Alaska Twilight Part 17

"This won't take long. I want to make sure Gus realizes how important this is." He opened the door for her, and they stepped inside. The scent of cinnamon, cloves, and bear grease greeted them. Barrels of flour, sugar, and other necessities stood at the end of the counter. "Hey, Gus. We've got film to send to Anchorage. You got a good lab to send it to? These are professional pictures, so we need a quality place."

Gus General was a man of indeterminate age. He had enough wrinkles on his face to pa.s.s for a sea lion, but Tank was never sure if they were from age or exposure. He'd been a trapper in his early years, and the harshness of the Alaska weather could have made the tracks on his face. He was never without his suspenders and a flannel s.h.i.+rt, no matter how hot the day. Nearly as tall as Tank, he was as grizzled and humped as a musk ox.

Gus wagged his huge head. "Got just the place." He accepted the rolls Haley shoved across the counter. "Should be back in about a week."

"That long? Can you hurry them up? It's important."

"No sooner than three days," Gus said.

"We'll take it." Tank leaned over the counter. "You still do much trapping, Gus?"

"Yep."

"Ever see a big brown bear with a missing toe on its front right paw? It has missing teeth too."

Gus chewed the stick of cinnamon in his mouth.

"Old one?"

"Yeah."

Gus nodded. "'Bout took me out two weeks ago. Had to climb a tree to get away from it."

"Have you seen it more than once?" Tank asked.

"Once was enough."

He thanked Gus and got directions to where he'd seen the bear, though Tank doubted it would do much good. Tracking the bear down was going to be difficult. He needed to put out a warning to Stalwart residents about the danger. And get it reported to his boss.

Haley was tired of tossing and turning in the too-hard bed. Her wrist.w.a.tch said it was four in the morning. Oscar was restless as well and kept running to the door and whining. He was going to wake Augusta and Joy if Haley didn't let him out. She strapped on her prosthesis and tiptoed to the door. She slipped a room key into her pocket and opened the door as quietly as she could. Oscar dashed into the dark hall.

The hallway smelled musty with faint traces of cooking mixed with old carpet. She snapped a leash on the dog, then pushed open the outside door and exited the building. Oscar tugged at his leash, and she let him take the lead. He stepped off the sidewalk, then nosed a patch of gra.s.s at the end of the street.

She used to love walking the city at night. This small village had a different feel to it. Safer, more quaint. It had its appeal. The thought took her by surprise. Haley glanced up and caught her breath at the stars in the not-quite-dark sky. This time of year, though it never went totally dark, the stars still glimmered in amazing abundance. She'd never seen so many stars in the sky. G.o.d's handiwork lay before her as priceless as the Alaskan oil fields. If she were on speaking terms with G.o.d, she'd thank him.

She tugged on Oscar's leash and guided him toward the park. There was no use thinking about it. G.o.d had cut her off long ago. She pa.s.sed the general store, and Oscar paused to lap at a mud puddle. She heard a sound behind her-a strange fwump. A whoosh of air rushed past her cheek. It left a stinging sensation. She pa.s.sed her hand over her face and stared at her b.l.o.o.d.y fingers. The sound of shattering gla.s.s seemed to come from all around.

Oscar whined and tugged at his leash, his head pointing back toward the store. Haley heard a crackling noise and turned to look. Tongues of red flame licked voraciously at the windowsills. Small shards of gla.s.s, glittering in the glow, lay around the building. Her hand to her mouth, Haley backed away. She saw a shadow move from behind the building, and she shrank back into the concealing darkness of a spruce tree's shadow. The needles brushed her cheek, and the scent of spruce tar covered the odor of smoke.

The figure was carrying something, a gas can maybe? The shadow flitted past the well house in the back, then was gone. Haley swiped at her stinging cheek again. She felt something hard still stuck there, maybe gla.s.s. Her knees felt weak and shaky. She turned and took off toward Chet Gillespie's office.

Behind her, the fire gained in intensity, and she heard a shout. Two men ran across the street from the Caribou Bar by the cafe. She heard distant shouts of fire and knew they would handle it. But Chet needed to know what she'd seen. Though she couldn't identify the man, she was certain the fire had been deliberately set.

She threw open the door to Chet's office and ran inside. A young man, his boots propped on the desk, was snoring in the chair. She slammed the door behind her, and he made a snort like a bull, then opened his eyes. Blinking in confusion, he staggered to his feet.

"Fire!" She pointed out the window where the conflagration was threatening to spread to the next building. "I saw a man sneaking behind the store with what looked like a gas can. You'd better call Chet."

Nineteen.

The ruins of the general store still smoldered, though the fire had been extinguished nearly twenty-four hours earlier by the volunteer fire department. Tank stood looking at the remains. Haley stood next to him.

"My film is all lost," Haley mourned. A b.u.t.terfly bandage on her face marked the place where flying gla.s.s had cut her cheek. It could have been worse. A few inches higher and she would have lost an eye.

Tank nodded. "I have to wonder . . ." He glanced at her and shut his mouth.

"What? You think someone didn't want my film developed?"

"You'd thought of it too?"

"Pretty hard not to. All these things seem to be related to my camera or my film. It makes no sense."

Tank saw Gus wandering the ruins with a dazed look on his craggy face. "Let's see if Gus has any idea what happened. It may not have anything to do with you at all." She followed him as he moved to intercept Gus.

Gus had soot on his face and arms. A pile of goods lay at his feet, but Tank didn't think the stuff was salvageable. Still, he supposed if he were Gus, he'd have to try to save what he could too. He doubted the old man had insurance. Most didn't out here.

Tank clapped Gus on the shoulder. "I'm sure sorry, Gus. Anything I can do to help?"

Gus grunted. "Clean up. Could use able bodies."

Haley began to snap pictures of the scene. Tank moved out of her way. "I'll be glad to pitch in. Any idea what happened?"

Gus glanced at Haley from under bushy gray brows.

"Your girlfriend saw more than me."

Tank ignored the girlfriend remark, but he saw Haley blush. There was something between them, and others could see it, but it had about as much chance of surviving as a lupine in salt.w.a.ter. Haley shook her head. "I didn't see much. I wish I could have identified the man."

"You have any enemies, Gus?" Tank asked.

Gus spat a brown stream of tobacco onto the charred ground. "No more than the next man." He glanced at Haley. "Leastways you didn't lose your film. Sent it off on the last plane out."

"Oh, you darling man!" Haley planted a kiss on Gus's grizzled cheek. "I wasn't even going to ask. I figured you had enough to worry about without me whining about my film." She stepped back and snapped a picture of Gus with his mouth hanging open.

Tank tried not to grin, but Gus must have seen the amus.e.m.e.nt in his eyes. He flushed a dull red and backed away, mumbling something about having to get to work. Tank didn't try to contain his laughter any longer. "I bet the last time someone kissed him was at the turn of the century."

Haley took a picture of Tank. "This is proof that you know how to smile."

"You've seen me smile before."

"Yeah, like this." She barely lifted the corners of her mouth. "I can actually see your teeth in this one."

He burst out laughing. "Have I been that dour?"

She nodded. "You take your responsibilities very seriously."

"I'll try to do better. I actually like telling jokes. Your boss rubs me the wrong way, and I've been taking it out on everyone else. Sorry."

"You're forgiven." She snapped another photo. "I'd kill for a latte. Does anyone in this town have an espresso machine?"

"We don't drink froufrou coffee. The coffee at the cafe is strong enough to grow hair on your chest. You could ask them to heat some milk and try to cobble together something that tastes like a latte. It's not espresso, but it might do."

She stopped and stared up at him. "You know what a latte is?"

"I'm not a complete backwoods Joe. I've been to Anchorage."

She rolled her eyes. "A true metropolis, Mr. Paul Bunyan."

"Paul Bunyan lived in Minnesota. This is Alaska, in case you were lost. Though it might be a pretty apt description of me if you'd ever seen me wield an axe." When her smile came again, he realized he'd been watching for it. They were engaged in a flirtation, and it felt good. Wonderful, in fact. He hadn't felt this alive since Leigh died. He took a step back. "I guess I'd better help Gus clean up. See you later."

He told himself he wasn't running away.

Haley hummed as she walked Oscar. He tugged her in the direction of the park, and she let herself be pulled that way. She glanced over at the burned remains of the store. Tank had his s.h.i.+rt off and was shoveling charred debris from the floor. She averted her eyes at the sight of his muscular back and arms. He was too beautiful to be real. She giggled nervously at the thought of how he'd react if she told him that.

Augusta sat on the park bench watching the cleanup. Oscar leaped into her lap, and she petted him. Dark circles rimmed her eyes. She hadn't slept well last night, and it showed today.

Haley sat beside her. "You doing okay?"

"I think you're right. We should never have come here. I'm not sure what I've gotten us into."

"We have Joy as a result. It can't be all bad."

"I'm not sure how we're going to work out living arrangements though. She's adamant about staying in Alaska."

"You could always move to Anchorage." Haley smiled, knowing Augusta would be horrified at the idea.

"I've been thinking about it."

Haley gaped. "You're kidding."

"You're grown and are off trotting the globe most of the time. I should think about slowing down, and I can write anywhere. I don't have to stay in Phoenix."

"But what a change! Cold, dark days through the winter when you're used to warm suns.h.i.+ne? I couldn't do it." She s.h.i.+vered. Augusta said Joy would never take Haley's place, but it looked like the young girl was going to succeed in that as well. A hollow feeling lodged under her left rib, and she told herself it wasn't jealousy. She was already beginning to love Joy too. Or at least she thought she was.

"I've seen the way you look at Tank, Haley. Don't shut love out just because you're afraid."

"I could never live here." Haley stood. "Where is Joy, anyway?"

"She helps out at the health clinic." Augusta pointed to a corner building.

"That girl is as energetic as Oscar." Her dog's ears perked at the mention of his name. "We'll be back in a little while." She went down the street.

A clapboard building housed the clinic. The peeling clapboards sorely needed a new coat of white paint. A red sign proclaimed it the Stalwart Health Clinic with morning hours only. Dr. Joe Wooten's name hung below the sign. Had he been the only doctor in town? Haley wondered how the clinic stayed open with the doctor dead.

She pushed open the door and heard a bell above her head tinkle. Oscar crouched at her feet, then barked ferociously at the sound. "Shh, Oscar. That's enough." She pulled on his leash, and he subsided. He'd get them both thrown out of here. The waiting room was empty and had the sharp sting of antiseptic in the air.

"Be right with you," a female voice called from beyond the closed door to Haley's left. It didn't sound like Joy.

Haley looked at the picture and certificates on the walls. Dr. Wooten's awards covered the smaller wall by the door, and pictures of Alaska wildlife decorated the larger one. The photographer was good. One shot of a wolverine was particularly artistic and showed the ferocious glare in the animal's eyes.

The door to the exam room opened, and a large, rawboned woman dressed in denim overalls stepped out. Her gray hair was pulled back in a neat bun at the nape of her neck, and she wore what looked like bear claws around her neck. Haley gave a tentative smile, a.s.suming it was a patient until the woman pinned her in place with a pointed black-eyed glance.

"You're not from Stalwart," she stated. "I'm Vonnie Bird. Can I help you?"

"I was looking for Joy," Haley stammered. The woman's supreme self-confidence made her feel like a kid.

"Joy!" Vonnie yelled through the open door.

Joy came through the door holding a cat. The feline saw Oscar and arched its back. It hissed and swiped its claws over Joy's arm. "Ow!" She loosened her hold on the cat, and it shot out of her arms and landed on Oscar's back. Oscar's howl sounded like a scream. He tore off under the chair with the cat still clinging to his back. The ensuing scuffle overturned the chair, then the cat emerged with a victorious swagger, its tail held high.

Haley dropped to her knees to check on her dog. Oscar was a quivering ma.s.s of gray and white fur. "Come here, boy. It's okay. The mean cat is gone."

"I don't know what got into Sesi." Joy scooped up the cat and deposited it in the other room, then shut the door.

"No harm done." Oscar was still quivering in her arms, and Haley rubbed his ears.

"Vonnie, this is my-my sister, Haley Walsh," Joy said.

"Oh, you're the new sister." Vonnie gave Haley's hand a decisive shake. "You found my boss's body, isn't that right?"

"I was with the group, yes. I'm sorry about his death."

Vonnie nodded. "It was a shock. He was a good boss. I've wanted to meet you. Now that you're here, and so is Joy, I think we need to have a talk. Have a seat, and I'll get us some coffee. How do you take yours?"

"A talk? What do you mean?" Haley perched on the edge of a chair, and Joy did the same.

Vonnie went to a cart that held a Bunn coffeemaker and cups. She poured out two cups of coffee. "Cream and sugar?"

"Please."

Vonnie handed her a cup. "You want some tea, Joy?"

"No thanks." Joy's voice was subdued, and Haley spared a quick glance at her. She sat twisting her hands together in her lap, and she wouldn't look at Haley.

Haley took a quick sip of her coffee and forced it down. The bitter, burned flavor clung to her tongue. She set the cup on the table and looked at Vonnie expectantly.

Vonnie pulled a chair up to face the other two. "I've held my tongue for years. With Dr. Wooten dead, I think I need to tell the truth now. Joy doesn't want me to tell it, but I've got to." She shot a glance toward the girl.

Haley's curiosity roused further. If it affected her and Joy, then it must have something to do with her parents. "Okay. I'm listening."

Vonnie sipped her coffee, then grimaced. "Sorry, this stuff is undrinkable." She leaned forward and set her cup down beside Haley's. She pursed her lips and blew out a breath. "Dr. Wooten was a good doctor, but he had his faults too." She fiddled with the buckle on her overall strap.