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It’s brilliant, in a macabre kind of way.
But what links the men together?
When I wake, I’m calmer and more determined than ever to find Kaye and put an end to this nightmare.
I’m so lost in my thoughts, I don’t notice when the bullpen lights flick on and off. The silence is broken by a quiet tap on the locker door.
“Who’s there?” Instantly alert, I’m on my feet in less than a second.
“It’s Mitzy. Permission for a female to invade the oh-so private bastion of male testosterone?”
“Give it a rest. We know you come in here all the time when we’re not here.”
The unwritten rule about no women in the bullpen isn’t one that’s followed very well. At least Mitzy has a reason to tinker with our stuff. She’s always testing out some new prototype or another.
“So, that’s a yes?”
“Yes, Mitzy.”
When Mitzy strolls in, her eyes glow in victory. “We found something.” She hands me her tablet. “We’re not sure where it’ll take us, but it’s a start.”
“What am I looking at?” The screen’s filled with a bunch of little kids. “An old school photo?”
“Second grade, to be exact. The two boys on the far left are none other than Scott Parker and Robert Jones Alder. You were right. They’ve known each other their entire lives. Swipe left.”
I find myself staring at older kids, mostly boys, in military uniforms.
The cadets are in their mid-teens, most with pimples and wispy peach fuzz on their chins. They wear green flight suits with yellow trim and mirrored sunglasses. There’s a small prop-driven plane in the background.
“What organization is this?”
“At first, I thought it was Civil Air Patrol, but it’s not. That is a private aviation club. That’s Dean Alder, and that’s Professor Parker.” She points to two of the boys.
“How does this help?”
“Because the dean happens to own a plane, and I have the tail number.”
“And…?” I feel it in my gut, that adrenaline surge right before everything comes together.
“Guess who failed to file a flight plan?”
“You’re kidding.”
It never ceases to amaze me how the tiniest thing can crack a case wide open.
“Guess he hasn’t kept up with technology.” Mitzy rocks back with a smug look on her face. “He landed at a small airfield in Oregon. Don’t know where he started from. I assume, and you know how I feel about that, but I assume it was a farmer’s field and not an airstrip, but he landed at a small, rural airport and took off after refueling. I tracked him from there.”
“I’m going to kiss you if the next words out of your mouth are you know where they landed.”
“You said it. Not me.” She covers her mouth, but her eyes twinkle.
“Don’t give a damn.” I pull her hand from her mouth, cup her cheeks, and lay one on her. It’s fat, messy, and sloppy as shit.
And I don’t give a flying fuck she’s married to a rock star.
With her smile growing even wider, she makes a show of wiping her mouth, but it’s all in fun.
“Wheels-up in thirty. Charlie and the rest of Bravo are already locked and loaded, we’re just waiting on you.”
