“Yup,” Lester said. “I agree. You know, Chief Haynes wouldn’t put up with as much shit as you’ve waded through.”
Meghan took offense to anyone comparing her with the former police chief of Kinguyakkii. A man serving ten years in prison for bootlegging, and extortion wasn’t a man who believed in an oath of office. He wore a badge to be a bully. Meghan didn’t have big shoes to fill when she took over the job. Haynes’ reputation left crater-sized holes in and around the community. Anywhere Meghan went, she trod into those unshakeable marks.
“I’m here to solve a crime,” Meghan snapped. “I’m not going to knock heads together until someone confesses.”
“I know. I’m glad.” It came out quietly as if Lester realized Meghan took the observation negatively.
“You know what’s really bothering me?”
He walked beside her, quietly waiting for the reason.
“I’m pissed because I haven’t showered since Friday morning before I got on the plane in Anchorage. I’m out of clean underwear, and I haven’t changed my clothes in three days, Lester. I stink, and I’m miserable.”
Lester laughed. It was a hearty full laugh that challenged the children in the distance playground. “You’ll probably catch that cold Barbara has too now since you sat next to her. Why do you think I stand by the front door?”
“Because you’re ready for a quick exit and watching our backs?” she said.
“No, because I know I don’t want to get sick. Plus, I’m watching our backs.”
“Thanks.”
“If I can arrange you a shower, you think you can solve this case, and we can go home?”
“Can you arrange for it to stop snowing too?”
“Maybe,” he said.
Meghan stuck out a glove toward Lester. He shook hands with her. “I think that’s a good deal.”
***
The healing power of a hot shower did wonders for Meghan. True to his word, Lester arranged access to a shower. Meghan made it fast, knowing that lingering under the steaming water cost considerably in the village. She used the body wash and shampoo on herself and secreted a pair of panties into the shower to hand wash. Once they returned to public works, she’d dry them on the heat coils in the shop away from the gentlemen company.
Additionally, Meghan, Eric, and Lester had dinner with Freddie Kesuk and his family. He had two teenage boys and a pleasantly over accommodating wife, Eileen. Freddie had the best of both worlds. Eileen worked for the school district as a high school teacher, Freddie worked for the city. Their house had the same shape and layout as every other house in town. Meghan felt it had a devoted family unit and teenagers who were polite.
The house had a rustic Christmas charm. The twinkling of lights on the artificial Christmas tree, a collection of holiday greeting cards occupied every available surface; the votive candles had a holiday and religious flare. It felt like a house of family love. The kind of season greeting that Meghan missed most of all. It reminded her of the distance from her daughter, and the loneliness she chose as police chief in the Alaska frontier.
After dinner of caribou steaks, potatoes, and homemade biscuits, Eileen offered them coffee. The boys retired to the living room to watch television, and the adults sat around the large dining room table. The real dinner course came after the teenagers turned up the TV.
“We’re a little concerned about what happened with Hilma and now with the fire,” Eileen said.
“It feels like we’re living in the big city,” Freddie added. “I think this is the first time I’ve felt obliged to lock the door before we go to bed.”
“There’s vandalism sometimes,” Eileen said. “Kids wander off with things that don’t belong to them because no one taught them any better. This is something else altogether.”
“We’re doing our best to find out who did this,” Meghan said.
“It doesn’t feel like Christmas,” she said.
“I agree.”
“Well, good news, they’re expecting the snow to stop later Tuesday. That means we can get the airstrip plowed. I hear you’re expecting the troopers to come into town.”
“That’s not true,” Meghan said. “I’m going to be honest with you, folks. We’ve been telling people that in hopes to scare whoever did this. We’re in a lurch here.”
Eileen found Freddie’s hand on the tabletop. He rubbed her fingers gently with a thumb. “You don’t have any leads?”
“We know Hilma had a lot of cash in the house. We know she went to the store on Friday afternoon, but she didn’t go to bingo that night. So, we think something happened after 3:00 pm and before 7:00 pm. Eric’s trying to get a list of people who went to bingo Friday night. If someone besides Hilma wasn’t there, that’s a lead. But that doesn’t mean they’re suspects. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, someone might’ve stayed home preparing for the snowstorm.”
“Exactly,” Meghan said. She smiled. “You see how we have to remain objective. Normally, we don’t conduct investigations like this. But it feels like everyone in Noorvik desires to know what happened to one of their own.”
“It bothers me more knowing someone here did that to Hilma.”
“I understand. We’re in a different territory here. I know it might not help when I say this, but I think killing Hilma was an accident. I think whoever did it got caught looking for the cash. Then when they got what they wanted, they tried to hide it with the first fire.”
“What about the other fire?”
“Maybe they wanted to destroy evidence. I don’t know. It felt like a challenge.” She let the last part slip. She saw Eric nodding in agreement.
Eileen shivered with the thought. “This is what
