Nothing gold can stay (5 page)

So long as they stayed sober they were responsible hunters, harvesting what they killed, packing out the meat, taking no more than they could eat in a winter, in no way giving Newenhams fish and game trooper Charlene Taylor cause to arrest them for violating the wanton waste law.

They had, however, come to feel somewhat proprietary about the bluff: the Kvichak-Engebretsen Private Hunting Preserve. Hikers and campers, thinking they were well within the boundaries of the Wood River-Tikchik State Park, had occasionally run across John and Teddys path and been apprised of their error. Once a couple had returned from a hike up Kanuktik Ridge to find their tent slashed and all their belongings scattered in the creek. “Could have been a bear, Charlene told Liam. Two others had had their canoe shot out from under them on Three Lake. “Probably not a bear, Liam told Charlene. A group of Great White Hunters in the tender care of Dagfinn Grant had been in hot pursuit of a bull moose sporting what looked like a record rack when suddenly gunshots fired from an unknown source had spooked the bull, who was last seen heading across the Middle Fork at a clip that would put a four-wheeler to shame.

Charlene had been waiting for John and Teddy at the airport that time, alongside a steaming Finn Grant, mustache crawling down either side of his mouth like Fu Manchus. “Gosh, Teddy said, eyes wide, “I didnt hear anything. Did you hear anything, John?

John shook his head. “Nope.

Teddy turned to Grant. “Sorry we cant help, Finn. I think its just awful the way some people go around popping off guns in the woods, dont you? Somebody could get hurt out there.

Grant threw a punch at him, which Charlene stepped in to block, and for a few halcyon moments Teddy and John basked in the delightful prospect of pressing charges for assault. “Dont push your luck, boys, Charlene said dryly, so they loaded Johns pickup with meat and headed into town to distribute their haul, to the loud hosannas of both families. Times were tough in Newenham, the salmon catch down and down again for two years running. For some families, if they didnt get their moose they didnt eat meat that winter.

It was serious business, providing meat for their families, and John and Teddy took it seriously. Mostly. Which meant that sometimes they took beer, and sometimes they didnt.

This time they had.

That morning they had dropped a bull that would provide them with six hundred pounds of meat, dressed, something to celebrate, John said, and Teddy agreed. Theyd already got their caribou, hanging in quarters now from trees around camp. There were four dozen ptarmigan in canvas bags, and another dozen geese, gutted but not plucked.

“We deserve a beer, John said, standing and stretching. The moose was gutted and skinned and hanging next to the caribou. The heart, tongue and liver were set to one side and steamed gently in the crisp fall air. Liver and onions tonight, he thought, smacking his lips, and pictured his mothers face when he came in the door. “Youre a good boy, John, she always said, whether he brought home the meat or not. This fall, he felt hed earned it.

“Hell, Teddy said, “we deserve six, and opened the case of Miller Genuine Draft with bloodstained hands.

Newenham, September 1

Liam did what he had to do without compunction, without reconsideration, without, in fact, any thought of his sworn oath to uphold the law and Constitution and parental rights. He ordered his usual fatburger and fries at Bills and ate them to the accompaniment of Bills countdown of Things to Be Done While Im Gone. The recipient of all this good advice, Dottie Takak, took it as she took most things in life, stolidly, silently, without question or expression on her wide brown face. Shed been cooking for Bill for nine years, shed subbed for Bill when Bill went on Costco runs to Anchorage, when Bill and Moses took time out for trysts during walrus hunts or purse seining or New Years jaunts to the Kenai Princess Lodge, where once Bill claimed she had actually talked Moses onto cross-country skis. Dottie listened stoically as Bill told her not to forget to restock the beer, wash the glasses, sweep the floor, unplug the jukebox (currently floating Ivan Nevilles “Why Cant I Fall in Love out over the room, definitely not one of Liams many problems, so he tuned it out), scrub the grill, take out the trash and lock the doors, the front and the safes. Count the till each night, keep each days take in a separate envelope, messages should be entered in the Daily Diary for Bill to peruse when she chose to return. As far as magistrating went, shed keep a schedule at ten a.m. every morning on the shortwave at the fish camp; tell the hyperventilating to call her there. If there was a murder, she might come back. Otherwise, they could wait.

Finally Bill ran down. Dottie, still silent, took the list and vanished into the kitchen. Bill looked at Liam. “You werent gone long. She found a saltshaker and passed it over the counter.

He anointed his fries. Could never have too much salt on potatoes and popcorn. He could feel Bills eyes on his face as he continued to eat.

“What happened? she said.

He rubbed a fry in the pile of salt on his plate. “Case Ive got.

“You werent gone long enough to acquire a new case, she said. “Must be one of the old ones.

He ate the fry.

“What, Im supposed to guess?

“No, he said, swallowing. He put half his burger down, his appetite gone. “Just this woman, beat up on her son, she came back into town carrying a court order says she can visit him. Its limited, supervised, but...

“What pea-brain judge signed that order?

“Legere.

Bills snort said that she shared Liams opinion of the jurist in question.

“The kids terrified of her, doesnt want to have anything to do with her, and hes just starting to settle in where hes at now. This is really going to shake him up.

“Whos got him?

Liam raised his eyes. “Wy.

There was a long silence. Liam watched Bills face as realization dawned. “Natalie Gosuks the one with the court order?

He nodded. “Shes sober, too, who knows how long. But shes got the order, she knows what it means and shes going to use it. I think shell run off with him first chance she gets.

Bills eyes narrowed.

“Sooner or later, shell start drinking again, like she always does. But for the moment, shes here, and shell be knocking on Wys door, wanting to see Tim. He looked down at his plate. “Too bad Moses brought him in from fish camp. School doesnt start until Monday, and Natalie never lasts longer in town than three or four days.

She spoke carefully and deliberately. “You miserable, manipulative, Machiavellian son of a bitch.

He nodded with no particular pleasure.

She tossed the bar rag and turned to go. Over her shoulder she said, “You want to be a social worker, you better lose the trooper uniform.

FOUR

Nenevok Creek, September 1

Rebecca Hanover was a reluctant gold miner.

“I like to knit, she had told her friend Nina in Anchorage in April. “I like to bead and quilt and cross-stitch.

“You can do all those things at the mine.

“Yes, but I like to do all those things in front of a roaring fire in a stone fireplace with an episode of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
on the television. I like getting up during the commercials and going to a bathroom that has a flush toilet.

“Ah. Then it isnt beading you like, its indoor plumbing.

Rebecca refused to be diverted. “I like meeting you for coffee and canella at City Market on Saturday mornings. She raised her cup and gestured at the large room full of loud cheerful voices and the mingled aromas of Kaladi Brothers coffee, Italian sausage sandwiches and spicy sesame chicken. In the parking lot cars were idling, waiting for an empty space. “I like people. I like eavesdropping on their conversations. Like that guy? She pointed with her chin. “Hes a superior court judge, and that isnt his wife. Before you got here they were planning a weekend in Seattle, until he remembered that was the weekend of his anniversary. She hasnt spoken to him since.

Nina shifted in her chair and managed a covert, over-the-shoulder look. “Isnt that Shelby Arvidson, the anchor on Channel 6?

“Yes, it is, and youll notice, shes still here.

“Your point being?

“The weekend may still be on, anniversary or no. And you see the couple in the corner? The dark woman in the red T-shirt with the tall blond guy?

“Uh-huh.

“Thats Lois Barcott.

“The defense lawyer?

“Yeah. And thats Harry Arner, the district attorney. I bet theyre cutting a deal on the Baldridge case.

“I love having a friend whos a legal secretary, Nina said. “Whos Baldridge?

“Used to be a banker, accused of embezzlement and fraud. He made nine million dollars in unsecured loans to people who turned out to be close personal friends of his.

Nina did her best to look shocked. “Goodness me.

“The bank went under. The trouble is the state has a lousy case, no witnesses and a lot of boring paperwork. I bet Arner holds out for dismissal of all charges. But, like I was saying.

“Rebecca. I thought you told me Mark was really excited about this placer mine youd bought.

“He bought it, Rebecca said, an edge to her voice.

“Ah. Nina examined the coffee in her cup with close attention.

“Without even asking me if I wanted to spend the whole summer out there, he goes and buys a gold mine. God, Nina, I dont even know where it is.

“Did he say?

“West of Anchorage, north of Bristol Bay.

“That takes in a lot of territory. Is there a town nearby?

Rebecca gave her head a gloomy shake, her fine blond hair escaping its ponytail to fall into wisps around a face that had been described variously as an angels (her mother), Hayley Mills (her father), Grace Kellys (Nina, enviously), and “fucking drop-dead gorgeous (Mark). Her figure had been described as “a little too plump, dear (her mother), “healthy (her father), “stacked (Nina, enviously), “built like a brick shit-house (Dale, her roommate before she married Mark) and “its like Christmas every time I unwrap you (Mark, although he hadnt said that in months).

“I like going to two movies on a rainy Sunday afternoon, Rebecca said. “I like biking the Coastal Trail, and hiking Near Point. I especially like it that there is a hot shower and a soft bed at the end of a day of biking and hiking. She raised her cup ceilingward. “I like lights that turn on with the flip of a switch.

“Theres no electricity? How do you get the gold out?

“How should I know? By gold pan, I guess.

“I thought they only painted on gold pans these days.

“Me, too, but Mark brought home half a dozen yesterday. Plastic ones. Theyre green or black, so they show the gold more, and the bottom of the pans are riffled, you know, little ridges? So the gold falls down between them and is trapped when you rinse the dirt out. Because its lighter.

“Lighter than what?

“The gold.

“Oh. Sounds like you know something about it.

“I dont have a choice. Its all he talks about anymore.

There was a short silence. “You want a refill?

“Sure. Heavy on the half-and-half. Which I also have to give up. No cows in the Bush, I bet.

Nina returned with full cups the color of café au lait, and Rebecca accepted hers with the air of one who was determined to savor every drop as if it were her last.

“Rebecca, you dont have to go, Nina said. “Just say no.

Rebecca sighed. “Hes been working double shifts all winter to save up for time off this summer. Hes got nine weeks coming, plus his regular two weeks off, plus the week he won at the Christmas party. Twelve weeks in all. Hell be out there the whole summer, Nina.

“Let him be.

It wasnt as if she hadnt thought of it herself. “I cant.

“What about your job?

“He wants me to quit.

“Rebecca. You love being a legal secretary, and you love your boss.

“Yes, Rebecca said mournfully, thinking of the bright, bustling office on the seventh floor of 710 K Street. “I do.

“He cant ask you to do that.

“Hes my husband, Rebecca said. She tried to smile. “Forsaking all others, and all that. You know.

Nina, who had never been married, didnt know, but she was that good and rare friend who listened without judging and so she sipped her coffee and smiled. “You know whats wrong with Mark?

“What?

“Hes too good in the sack, Nina said, and grinned.

Rebecca rose to Ninas obvious expectations and made an elaborate show of bristling. “And you would know thishow?

Nina toasted her. “Only by reputation, girlfriend. Only by reputation.

They laughed and changed the subject.

And now here Rebecca was, five months later, waking up in a one-room shack deep in a canyon somewhere in the Wood River Mountains, part of the southwestern curve of the Alaska Range. The mine sat on a creek in a deep, narrow crevice formed between three mountains four, five and six thousand feet in height. The sun could have been up till midnight but Rebecca couldnt swear to it; the only time the mining camp got direct sunlight was between the hours of ten and two. It might as well be December. There was even snow packed into various hollows on the north-facing slopes of the peaks.

It had not been a fun summer. Not only was there no electricity, there was no running water, and the plumbing consisted of a teetery outhouse with bear hair stuck to the outside where the local grizzlies had come to scratch. With the advent of salmon up Nenevok Creek, the bears had come for more than scratching their backs. And if there werent bears, there were moose, mama moose with babies and attitude. One day a porcupine had wandered into the outhouse and frightened her outside. Mark had come running at the sound of her shrieks and roared with laughter at the sight of her hobbling around with her pants down around her ankles.

Mark had bought her a.357, which nearly knocked her flat the first time shed shot it, and she wore it faithfully whenever she stepped out the door, but guns made her nervous and she preferred to remain inside, beading and knitting by the soft glow of the kerosene lamp. Mark had gotten a little tight-lipped when she had run out of kerosene for the second time, but that nice woman pilot with Nushagak Air Taxi had dropped off two five-gallon cans on a trip from Newenham to the fishing lodge at Outuchiwenet Mountain. The three Danish fly fishermen on board had taken one look at Rebecca and tried to persuade the pilot to leave them there, too. They spoke little English, but Rebecca, starved for conversation in any language, had been reluctant to let them go.