Better To Rest Part 13

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 Was.h.i.+ngton, 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, 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. 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 gla.s.ses 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 h.e.l.l 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 s.p.a.ces 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 once 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 pa.s.sing 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! boom! hit their eardrums, followed by a loud, continuous thundering crunch of ice striking bottom and breaking up. 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 n.o.body 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, s.h.i.+t.

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.