He shook his head. “As soon as he told me, I asked him to wait. I thought that news should come from us.”
***
The meeting with Barbara McKenzie was awkward on a few levels. First, the bad news was part of the job. It happened, and Meghan never liked being the bearer of bad news. Secondly, the woman had to see Meghan again in an official capacity. At least, this time, Barbara wasn’t a suspect for murder. From what Meghan saw in the pictures of Hilma Fisher, Barbara had a lot more to worry about than the past with a former lover’s death.
Surprisingly, Barbara took the news in the manner of a woman who hadn’t come to terms with the information. She faced Meghan and Lester from a private corner of the gigantic warehouse. Meghan saw the woman holding herself upright while the weight of data and the bustle of box moving crashed around her. Barbara’s eyes brimmed with tears.
Behind Meghan and Lester, facing Barbara, the rest of the postal employees worked industriously without stopping. KING-AM Radio broadcast top 40 music throughout the place while large bins of letter mail and pallets of boxes moved through the area. Rows of pallets stacked with online orders, wrapped in plastic, stood like giant cardboard columns throughout any available space.
“We’re heading to Noorvik as soon as we leave here,” Meghan said.
It was already noon, and Barbara faced a tragedy while still dealing with the obstacles of leaving the post office immediately for a family emergency. She rubbed her eyes, still fighting tears.
“I’m going with you,” she said.
“We’re taking snowmobiles.”
“Okay.” Barbara sniffled. She broke away from them, shouldering by Meghan.
Lester followed, and Meghan, feeling inelegant, took up the last in line. They stopped at the edge of steel racks full of mail trays. Barbara turned the corner of a wall made up of a stack of different sized boxes. She headed deeper into the warehouse while Lester and Meghan waited by the egress to the lobby.
They waited together within the Authorized Personnel area. While it was against postal ordinances to have civilians in the mailroom, no one looked twice at Lester and Meghan.
She saw Myles standing with Barbara while people moved around them. Workers glanced at the two of them but continued on their way. Meghan just met the guy. Now he was some authority figure within the place, and Barbara gravitated to him and no one else.
He looked at Meghan from several meters away. He continued talking to Barbara and nodded. Then she saw Myles open his arms to Barbara in a consoling embrace. He followed her back to where Meghan and Lester waited by the door. Barbara moved off toward the locker room.
Myles had changed clothes since the flight. He wore blue jeans and a gray pullover. The sleeves pushed up on his thick brown forearms.
“I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon,” Myles said. He extended his hand to Lester. “Myles Campbell, Postal Inspector.”
“Lester,” he replied. Titles didn’t mean much to Lieutenant Lester Graves.
“Anything I can do?” he asked.
Meghan shook her head. “Barbara’s coming with us to Noorvik.” She left it there because Meghan didn’t want to impose on whatever Barbara told the man.
Myles frowned. “There’s a storm coming, you’re not flying, are you?”
“No, we made other arrangements.”
He smiled and shook his head. “This is why I love villages. Anywhere else in the lower-forty-eight people wait out storms. You’re going in a boat?”
“Kobuk’s frozen,” Lester said.
Myles made a face. A look of doubt crossed his countenance. “What about the channel? I heard there was still open water.”
“It’s soft ice,” Lester said. “We’ll be fine.”
Meghan felt left out of the conversation. However, she picked up on ‘open water’ and ‘soft ice.’ Both sounded flimsy.
“You’re braver than I am,” Myles said.
Barbara left the locker room with the heavy coat and winter boots on.
Myles touched Barbara’s shoulder. “You call if you need anything. We’ll be thinking about you. Take your time.”
“Thank you, Myles.”
“I’m sorry, Barbara,” he replied.
Chapter Six
It was well after two in the afternoon by the time everyone converged on the police department. Meghan changed her clothes, added layers, including long johns under her jeans, with snow pants over. She had a nylon face mask in the pocket of her parka. Since everyone had full-face helmets for the ride, she didn’t need the additional protection until they stopped.
Meghan made sure no part of her flesh was exposed to the elements. Wind and freezing temperatures injured body tissue quickly. The last thing Meghan needed was frostbite. Something weighed on Meghan, and she felt since they waited for the last of the group, she had time to address it.
She settled on the back half of the seat on the extended track Yamaha snowmobile. It was her first time riding, but as long as no one asked, she wasn’t volunteering that detail. As Lester’s passenger, Meghan felt she was in good hands to a point.
“Can I ask why Myles said we were braver than him?”
“The Hotham Inlet behind the airport is the closest point to the Kobuk River from here,” Lester explained. He stood beside the machine, helmet under his arm. As he talked, white clouds formed around his head as he spoke. “We have to cross the channel where the ice isn’t very thick yet.”
Oliver stood on the platform out in front of the police station. He had a look of disappointment but wasn’t complaining about managing the department in an official capacity while Meghan and Lester had business elsewhere.
“It’s got pockets of thin ice and some open water in spots,” he said.
“How are we supposed to get over?” Meghan asked.
“Ride fast,” Oliver said.
Barbara sat on a Ski-Doo snowmobile, quiet and brooding. She looked ready to leave with no
