Nothing gold can stay (7 page)

“Okay, Liam said.

“Good, she said. “So long as were clear.

“Perfectly, he said.

“I mean it, she said.

“I know, he said. “Im sorry. He could feel Prince beginning to get restive, and he said, “Tell me what happened, Wy.

“What happened? she said. “What happened is Im on my mail run, Im landing at my last stop on the route, I start unloading the mail, and when Opal doesnt come out to carry it inside I go in looking for her. She swallowed. “And I found her.

“Did you know her? Prince said.

“Of course I knew her, Wy snapped. “I knew her like I know everybody on my mail route. She was the postmistress, I talked to her once or twice a week, weather permitting.

“What did you say her name was? Prince got out her notebook.

“Opal. Opal Nunapitchuk. Oh god. There were a couple of benches arranged around a lovely little copse of plants, shrubs and trees native to Alaska, evidence of someones inspiration and loving care, and Wy went over and sat down hard on one of them. “Oh god, she repeated, and bent over to put her head between her knees.

“She in the house?

Wy nodded without looking up.

“Better take a look, Liam said to Prince, and led the way up the path.

Opal Nunapitchuk lay sprawled on her back behind the counter that fenced in the corner of the room to the left of the door. Her eyes were wide open, her head at an odd angle because of the cramped quarters of the space behind the counter. Her left shoulder was shattered, a mess of white splinters of bone and congealed blood.

He looked at her face first, something he had trained himself to do from his first crime scene. He wanted to imprint the face of the victim in his memory, be able to call it up at need. He wanted the face of the victim right there as he gathered evidence, as he interviewed witnesses, as he swore out an arrest warrant, as he arrested a suspect, as he conducted the interrogation, as he testified in court. He made sure that the victim was always with him.

His first impression was how young she seemed, clear brown skin tanned from a summer in the sun, a long fall of shining black hair, a slim, muscular build that looked as if it had been vigorously active in life. There were creases in the corners of her eyes, laugh lines at the corners of her mouth, the telltale crepe beneath her jaw. Not so young, then, but a very attractive woman. Rape? No, she was still fully dressed, her jeans belted tightly around a slim waist. He looked at the wound. It seemed high, as if the shooters aim had been off. Or she had pushed it off.

“Not a body shot, Liam said, more to himself than to Prince, but she picked up on it.

“Not aiming to kill, maybe?

“Maybe.

Prince stooped and raised the body slightly to peer beneath. “Entrance wound. She was shot from behind.

“Bullet spun her around.

“Yeah. She stood up. “Guy pulls the gun, what, going for the cash? She looked in a few of the half-open drawers. “Aha. She pulled out a rectangular aluminum box and opened the lid to show him. It was divided into sections for bills and change, and it was empty.

“She turns to run... behind the counter? he added doubtfully.

“For a weapon? Prince said. She reached beneath the counter. “There are clips here, Id say for a rifle.

“But no rifle?

“No.

“He probably took that, too.

“So, she turns to go for the rifle, he shoots, she spins around, falls. He takes the cash and the rifle and leaves.

“From the look of the wound, Ill bet the slug ricocheted off a bone, he said. “It could be anywhere. Bullets frequently had minds of their own once they impacted their target and Liam placed no dependence on their being able to find this one. Which didnt mean they wouldnt look.

A series of large V-shaped shelves took up the corner from floor to ceiling, the top half divided into square, open-ended boxes, some with mail in them, some not. The bottom half was divided into drawers, and the two were bisected by a narrow counter, also V-shaped.

“She hit her head on the way down, Prince said, pointing at a dark brown smudge on the edge of the counter.

“Twice, Liam said, looking at another smudge on the second drawer down. They checked and found blood matted in Opals hair.

Envelopes, letter size, business size, nine-by-thirteen manilas and priority mail, were scattered across the floor, the shelves they had fallen from teetering dangerously at the edge of the desk they sat on. At least she went down fighting, they both thought.

Liam prodded Opals arm. “Rigors coming on. He looked at his watch. “Its going on seven oclock. He looked up. “What would you say the temperature was in this room?

“Fifty-five, maybe.

“Outside?

“Temperature at Newenham airport was fifty-four when we left.

“But this is farther north, and higher up. The walls are pretty thick, not many windows. Probably didnt get above sixty-five all day in here.

“Sounds about right.

“So, she died ten, maybe twelve hours ago, you think?

Prince shrugged. “M.E. will tell us more.

“Yeah, but I want to know how much of a head start the son of a bitch has on us, and were going to miss the last jet to Anchorage by the time we get the body back to Newenham, which means itll be two, three days before the M.E. has a time of death.

“Not smelling much yet.

“No. Which could mean she hasnt been here that long, or that it never warms up in here. He looked back down at the body. “Robbery, you think?

Prince spotted a group of pictures sitting on a table, and went over to look. The dead woman was in several, surrounded by what looked like husband and children, and more than one with the house they were standing in in the background. “Could be. This is probably her home, too. We dont know whats missing. She pushed back her cap to scratch above her ear, resettled the cap. “If this were Anchorage, Id say someone was making a hit on peoples Social Security checks. But way out here... well, I dont see some thug hiking five hundred miles through the Bush to coldcock some old woman for her hundred-and-fifty-dollar Social Security check.

“Yeah. Well have to find out how many were due to this post office today, how many people collect it hereabouts.

“Goody. Prince paused. “You think it was someone she knew?

“Usually is. Liam stood up and looked around. “And this would be an awfully big house to live in alone.

It was a large, rectangular room, furnished with couches and recliners and dominated by a fireplace made of rock that boasted its own spit. Alaskan memorabilia was piled in every corner there wasnt a bookshelf, including a Japanese glass float with the net still on that looked a foot and a half in diameter. There were black-and-white pictures of tall, thin men in leather jackets and hats with chin straps standing in front of open-cockpit biplanes, interspersed with paintings in oil and watercolor, some good, some bad, and a small one of a cache on stilts in winter that could have been an original Sydney Lawrence. Considering how much Lawrence traveled around Alaska, and considering how often he painted for booze, the possibility was not at all unlikely. If that was the case, why would the robber leave something so valuable behind? Liam was fuzzy on the valuation of art, but even a small painting by Lawrence had to be worth two or three thousand dollars, and this one was a very portable size.

There was a window next to the painting and through it Liam could see a thermometer fixed to the eaves of the house. It read fifty-one degrees. That was warm for the north side of a house, which meant it might have been a lot warmer in Kagati Lake than he had originally thought. Warm temperatures delayed rigor, so Opal Nunapitchuk could have been dead longer than ten to twelve hours, which only put more time between the killer and the scene.

He looked at the table standing next to the dark green recliner. It was a slab of burlwood, sanded, polished and finished with a coat of Verathane. A trick of the fading evening sun reflected off the glass on one of the watercolor paintings and landed on the table, which was covered with a fine layer of dust, except where something sort of square had been sitting until very recently.

Scattered around the room were three other tables, one hutch and the mantelpiece. All of them needed dusting, and all of them were missing objects that had heretofore kept at least the area beneath them clean. “Prince?

A flash went off behind him. “Sir?

“Light a lamp if you can find one, would you? Its getting too dark to see.

“Yes, sir.

“And get pictures of all the tabletops and the mantelpiece.

“Fingerprints?

“I didnt see any. But dust everything anyway. Start with the counter and the cash box.

He heard the sound of an engine, no, two, outside. They paused, idling, and he heard Wys voice. He went swiftly to the door and in the dusk saw a man on a four-wheeler with two Blazo boxes strapped on behind with bungee cords. He looked to be in his late fifties, early sixties, maybe, a burly man with thick dark hair streaked silver that hung raggedly below his ears, and dark, narrow eyes nearly hidden in a mass of wrinkles that began in the middle of his forehead and cascaded down into laugh lines bracketing both eyes and mouth. He saw Liam over Wys shoulder, and Liam stepped forward.

“Whats going on? the man said, his smile fading as he took in Liams uniform. He looked from Liam to Wy, who couldnt meet his eyes and looked ashamed of it. He killed the engine and dismounted. “Wheres Opal?

“Who are you, sir? Liam said.

“This is Leonard Nunapitchuk, Wy said. “Opals husband.

Liam removed his hat and took a deep breath. “Mr. Nunapitchuk, there is no easy way to say this. Ms. Chouinard flew in this afternoon to deliver the mail, and she found your wife.

Leonard Nunapitchuks skin paled beneath its ruddy tan. “Is she hurt? Opal? Opal! He stepped forward, only to halt when Liam held up a hand.

“Im afraid shes dead, Mr. Nunapitchuk. Im very sorry for your loss.

Leonard Nunapitchuk stared at him without comprehension. “Opal is dead?

“Yes.

“No. Opals husband shook his head decidedly. “No, she isnt. I was just here, last weekend. We were all here. He waved a hand, and Liam looked beyond him, across the airstrip where the trees parted for a path. The moon had risen as the sun had set and painted a stepstone path of silver across the ripples of Kagati Lake. The breeze paused, and in the momentary lull Liam heard the murmur of voices, punctuated by a laugh.

There was a sudden shaft of light from the open door of the house as Prince lit the large Aladdin lantern sitting on the hutch next to the door, and Liam looked at Leonard Nunapitchuk, who was about five feet four inches tall and whose belly was just barely restrained by a wide, worn leather belt. There was a hunting knife in a stained leather sheath hanging from the belt. He had a rifle, a Remington .30-30, it looked like, hanging over his shoulder.

His clothes, a fatigue jacket over a cotton shirt in faded blue plaid and jeans, were grubby. His boots were shiny with fish scales. He smelled like woodsmoke, sweat and salmon, like Moses did when he came back from Old Man Creek.

It looked like fish camp had been a success and that Leonard wanted to tell his wife all about it. “Opal? Opal, where are you?

“Sir, Liam said, and something in the single, forceful syllable got through the way nothing else had before.

Realization came hard to Leonard Nunapitchuks eyes, but it came, followed by shock and the awful need to know, to see, to make sure there hadnt been some dreadful mistake, because of course there must have been some mistake, this couldnt be happening, not to him. Liam had seen the reaction before, and he stepped to one side so that Leonard could go through the door.

Prince looked around from lighting the Coleman lantern hanging from a bracket next to the kitchen door and saw Leonard. “Sir, I

Liam held up a hand and she stopped.

Leonard saw Opal in the same moment, and a terrible groan ripped out of his chest. “No, he said. “No, Opal, no. He dropped to his knees. “Opal. My Opal.

He was weeping now, and when he dropped forward to crawl toward her Liam had to restrain him. “Im sorry, sir. You cant touch her yet.

“Shes my wife!

“I know. Im sorry.

Nunapitchuk wrapped his arms around his body and rocked back and forth on his knees. “Opal. Why? Why, why why why?

Liam heard voices, and Wys voice responding. Before he could turn, Nunapitchuk was on his feet. “The children cant see this, they cant see this. He ran his sleeve across his face and went outside, Liam following.

There were five more people in the yard, two young men no taller or slimmer than their father and their wives, one a young woman who looked like Opal must have thirty years before, with a plump baby perched on her hip doing his best to snag a dragonfly as it buzzed past. His mother caught him just before he took flight after it.

All of them stared at Liam, at Leonard. It was obvious by their shocked faces that Wy had told them of Opals death. He knew a faint guilt that she should have assumed this burden, but it was very faint, and he adjusted the duck-billed hat with the seal of the Alaska State Troopers on it and stepped forward to put the necessary questions to the bereaved.

Down the shingly scaur he plunged, in search of his Elaine. Elaine the fair, Elaine the lovable, Elaine, the lily maid of his Astolat. She had left him before, his wandering love, but never for long, and she was always glad when he found her again, glad to return to her chamber up a tower to the east.

Long years had they lived there, and would abide together there again soon. He missed her presence during the day and her warmth during the night. She knew so little at first, but he taught her, and taught her well, so that she kept his shield and tended his wounds with skill and love.

He wished that like Lancelot he had a diamond to give his Elaine for her loyalty, her faithfulness. He trusted her as he trusted no other, to tend his hearth, his clothes, his home, to cook his meals, to warm his bed, to stand beside him summer and winter, his companion, his lover, his friend. She surrounded him with grace and beauty.