Read Online Icy Clutches by Aaron Elkins - Free Book Online

for twenty-nine years. True, they still had a trace of the distinctive candle-wax odor that meant the fat in the marrow was somewhere beyond the rancid stage but short of the dried-up stage. Ordinarily this would mean the time of death had been anywhere from six months to four or five years earlier. But this too was wildly variable, depending on conditions, and cold could slow it down tremendously, as it retarded all degenerative changes in dead tissue. And with bones that had been in a glacier for two or three decades, you were going to get one hell of a slowdown.
    "Owen,” Gideon said, “did you have a chance to talk to anyone about what these people looked like?"
    "Sure did. Dr. Henckel and Professor Tremaine both."
    "And? Did either of the men fit what we seem to have here? Caucasian, twenty-five or so, tall, probably well built?"
    Parker laughed, dropped into a wheeled swivel chair, and pushed off a few inches, heels in the air. “They both did. Both big healthy guys, twenty-four, twenty-five years old."
    Gideon hesitated. “Did they say either of them had anything wrong with his face?"
    "His face?"
    "A wired jaw, maybe; something like that?"
    "No, why?"
    "Yes, why?” Arthur asked. “What are you getting at?"
    "No matter. Well, the bones could belong to either of them, or both. I'm afraid I can't do any better than that."
    "Well, that's that, then.” Tibbett rubbed his hands briskly together. “All we can do is what we can do. Thanks so much for your help, Gideon. I'll initiate procedures to see that the remains—"
    "Wait a minute, Arthur,” Gideon said, “I think you're jumping the gun. I haven't given those bones a decent going-over yet. Besides, you're going to want to go back to the Tirku area to see if there's anything else out there."
    "I'm going to want to do no such thing.” Tibbett's voice ratcheted up a notch. “We've already searched. I found that horrible jawbone. It was the most macabre experience I've ever had in my life.” His eyes rolled up. “Alas, poor Yorick."
    "I think Dr. Oliver's right,” Parker said.
    "Why? What is there to be gained? What—"
    But the ranger knew how to get his supervisor's attention. “We'll have to submit a recovery report on this. How will it look to Washington if we can't put down that we instituted a systematic search for remains?"
    "I just told you—"
    "With equipped, professional park-ranger personnel.” Tibbett sagged. “All right, all right. Let's get it done. What do you suggest?"
    "Jesus Christ,” Parker said abruptly, looking at the empty Hostess box. “You ate one of those donuts?"
    "I get hungry when I work,” Gideon said. “It wasn't that bad."
    "Yeah, but still—"
    "Owen, this is serious,” Tibbett snapped. “Now what do you suggest?"
    Parker grunted good-naturedly. “Bill Bianco's taking the glacier rescue class up Tarr Inlet for tomorrow's field training. Why don't Russ, Frannie, and I hop a ride on the boat? They can drop us off at Tirku and pick us up on the way back. It'll give us a good three hours or so to look around."
    "Fine,” Tibbett said, sighing. “You have my approval."
    "You'll probably want to come too, Dr. Oliver,” Parker said.
    "I sure do."
    Tibbett made fluttery motions with his hands. “Just a minute. I don't know about that. We have to be careful here. Our insurance provisions wouldn't cover anybody who isn't on official government business."
    "Well, what the hell would you call this?” Parker asked, then added, “sir."
    "Well, I don't...Gideon, would you say it's absolutely necessary for you to be present?"
    Gideon leaned forward. “Absolutely,” he said earnestly. “If they do find some more bones, it'd be extremely important for me to observe the contextual and relational conditions firsthand."
    It would also beat hell out of spending the day moping through the rest of the Alaska Geographics.
    * * * *
    The resident manager of Glacier Bay Lodge had been doubtful about the wisdom of opening the Icebreaker