Dana Stabenow - Whisper to the Blood

In a line of folding chairs on the stage sat the other members of the board, Auntie Joy still hurt, Old Sam sardonic, Demetri taciturn, Harvey pugnacious, but they were there, lined up at her right hand like the good soldiers they were. At a card table on her left, Annie Mike took industrious notes and recorded votes. Solidarity forever. Right.

"We can't demonize the people who want to build it, either," Kate said, "because at a thousand dollars an ounce they'll build it anyway. And then here we'll be, the mine a going concern and the people running it with no reason to do us any favors." She paused, and added, "Or hire any Park rats."

A lot of them didn't like what they were hearing. Fine, they could fire her in the vote to follow.

"I'll tell you what we can do," she said. "We can get in bed with Global Harvest, all the way under the covers, and make sure we're watching over their shoulders every step of the way. That is what this proposed advisory committee is for. You don't like the idea of earthen dams? Fine, tell Global Harvest to come up with something better. At a thousand dollars an ounce, they can afford it.

"You're worried the arsenic they use in the extraction process will pollute the groundwater? At a thousand dollars an ounce they can come up with a process that leaves a friendlier environmental footprint.

"You're worried about what the influx of increased population will do to the nature and character of the Park? Okay, we set some guidelines, starting with they can't build a road from the Nabesna Mine to Suulutaq, they have to build their own airstrip. We set more guidelines about the use of the road to Ahtna, too, like maybe they can access it only on a limited, supervised, case-by-case basis. At a thousand dollars an ounce, they can afford it."

Auntie Vi had paused, plate in hand, to listen. On either side, aunties Balasha and Edna were listening, too.

"You're worried that Global Harvest is going to hire all Outsiders for the good jobs?" Kate said. "Then our first order of business is to ask Global Harvest, 'What do you need in the way of employees?' and get them to help us create-and fund-an educational program for the kids of the Park. At a thousand dollars an ounce"-she was startled when almost everyone in the room said it with her-"they can afford it!"

There was a ripple of laughter, and a couple of people even exchanged high fives.

On stage, the board members gave each other covert looks. No one had stirred up a shareholders meeting like this since Ekaterina Shugak had been chair, and Ekaterina, a woman who personified dignity, had not encouraged public displays of either approval or dissent.

"Is there any further discussion? No. Okay. I'll ask you now to vote on the expansion of the board of directors, the creation of the mine advisory committee and the contest for a new association logo. Voice vote first. If there is no clear majority on voice vote, Ms. Mike will distribute ballots. Then, a voice vote on the election of myself to the board of directors, followed by a shareholders' confirmation vote on the board's selection of chair."

She looked at Annie. Annie nodded.

"The motion before the Niniltna Native Association is to increase the membership of its board of directors from five to nine members, with all the rights and responsibilities accruing thereto. All in favor?"

When it was over she touched Auntie Joy on the arm before she could leave the stage. "Come with me, please, Auntie."

Out of the crowd she picked out Auntie Vi, Auntie Balasha, and Auntie Edna. Avoiding all the glad-handing and congratulations pointed her way, she led them into the kitchen, where she threw everyone else out and closed and locked the door.

"We have to serve food, Katya," Auntie Vi said, bridling.

"They can serve themselves for a few minutes," Kate said. She folded her arms and looked them over with a bleak eye. "I'm only going to ask you this once. If you lie to me and I find out later that you lied, I will never trust you, any of you, individually or together, ever again."

Auntie Vi ruffled up like an irritated cockatoo, but before she could say anything Kate said baldly, "Did you hire Howie Katel-nikof to kill Louis Deem?"

A ghastly silence fell over the room. It was an incongruous setting for this discussion, stainless steel cupboards, counters, sinks, and appliances, with here and there evidence of hasty meal prep, a few elbows of macaroni, a lone potato chip, a brilliant purple spill of grape Kool-Aid mix.

The four aunties exchanged sidelong glances and by some secret signal agreed to maintain a wary silence. Kate hadn't really expected anything else. This confrontation was about the future, not the past.

"If you did, you took the law into your own hands," she said. "You set yourselves up as judge, jury, and executioner." She paused, giving Auntie Vi a chance to break into her standard accusation about Kate not doing her job and the aunties having to step in. Auntie Vi glared but did not speak.

"Have you noticed what's happened since?" she said. "It's spreading, this vigilantism of yours. It's like an infection, spreading across the Park like some kind of disease. You settle the score with Louis, then Mary Bingley decides she can handle Willard's shoplifting on her own, Demetri beats the crap out of Father Smith for blading his trapline, Bonnie keys the truck of the kid who put a salmon in the mailbox, Arliss shoots Mickey before he hits her again."

Kate shook her head. "And then you do it again."

She waited, watching as they exchanged sidelong glances.

"Yeah, you get the Grosdidier boys to track down the Johansens and beat on them."

Their heads snapped around at that, all right. "Don't bother denying it. You did, I know you did, we'll leave it at that."

She frowned at the floor for a moment, and looked up again. "Don't you see, Aunties? You're the center. If you don't hold, it's almost like you give permission for things to fall apart."

"We tell no one," Auntie Joy said, and then at a fiery glance from Auntie Vi her mouth shut again with an audible snap.

"Auntie," Kate said with admirable patience, "this is the Park. You sneeze on one side of it, five minutes later on the other side of it you're dying of pneumonia. Did you really think you could keep it a secret? Any of it?"

Again she looked at Auntie Vi, and again Auntie Vi remained silent, although it was pretty obvious the top would blow off the bottle in the not-too-distant future.

"Okay," Kate said. "Best we say nothing more about this, to anyone. For the record, Howie ratted you out, and then reneged on his confession. Now he's saying he didn't kill Louis at all, and Jim and I halfway believe him. He and Willard only have one shotgun out at their place, and we checked. The shot in the shells they've got doesn't match the shot that was found in Louis's body."

The expressions that crossed their faces were interesting, to say the least. Shock, surprise, then anger. "He's been blackmailing you, hasn't he?" Kate said. It was what she'd realized that evening, moments before Old Sam came in the door to tell them about Macleod's murder. "Saying he'll tell if you don't give him money?"

Again, she read her answer on their faces. "Well, now that you know we know, you don't have to pay him any more."

She looked at them, at these four doughty, indomitable forces of nature, Balasha in her seventies the youngest, the rest of them over the eighty mark. They'd been a power in Kate's life from her birth.

She could count on one hand the times she'd gone up against them, and never without guilt or remorse. It grieved her now to have to lay down the law to them, but someone had to.

"Insofar as what happened out there today," she said, and they looked up at the grim note in her voice. She nodded at the door. "They confirmed me in office, Aunties. You got what you wanted. And you'll get it for two more years."