“The bodies,” he said. “What should we do with them?”
“We’ll have to burn them,” Schuler said. “We can’t dig that many graves.”
“We can’t burn them,” Williams replied. “They’re evidence.”
“Evidence of what?” she asked. “Besides, anyone who comes around to dust for fingerprints is as dead as we are.”
“Well, if we’re dead anyway, the last thing I want to do is spend my final minutes dragging corpses around.”
“We can’t just leave them to rot in the sun.”
“Why not? You think anyone is going to give us a decent Christian burial when we’re gone?”
“I may not be able to bury you,” Culann said, “but I’m not just going to leave you.”
“Oh, that’s just great,” Williams said. “After I’m dead, a child molester is going to defile my body. I’d rather you just let me rot.”
“Fine,” Schuler said, “he’ll let you rot. I’m going to help him deal with the rest of these people.”
Williams stayed in the bar while Culann and Schuler went to work. They figured the simplest way to deal with so many bodies was to put them all in one of the shacks and set it on fire. They would need to choose one away from the view of the mainland to keep from luring anyone over. The problem was that the cabins furthest from mainland were surrounded by trees which could easily catch fire and set the whole island ablaze.
“What about your boat?” Culann asked. “We could probably stack everyone
onboard and light it on fire, like a Viking funeral.”
Schuler laughed and covered her mouth. Then she pulled her hand away and laughed again.
“I guess there’s nothing wrong with a little laughing,” she said, “since it’s going to be my ass on top of the pile.”
By the time the sun dipped near the horizon, which is as low as it would get for another few weeks, Schuler and Culann had loaded fifteen dead bodies, including Frank’s, into the police boat. Culann looked one last time at his cousin’s serene face before covering it with another body. They’d found an old wheelbarrow that made the task a little easier, although Culann couldn’t push it because he still had his hands cuffed.
Schuler said that she didn’t see the harm in letting him go, but Williams was liable to shoot him if his hands were free. Culann agreed with her.
“Do you think he might shoot me anyway?”
“I don’t think so, but who knows what a man’s capable of doing his last night on Earth.”
“Maybe I should keep my distance. Do you think it would be okay if I slept over at Frank’s place?”
“I don’t care. Which one is Frank’s?”
“The one on the end,” he said, pointing. “There’s some beer left in the refrigerator if you’d like to join me for a nightcap.”
“Drinking with a fugitive in my custody breaks about fifteen different regulations, but I don’t see the harm, under the circumstances. I might as well try to enjoy what’s left of my life.”
The two trudged down the road. Alphonse kept close to Culann while the other dogs orbited around. Culann held the door to the shack open for Schuler and Alphonse before squeezing himself in ahead of the other dogs who all surged forward to join them.
A floppy-eared pitbull and a big collie that looked like Lassie snuck in before Culann could wedge the door shut, but he managed to keep the bulk of the pack from overwhelming them inside. The others howled at the front door for a few minutes before plopping down in a great drowsy mass out front.
Schuler sat on Frank’s couch while Culann grabbed two beers from the refrigerator. He handed one to Schuler with his hands still bound.
“You want those off now?” she asked.
Culann glanced out the window to make sure Williams wasn’t around. When he saw that it was clear, he held his arms out. Schuler drew a small key from her belt and released the handcuffs. Two red lines rang his wrists.
“Free at last,” he said with a smirk.
“For now,” she said. “You know that if me or Williams lives through the night, we’re going to have to take you in. Plus, we didn’t check in like we were supposed to.
They are probably already sending more officers to look for us. It won’t be long before they think to look here.”
“Then they’re going to die, too. How can we stop them from coming?”
“We can’t. There’s a warrant out for your arrest, and this place is your last known whereabouts. The fact that two cops disappeared trying to find you is not exactly going to take the heat off. They’re probably going to send in the FBI or maybe the National Guard.”
“Jesus. I can’t be responsible for that many people dying.”
“You’re awfully worried about other people for a sex offender,” she said with a chuckle.
Culann had had enough of these types of jokes over the last few weeks, so he turned away from Schuler and sipped his beer.
“Lighten up, Mr. Riordan. Can’t you at least humor a dying girl?”
“Okay, fine. Just to be clear, I’m not a child molester and I’m not a pervert. I exercised some bad judgment with a girl who was sixteen.”
“Don’t worry about it. Hell, sixteen-year-olds are legal in Alaska. You should have just done it up here.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he said. “But isn’t Alaska the place you go after you screw up?”
“For some, I suppose. I was born here.”
“Fair enough. What about your parents? Were they running from something?”
“Probably,” she said. “I never met my dad, but I don’t imagine he was particularly law-abiding. He dragged my mom up here and then split about a month after I was born.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I got over it a long time ago. At this point, I’m a little more worried about dying.”
“You don’t seem that worried.”
“Now that we’re sitting still, it’s sinking in. It was better when we were hauling carcasses all over the island.”
“Maybe you won’t die. I can’t be the only one who’s immune.”
“Maybe,” she said. “You got any more beer?”
He sprang up and went to the kitchen. The dogs followed him. When he returned with two beers, they lay back down on the floor.
“So what is it about young girls, Mr. Riordan?”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“It was just one time with one girl,” he said.
“Okay, but is that the only time you ever thought about it?”
“No.”
“So what is it? You got a problem with girls your own age?”
“No, it’s not like that. I’ve dated plenty of women my own age. I don’t think it’s really got anything to do with how old they are. I just seem to have a hard time controlling myself around beautiful women. And some of them just happen to be a little young, that’s all.”
“You having a hard time controlling yourself around me?” she asked with a grin.
“No.”
“So am I ugly then?”
“No, not at all. I was just—”
“I’m just playing with you,” Schuler said, laughing. “It helps me keep my mind off the situation.”
Culann turned and faced her. Schuler was squat and muscular with thick hips; she had a cop’s body. But there was beauty in her wide brown eyes and mischievous smile.
He realized that he may never again get a chance to be with a woman again, and found himself excited by Schuler’s strong femininity. He leaned in to kiss her.
She cuffed him hard across the jaw.
“I think you got the wrong idea, Mr. Riordan.”