Shaman Pass (6 page)

Silver snorted. “Let’s quit wasting time, Calvin. What would you say if I said we have a witness who saw your snowmachine at Victor’s sheefish camp the night he was killed?”

“That’s not—” Maiyumerak stopped talking and a slow grin dawned on his face. “You got that witness?”

“I didn’t say that,” Silver said. “I asked what you would say if I did say it.”

Maiyumerak looked into his coffee cup. “If you said that to me, I would say somebody is full of
anaq
.”

Silver, his hoary policeman’s bluff called, flushed but said nothing.

“What was that about Uncle Frosty being cold?” Active said. “Is that—”

“It’s just more of his bullshit,” Silver said. “Superstition from the old days.”

Calvin balanced his cigarette on the rim of his coffee cup. “You
naluaqmiut
are pretty smart. Invent snowmachines, rifles, outboard motor, cigarettes. Even
naluaqmiiyaaqs
like Nathan here, I guess. But maybe you don’t know everything.” He looked straight at Active.

Superstition or bullshit, it was the first piece of information, or misinformation, Calvin had volunteered. “I’d like to hear about it,” Active said. “We
naluaqmiiyaaqs
have to learn all we can.”

There was a loud growl now from Dolly on the bed and Calvin grinned again. It was impossible to tell if it signalled approval of Active’s interest, or satisfaction at the bite from this fish, this gullible
naluaqmiiyaaq
.

“Sometimes if somebody die and they’re not treated right, they don’t go on to the next world,” Calvin said. “They’re made cold by the universe, that’s what them old Eskimos call it. Their ears get so good, they can hear rabbits and foxes running in the brush. They can’t feel the cold and their bodies get so light they can walk on top of the trees and jump across a river without getting wet.”

Active watched Dolly as Calvin talked. Her eyes were on the ruff in her hands, but the hands weren’t doing anything and her body language said she was listening closely to their conversation.

Calvin’s hands floated up to illustrate the treetop walking and river jumping, and he uttered a long Inupiaq phrase, then nodded to himself. “Made cold by the universe is what they call it.”

“And that’s what happened to Uncle Frosty?”

Calvin nodded again.

“And now that he’s killed Victor Solomon, now what?”

“Now maybe he’ll lie down on tundra, die regular way, never bother anybody no more.”

Active thought it over, watching as Dolly seemed to relax. Her polished old fingers pushed the awl through the ruff and she bent to study her seam.

Active stood up. “Chief Silver and I have to go talk in the
kunnichuk
,” he said. He waved Silver toward the door as Dolly and Calvin exchanged puzzled looks.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“THIS FEEL RIGHT TO you?” Active asked when they were in the storm shed, with the door into the house closed.

Silver shrugged. “Pretty much, I guess. He and Dolly and Queenie all tell the same story about what he was doing Thursday night and Friday morning.”

Active nodded. “Yeah, that part of it feels right. But— remember when Calvin started to talk about Uncle Frosty being made cold by the universe? Dolly yelled at him in Inupiaq, then he said something back and she calmed down, then he told us about Uncle Frosty walking on the treetops and killing Victor Solomon.”

Silver nodded.

“You catch any of that? Their Inupiaq was too fast for me.”

Silver squinted, thinking. “Not much of it. They were too fast for me, too. I think she was telling him not to play around, and he said not to worry, let us
pukuk
all we want, he can handle us.”

“
Pukuk
?”

“Yeah, it means to poke around, get into everything. Like a little kid or a mouse or a weasel.”

Active pursed his lips. “Let’s split them up. You read Calvin his Miranda rights and haul him out. I’ll stay here and talk to Dolly.”

“We don’t have enough to arrest him. The public defenders’ll have him out in thirty minutes.”

“You’re not arresting him. You’re just taking him out to your truck while I talk to Dolly.”

Silver looked doubtful, then grinned and nodded. “It’s your case, pal. Should I ask him what she said to him in there?”

Active thought it over. “No, let me question them both. Easier to compare stories that way.”

Silver nodded and they went back into the house. Calvin was dressed now, in brown corduroy trousers and a faded green sweatshirt with a hood, zipper, and Nike swoosh. Dolly was still on the bed with her parka and ruff. Silver told Calvin to stand up and that he was being taken into custody in connection with the murder of Victor Solomon.

Dolly scooted off the bed and shuffled over to put a protective hand on Calvin’s elbow. “He never kill nobody. You leave ’im alone.”

“You need to back away from Calvin, Mrs. Maiyumerak,” Active said. He stepped between them and suddenly Calvin was surrounded by the two officers.

“I tell you I never stick nobody with no harpoon,” Calvin said as Silver reeled off the Miranda warning. “This is another violation of the Charter on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”

Silver rolled his eyes and pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “Am I going to need these?”

Calvin looked defiant for a moment, then frightened, then shook his head rapidly as he squinted no.

“Let’s go then.” Silver put his hand in the middle of Calvin’s back and headed him toward the door. They passed into the
kunnichuk
and a moment later Active heard the outer door slam. He turned to Dolly Maiyumerak.

She had gone back to her bed, but she wasn’t working on the parka. She sat on the edge, back rigid and straight, hands in her lap.

Active walked over and stood before her. “Your grandson could be in serious trouble, Mrs. Maiyumerak.”

She pushed her lips out in a stubborn set but there was fright in her eyes. “He’s good boy, just little bit crazy from dreaming about old days when there’s no
naluaqmiut
around. He never kill nobody. He just take care of me, that’s all he do. “

Active, feeling thoroughly ashamed now, sat down beside her. “You may have to go back to Ebrulik and stay with your son and his wife.”

Dolly flinched. “I tell Calvin not to fool around with you guys. But he always think he’s so smart. Now you’re gonna put him in your jail and a-huh, a-huh . . .”

Active waited for the sobs to subside, then patted the old lady’s shoulder. “Unless there’s something that you could tell us that would help us find the real killer. If it’s not your grandson.”

Dolly put on the Eskimo mask again and Active let the inscrutability ride for a while. Then he made a show of standing up and zipping his parka. “Will you be all right here by yourself if your grandson is gone for a while? Could I take you someplace?”

The mask vanished and Dolly became a fearful old woman glaring at him out of red-rimmed black eyes. “Calvin tell me, ‘Never say nothing, Aana.’ ”

Active sat beside her again. “Does Calvin want you to move back to Ebrulik?”

Dolly sighed, wiped her eyes on the hem of the red parka, and shot Active another fearful glance. “Somebody come to see Calvin, talk about somebody stealing Uncle Frosty from museum.”

“You mean Jim Silver’s men? The city police?”

“No, not them.”

“Well, who?”

“You could ask Calvin.”

“Maybe he won’t tell us.”

“Whyborn Sivula.”

“Who?”

“Whyborn Sivula.”

It was the oddest name Active had ever heard. He was sure it was the first time it had been uttered in his presence. “Whyborn Sivula came to see your grandson?”

Dolly lifted her eyebrows.

“Who’s Whyborn Sivula?”

“Old man.”

“From here?”

She lifted her eyebrows again.

“When was this?”

She was silent, thinking. “Wednesday afternoon, maybe.”

Active counted back to Uncle Frosty’s arrival and was about to say the burglary hadn’t happened yet on Wednesday, when Dolly said, “No, Thursday. Whyborn come on Thursday. Thursday afternoon.”

That fit. Uncle Frosty had disappeared from the museum Wednesday night or in the early hours of Thursday morning. The story was on Kay-Chuck by noon Thursday. “What did Whyborn say about the burglary?”

Dolly shrugged. “He go in
kunnichuk
with Calvin, like that Jim Silver now. I never hear what they say.”

“Did Calvin tell you about it afterward?”

“He say Whyborn want to ask him did he take Uncle Frosty? He tell Whyborn he never do it, then Whyborn leave.”

“Why was Whyborn interested in Uncle Frosty?”

“I don’t know. My grandson never tell me anything else.”

Active pulled out his notebook and wrote down Whyborn Sivula’s name. “Thank you, Mrs. Maiyumerak.”

She peered up at him, eyes narrowed in anxiety. “Will my grandson come back today? He never feed that Kobuk yet.”

“I’ll do what I can for him.” The old lady looked like she knew she was being bullshitted, but she didn’t say anything. She turned her gaze away, stripped dental floss out of a plastic box, threaded it into her awl, and resumed work on the red parka.

Active left the house and walked to Silver’s Bronco. A frond of steam hovered over the tailpipe as the engine idled in the cold air. Calvin was slumped against the passenger door and appeared to be asleep. Silver was leaning against the headrest, but his eyes were open.

He grinned and lowered the window as Active approached. “So, you break the old lady, hotshot?”

Active let it pass and glanced at Calvin, now stirring. “Let’s go over to the Suburban for a minute.”

Silver reached over and shook Calvin’s shoulder. “I’m going to go talk to Nathan. You don’t touch anything while I’m gone, OK?”

Calvin shook his head and looked groggy. “What?”

“Just go back to sleep.”

Calvin leaned his head against the passenger window and closed his eyes again.

“He was out in the cold all night,” Silver said. “He’ll be all right.”

Silver turned off the Bronco and took the key. They walked across the street to the Suburban and climbed in. Active started it, switched on the blower, and put his fingers over a vent to see if the engine still had any heat to give. It did, a little, so he let it idle.

“You know a Whyborn Sivula?”

“Sure. Used to work at Chukchi Electric, but he’s retired now, got some kind of little pension, I guess. Hunts, fishes, traps, still runs a whaling crew, too, I think. Why?”

“He came to see Calvin the day after the museum burglary and asked him if he did it.”

“No shit.”

“That’s what Dolly says. His name ever come up in the burglary investigation? He on the tribal council, too?”

Silver shook his head. “Nope, we never crossed his trail once. What did Calvin tell him?”

“He said he didn’t do it, according to Dolly. Any idea where we could find Whyborn?”

Silver looked thoughtful and scratched his scalp. “Seems like I heard he put out his whaling camp already.”

“Can you tell me how to get there?”

“Sure, it’s up by Cape Goodwin. You just cross the bay here to—”

“Not now, tell me later when we can look at a map. Right now, let’s ask Calvin what they talked about.”

“Wait a minute,” Silver said. “There’s something else. Dolly say anything about a kid named Lemuel Bass?”

“Who?”

“Lemuel Bass.”

Active shook his head. “Why?”

“While you were in with Dolly, Dispatch called to let me know that Lemuel showed up at Harriman’s store and tried to swap an amulet for some Pokémon cards. Old Tim Harriman had a property list I circulated from the burglary, so I guess he called Dispatch as soon as he saw this amulet.”

“Our amulet?”

“Mammoth ivory with an owl’s face.”

“The kid say where he got it?”

“Don’t think so. Apparently he took off while Harriman was calling us.”

“Who is he?”

“He comes from a family that lives in a camp up around the mouth of the Katonak,” Silver said. “Dad’s white, Mom’s Eskimo, five or six kids up there, I’ve lost track, plus possibly an aunt, uncle, or cousin or two at any given moment. Lemuel’s about eight now, I’d say.”

“Calvin overhear the call?”

Silver wagged his head. “I went over to your Suburban and took it.”

“Let’s see what Calvin knows,” Active said.

The two men left the Suburban and crossed to the Bronco. Silver started to open the driver’s door. But Active, seeing Calvin still asleep on the other side, held up a hand.

He walked around to the passenger side, grasped the handle, and yanked open the door. With a surprised “
Arii!
” Calvin fell into Active’s arms.

Active lifted Calvin to his feet and stood close, so that the dog trapper was pushed back against the Bronco. Active put his nose almost to Calvin’s, catching a rank whiff of sleep breath. “What did you tell Whyborn Sivula about the burglary?”

Calvin wiped a patch of drool off his chin. “What? Who?”

“Whyborn Sivula. What did you tell him about the burglary?”

“I never—”

Active moved closer and put his hand to his hip. Silver had come around the Bronco and was now standing beside Active, so that Calvin was hemmed in.

“I never do it, that’s what I tell him.” Calvin talked fast, like he was worried about what Active might pull from his hip.

Active moved back a half-step, pulled a handkerchief from his hip pocket, and handed it to Calvin. “You missed a spot.” He pointed to Calvin’s chin.

Calvin took the handkerchief and cleaned up the drool. He wadded up the handkerchief and offered it to Active.

“Keep it,” Active said. “What else did you tell him?”

“Nothing, I never—”

“What did he tell you?”

“Nothing, he just want to know—”

Active moved up a half-pace and Calvin jerked his head back, thumping against the window of the Bronco.

“He say it’s Eskimo business from early days ago, maybe over now.”

“What?”

Calvin frowned. “He say it’s Eskimo business from early days ago, maybe over now.”

“The burglary was Eskimo business from early days ago?”

“That’s what he say.”

“What did he mean?”

“I don’t know. He never tell me.”

“Did you ask him?”

Calvin lifted his eyebrows.

“And?”

“He never tell me. He just say again, it’s old-time Eskimo business, I should forget about it.”

Active stepped back, a full pace this time. “And he said maybe it’s over now?”

Calvin lifted his eyes again.

“What do you think he meant?”

Calvin shrugged and squinted.

Silver spoke for the first time. “Did he say anything about Uncle Frosty being made cold by the universe and breaking out of the museum himself?”

Calvin looked away and didn’t say anything.

Silver grinned. “So you were just bullshitting us when you said that?”

Calvin still didn’t speak.

Active gave Silver a look and they both stepped back.

“How did Lemuel Bass get that thing from the burglary?” Active asked.

“Who? Is that one of Johnny Bass’s kids from up at the Katonak?” Calvin swung his eyes from one officer to the other and back again. “What thing he take? He’s pretty little to be a burglar, ah?” Calvin looked genuinely mystified.

“You can go back in now,” Active said. “Your grandmother will be happy to see you.”

Calvin’s face brightened. “You mean I’m not arrest for killing Victor?”

Active shrugged. “Not yet anyway.”

Calvin started for the house, but turned back after a few steps to look at them. “If you guys never think it was me anymore, then who you think did it?”

Both men shrugged.

Calvin revealed the gap in his teeth. “I still think maybe Uncle Frosty could do it himself.” He looked at Active, then Silver. “That’s old-time Eskimo business, ah?”

Calvin turned and started for the house again. Silver and Active looked at each other, and Silver said, “Shit.”

Active lifted his eyebrows and nodded.