Fire and ice Read Online Free

nodded at the body lying in front of the plane, the rain keeping the blood a rich and vivid red. "Walk into the prop?"
    "Maybe. Maybe not."
    Corcoran's brows rose. "Oh?"
    Liam jerked his head, and Corcoran came over to stand next to them. Dropping his voice, Liam said, "The p-lead was disconnected."
    "What the hell's a p-lead?" Corcoran was no pilot, either.
    Liam let Wy explain.
    The tufted brows disappeared into the fur edge of the hat. "Really. Excuse me." They stepped aside, and Corcoran bent over the seat to examine the dash, poking at the wire with one gloved finger.
    They waited. The crowd shifted and muttered, and began to drift away. "Hold on a minute," Liam said, and began collecting names and phone numbers, although to a man and woman they protested they had seen, heard, and said no evil. Moccasin Man pulled up in a gunmetal gray Isuzu Rodeo with PITBUL on the license plate and a tiny Stars and Stripes flying from the antenna. Could have been worse, Liam thought, could have been the Stars and Bars. The Hell's Angel and the Flirt climbed in and the Rodeo pulled out with an ostentatious screech of rubber on pavement, just as Liam was approaching with pad and pencil. The airline crew began loading luggage into the Metroliner. A small plane took off down the strip, another taxied up to the fuel pumps. The pilot got out and stood for a moment, watching, before he fetched the hose and began fueling his plane. Business as usual.
    Liam walked over to Wy. "What were you doing up?" She looked blank and he said impatiently, "What work? What job were you on? Who were you flying for?"
    "Oh. Spotting. We'd been spotting." She looked up and caught his expression. "For herring. Bob was my observer."
    Liam felt a chill run down his spine. Spotting--using a small plane to find schools for the fishing boats in the water below--was like playing Russian roulette, only with five bullets in the gun instead of one. Kind of like glacier flying in and out of Denali, he thought, and she used to do that, too. "Still living dangerously, are you, Wy?" he said tightly, every muscle under control, every cell in his body humming with what might have been rage.
    Wy didn't answer him. Corcoran looked around, one speculative eyebrow raised as he took in the strained expressions on both their faces. "You two know each other?"
    Liam was silent. Wy took her cue from him.
    "Well, well, well," Corcoran said, a sly smile spreading across his face. "I think I'm kind of sorry to be leaving after all. Things might finally be getting interesting in this shithole of a town."
    "Sergeant?" The copilot tapped Corcoran on the shoulder. He was still pale and he kept his gaze rigidly averted from the body on the ground. "We're leaving."
    "Okay. I'll be right there."
    "What?" Liam said.
    "Trooper, you relieve me," Corcoran said, giving his hat an unnecessary adjustment. "I'm outta here."
    "Bullshit," Liam said, forgetting their comparative ranks. "We haven't had any kind of a handover, I don't know anything about this posting, who the local cops are ... You haven't even shown me where the office is!"
    "It's not that big a town, Campbell. You'll manage." Corcoran's grin was a taut stretch of skin, bare of humor or good feeling. "And if you don't, it's not my problem. My time is up, and I am history. Got me a posting to Eagle River, which is close enough to Anchorage to suit me just fine. Got me three girls lined up already, one in Wasilla, one in Spenard, and one in Girdwood, far enough apart not to find out about each other and close enough together for an easy commute between beds." Corcoran winked and touched his fingers to the brim of his hat. "So long, Ms. Chouinard. It's been real." He reached out and gave her a chuck under her chin before she could move out of the way. "Should have been nicer to me. I could have stuck around to help you out of this."
    Liam gave Wy a sharp look, but her expression gave nothing away.
    Corcoran turned and began walking toward the