Reeve was a man without humor and had a grudge against Meghan. It was a professional displacement between them, and Meghan didn’t take it personally. Trooper pilot Clayton Chandler once explained why Reeve gave Meghan the cold-shoulder in a place where everyone needed a little courtesy and warmth. It had to do with her jumping the shark with violent crimes in Kinguyakkii. Chandler was an impressively tall African American man who wore the uniform in a way that made others cheap by comparison. Chandler transported the majority of prisoners from Kinguyakkii to Anchorage for the police. She got to know him relatively well over the years.
He was devoted to his career, his family, and flying. The pilot license came after his career choice as a trooper. Once he qualified to fly as a state official, his career blossomed. He held sergeant rank with the troopers but wasn’t one to point out the obvious. His insightfulness to Reeve’s issues with Meghan meant Reeve was the first contact when it came to violent crimes. Instead, Meghan had a direct line with the Anchorage-based trooper detectives. Gregory Anderson was her point of contact, and it worked out well so far for both of them. Reeve, on the other hand, the person who needed to know, usually found out after the fact. In his eyes, as Meghan saw it, boots on the ground early Sunday morning following the missing child, was a step up in communication.
Meghan waited until after six before she called Shelley Bass. As the mayor’s assistant, she knew the location of everything in City Hall. Shelley gave Meghan a collection of outdated survey and zoning maps for the city. Meghan knew what to expect before the federal agents arrived. Meghan returned to the police station, letting Shelley go home again. She tossed the city maps on the table and ignored her friend. Dana took the sheets immediately and spread them across the conference table, making it look like it was her idea.
While Dana introduced herself to the six Alaska State Troopers, Meghan retreated to the private office. Out of the way, feeling a little dejected, Meghan scanned the social media posts for the Amber Alert. Lester and Oliver took any available calls coming into the department. At seven in the morning, very few people in town called or texted or sent posts about Christine.
When the first commercial jet arrived at seven-thirty, Reeve had his troopers waiting on the ground to greet the arrivals. Meghan stayed at the office and out of the way. The FBI team included eight senior cadets on loan from the academy and two upper echelons from the Anchorage field office. Overstepping the Alaska State Troopers put Dana and Meghan in a precarious situation. Meghan understood the logistics to Activate the Amber Alert. Reeve got the alert and was the acting point man on the case, with Meghan as the tip of contact in Kinguyakkii.
Dana turned all that around by calling her direct supervisor in Syracuse. A man named, Garret McKee, once ranked as Meghan’s supervisor, and now had Dana as an agent. He made the long-distance decision to call the Anchorage field office. Whatever Dana embellished with McKee worked its poison back to Alaska.
The troopers had an immediate response that coordinated with the Anchorage Police Department and Transportation Security Administration at the Anchorage International Airport. While TSA flagged all incoming flights from the surrounding villages, the Anchorage police contacted security at Merrill Field in Anchorage. It was the public-use aviation airport that handled the charter and private flights to and from rural Alaska. Meghan felt Alaska law enforcement agencies did fine without involving the FBI needlessly. Unfortunately, it was way over her head at that point.
Six troopers, eight federal agents, Lester, Oliver, and Meghan, it was a full house without adding Dana’s inflated ego. Meghan stayed out of the way. She knew Lester took a position at the front desk. Oliver, enjoying the reunion with Riley, wasn’t concerned with the lack of available space in the situation room. People saw Meghan in the office at her desk. The bay window and open door made it easy.
Meghan put in her obligatory efforts to stay professional and cordial. For the most part, and the hardest, she stayed clear of Dana. The multifaceted authority goo that caused most overlapping agency short-circuiting happened in real-time right before Meghan’s eyes. With an outside perspective, she saw how leadership shifted from Dana to Reeve, and finally to the senior federal agency supervisor.
Dana considered her rank, and federal credentials preempted any authority Reeve assumed. Meghan saw how Reeve’s troopers took orders directly from him and not Dana’s instructs that came from the hip. Meghan held back, breathing deep, paid close attention, but remained out of the way.
“How are you doing?” Chandler asked when he broke away from the milling group of blue uniforms. He took up most of the doorway to Meghan’s office and had a little perspective on what happened around the station.
Chandler was tall and lean and handsome. Meghan liked him because he wasn’t shy about letting her know when Sergeant Reeve had random village checks. What Meghan knew from the heads up, it was never random with Reeve.
“I am dutifully performing my civil duties and staying out of the way,” she said.
“Good job on the Amber Alert.”
Meghan only nodded.
“You think she’s somewhere safe?” he asked.
“Am I allowed to have an opinion on the matter?” After saying it, Meghan pressed her lips together as they got away from her. She let the aggravation subside. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long night.”
“Well, from where I stand, it’s going to be a long
