“I heard about the drawings.” Eric sipped from his mug. Meghan had her fill of coffee that morning. She needed a ticket out of town and a new start. “You found the drawing pad.”
“She had a lot of talent, Eric. I never saw that much experience in a child.”
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that in the few days you went into hibernation, a lot happened.”
“I don’t want to know.” She shook her head. “We found out that Eugene went drinking with Nate. The only Nate I can think of is Nathaniel Warren. That means Lester has to talk to the mayor’s son about the bootlegging in this town.”
“Lester quit yesterday.”
“What? No.”
“Meg, what did you think would happen?”
“I’m pissed Oliver quit and left Lester in a lurch.”
“He didn’t quit. Is that what Lester told you?”
“Yes.”
Eric shook his head. “He had a confrontation with Duane after they terminated you. Oliver tried standing up for you, and Duane terminated him. It was a premature and underhanded move if you ask me.”
“Why would Lester tell me Oliver quit?”
“Probably because he thought you’d go to Duane’s house and assault him if you found out.”
Meghan felt the smirk on her face. It was impossible to avoid. “Eugene Tuktu had it coming. Anyway, Lester told me about Oliver quitting before I kicked Eugene.”
“You should know that this place will implode without you around here.”
“They don’t need me. They don’t want any part of how I conduct business. I invite one person to town who I thought was my friend, and she managed to destroy everything I thought I had under control.”
“Well, perhaps your friend, Dana Wyatt, punched holes in your operation because you failed to reinforce it.”
“Is this some metaphysical thing?”
“No, all I’m saying is some people think they know how to do it better than others. She came here, and you allowed her to walk all over your business.”
Meghan shook her head. “You know how cliché it is when the FBI shows up, and the local sheriff is all up in arms about the feds taking over their case? That wasn’t something I wanted to repeat.”
“Well, from what I’ve heard from you on more than a few occasions, you’re not the sheriff. And from what I know, you were former FBI. I’d think that counts for something.”
“I feel like a complete failure. I feel like I let everyone down,” she said.
“You got a murderer to confess to killing his brother five years ago. I don’t call that a failure.”
“He got away with molesting a child in all that time.”
“You can’t control that. Look what you did for Vincent.”
“You mean how I got his privacy exposed to everyone?”
“No, Lester told me the FBI issued a formal apology to him. They returned his property, and Vincent is back to being, well, Vincent. I know no one’s talked about what happened at the department that day. I mean, I know, but you know, it’s me.”
“How do you know about all that?”
“Let’s say that your actions will become legendary in time.”
“I don’t want legendary status. I want a normal life.”
Eric burst into laughter. He almost spilled his coffee. “If you wanted a normal life, Meg, you’d never come to Alaska. This isn’t for someone who wants a normal life. We’re all here because we choose to live outside of normal. You are one of us, and you know it.”
“I can’t help feeling like I should have done more for Joane. I feel like the whole world took a dump on her. I can’t imagine how Cecil will handle all this.”
“I think Cecil might surprise you. He is a very gifted young man. Linda handles the online Native Alaskan museum forum, and Cecil’s teachers encourage him to explore our culture and history. Linda sees him posting on the museum forum a lot.”
“I guess that’s good. I feel like he’s going to miss out on a lot without his sister around.”
“I know, but at least you stopped a predator from hurting anyone else.”
“He’ll probably beat the pedophile charges. Detailed drawings of Eugene’s anatomy aren’t enough to convict him, just enough to convince me what he did with the girl.”
“Lester got his warrant. He had Trooper Reeve, Chandler, and Riley here collecting more evidence from the house, including Eugene’s laptop. There is enough on there to go after a few more of his online friends. When they showed up, that’s when Lester quit.”
“So, who’s running the police department now?”
“No one.”
“Come on. I’d think Duane had someone in line to take over.”
“He did, but Reeve wasn’t interested in hiring a guy that had a domestic violence charge in a criminal record. It’s good to hire a cop who actually hadn’t broken the law.”
“Well, they will find someone, I’m sure.”
“Maybe,” Eric said with a shrug. The indifference of lawlessness wasn’t something he panicked over. He lived through a corrupt police chief and a posse of criminals. Not having a police department for a while meant little to Eric. “Are you thinking about talking to Duane or Trooper Reeve again?”
“You are kidding, right? They don’t want me here. I don’t think Duane ever wanted me here.” She picked up the bundle of cardboard boxes leaning against her feet. “Thank you, Eric.”
He lifted his mug to Meghan. “That is why I’m here.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Meghan left the native trading post and took a deep breath. She faced the wide-open bay, staring at the enormous globs of ice
