once in a while to visit my son?

  “Drop in all the way from Washington, D.C.?

  Charles smiled with all the warmth and charm at his command, both of which were considerable. “Newenhams just like everywhere else, son. A plane ride away.

  The man standing in back of him made a discreet noise.

  “Why, Im forgetting my manners, Charles said. “Special Agent James G. Mason, trooper Sgt. Liam Campbell.

  “Special agent? Liam said.

  James G. Masons smile was slow and a little shy. “Of the FBI.

  “FBI? Jo said. “Whats the Feebs doing in Newenham?

  “Good-bye, Jo, Liam said.

  “Come on, Liam

  “Allow me to introduce you around. Jo Dunaway, reporter for the Anchorage News, he said to his father, who was too smooth to show alarm. The FBI man looked confused, but that may have been cosmetic. “Good-bye, Jo, he repeated. At his look, Prince went to the door and held it for her, not without some small feeling of triumph at being the woman left behind with Col. Charles Bradley Campbell.

  Liam waited for the disgruntled footsteps to fade well out of hearing. “Special Agent Mason.

  “Sergeant Campbell.

  “How can I help you?

  The agent looked at Charles, who shrugged. His glasses slipped farther down his nose and he pushed them back up again, a nervous habit. “Well, we heard you had found the wreckage from a plane crash.

  “And this merits attention from the FBI? And the air force, he thought, looking at his father, who looked blandly back.

  “WellMason flushed slightly“er, yes, we think it does. Um, we think it might be the wreckage of a plane that crashed into Carryall Mountain the night of December twentieth, 1941. It was a C-47, a Lend-Lease aircraft meant for Chiang Kai-Sheks forces in China.

  “And the FBI is interested in this crashwhy? Is there some indication that this was other than an accident?

  If possible, Mason looked even more apologetic. “The special agent in charge in Anchorage sent me down as an observer, just in case.

  Liam looked at Charles. “There were three people on board, a pilot, a copilot, and a navigator. We bring our boys back.

  It was simply said, and Liam had no doubt that Charles, a career man to whom the United States Air Force was life and breath, meant every word. Nevertheless, he couldnt escape the feeling that something had been left unsaid. “I imagine you want to go up there.

  Charles nodded. “Can you take us?

  Prince looked chagrined. “Our plane is still on floats.

  Charles looked at Liam and smiled a slow, knowing smile. “Know an air taxi we can charter?

  Liam, expecting a Fury when he called, found Wy vague and distracted. Well, if she couldnt be bothered to ask where hed spent the night, he sure as hell couldnt be bothered to offer the information. He explained the situation in crisp and businesslike tones. “Can you get the Cessna in there with everyone on board? There was a long silence. “Wy?

  “You want to fly back to the C-47 wreck?

  “Yes, he said. “I just said that. Didnt I just say that?

  “I dont know. I... yes, I guess so. She seemed to pull herself together. “All right. How much do they weigh?

  “A hundred eighty, Charles said.

  “One forty-five, Mason said.

  Liam heard pencil scratching on paper. “Well make it.

  Liam remembered the tiny dirt strip carved out of the snow, no bigger in his fevered memory than a Band-Aid, and carefully kept anything he might be feeling from showing on his face. “She says its a go, he said, hanging up. “Need a ride?

  “Thanks, the commander out at Chinook was kind enough to loan us a vehicle.

  “You flew into Chinook? Chinook Air Force Base was forty miles south of Newenham. It was a small base, fully manned only during the height of the Cold War, and would have been closed years earlier if the senior senator from the state of Alaska hadnt had enough seniority to head up the military appropriations committee.

  It certainly offered Liams father far too easy access to Newenham, and to Liam.

  “Of course.

  “You fly in with him? This to Mason.

  “Yes, Mason said.

  “What did you fly in on?

  Charles grinned. “Nothing like an F-15 to shrink the spaces between places, Liam. You ought to let me show you what mach speed looks like from the inside.

  “Thanks anyway, Liam said. One of the sorest spots between father and son was the sons complete inability to appreciate the magic of flight.

  “You coming with us?

  Liam couldnt have put his finger on how he knew Charles didnt want him at the crash site, but he did. He looked down at the list of names belonging to Lydias book club. He looked up at his father, into the blue eyes so like his own, so determinedly clear of guile.

  He handed the list to Prince. “Talk to them all, see if she was worried about something, fighting with someone; you know the drill.

  “Yes, sir, Prince said, very glum.

  “See you later, Charles told her.

  She brightened visibly.

  Liam followed Charles and Mason in the Blazer, out the gravel road to the airport, ten miles from Newenham, complete with hangar and tie-downs and Gift Shoppe. Wy was waiting for them, 68 Kilo fueled and ready. They climbed in and took off.

  It was a much shorter ride this time, and a much louder landing. Liam was certain they were going to end up in the trees, a place they had already been in a plane on
ce this year, thank you very much, when a hard kick to the rudder swung the tail around and they rolled mercifully to a stop.

  “Nicely done, Charles drawled over the headphones.

  “Thank you, Colonel, Wy said.

  “Charles, please. He smiled at her. Liam, watching from the backseat, noticed that while she inclined her head in acknowledgment she didnt smile back. Maybe that was why he loved her, the one woman left in the world Charles Bradley Campbell had yet to charm.

  Give him time.

  They hiked up the trail to the glacier, encountering fresh bear scat and a gray-muzzled cow moose, who gave them an incurious stare before moving placidly into a stand of diamond willow. It was overcast today, and colder. Their breath made little clouds that hung in the air, only to swirl, disperse and vanish as the line of people walked through them.

  “Its going to snow, Wy said, looking at the horizon.

  “How much and how long?

  She measured the clouds with narrow eyes. “A couple of feet by morning. She saw Liams face. “Im kidding.

  All the same, he kept an uneasy eye on the horizon after that. The last thing he wanted to do was take off into a snowstorm. Theyd had to land in one the month before. He wasnt enthusiastic at the possibility of repeating the experience.

  They emerged from the trees into the clearing at the foot of the glacier.

  “Where is it? Charles said. Behind him, Mason was staring upward, openmouthed.

  “There, Liam said, and pointed.

  Charles looked. “Jesus H. Christ, he said, but it was more prayer than curse.

  The face of the glacier looked to the southwest, and even in late October one day of sun had done enough melting to throw the outline of the plane into even starker relief, most of the fuselage, what was left of the right wing. The glacial backdrop was stunning, too. The cloudy day brought out the colors hiding in the ice, green, purple, a little red, a hundred different shades of blue, from powder to navy. Some trick of the light made it seem as if the tail of the craft were protruding, and at the same time made the whole thing look semitransparent, almost phantasmic. And why not? Liam thought. It was indeed an apparition, the specter of a time gone by and a war long since won. Only the spirits of the men who had been her last crew had the right to walk here.

  Charles took an involuntary step forward.

  “Hold it, Wy said, barring his way with one hand. “That glacier calves. The whole thing could come down on top of you at any moment.

  “Weve got to get up there.

  “You cant.

  “Howd you find the wreckage, then?

  “Its falling off the face of the glacier a little bit at a time, Liam said. “A couple of hunters were passing by, and stumbled over some... pieces.

  “Weve got to recover the bodies. Charles seemed shaken out of his usual sangfroid.

  “Theyre dead, Dad.

  There was a spark of anger in Charles eyes when he turned to look at his son. “There are three of our own up there, Liam.

  Parts of them might be, Liam thought. “Who were they?

  Charles seemed to pull himself together. “Capt. Terrance Roepke of Minot, South Dakota. First Officer Aloysiusall three of the men winced“March of Pasadena, California. Flight Engineer Obadiah Etheridge of Birmingham, Alabama. All U.S. Army Air Corps.

  “What were they doing over the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta in a C-47 on December twentieth, 1941?

  “You ever hear of Lend-Lease?

  “Yes. Sure. Of course. Okay, refresh my memory.

  “It was Roosevelts way of funneling equipment and supplies to the Allies before we actually got into the war. The C-47 was a standard piece of Lend-Lease equipment.

  Liam nodded at the wreck. “Where was this one going?

  “Russia.

  Wys brow creased. “Werent most of those planes ferried through Nome by way of Fairbanks by way of the Alcan?

  “Yes.

  “What was this one doing so far south?

  “I dont know. Bad weather, instrument failure, extreme cold, any of those things. Were talking 1941, real seat-of-your-pants flying, especially up here. Charles looked and sounded a little wistful. “These guys had to be good, or good guessers.

  Liam looked up at the glacier. This crew hadnt been that good.

  Mason, finally having gotten his mouth closed, grabbed Liams arm and pointed involuntarily. “Look!

  As they watched, a section of the glacier shuddered and split from the main body of ice. It was so large it seemed to take a long, long time to fall. At about the time the first piece of ice hit the ground, the first boom! hit their eardrums, followed by a loud, continuous thundering crunch of ice striking bottom and breaking up.

  The ghost of the C-47 seemed to ripple. They held their breath, watching, but the plane stayed where it was. “Weve got to get up there, Charles said. “Weve got to get those men out.

  “Sooner or later theyll come to us, Colonel, Wy said. At his look she added, “You cant climb up the face of the glacier for the same reason. You cant rappel down from the top for the same reason. The whole thing is just too unstable. Really the only thing you can do is wait. She paused, and then, because she too was a pilot, repeated gently, “Theyll come to us.

  There was a brief silence. “How long?

  Wy shrugged. “Its a glacier. Its also October. Its going to get colder very soon, and its going to snow a lot. Id leave any recovery attempt until next year. Check it out in the spring, see what kind of a snowfall there has been, see how long it will take to melt off. Try to get in sometime between then and when the glacier goes into full calving mode. No guarantees it wont have, and no guarantees the whole thing wont slide off the face of the glacier the moment we fly out of here, but at least nobody else gets killed.

  They stood staring at the glacier. After a moment, Wy touched Liams arm. “Liam? Do you hear it?

  “Hear what? Liam became aware of a faint buzzing noise, increasing in volume. It got louder and louder, until he looked over his shoulder at where the trail ended at the edge of the trees to see five four-wheelers burst into the clearing. Their drivers saw the little group and the man in the lead shouted out a warning but it was too late.

  “Look out! Liam said, and picked up Wy around the waist and leaped left. Charles and Mason both jumped right. The vehicles skidded to a halt.

  Paul Urbano looked at Liam picking himself out of the blueberry bushes, his uniform smeared with blue stains, and said, “Oh, shit.

  Teddy Engebretsen, John Kvichak, and Kelley MacCormick looked as if they were trying to will themselves into invisibility.

  The fifth man, Evan Gray, laughed out loud.

  Peering around him, her short cap of blond curls ruffled and adorned with the odd desiccated birch leaf, so did Jo Dunaway.

  December 10, 1941

  That plane that went in four days ago? They found two of the guys! Both pilots were kilt in the crash but there were two other guys on board and although they were hurt they fixed up some kind of wooden slats they call skis (they use these skis to travel over the snow in Norway, I hear) and strapped them to their knees and feet and crawled out. They only made it three miles but that was enough for them to be seen from the highway and be picked up. The story is it was fifty-eight below. I cant believe theyre alive. Nobody can.

  I wonder if Ill ever be abel to tell my son what I did in the war. I cant even tell them at home where I am. Its this big secret that were giving planes to Russia and China. Like March said the other day, theres hundreds of planes going through Nome every day, do the brass think the Germans and the Japs havent notised? He was taking a talley on a tablet and saw I was watching is why he said it. He said if I can keep cownt anybody can.

  TWELVE

  First on the list of Lydias book club members was Bill Billington. As Newenhams one and only magistrate, she was a walking, talking database on the community and its citizens. She knew who was sleeping with whom, where all the bodies were buried, and if the check re
ally was in the mail or likely to be anytime in the near future.

  Besides, Diana Prince had skipped breakfast, and the best lunch going was at Bills. She bellied up to the bar a little past one oclock and grabbed a stool at the end. The lunch crowd was already thinning out, although she didnt know where everyone was going. Over to the Breeze Inn to play pool, probably. Winter in southwestern Alaska, particularly for the unemployed, could be just one long, cold, dark stretch of boredom and inertia, and after the last two pitiful fishing seasons, there wasnt a lot of incentive to work on boats or hang gear for the next one.

  She wondered where Col. Charles Bradley Campbell was sleeping that night. She wondered if he would find a way to let her know.

  “What can I do you for? Bill said, running the bar rag in Dianas direction.

  “How about a steak sandwich, fries, green salad with bleu cheese on the side? And a diet Coke with a wedge of lime, if youve got it. Lemon if you dont.

  “Coming right up.

  “And talk, when you have a few minutes.

  Bill raised an eyebrow, and went into the kitchen to slap a slab of meat down on the grill. The air was filled with the satisfying sound of charring beef. She made Smokey Pete another vodka martini on the rocks, blended four margaritas for a group of giggling young women who were celebrating the twenty-first birthday of the last of them to become legal, and stuck her head into the office. Moses was dozing on the couch. She pulled a throw over him and closed the door silently behind her. She assembled the steak sandwich, loaded the plate with fries, and delivered it just as Prince was forking up the last of her salad. “Whats up? she said, pulling her stool opposite Princes.

  “Liam wants me to ask you about Lydia Tompkins book club. Says you were a member. Prince wiped her hands on a napkin and got out a notebook. “Says you, Lydia, Alta Peterson, Mamie Hagemeister, Charlene Taylor, Sharon Ilutsik and Lola Gamechuck were all members.

  “Thats right.

  “How often did you meet?

  “Once a month.

  “All of you pretty close?

  “Pretty close.