Project Hannibal by Kathryn Hoff (good english books to read TXT) 📗

“He has remained in touch,” Ginger said. “The Russian science community is very interested in your work. Nikodim has gone so far as to suggest that he could arrange for you to carry on your work in Russia—without the sort of restrictions the US imposes.”

“Leave the US?” Anjou shook his head. “I was born here. I’m an American.”

“Of course,” she said. “But science should transcend national boundaries, shouldn’t it? We have Silver and Gold, the beginning of the new herd. What would be more natural than to raise those mammoths on the Russian steppes? And with the thawing of the permafrost in Siberia, more mammoth carcasses have been uncovered. You could have as much genetic material as you need to increase the diversity of the herd.”

“It’s impossible,” he grumbled. “Do you have any idea how much red tape is involved in moving animals across borders?”

Ginger smiled. “Certainly, it would be impossible to go through normal channels. But after all, from where we are now, Russia is only a few hundred miles away. A boat could cross the Bering Strait in a matter of hours. As you said—out there, the border is just a line on a map.”

He stared. “You’re serious?”

Ginger drew herself up. “I myself was smuggled across borders as a child. Where there is a strong enough incentive, such things are possible. Would you rather I faced prison and deportation?”

Anjou was quiet, gazing out the window at the long-winged gulls drifting on the breeze. Any one of them might have crossed from the Bering Strait on the latest storm winds, and would cross back whenever the herring schooled west instead of east.

He drummed his fingers on the table. “You’re pretty sure about Zhurov?”

“Nikodim is highly placed in the Russian Academy of Sciences. He wants the same as we do: mammoths to protect the environment. With your skill and his resources, we can achieve what the US government is too short-sighted to allow. Let me speak to him—I’m sure he will find a way.”

Anjou narrowed his eyes. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve been thinking about this for a long time?”

Ginger smiled her feline smile. “It’s always wise to have a backup plan.”

CHAPTER 18

Cold feet

Thursday in Rainbow was always a busy day for Estelle, squeezing in a few more patients before it was time to fly back to Fairbanks. She aimed for wheels-up by three, but she couldn’t remember a day when she’d actually gotten away on time.

“Are you ready to go to Fairbanks today?” Estelle asked Annie at breakfast.

The old woman picked at her toast. “It doesn’t seem right, to leave before Rufus’s funeral.”

“I’m sorry you’ll miss it, but your surgery shouldn’t wait.”

Annie looked up hopefully. “Have you checked the weather? Maybe there’s another storm coming?”

Estelle grinned. “Sorry—it’s good flying weather. You don’t get out of a plane ride that easy.” The forecast was for fair skies and steady winds from the southwest. She’d medicate her passengers if she had to, but she wasn’t going to let Annie use a little wind as an excuse to wimp out of surgery.

“I’ll help you pack,” Sera offered. “I saw a suitcase in the closet. Just tell me what you need.”

When Annie dithered, Estelle said, “Pajamas or nightgown. Warm robe and slippers for the hospital, and her most comfortable walking-around clothes. They’ll have you up and walking in no time.”

The evening before, Annie’s husband’s sister’s son had treated Estelle and Sera and maybe a third of the village to the Alaska version of a fish fry: fresh-caught salmon grilled over a wood fire. When pressed to sing something, Estelle and Sera had obliged with “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” with harmonies learned from years in the gospel choir. Then the whole group had joined them in “When the Saints Go Marching In,” with Sera leading the younger generation in its own little second line, clapping and dancing down the street with the dogs prancing among them.

Sera leaned over the breakfast table and whispered to Estelle, “I’ll wash the sheets, too, so she’ll have a fresh bed when she comes home.”

“Bless you, chérie.”

A stop on the way to the clinic assured Estelle that Lonnie was breathing all right and mother and new son were well. She ordered both Joan and Lonnie to walk outdoors twice a day and warned everyone else in the crowded house that Joan was not to pick up anything heavier than a fork with her injured arm. Then it was on to the clinic with a full roster of other people’s aches and pains.

At two thirty, Estelle said goodbye to her last patient and locked the clinic door. Sera was waiting on Annie’s front porch, their luggage ready. Thank God. Much as she loved Rainbow and the people there, Estelle was city-born-and-bred and eager to get back to her apartment, her bed, and her life.

On the porch, Sera met Estelle with a worried frown. “It’s Annie,” she whispered. “She’s getting cold feet.”

Annie huddled in her sitting-room chair. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think of Rufus and I can’t get easy in my mind. The Good Book tells us everything has a time, living and dying both. Maybe it’s my time to let go of this life. And if it’s my time to pass over, I’d like to spend my last days here in my home.”

Estelle let the silence abide for a few ticks of the mantel clock.

“Any medical procedure has risks,” she said. “Valve replacement is pretty safe. I wouldn’t recommend it if I didn’t truly believe that you will survive to enjoy a better life. But it’s not without risk. You’re not that old, Annie, but already you’re living the life of an old woman. If that’s enough for