“How about you explain that to Gene when we see him,” Lester said.
“You know I’m a civilian now. You can’t take civilians on investigations.”
“Well, you’re all I got.”
“What do you mean? Where’s Oliver?”
“He quit as soon as he heard about what happened to you.”
“What? No way,” Meghan said.
“They need to replace him.”
“Do you have any help?”
Lester shook his head. “Reeve took everyone back to Anchorage. Agent Wilcox took his cadets back to the academy, and I took your friend to the airport yesterday morning.”
“I am sorry about Dana.”
“I don’t care. I’ll never see her again. I’m worried about what happens around here when people think they lost their police again. We started putting faith back into the department with you as chief. Now people are going to lose faith again. Not to mention what happens when people know we’re lawless again.”
“They got you,” Meghan said, trying to soften the edges. Oliver leaving his post out of some loyalty to Meghan made her feel wanted, but it was selfish on her part. Lester needed the sergeant. Oliver abandoned his responsibilities voluntarily. Meghan didn’t have a choice to leave.
Lester remained unmoved. Meghan stood up again; she left the duvet on the couch in the cocoon shape of her body. She moved around the furniture.
“Silvia wants me to transfer to the cable company or the power plant. She doesn’t want me doing this by myself.”
“That leaves a big hole,” Meghan said.
“You left a big hole when they let you walk out of the place.”
“I won’t take that as another reference to my weight, Lester.”
“I’m not doing this alone, Meghan. I am too old to stress about this. Come with me today. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Okay, let me get dressed,” she said. Meghan started to walk down the small hallway.
“It’s okay,” Lester said. “I can wait until you take a shower.” It wasn’t a suggestion, not by the look on his face when Meghan saw it.
***
Meghan saw the beat up and muddy four-wheeler parked in the muddy divots in front of the house on Rurik Way. The wells were so deep that Eugene intentionally used the gouged earth as a kickstand for the machine at that point; it was a conscious decision to park in the same place all the time.
“Gene, it’s Lester Graves,” he said, banging on the door.
Meghan stood in the gravel facing the tiny porch. Lester stood in front of the door. With the house elevated off the ground, usually, people walking to the door made noise outside. Lester and Meghan didn’t hear anything. Lester banged on the door again.
“Gene, I know you’re in there.” He tried the doorknob. It turned in his glove, and he pushed open the door. “Gene?”
Lester and Meghan exchanged glances. Lester wore BDU pants, the button-down uniform top, badge, and the Kinguyakkii Police nylon insulated packet. His uniform gave Lester the authority to walk into Eugene’s residence for a welfare check. The moment Meghan walked up the steps and crossed the threshold, technically, she committed burglary, criminal trespass. If Eugene didn’t permit Meghan, she could face additional charges added to assaulting an officer. It turned into an extremely problematic Memorial Day weekend for Meghan. Some people looked for the best retail sales; Meghan had to consider the conditions of Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River, Alaska. It was her future home if Trooper Sergeant Reeve found out she helped Lester on a call.
Yet, the fact Eugene failed to answer his door put life over consequences when she followed Lester inside. She closed the door behind her to keep out the 34°F that clung to the day outside. Inside, Meghan felt the cool air and caught the scent of something familiar.
“You smell that?” Lester asked.
Meghan nodded. She scanned the visual living area. Boots kicked off by the door had thick pockets of mud clinging to the tread and leather top. She moved into the house on a mission. People were complacent in their homes. They moved around as if no one outside monitored their indoor behavior. That meant Eugene wasn’t actively hiding something from the police. She knew as Lester knew it, if they found anything, it was inadmissible in court.
Meghan ran her hands over the bulky coat on the rack next to the door. She found a bottle of whiskey in the pocket. Very little of the brown liquid remained inside the container.
Lester walked from the front door, down the hallway. He went room by room, opening doors, or looking inside.
“Back here,” he said.
Meghan left the bottle in Eugene’s coat pocket. She went down the hallway, where Lester stood facing inside the bedroom. Meghan peeked inside. She saw Eugene lying on his stomach, half-covered with the blanket. The bottom half of him, in the dirty underwear, showed quickly from the doorway. He snored lightly.
“Well, that’s an image I won’t get out of my head soon,” she said.
Lester pointed to the plastic bottle of cheap whiskey. It stood on the floor next to Eugene’s wet, muddy jeans. It had very little left inside the container.
“What do we do?” he asked.
“What do you mean? You’re the acting chief of police. What do you want to do?”
“Can I arrest him?”
Meghan looked at Eugene, still rooted in a drunken slumber.
“If you can get him to wake up and step outside of his house, you can make contact with him out in the open. That gives you enough probable cause for an arrest.” She pointed to the bottle. “You can’t get that without a warrant. You can’t get a warrant without
