The Winter Over(42)

“No.”

“What did they say, again?”

“They whispered my name.”

“Demonstrate.”

She looked at him. “What?”

“Say it to me like you heard it.”

“Why?”

“I want to hear what you heard.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes.”

Cass cleared her throat and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Cass.”

It sounded profoundly ridiculous. What had been sinister and life threatening in the darkness of the ice tunnel sounded like the soundtrack to a bad movie in the warmth of Hanratty’s office.

He looked down at the surface of his desk for a beat, then back up at her. “Jennings, how are you sleeping?”

“Oh for Christ—”

“How well?”

“Shitty,” she said, exasperated. “Just like everyone else on base. And that has nothing to do with what happened yesterday. I didn’t hallucinate this. Just like I didn’t hallucinate that person in the back of the VMF the day you, Taylor, and Keene were in my garage. Which I’d like to know more about, by the way.”

“What would you like to know?”

“Why were the three of you there? And who did I chase down the tunnel?”

Hanratty tilted his head as though unable to understand her. “I told you at the time that Taylor and I were overseeing the loading for the last flight. We’d just come from the warehouse and Keene had joined us because he was tired of sitting in his office. There isn’t much for a morale officer to do when eighty percent of the staff has left.”

Cass gritted her teeth at Hanratty’s infuriating equanimity. So helpful, so curious, so full of shit. “Was the person who ran down the tunnel also there to inspect the loading of the last flight?”

“I didn’t even know there was anyone in the back of the VMF. In fact, the three of us were surprised when you took off like a shot toward the carpentry shop.”

“You didn’t hear anything? See anything? Nothing out of the ordinary.”

The manager shook his head. “No. The only strange event was you sprinting out the back of the VMF like you were on fire.”

“You were gone when I got back.”

He shrugged. “Were we supposed to wait for you?”

Cass looked at him, sure he was lying, but unable to comprehend why. “You saw no one? Really?”

“I know you want me to say yes, but I didn’t. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t anyone there. It means I didn’t see them.”

“Why would they run away?”

“It was the last flight of the year. Everyone at Shackleton was trying to get that bird off the ground while conditions were good. Whoever you think you saw could’ve simply been one of a hundred different people trying to meet a deadline. You yourself were pulled in about a dozen different directions that day, correct?”

Cass put a hand to her head, then winced at the contact with the miniature puncture wounds. They weren’t running to do something. They were running away from something, from me . Was the runner the same person who had been in the tunnel yesterday, whispering her name? She opened her eyes to suggest that, then stopped.

Leaning backwards, Hanratty had reached a long arm out to a counter behind his chair. Stacks of folders lined the surface. He fished through the tallest pile, found what he was looking for, then straightened up, his chair making a creaking noise. Taking his time, he leafed through the dossier. Sheets of colored paper—white, pink, and green—lay in the folder like stripes of candy. Cass gripped the arms of her chair, all thoughts of continuing the discussion about the mysterious runner gone. She knew what was coming.

“You had an unfortunate accident several years ago, I understand.”

“Yes.” Her voice jumped and she had to take a second to get it back under control. But as she spoke, it climbed the scale again. “I put that behind me, I passed the tests, I’ve paid. Goddammit, I’ve paid every day and every night since that happened.”

“Jennings—”

“Don’t.” She skewered him with a finger. “Don’t you fucking dare. If you had a problem with my fitness to be here, you had plenty of time to review my file. I didn’t imagine what happened to me yesterday in that tunnel. My history doesn’t change that. I’m fit for the position and I’m more than mentally stable enough to remember when I’ve almost been attacked .”

His eyes so blank they might’ve been glass, Hanratty stared at her. “Jennings, I’m responsible for the lives of forty-four people on this base. Every one of them is important, their well-being paramount.”

“Then do your job and support me.”

Hanratty gently closed the folder. “I’m doing my job by questioning the veracity of what appears on the surface to be an outlandish claim. Can you see where I’m coming from?”

She said nothing.

“I’m glad we have an accord,” he said drily. “Now. I’ve officially heard your complaint. I’ll ask Deb to look into this. She may ask you to take her down to the tunnels and walk her through the . . . incident. Is that satisfactory?”

“Yes.” It was the best she could expect.

“I’m obligated to ask if you’d like to see Dr. Keene about this incident. Would you?”