His fellow workers say he was suicidal?

According to Truax, none of them noticed. I don‘t think most of them knew he was missing, to tell the truth. Jim turned to look at Kate. Tell me something. How many employees do they really need out there right now? To do the job they‘re doing at present?

Can‘t say for sure, never having started a gold mine up from scratch myself. But, yeah, be my guess there is a lot of make-work going on. They want to keep the Park rats happy.

And the Niniltna Native Association, and their shareholders, Dan said, of which, allow me to point out one more time, you happen to be chair of the board of directors.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Kate said. Eight months into the job that had been wished on her by four determined aunties, she wasn‘t even going to be comfortable with the title.

You haven‘t come out for or against the mine yet, Dan said, prodding her. When‘s that gonna happen?

Never, if I have my way, Kate said under her breath. To Jim she said, From what I saw there isn‘t enough left of Gammons for his best friend to identify. It is his truck.

That‘s not enough.

There‘s a personnel file, according to Truax, and everyone hired had to take a physical. There‘s a blood type. There‘s at least enough left of the body to make a match. It doesn‘t take much these days. He leaned back. Want to take it on for me?

I beg your pardon?

Come on, Kate, don‘t tell me you didn‘t see this coming. All I need is a positive ID on the body and case closed. Easy money for you.

Yeah, but I‘d have to go out to the mine.

He gave her a look. You know you‘re dying to see what‘s happened out there since they started up work again this spring.

You gonna make me notify the next of kin?

He winced. No. That‘s the trooper‘s job. I‘ll make the call. It‘s just— What?

The lines at the corners of his mouth deepened. When I was in Ahtna last week, testifying at that rape case? During those same two days Maggie fielded calls for a child sexual assault in Chistona, a domestic violence incident in Red Run, a gang rape in Slana, three break-ins of homesteads along the river, and a murder-suicide on a homestead somewhere between here and Ahtna that I never heard of before and neither one of us can find on a map. He shook his head. On top of all that I got fifty wannabe Park rats running around after their shifts thinking up new ways to get into trouble. Where the hell they get all that energy after twelve hours of hard labor is beyond me. I‘m up to my ears just trying to keep the peace in the Park. This Gammons is pretty rote, a by-the-book suicide by Alaska, and I‘d sure appreciate it, Kate, if you‘d dot the i‘s and cross the t‘s on this one.