Chapter 56
The hastily organized commendation ceremony took place in the banquet room of city hall Sunday at 1:00 pm. Stephanie visited with her before the ceremony. They talked with sadness and regret about Mattie. Stephanie had decided to stay in Dominion as the manager of the new Safeway, though she was going on an extended vacation first. They promised to get together again next week before she left.
Deputy Mayor, now acting Mayor, Brian Stern, presided over the ceremony. There had been some debate over the three days between the end of the Colter militia incident, so named to avoid confusion with the Crowley farm incident, and the ceremony about whether or not to present the commendations at the fairgrounds as part of the Fall Farm Fair. Given the reasons behind the ceremony, and the fact that the Portland Police bomb disposal squad had to be called back to dismantle the three booths Colter’s men had delivered to the fairgrounds when they were discovered to contain explosive materials imbedded and impregnated within them, city hall was selected.
Susan took care of the arrangements. “I need to keep busy and my mind focused on something else.”
The recipients of the commendations were her, Deputy Kelly Strickland, Special Investigator, Harry Madsen, Forestry Ranger, Randal Vance, Dr. Craig Harding posthumously, Colin Foster of the FBI and his SWAT team, Wallace Nash and Portland SWAT, the ATF unit, the bomb disposal units and the National Guard units. ATF, National Guard, FBI and Portland Police recipients did not attend. She had been unable to find a valid reason to excuse herself. She and Kelly wore their uniforms. She did not wear the hat.
As soon as Stern had handed over the medals and the scrolls of commendation for Craig and her and kissed her cheek, the ceremony was officially over and the luncheon began. She walked off the stage behind all the other recipients.
Attendance was light because it was the Sunday before Labor Day, it was sunny and warm after three straight days of heavy rain, and the people of Dominion, being sensible, had gone to the fair to enjoy themselves.
National and international news teams had left Friday after getting all they could because the DHS had clamped down on any further information dispersal for national security reasons. It hadn’t stopped repeated calls to her, however.
Harry had commented about more redacted reports.
Susan had countered with, “They can hardly redact our memories.”
Susan’s comment had reminded Joan that her daughter had witnessed the savage, coldblooded murder of Saleha. Shana had barely been able to talk about Saleha or Caesar or Craig these past few days without crying.
Kate and Susan attended the ceremony, as did Barbara and Doug. A number of students from Oregon State had come back to Dominion for it.
Kelly intercepted her at the buffet table. “I have to get to the fair. Rob just called. Three tough-looking guys with white beards just arrived on Harleys.”
“Go easy on those two. Rob did need stitches, and they do bring us tasty fish.”
“I consider it practice for bossing around the two new ones when we get them next fiscal. I will get to boss them around, right, ma’am?”
“Not enough to scare them away.”
“I can live with that.” She snatched up a couple of sausage rolls and stuffed them into her mouth. “Maybe I’ll send them to the bingo tent to make sure no one’s cheating. How’s Shana?”
“She’s had a few bad dreams and she has her tough moments, but she’s holding up as well as can be expected.” It was a weak but apt description of her life, too. “She just wanted to hang around the house today and do a bit of tinkering.”
Shana had been held hostage, terrorized, seen Saleha killed with a knife, seen Zemar kill to protect her, Lily and Donny, seen Colter turn both farms into bombed-out ruins. Those memories would be with her for the rest of her life. If she wanted to leave Dominion, they would just get in the car and go.
“Give her my love. I’ll let you know about the geriatric motorcycle gang. Oh, yeah, Janine and Amelia called me this morning. They’ve decided to stay on as they are.”
“With all this commotion I haven’t had a chance. Thank you for what you did for Shana, and me.”
Kelly turned as red as she usually got. “I’m glad she told you. I was losing sleep over it.”
“Don’t do that again, okay?”
“Sure thing, but I don’t think there will be any more need.” She snatched up a few more sausage rolls and left.
Randal went with her.
Harry took her place. His plate was full of stuff a man in his condition should not be eating. She must have scowled at what she saw, because he said, “Don’t be a nag, Sheriff.”
“That is not brain food.”
“Questioning my wisdom already?”
“Just having a few nagging doubts.”
“Don’t worry. The part you might call on is encased in a sphere of plaque that nothing can penetrate.”
She loaded up her plate quickly and they went to a table.
As soon as they were seated, he said, “We’ll keep looking. The rain’s just delayed us a bit. We will find him.”
“I have my first consultation request for you,” she said.
“The posting and panel for the two new deputies.”
“The posting goes out in two weeks. Stern, Sheriff Callas from Widow Creek and I will be the panel, but I’d like to review what you did on my panel. Can you come by Wednesday?”
“I’ll check my busy schedule and get back to you. Have you talked to Colin?”
“Not since Friday. They’re pretty busy with all this.”
“Lily gave them the Rosetta stone. She found a flash drive among her father’s things and broke through its security. They might even find the money trail thanks to her. She’s also recruited the geek network to watch for anything else Colter’s people may have let loose on the internet.”
“We’ll have to see she gets a medal.”
“We’ll have to see she comes down on the right side of the law. An anarchist with her magical skills is scarier than Colter and his bunch. Everything is on the drive, including all the Operation Gangrene initiatives. There were more train derailments planned, selective kidnappings, even a series of attacks on churches, synagogues and mosques. Colter was in charge of recruiting other militias and white supremacist groups to the cause.”
“He told me a congressman and two senators have being indicted. All three are claiming coercion by people calling themselves the Proteus Group and are cooperating fully.”
“These nuts weren’t content with just the US. They had plans to stir up tensions at all the hot spots in the world: North and South Korea, North Korea and Japan, China and Tibet, China and Taiwan, Pakistan and India in Kashmir, Israel and the Palestinians, Turkey and Syria, even Turkey and Greece, Chechnya and Russia.”
“Yes, but we were first. Have they found all of Colter’s men?”
“No one really knows.” He looked around the banquet room. “People are going to say Colter had quite a sense of humor when they find out he planted a bomb inside a deputy’s desktop and used a stuffed coyote to blow up the Mayor’s office.”
“I won’t.”
“I wonder if Do-Dads and Karyon will change their minds when they learn Dominion is also going to be infamous for something.”
Barbara and Doug came over. Doug had a plate of food but still managed to push Barbara’s wheelchair. Barbara had no food.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Barbara said.
She picked up her plate and they found another table to be alone.
“I worked with Craig for eight years. Doug and I are more the research types, but Craig, he was the one who would take on any bird with a broken wing. He was determined to save every animal that ever came to us. I believe they sensed that in him, too. Then you came along. He was still as determined as ever, but he lost some of his focus after he met you. You could see it in his eyes. I was a little jealous, as were a number of female students from Oregon State. I just w
anted you to know.”
She patted Barbara’s hand. “What about the farm?”
“We’ll rebuild. Doug is going to stay rather than return to Saskatchewan.”
“Count us in. As a matter of fact, you should be warned. You’re not going to be able to keep Shana away.”
“I look forward to it.” She wheeled herself back to Doug, who then took her away. The Oregon State contingent went with them. Some of them were wiping their eyes.
She pushed her plate aside. She hadn’t eaten a thing.
Her phone rang. The number was unknown. It could be the relentless press again. “Sheriff McGowan.”
“Hi,” Craig said hoarsely through a faint crackle, “can you come to Lookout Peak?”
She looked around at the people still there, which only made her dizzier. “What the hell are you doing? No one could find you. You’re dead. I just heard some wonderful things about you. You received another medal. You can’t come back from the dead now; that would ruin everything.” She covered her mouth because it was unable to stop on its own.
“I was afraid of that, but I couldn’t stay dead forever, not after I finally woke up.”
“What happened? How are you calling me? You are using a phone, aren’t you? It’s someone else’s phone, that’s why the number is unknown.”
“I’ll explain when you get here. And yes, I am using Bobby’s phone. It also turns out he was a decent cushion to land on after falling forty feet or so. Now, I keep passing out and this phone is losing power, so if you could get here as fast as you can and bring any assistance you can muster, I would appreciate—” The connection broke.
She hollered across the banquet room at Harry, Susan and Kate, “He’s alive on Lookout Peak. Get everyone standing by at Dominion General.” She raced out of city hall in search of Barbara and her group. Instead, she ran into Randal and Zemar coming out of the Seven Eleven store beside it.
Randal said as fast as he could, “I know you can turn us in, but Zemar is leaving. In twenty-four hours, he will be on his way to relatives in Brazil with Saleha.”
“You saved my daughter. I’ve never known two people more deserving to stay here. If there is anything I can do. I’ll vouch for you if you think that would help.”
Zemar said, “Thank you, Joan, but I believe this is for the best.”
She hugged Randal, then Zemar. “I hope you find all the peace and happiness possible for your life.” She hugged Randal again. “He’s alive.”
“How can we help?”
“Take care of Zemar and Saleha first. Then meet me up at Lookout Peak. Bring the helicopter.”
At the damaged and cordoned-off Sheriff’s Office, she retrieved her Mazda. She just needed to make one stop on the way.