“You think it’s going to be a story?” Both hands are now stationed upon her hips. Judging her appearance, she looks like a dam that is about to burst with emotion. I feel the need to take cover from whatever is coming, but how do you take cover from a bursting dam?
“Do you know how hard it is to find somebody that you can work with, work with as a team?” Kelly bursts.
“Yes, I...” Kelly cuts me off. I feel like a fly about to be smacked with a fly swatter, and I can’t get my wings to work.
“I don’t think you do,” Kelly continues. “I think it is irresponsible of you to treat our assignment, our team work, and your job so carelessly. And another thing, if Lloyd decides to fire you, he may decide to fire me also. You know how Lloyd is. If I happen to be your partner when you do something stupid, he may fire me too. Did that ever cross your mind?”
I’m taken back by Kelly’s surprise attack. I’ve never felt so miserable about spending money in my life. I think I would rather meet with the wrath of Lloyd and be fired, than see Kelly’s displeasure.
“If I have been careless or unappreciative of our work and friendship, I assure you that it has been out of shear stupidity and thoughtlessness, not intent. I treasure you as my friend and my partner. I hope it never comes to an end.”
Kelly wipes her eyes and looks out the window as we approach our hotel.
“I hope so too Matt; I hope so too.”
I decide that it would be better not to discuss my trip to Maui or why I am going there. I think it would be best to wait until dinner. Maybe after a little wine and good food, she may be able to better digest what I have to tell her.
I know she will think I am crazy. She knows me pretty good. I have been known to have a vivid imagination. She knows I have a tendency to exaggerate, about as much as a cloud has the tendency to change shapes. I’ve spent $3750 for seemingly worthless posters; and then I am going to fly off to Hawaii to find information about Charles Lindbergh’s ransom note. When I say all of it out loud, it sounds crazy to me too.
Nevertheless, I believe there remains some hidden reason why the threat written in Charles Lindbergh’s ransom note and the threat Kelly and I received in Montana, are exactly the same. I also have a sneaking feeling, that the rascal that threatened Kelly and I must be the very same person that threatened Lindbergh.
Hana is the little town on the Island of Maui where Lindbergh is buried. I’ve heard that Lindbergh’s own daughter still lives there. Maybe if I can go there and talk with her, I can find some answers to this puzzle. Maybe it will help to make sense of all this. I feel strongly that I must go, but I’m not looking forward to telling Kelly about my plans. Yet I must tell her, before I fly off.
§
NINETEEN
We find ourselves riding in a cab once again, heading to the Space Needle for dinner. I look around, scrutinizing the interior of the cab. I notice the cab driver’s ID picture hanging on the visor. Adolph Franco is his name. I look at his picture, and then look into the rearview mirror which embodies his actual face.
Hmm, I wonder. Why do cab drivers and their photo IDs never seem to completely match? The man in the photo is a clean-cut man about thirty years old. The man actually driving our cab looks older, and quite different from his photo.
To me, he looks like one of those ancient mummies that was recently found totally intact and now is being displayed on the Discovery Channel. A well-preserved mummy though; the kind that has been marinated, mummified, and embalmed so well, that he still has wavy brown hair on his head. Our driver makes me feel a bit uneasy, but I’m sure his appearance is the only thing gone awry, I try to tell myself.
Kelly on the other hand, looks like an angel. Quiet, but an angel just the same. The first night lights of Seattle begin to show off their ability to glitter. As we pass each one of these tiny galaxies of illumination, they create a million sparkles in Kelly’s crystal dark brown eyes. She looks so beautiful. She looks as beautiful as some heavenly celestial body, visiting from a million light years away.
Her extreme beauty is delicately wrapped in the smoothest and most conforming black silk dress that the law will allow. It is a joy just to be an eyewitness of her presence, which by the way makes my heart flog against the inside of my chest.
We soon arrive beneath the Space Needle edifice. Hopefully, our dinner experience will afford Kelly a recess from her sullen frame of mind.
Entering the elevator to the restaurant is like entering a giant drinking glass. Even the floor is glass. The glass-covered elevator transports us aloft, as quickly and silently as a shooting star. It forces us to give a fond fare-thee-well to our stomachs we’ve left behind.
We exit the elevator and catch our breath, only to have it taken away again. Before us is the observation deck and the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. The sun looks as if it has come to rest on top of the snow-capped Olympic mountain range, at the farthest west end of the horizon. There are several people on the observation deck, ooing and ahhing at the sunset with us.
We watch the sun as it shrinks into a tiny brilliant crescent, peeking above the horizon. The crescent of sunlight then becomes incredibly bright. It’s as if the sun were turning its face around, to see if the shadow of nightfall was still following close behind.
We follow the host to our table and are seated. Our table for the evening becomes our observatory, whereby we are able to witness a panorama of the world. We are six hundred feet above the surface of the Earth, and from our cathedra we can see a hundred miles in all directions.
The restaurant rotates 360 degrees every twenty minutes. Watching such a vista of such breadth, satisfies our spiritual appetites as much as the restaurant’s gourmet food satisfies our corporeal hunger.
Our wineglasses are filled one more time. We sit back and bask in the luxuriate feeling we both possess, due to our sumptuous feast. Kelly looks lighthearted and has even thrown a few subdued appreciative smiles at the waiter. For awhile we are content with savoring our wine and being entertained by the glitter of Seattle at night.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Kelly looking at me, as if she were searching high and low for the right words to say.
“Remember Matt, when we said how much we appreciate working together as a team?”
“We make a good team, you and I.”
“Don’t you think that as a team we should always try to stick up for one another, and back each other up when we can?” She is becoming more confident with each word now.
“Of course, I do.” I feel like a little trap has been set and is now about to be sprung.
“Good, I knew you would feel that way. Now, since I am your trusted partner, I want to avail myself to you and do my part to stick up for you.” She sounds as if she has some little scheme all figured out.
“What do you mean stick up for me. What is it that you would need to stick up for me for?” I ask warily.
“I want you to let me pay for half of those posters. You pay half, I pay half. Then there wouldn’t be anything left for Lloyd to have a seizure over. What do you think about that idea?” Kelly looks so lighthearted and pleased with herself. It has been awhile since she has been her chipper self; I hate to be the one to demolish her idea before it goes any further.
Motionless and without saying a word, I stare back at Kelly. Kelly’s eyes twinkle at the idea that she has come up with; something that will save the day and maybe our jobs. Do I go along with her to make her happy, or do I stick with what I know is right. Do I yield to the wiles of a beautiful woman or allow integrity to prevail?
“That is about the most gracious gesture anyone has ever offered me.” I reach over our dining table for two and take her hand before I continue.
“You know me better than most. You know that I am always going off half-cocked, taking risks that I really shouldn’t,” I confess, in the softest kindest manner that I know how.
“Yes!” she nods her head in agreement. “That’s something you and I can bot
h agree on.” she concludes, wearing a big grin on her face.
“If you remember, I made a promise to you. If I get into any trouble because of being stupid or taking too many risks, I will make sure that you escape any repercussions that result from it. I am determined to keep that promise. I appreciate your sweet gesture, but I can’t accept it. Whatever Lloyd’s reaction is to the posters I ordered, I am going to have to deal with it myself. I decided to spend the money; I’m the one that will have to face Lloyd. That is the only way to go. You see that, don’t you, Kelly?”
Kelly stares with torment across the table at me. The grimace upon her face appears to be saying, “Why did you pick now to say something that makes sense?”
After awhile, Kelly takes a deep breath.
“I hate to admit it, but I guess you’re right for once.” To disguise any tangible signs of emotion, Kelly quickly busies herself by replenishing lipstick that may have been smudged during dinner.
“There’s something else I need to tell you, Kelly.” Kelly immediately stops motion, in anticipation at what is coming next. She looks at me sternly and deeply inhales, then exhausts it all at once.
“What now?” She sighs, in a half-hearted breathy voice.
“I’ve decided to do something else that you won’t be my partner in.”
“What is it, Matt?” Kelly, now shell-shocked, is unusually calm.
“Tomorrow, I would like you take my story and your photos of the exhibition back to The Herald, and deliver them to Lloyd for me.” Before I can continue, determined yet calm words pop out of Kelly’s mouth.
“Don’t be silly Matt. Lloyd isn’t going to fire you. The worst case scenario is that he takes the price of the posters out of your check.”
“That’s not it at all, Kelly.”
“We might be able to even convince him that we are working on a big story, and the posters are important background material we’ve uncovered. Besides, if he threatens to fire you, I’ll just tell him that if you go, I will go. That should stop him in his tracks.” I smile at her, clear my throat and try to think of the best way to express myself.
“You know, besides being the sweetest and most beautiful lady in the world, you’re also one of the most loyal people I’ve had the privilege of knowing.” A little surprised by my words, Kelly becomes a tiny bit flustered but achieves a shy smile. I try to continue.
“Lloyd’s firing me is not what I was going to talk to you about. That’s not it at all.”
“You said something about convincing Lloyd that the posters were a part of a big story we are working on. Well, those posters are part of the biggest story of my life.”
“What story? I’m sorry but the Seattle exhibition isn’t what I would call a real big story.”
“Kelly, I want you to go back to The Herald by yourself tomorrow because tomorrow I’m going to Maui.”
“Maui! You mean the Hawaii, Maui?” Her voice becomes amplified, and her hands start to tremor.
“Yes, the island of Maui in Hawaii.”
“The only thing that I can figure out Matt is that you are trying to make sure that you get yourself fired.” Her arms wildly gesturing.
“No Kelly, I....”
“What possible good reason could you have, that would make you fly off to Maui now, besides the bikinis?” Kelly seems to have lost control, and I am losing my patience.
“You want to know why I’m going to Maui, I’ll tell you why. I’m going to Maui because some of Charles Lindbergh’s family still lives there.”
“Charles Lindbergh? You have completely lost your mind.”
“Calm down.”
“Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down?”
“You just talked to me about being loyal partners that help each other out. Well, I would like you to help me out right now. I need you to listen to me, calmly and patiently. Can you do that for me?” Kelly crosses her arms and labors at becoming calm.
“Okay. I’m calm, and I’ll try to be patient. Now tell me why you have decided to throw away your career; throw your career away and go to Hawaii to visit the Lindberghs? I would like to understand why,” she beseeches in a mild soft voice. While it is true that Kelly has calmed herself down considerably, her sarcasm is still engaged.
“Remember when Lloyd sent us both to cover that airplane crash at the Portland International Airport?” I try to juggle her mind towards the vicinity of our past. She nods feebly.
“Do you remember the man that I briefly spoke to after I had knocked him down? I tried to return his hat, but when I turned around he was gone.”
“I don’t know. I think I remember, vaguely. At the time, there was a plane on fire with a few hundred dead bodies strewn around on the ground. I wasn’t able to focus in on the guy you bumped into.” She leans back into her chair as our waiter bends over the table to take away some of the dinnerware. Kelly folds her arms together and leans on the table as I continue on.
“How about the time we were up in the woods looking for Bigfoot. Remember the guy that was impersonating a Forest Service Ranger, then ran off into the woods?”
“What about him?”
I feel Kelly’s skepticism easing a bit. With both hands in gesture, I continue with my explanation.
“All right then. You have the guy at the airport and the Forest Service guy. Then there was the man we saw on top of the sand dune in Montana that disappeared, remember?” Kelly shoots back another nod, but this time it is with more enthusiasm.
“Now, add to all these guys we’ve seen at different times and at different places, that threatening message we found on the windshield of our rental car.”
“What do all of those gentlemen in the past have to do with that message we found in Montana? In fact, what do those men have to do with anything? What does any of this have to do with going to Maui?”
“Listen for a minute. The man I knocked down at the airport, the man disguised as a Forest Service Ranger, and the man peering at us from atop the sand dune are all the same one man. The threatening message and even the cave we discovered in Montana, are connected to this man.”
Kelly is now looking at me in a way that I’ve never seen her look at me before. The only way I can explain it is that she is pretending not to be alarmed. She opens up her purse and deposits the lipstick and other makeup she has been fiddling with. Then a kind of total calm comes over her and she folds her hands and looks directly into my eyes. I’ve seen this countenance before somewhere. I think it was on TV. The star of the show was a psychiatrist getting ready to talk to one of his insane patients.
“Matt. I think you need to come back with me, back to Portland, and then take some time off.”
“I don’t need any time off, Kelly,” I assure her, feeling somewhat perturbed.
“Don’t be so macho. Take some time off. Everybody feels better after a little R and R.”
“I feel fine. I feel great. I don’t need any time off. I know this all sounds crazy. I know it does, but please just listen to me, OK.”
“Okay, okay I’m listening. Go ahead, shoot,” Kelly says, as if she is being patient beyond the call of duty.
“Now, this man I’m talking about was not only present at all these places we’ve already talked about, but he has also been following me.” Kelly rolls her eyes and exhales a noisy cynical breath.
“I caught him following me one Sunday morning as I was coming back from my neighborhood store. And Kelly, he was following us at the exhibition. I saw him!”
“OK Matt, I’ve listened to you. Now tell me this. Why would this man be following you? What possible connection does he have with you? Do you know him?”
“No, I don’t know him, but he seems to know me. He may even be following you too, so I want you to be careful. Heck, he may even be watching us right now.” Kelly looks a little surprised along with a smidgen of alarm.
“I don’t know about all this, Matt. It all seems a little far-fetched to me,” she fretfully affirms.
&
nbsp; “I know it does. Let me show you something. Remember those postcards I bought from that little old lady? You know, the ones you teased me about buying.”
Kelly is silent, and then places a faint fragile smile upon her face. “Yes, yes I remember. I love to reminisce about the times I’ve been able to torment you.” Kelly looks as if it were a pleasure just to bring up the memory.
“Take a look at them and tell me what you see,” I request from her.
“Well, these are photos from the Civil War, right?” She mockingly assumes, as she begins to shuffle through the postcards with a smirk.
“That’s right,”
Closing my eyes, I bolster up some strength from within. I can see right now, this business will take everything I’ve got to see it through to the end. The thing is I’ve not even begun yet.
She ponders over each photo, and then goes back over them a second and third time.
“I don’t really understand what I am looking for. What am I supposed to be finding?”
“Let me show you. Look at the man in this photo, then in this photo, and then in this one here. Now tell me, what do you see?”
“It looks like they are all the same man. Is that what you mean?”
“That’s right. They are all the same man; anything else?”
“Uh no, I really don’t know what it is you want me to see. I’m sorry Matt, you’ll have to tell me,” she is apologetic.
“Don’t you recognize him from anywhere?”
“You mean besides the postcards?”
Kelly senses that I am beginning to get a little impatient.
“Yes, besides the postcards. Look at the man in the photos once more.”
Kelly looks intently, and then begins to shake her head.
“He looks a little familiar, I think. But I might just be imagining it.”
“It is the man we saw at the airport and the Forest Service Ranger in the woods by Hood River.
Wyatt, Richard Page 17
