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rush anything in the Bay, and it was offensive to the Natives besides, who had made a pretty good living for thousands of years by waiting: waiting for the fish to come up the river, waiting for the caribou to come down out of the mountains, waiting for the bears to wake up in the spring, waiting for the berries to ripen in the fall. Patience wasn't just a virtue for the people of the Bay, it was a way of life. Liam, as new as he was to his posting, knew that much.
    The younger man said, his voice curt, “Walter Larsgaard. I'm the council chief. This is the council.
    He didn't introduce them. Liam forced the issue, stepping down to the slip and extending his hand to each man in turn. “Willie Kashatok. “Robert Halstensen. “Mike Ekwok. “Carl Andrew. They spoke English easily, albeit with the guttural inflection and heavy rhythm common to those whose first language was Yupik.
    “How do you do, Liam said gravely. “In any other circumstances, I'd be glad to meet you. This . . .he gestured behind him“this is awful.
    This frank acceptance of the horror of the situation and the open way in which he shared it caused a perceptible relaxation among the four older men, who exchanged glances and looked back at Liam, still watchful but less on guard. One of them Ekwok, he thoughteven went so far as to give an approving nod, and mutter something to the man standing next to him Halstensen?that sounded like, “Tookalook, which probably wasn't anything close to what it was. Yupik was allk's andt's and pretty much all of it sounded like “tookalook to Liam's Anglo ears. The two old men looked from Liam to the raven on the light pole and back again, and said no more.
    Larsgaard alone showed no sign, of approval, or anything else. He waited, silent and wary. His straight black hair fell across his forehead and shadowed his eyes, so that Liam couldn't get a read on what he was thinking.
    “Who owned this boat? Liam said. “I see that her home port is registered here. He pointed at the stern,Marybethia,and below thatKulukak, Alaska,in no-nonsense lettering, spare, neat, easy to read, no unnecessary serifs or flourishes. Some of the names painted on the sides of boats were so elaborately curliqued they were next to impossible to decipher. This boat even had the state registration number lettered on the bow beneath the name, something you almost never saw on anything bigger than a skiff.
    “David Malone, Larsgaard said, after a pause just short of inviting a repeat of the question. “And yes, the Malones live here.
    Or did, his eyes said.
    “Who does he fish with? Liam said, thinking of the number of bodies he had seen littering the galley.
    “His family, one of the eldersAndrew or Ekwoksaid.
    Liam's heart sank. “His whole family?
    The elder nodded. It was Ekwok, the shortest and fattest member of the group. He had round black eyes set in a round brown face, and he peered up at Liam with all the curiosity of a fiveyearold child meeting his kindergarten teacher for the first time. At six-three, Liam felt like a clumsy giant, and repressed an impulse to squat down so he could meet Ekwok at his own eye level. “The first thing you do upon arrival at a crime scene is to establish an air of authority, his instructor had told him at the academy. “You are the law on two legs. Let people know that up front and don't ever let them forget it. Somehow Liam felt that squatting on his haunches would be counter to that directive.
    “His wife, his brother, his two children, Ekwok said.
    “And two deckhands, a second elderKashatok? volunteered. “Gussuks.
    “They were allgussuks, Ekwok said with an impatient look. “So what? They were our neighbors.
    Everyone looked at Larsgaard, as if expecting him to contradict them, and then studiously away again. The raven mocked them from the top of the light pole. “Oh shut up, Liam said without thinking. The older men looked up at the raven, back at Liam, down at their feet, almost as ifwhat?