The Bone Seeker by M. J. McGrath Page A

reconsidered his position?’
    â€˜Once Derek’s made up his mind, he rarely changes it,’ Edie said.
    Gutierrez’s face immediately darkened. For a moment she struggled to collect herself.
    â€˜You know, I have a lot of experience of the military. Where I grew up, in Guatemala, there was a succession of military governments.’ She leaned forward in her chair. ‘The military have their own rules, Ms Kiglatuk. They justify their actions by claiming to be working for us, the people. But they are generally working only for themselves.’ She pulled back and crossed her legs. ‘So, why
are
you here?’
    Edie outlined the plan to drain the pool at Lake Turngaluk and asked Gutierrez about possible contaminants.
    â€˜So far as I’m aware the water contains heavy metal deposits, PCBs, petroleum and creosote, that kind of thing. It’s noxious but not life-threatening. Make sure whoever is doing it is well covered and wears a face mask.’
    Eddie nodded. ‘We’d rather keep the details from the Salliaqs. It might be distressing for them.’
    Gutierrez took this in without comment. ‘And what about the site?’ she said.
    â€˜Ellesmere Island Police are going to need to keep the whole area cordoned off for the foreseeable future. No access.’
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    Edie returned to the detachment with the impression that, in spite of the appearance of cooperation, Sonia Gutierrez was not a woman to take no for an answer. Derek was in the front yard packing the trailer of his ATV. She noticed his service rifle there, then remembered the bear. There had been no sighting of it since the search and rescue flight but July was a hungry month for bears. The earlier the ice broke up, the more desperate they got.
    â€˜She doesn’t have to like it. She has to respect it,’ Derek said when Edie filled him in. ‘I told Joe Oolik we’d meet him down by the lake.He said he’d bring his coveralls and face mask. Sounds like that should be OK.’
    They headed inland, following the track through the sedge meadows to Lake Turngaluk. In the far distance, Camp Nanook glittered in the sun and a halo of heat haze shimmered above it. The entry gate was busy with vehicles and men heading off to exercises. A whole different world.
    Joe Oolik had already parked on the mud beside the pool and was working the controls of the pumping mechanism on his truck. A loud rattle obscured the sound of their engines but he caught sight of them as they drew nearer and stood waiting for them, his hands on his hips.
    They parked up, keyed off their ATVs and walked over to where Oolik was standing.
    The man flipped up his face mask. His mouth was turned down. ‘You said contaminants. You didn’t say nothing about blood.’ The mosquitoes had mostly dissipated, discouraged by the vibrations from the pump, but the smell was if anything worse than before.
    â€˜It’s a crime scene. Blood comes with the territory,’ Derek said.
    Oolik didn’t move. His jaw started working. Not happy. ‘This stuff I’m sucking up, where do I take it? I can’t just dump it.’
    Derek took off his police cap and scratched his head. He hadn’t thought it through. Neither of them had.
    â€˜How’s about you wait for the outgoing tide and let it run out into the sea?’ Edie offered. ‘We’ll say a prayer.’
    Oolik looked from one to the other and blinked agreement. ‘OK, if that’s how you want it,’ he said.
    â€˜There’s no need to tell anyone exactly what you found here, Joe,’ Derek said. ‘The condition of the water, the mosquitoes, the bad smell. Hard for the family to hear that stuff. Better not to mention you were here at all, but if anyone asks, the official line is we drained the pool in the hope of finding the murder weapon. Oh, and, you find an amulet in that water, we need to hear about