Nobody Cares, page 20
“I thought I better tell you in person,” he said at last. “They cleared Pete Dawson and Tony Petroski of any national security breach.”
“That was fast,” Lanky said. “So they’ve been remanded back here to stand trial?”
Carlson was silent. He actually looked a bit ill. Dace looked at Rafe and frowned. Now what?
“Let me guess,” Lanky said. “They walked out of the building free men. Lt. Petroski has been posted to some base abroad and is already out of the country, and no one knows where Dawson is.”
Dace started to say something, but Rafe, put his hand on her arm and shook his head. She subsided. What the hell?
“You knew this would happen.”
Lanky shrugged. “I was an Air Force pilot before you were out of diapers, Bill, and I’ve not seen one thing since then that’s changed. Yeah, it was predictable, and you knew it too. The Air Force doesn’t want a pilot standing trial for kidnapping and assault. You knew it. I knew it. I’m sure Wyckoff, at least, knew it. I thought you might have enough sense to at least return Dawson, but apparently I was overly optimistic.”
Carlson said nothing.
“So, has Captain Anders been disciplined for ordering a firing shot over Wasilla? At a plane broadcasting mayday?” Lanky asked.
“He was given a reprimand,” Carlson said, somewhat vaguely.
“A written one?” Lanky pursued the question.
“Verbal.”
Lanky nodded as if he’d expected that. “And what about Dryland? The man who authorized it? Anything going to happen to him?”
Carlson was silent.
“I hear Lt. Greene was counseled, however, that he shouldn’t re-up,” Lanky said, still in that conversational tone. It made Dace wince. Her ex-husband had used it to chastise her for her failings as a wife.
“No one is going to want him in his command, Lanky, let’s be realistic,” Bill said, angrily. “Would you? He refused an order.”
“An illegal order,” Lanky said. “On advice from a former Air Force Captain. It seems to me that’s exactly why the military is in the position they’re in. You muster out the men who can think for themselves and have a moral compass of right and wrong, and you keep the ones that use ‘orders’ as an excuse to look the other way while a predator operates in their midst. Have you actually done any house cleaning? Held anyone accountable for enabling Dawson? You know there were others besides Petroski. Hell, I bet there are some people in those video files. Dawson was blackmailing some, seducing others into participating, calling in friendships if things got close, and the most that will happen is you’ll be signing transfers out of here so that they won’t be prosecuted.”
Lanky looked at the younger man. “How many transfers, Bill?”
Carlson shook his head. “Personnel matter,” he said briefly.
Lanky snorted. “Told me about Greene right enough,” he pointed out.
“You wouldn’t have him in your command either,” Carlson said. Obviously, a sore point, Dace thought.
“I already offered him a job,” Lanky said. “I can always use a good pilot who can think for himself.”
Dace grimaced. Lanky must have felt responsible for the young man, because they were headed into fall and winter. Purdue Flight Services didn’t need another pilot. Wouldn’t until spring, if then. She sighed. No wonder the company never showed a profit.
Lanky studied the man in front of him. “You apparently haven’t heard yet,” he said. “Dawson is dead.”
Carlson looked up sharply. “What?”
“For whatever reason he returned to the cabin,” Lanky said. “I thought he might. Or that his friends and enablers might. So, I’ve been keeping an eye on the place. My pilots and I have been doing flyovers.”
Dace looked at Rafe who nodded.
“Yesterday we spotted a body about halfway between the cabin and the dock. I alerted Captain McGuire of the police task force, and volunteered to fly him out. It was Dawson. His body had been attacked by a wolf or maybe a bear, so it was hard to tell exactly how he died. But someone shot him, I’d guess.”
“You?” Carlson asked.
“Not me,” Lanky denied. “Would have, maybe, but the first evidence I saw that he was back was when we spotted the body. Not going to lie, it’s a big relief he’s dead.”
“NSA isn’t going to like that.”
“NSA can go fuck themselves,” Lanky said. “You knew him back when he was a young Air Force pilot, didn’t you? You were both stationed here at about the same time.”
“Knew his name, not much else. I was a young married man, he was a carousing single man. We didn’t move in the same circles,” Carlson said.
“Knew there was something off about him, though.” Lanky sounded as if he was sure.
Carlson shrugged. “He was known to get rough with women. That damned officer here who’s so good with data? He said there was a spike in women’s disappearances too. You think he was active back then?”
“And probably at every site he’s been at since,” Lanky agreed. “And when authorities started to close in, he was transferred elsewhere — first by the Air Force, then by NSA. And finally he comes back here — back where he had plenty of old acquaintances to look the other way while he resumed his attacks on women. So it’s been bugging me. Did you know?”
Carlson frowned. “Know what?”
“Did you know what Petroski was like? That he was a sociopath who would do whatever Dawson needed, no matter how unsavory, in the name of national security? Did you choose him as liaison because you knew Dawson would require that kind of handling? How much did you know, Bill?”
“I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer,” Carlson said with disgust. “Jesus, Lanky.”
Lanky shrugged. “I think you knew something. Knew Petroski was the perfect liaison. So tell me that he got transferred to some base where he’s going to get shot at? Not to some cushy place like Germany.”
“Iraq.”
“Well, that’s something I guess.” Lanky shook his head.
Carlson was silent for a moment. “Dawson is really dead? I wonder....”
Lanky snorted. “You wonder if NSA took him out rather than let him go to prison where he could talk to anybody about what he did and what he knew? Too many movies, Bill. NSA probably had a new site set up for him.”
“Then who did?”
“No clue,” Lanky said. “And wouldn’t share if I knew.”
And just like that Dace knew. She looked at Rafe, but he was frowning as if he was puzzled by the whole thing. Dace kept her face blank. But she knew. Holy shit. She wanted to go away where she could process this, but apparently Carlson wasn’t through. And she couldn’t get out of the hangar until he left. She watched him impatiently. Go, she thought. Go away.
“You’ve got a rep,” Carlson said. “You’re a hero up here. What you say matters. And people are hearing that you’re disgusted by the military’s handling of this.”
“I am disgusted,” Lanky agreed. “And I would dispute that the military has handled this at all. Instead NSA, a serial killer, and a network of sociopathic enablers have run all over you and you’ve been oblivious or complicit. Yeah, you all look pretty bad.”
“I’m here to ask as a personal favor, Lanky, that you back off,” Carlson said slowly. “We need people to have faith in the military and you’re undermining that. Under that gruff exterior you’re a patriot. Please.”
Lanky stared at the man. “That’s what brought you out here?” he asked incredulously. “You actually thought I’d be willing to be less critical of you and the military? Bill, he killed nearly 40 women. It’s the largest mass killing of women since that pig farmer in British Columbia! Of course, I’m critical. I’m outraged. There is no national security initiative that can justify the deaths of 40 innocent women. There’s not. And I don’t see any sign that it even bothers you. Forty women in four years! And he probably started here, as a pilot, 25 years ago? It makes me sick to my stomach to think of. And you’re just seeing the politics of it? The base’s image? Hell, Bill. How do you live with yourself?”
“That’s my job,” Bill shot back. “To take care of the base. And yes, sometimes we do some ugly shit in the name of national security. I’ve seen Dawson’s file. He’s probably single-handedly kept North Korea from attacking South Korea. Most of our intel comes from his ability to decipher their codes. He was a phenomenal mind, Lanky.”
“So what are you saying? That these women were sacrificed to him as the high priest of national security?” Lanky demanded. He pushed himself away from the bench and walked toward the base commander. “Really? That’s what you’re saying? Because that makes you as sick as he was.”
“To avoid a war on the Korean peninsula? There is no price too high to pay,” Carlson said.
Lanky was just inches away from the man. “Well, NSA will figure out something now that he’s dead,” he said softly. “Stands to reason that they could have figured out something before he killed hundreds of women. So get out of my hangar, Bill. Get out of my town. And if I were you? I’d get out of Alaska. Because if I don’t drive you out, Mary Ayek will. And she’ll see you court martialed and stripped of your retirement. Now, leave. You make me sick to my stomach.”
“At least I’m loyal to the United States and its armed forces,” he said stiffly, as he turned to leave.
“It’s this kind of moral decay that will see the United States torn apart and democracy dead, and men like you will wail, I was just following orders,” Lanky said. His fists were clinched and Dace worried he was going to hit him. “Your sense of loyalty has the stench of Nazi Germany, Carlson. You would have fit right in. Now get out.”
Carlson stalked off, rigid with rage. Lanky followed him to the door and watched him leave.
Dace got to her feet. She walked over to her boss, and touched him lightly on the shoulder. “Will he transfer out?” she asked quietly.
“They’ll transfer him somewhere just like they did Petroski,” Lanky said without looking at her. “That’s what the military does. Usually before it blows up in the local media and local cops start handing out subpoenas and arrest warrants. HQ will see it as he fucked up — not because a predator was operating out of his base, but because he didn’t act fast enough to transfer Dawson and Petroski before the public learned. They do it world-wide, Dace.”
“So, Dawson’s death?” She stopped, unsure what she wanted to say.
Lanky glanced at her. “Don’t ask,” he said softly. “That way when Paul asks you, you can truthfully say you don’t know.”
She thought about that, and nodded.
Lanky looked back at the work bench. “Hell with it,” he said. “Let’s shut it down early. I’m in need of a drink. Rafe? You interested in a drink at the Inn?”
“Sure,” he said. “Dace? You coming?”
Dace hesitated. “I need to go by the Clinic first,” she said. “OK if I bring Paul and J.B.?”
“Joe Bob?” Lanky asked. “You got him to drop that damn double name?”
She grinned at him. “He said he likes having a nickname.”
“Hell, bring them along,” Lanky said. “Bring that young woman Sarah too if she’ll come. I think J.B. is sweet on her.”
“Really?” Dace said with interest. Lanky always knew the gossip. One of the fringe benefits of working here.
“Go,” Rafe said. “I need that drink. And if J.B. isn’t up to Sarah’s tastes, maybe I am.”
Dace laughed.
She walked over to the clinic. It wasn’t far. Nothing in Talkeetna was far. Good thing, since she was carless. She smiled at the receptionist. “Need to talk to the women,” she said.
The receptionist nodded. “Doc wants to talk to you, too,” she said. “Stick your head in his office as you go by?”
Dace nodded. She knew what he was going to say and she’d been avoiding it. Well, she was going to earn that drink, tonight, it looked like. She tapped lightly on Doc Longenbaugh’s office door, and opened it.
“Carolyn says you want to see me,” she said.
He gestured to his guest chair. “Come on in and shut the door.”
She did, taking a seat and waiting silently for him to say what was on his mind.
“The women are making progress physically,” he said at last. “They’re well on the way to recovery. Do you know if they have places to go? Because I can’t continue to house them, Dace. Nine women. But I can’t in good conscience just turn them out either. At least half of them probably need institutional care, and I’m reluctant to do that. Tell me you have a plan.”
“Not a plan, but... an idea,” she said. “I need to go talk to Mary Ayek.”
“Well get moving, then, because I’m running out of time,” he said. “And I want a solution. Damned if I see one, though.”
Dace nodded. “Saturday is the art festival weekend in Bethel,” she said. “Paul and I have an invite. I’ll know on Monday.”
He nodded, and she smiled at him. “Thank you for their care, Doc,” she said sincerely. “I couldn’t ask for better care than what you’ve provided them.”
He grunted, and waved her out. “Glad I could do it,” he said. “Watching them regain their health is a rewarding thing. But the road forward is long, Dace, and the clinic isn’t the place. Wouldn’t mind if they were close by, however, because some of them are going to need care for a long time to come.”
“I’m on it,” she promised him. And walked down to the ward to talk to her sisters. Alqaq.
Sarah Itee was there and she looked up with a smile when Dace walked in. Dace smiled back. And as had become the pattern, the women sat on the floor between two of the beds and pushed closely together.
“I have news,” Dace said. “Pete Dawson, the predator, is dead.”
There were murmurs as Sarah translated it into Yupik. One woman cried. Two others hugged each other, holding on, as if we were lending each other support. Dace wasn’t completely sure this was the right way to tell them, but they deserved to know. And what other way was there?
One woman clasped Dace’s hand and asked a question. Sarah translated. “How did he die?”
Dace hesitated. “I don’t know all the details,” she said finally. “He returned to the cabin. My boss, Lanky Purdue, was doing fly-overs checking on the place in case he did. He saw the body. Wild animals got to it, so we may never know more than someone shot him.”
There were soft murmurs as the women discussed it. Dace waited. If something was said that she should know, Sarah would translate. It was weird to not know what was being said.
“The women want to know what happens to them now,” Sarah said finally. “Do you know?”
Dace looked at them, meeting their eyes individually. Finally, she said, “What do you want to do next? Do you want to go home? Or is there someplace else you want to go?”
All but one shook their heads no. But Anna said softly in English, “My family has called. They want me to come home. And I want to go.”
“Where is home?” Dace asked.
“Near Utqiaġvik,” she replied. “But I have no way to get there.”
Dace nodded slowly. “Let me ask my boss,” she said. “We will find a way for you to go home.”
“What about the rest of us?” Naomi asked, a bit aggressively. Of course.
“Dr. Longenbaugh says you no longer need his care, but he would like you nearby for a while. If I find a place, would you like that? To live together and help each other recover?” She smiled. “Alqaq House?”
Another round of conversation. Sarah joined in this time. Finally Sarah looked at Dace. “This can happen?”
Dace smiled at her. “Time for you and I to go talk to Mary Ayek.”
People started nodding at her name. Yes.
Dace hoped someday people would use her name as someone to be reckoned with like that. And then she dragged Sarah out with her to go to the Inn for a drink. “I have been told there is a young man who would be happy to see you there. Maybe more than one,” she said, laughing. “So come.”
“Dace!” Sarah protested.
Dace just grinned. Then she looked back at Naomi, and caught her eye. The woman looked at her steadily. Dace nodded. “Thank you,” she mouthed. Naomi nodded once.
Epilogue
Dace Marshall found Mary Ayek in her home on the outskirts of Bethel.
“Dace?” she said. “I didn’t think I’d see you so soon!”
Dace opened her arms and gave the woman a hug. “You promised me I could fly in for a visit if I brought your grandson for an art festival weekend,” she said.
Mary hugged her back. “Paul is here, too?”
Dace nodded. “Yes, and Sarah and Mary Abbott came too. Paul said he was going out to see your dogs and talk to the man who manages the kennels?”
“You’ve recovered?” Mary asked.
“I have,” Dace said. “But he only had me for a day, Mary. The other women? Some of them he had for months. And they have no place to go. Not like your Sarah.”
Sarah Itee came flying around the corner of the house from the direction of the kennels, laughing. “Grandmother!” she exclaimed and held her arms out for her own hug.
“How are you doing?” Mary Ayek asked a bit breathlessly as she hugged her granddaughter back.
“Better,” Sarah said. “I want to return to school for fall term in two weeks.”
“I have a proposal for you,” Dace said. “Is there a place we can talk? I brought a friend, Mary Abbott, too.” She went to get her from the car. She’d been unsure of her welcome. And she was terrified, but she wouldn’t admit it, Dace thought with admiration. Mary Abbott had left Talkeetna to go to the Bethel Art Festival? The whole town turned out to cheer her onto the plane. Well, probably not the whole town, but damn close.
“Come on,” Dace said gently. “They want to see you.”
Mary Abbott took a deep breath and nodded. “When I lack courage, I think of the women, and I know I can be brave enough to go to a festival with you,” she said with a laugh.
