The truck. There was no road between the mine and Niniltna. Gammons had to have parked the truck in Niniltna and taken the company flight to the mine. Which meant the truck had to have been parked somewhere secure or Howie Katelnikof or Martin Shugak would have made it their business to acquire it, either one piece at a time with a lug wrench or more probably all at once with a tow bar.

In any event, finding out where Gammons had parked the truck between shifts wouldn‘t prove anything about the body one way or another. It was just another piece of information, and you never knew which piece would cause the whole puzzle to fall into place. A while back Kate had worked a case that had hung on the different colors of aviation gas through the ages. Details were important. When Gammons came out of his funk she could put all of these questions to him. When she was done today she expected to have more.

The pilot, who had introduced himself as Bud, set the Beaver down on the mine‘s airstrip with a bounce that told anyone watching he wasn‘t flying his own plane. They rolled to a stop and someone popped the pilot‘s door before the prop had stopped rotating. Vern Truax was on the other side and he did not look as if his wife‘s weekend booty call had been a success. He saw Kate and his mouth tightened. I‘ve got someone I want you to take back to Niniltna immediately. Bud looked confused. What about the off-shifters?

Truax leaned in. I want your ass and his ass in the air going northwest. Immediately.

Bud lost color. Yessir, Mr. Truax.

You can come back for the shift change when you dump his ass in Niniltna. Clear? Yessir, Mr. Truax.

Truax gave Kate a barely civil nod. Kate.

Vern, Kate said, and climbed back through the plane and out onto the ground, Mutt jumping down next to her.

Truax was clearly in a white-hot fury. Kate thought it might have something to do with the man standing next to him, who stepped forward with an outstretched hand. Kostas McKenzie, Ms. Shugak. I‘ve heard a lot about you. I expect everyone has. She took it. He hung on a little too long and he gripped a little too hard, like maybe he had something to prove. Mutt took a step forward. McKenzie looked at her and held on a little longer, just to make his point.

Have we met? Kate said when she‘d managed to free herself.

I‘m with Gaea, he said.

He looked to be in his late thirties, medium all over, height, girth, and weight, brown/brown, perfect American teeth displayed in a genial smile that looked practiced, a ruddy complexion that indicated a life spent mostly outdoors, and attire that inferred money spent. He didn‘t give off the impression of a Suulutaq Mine employee, or at least not one paid by the hour.

After a minute she had it. He‘d been in the café on Memorial Day. When he didn‘t say anything else she said, And Gaea is . . .