There was something she was not telling him, but that was all she was prepared to say at the moment, and by the stubborn set of her very firm chin he knew there was no point in pursuing it. One thing he couldn't resist. "Why are you telling me all this, Ms. Choknok? I had heard-" He hesitated.

She stood up and brushed off the seat of her pants. "You had heard that Kelly McCormick was my blue ticket out of Newenham."

"Well, yes."

She offered him a chilly smile. "He was. My parents are so scared I'm going to marry him that they offered to send me away to the University of Washington."

Out of curiosity, Liam asked, "Where were they going to send you?"

"At first, nowhere-they didn't want me leaving home. Then, when I insisted on going to college, they decided on the University of Alaska." The chilly smile broadened, just a little. "Kelly McCormick's alma mater, or would have been, if he hadn't dropped out last year. He told my folks he still had friends there, that they'd look after me."

Not just intelligent, Liam thought, positively Machiavellian. "Well, I wish you the very best of luck, Ms. Choknok." Not that it looked like she needed any, being the kind to make her own. On impulse, he said, "What are you planning on studying?"

Her expression didn't change. "Psychology."

"Of course you are," Liam agreed cordially. "I understand they have an excellent psychology program at U-Dub."

"That is my understanding as well."

Liam folded up his notebook. "Oh, I almost forgot. One more thing, Ms. Choknok. Can you tell me the name of Kelly's boat?"

"Certainly," she said. "The Yukon Jack. She's a-"

"-white thirty-six-footer with a red trim line looks like it should be on a Nike sneaker," Liam said resignedly.

"Why, yes. She's parked right next to-"

"-the Mary J.," Liam said. He tucked his notebook into his pocket. "Thank you for all your help, Ms. Choknok. Good-bye, and good luck."

She inclined her head once, with all the graciousness of a queen at home on her own court.

THIRTEEN

He went back to the office and called Tatiana Anayuk's number. A breathless, girlish voice with a permanent giggle implanted in it answered. "Yes, this is Tatiana Anayuk. Who is this?"

"This is Liam Campbell, Ms. Anayuk. I'm-"

"Tasha."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Tasha. Everybody calls me Tasha."

"Oh. Ah. Well, uh, Tasha, then. This is-"

"You have a wonderful voice-has anybody ever told you that? Deep, and low, and kind of growly. I like it."

"Thank you," Liam said. "My name is Liam Campbell. I'm with the state troopers, and I'm-"

"Oh, I love your uniforms!"

"Pardon me?"

"Especially the hats. They make you all look like Mounties." Giggle. "And Smokey the Bear."

"Thank you," Liam said dryly, "you're not the first person to say so. Ms. Anayuk, I've just come from talking to Candy Choknok."

"Oh, Candy, sure. She's my very best friend." A momentary pause. "She's not in trouble, is she?"

"No, I just wanted to ask her a few questions about a friend of hers. She said the last time she saw him was at your house last night."

"Oh gosh, I guess you mean Kelly?"

"Kelly McCormick," Liam confirmed.

"Poor Kelly," Tasha said. Another giggle. "That boy sure tied himself one on, and when he does that-look out!"

"How late did he stay last night?"

"Golly, Lee-"

"Liam," Liam said before he could stop himself.

"Liam-isn't that a nice name; is that like Liam Neeson? I just think he's the absolute most. I cried and cried when I saw Schindler's List, and wow does he look good in a kilt! Only I don't think he wore a kilt in Schindler's List, did he?"

"Tasha, do you remember how late Kelly McCormick was at your party last night?"

"Gosh, I don't know. Mickey Boyd was over, and, well, you know." Tasha's giggle was kittenish and appealing, but Liam was growing tired of hearing it. "We're throwing another party tonight, Liam. You guys have to go off duty sometime, right?"

There were days on the job when Liam thought the larger part of his salary subsidized his patience during witness interviews. Other days he couldn't decide which was worse: a lying witness, or a flirtatious one. "When was the last time you remember seeing him?"

"Gosh, I don't know. After eleven, anyway."

"Why after eleven?"

Again with the giggle. Liam gritted his teeth. "That's when the flatfoot contest was."

"Flatfoot contest?"

"You know, flatfooting pints. Kelly flatfooted a pint of Everclear. Candy said he was going to go blind, but then she's always been such a party pooper."

"A shame," Liam agreed gravely, and made a mental note to offer Ms. Choknok a ride to the airport to catch her university-bound plane when the time came. "And Mr. McCormick left following the, er, flatfooting contest."

"Yeah," Tasha said regretfully. "Larry Jacobson started puking his guts out right after; it was so gross. We would have made Kelly take him back to the boat."

"Larry Jacobson?"

"Yes, him and Kelly are friends. I think they fish together or something, too," she added vaguely.

Liam remembered the lump in the starboard bunk of the Mary J., the lump named Mac. Son of a bitch. He said, "But you couldn't send Mr. Jacobson home with Mr. McCormick because Mr. McCormick was already gone, is that the deal?"

"That's it! Gosh, you're smart, aren't you?"

"And that was the last time you saw him?"

"Who, Kelly? Sure." The giggle was back. "Of course, we all heard about the shoot-out at the U.s. corral."

"Tasha, do you know why Mr. McCormick would want to shoot up the U.s. Post Office?"

"Well, sure, doesn't everybody?" she said in surprise.

"I don't," Liam said hopefully.

"That's right, you haven't been around here long, have you?" she said in a kind voice. "I remember, I heard there was a new trooper coming." She paused, and said uncertainly, "There was some story about some trouble-but that can't be you, you're too nice. And anyway I can't remember it all."

Good, Liam thought. "So why would Kelly McCormick shoot up the post office, Tasha?"

"Because he doesn't want to be a born-again," she replied promptly.

Liam blinked. "What?"

He heard another voice in the background. Tasha squealed with delight. "Benny, hi! I'm so glad you could come over! What's that you got? Oly? Great! No, I'll be right there, I'm just talking with a friend." She returned her attention to Liam. "I'm sorry, Liam, I have to go."

"No, wait, Tasha, I need to know about Kelly McCormick-"

"I told you," she said, impatient with his slowness. "He shot up the post office because he didn't want to go to church."

Liam said stupidly, "Which church?"

"The Trinity Born Again Unto Christ Chapel, of course," she replied promptly. "None of us want to go, but it makes it hell on getting your mail if we don't." Liam heard a door slam and another voice. "Hey, Belle! Listen, Liam, this party's just getting started, you come on over later, you hear? I've always got house room for another good-looking man." She giggled, and then dropped her voice to a confidential murmur. "But don't wear your uniform, okay? That kinda puts people off sometimes, you know?"

There was a click and Liam was left holding a dead receiver. He replaced it carefully in the cradle.

So far, his encounters with Bush villagers were running against type. Generally speaking, you couldn't find an Alaska Native woman who would say boo to a goose. In the space of two hours Liam had interviewed two who had plenty to say and no fear whatever of speaking their minds. True, one was an airhead, the other eighteen going on eighty, but the difference between these two young women and the village women he had been briefed on in trooper school was vast.