Page 13 of Smoky Lake

She hadn’t done anything wrong, she reminded herself.

Blowing off the military would be wrong. But so would lying to them. If she stood up right now, she’d have to tell them where Gil had gone. She’d boasted about her ability to keep a confidence, so she didn’t like that idea. On the other hand, Gil was just a stranger, and maybe he had done something wrong. She should just tell these guys what she knew, which was barely anything, and go on with her life.

The old Ani would have.

But the Ani she was right now sat glued to the stool, silent, unmoving except for the frantic pulse beating in her throat.

“Probably some tourist,” Pinky finally said. “I don’t know about any green Sentras around here.”

The others shook their heads as well. “Can’t you run the license plate?” asked Bear.

“Funny thing, it doesn’t have a license plate.”

Ani had noticed the same thing, but Gunnar had told her that no one cared about that sort of thing out here. The license plate holder had rusted out and he’d never bothered to replace it.

“Registration?” Bear asked.

“It was last registered in Wyoming about five years ago.”

“Abandoned vehicle,” said Trader John wisely. “Or maybe it was stolen.”

“Aliens might have left it when they snatched the driver,” said Pinky.

This time, everyone seemed to take his alien theories seriously. They all nodded as if that made any sense at all, as if aliens kidnapped people from green Sentras most days of the week.

The two soldiers shared a glance that spoke volumes about their opinion of the raggedy crew at the bar. “Let’s try something else. Do any of you know where we could locate Gil McGowan?” asked the younger one, who seemed to be fighting back a smirk.

“McGowan?” Pinky screwed up his face. “Name sounds familiar. Ain’t that a brand of spice?”

“Used to be some McGuires in Blackbear. Couple of gay guys,” added an elderly Ahtna gentleman drinking with Trader John.

“I heard they were bisexual,” corrected Trader John. “Swinger types.”

“Things used to be pretty wild out here back in the day. Wasn’t it a McGowan who ran naked through town every midsummer’s eve?”

“That was a woman!” Pinky cackled with laughter, his eyes twinkling with light. “Amy McGowan. I used to set up a lawn chair right on Pioneer just waitin’ for her to run by.”

“Hey!” The soldier’s firm voice cut through the laughter. “Can we get back to basics here? Does anyone in this bar know Gil McGowan?”

Ani bargained with herself. She didn’t really know him. They’d barely just met. She didn’t know where he lived when he wasn’t here, she didn’t know his profession, she didn’t know his favorite color or where he’d grown up or where he stood on the issue of toilet seats left up or down.

All she knew was that he had black hair and green eyes and warm hands and a gruff voice and that he’d offered her a choice, stay or go. He’d respected her. And then he’d asked her if she wouldn’t mind keeping his whereabouts to herself.

She held her tongue as the soldiers scanned every face in the room. To physically keep herself from lifting her hand in the air, she tucked it into her jacket pocket.

A piece of paper crinkled under her fingers. That was odd. Was it a receipt? But she always tucked her receipts into her wallet. Besides, where would she have gotten a receipt? Kathy at the general store didn’t give out receipts unless you requested one, at which point she would give a sigh so heavy you’d immediately rethink it.

Anyway, she hadn’t worn this jacket since…since the Blackbear airport, she realized suddenly. When she’d been sitting next to Victor Canseco. He’d been on her left, and the paper was in her left hand pocket.

She was dying to take it out and look at it, but forced herself to stay still so as not to snag any attention from the soldiers.

Luckily, Pinky raised his hand just then. The two soldiers zeroed in on him.

“You know Gil McGowan?”

“Not real sure about that. Mostly I’m wondering about those aliens you got in cold storage. Do you know what planet they came from? Can you communicate with ‘em?”

The younger soldier let out an involuntary burst of laughter, before shooting a glance at his superior officer and composing his face back to military blankness.

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