Blood Relative (The Jacob Lomax Mysteries Book 4)
Page 22
“Was Blyleven’s plane outside or in a hangar?”
“His church’s plane, you mean. It was right here in this hangar. I’d made some adjustments to the rudder controls the day before. Larry told me they were feeling tight, and it took me all day to find the problem.”
“So you worked on the plane the day before the flight.”
“That’s right.”
“Did you go into the cabin?”
“I had to, sure.”
“See anything out of the ordinary?”
“The authorities asked me that. No.”
“Could someone have been hiding on the plane without you seeing them?”
His eyes widened, one aimed at my nose, the other somewhere past my left ear. “Why would anybody want to do that?”
“I don’t know. But is it physically possible?”
“No way. I mean, on that model there are storage compartments behind the rearmost seats, to stow gear and so on, and I suppose a person could squeeze in there. But the compartments were empty. The doors were open.”
“Any parachutes in there.”
“Nothing was in there.”
“Could someone have snuck inside after you worked on the plane?”
He shook his head no. “I was the last one to leave the hangar that night, and that plane was the last thing I checked. The hangar was locked tight overnight. And—” he emphasized, before I could ask him another question, “—I was the first one here in the morning. Early. The night watchman let me in.”
“Did you check out the plane again?”
“No, I was finished with it.”
“What’s the watchman’s name?”
“Earl Wilson.”
“Does he still work here?”
“He retired a few years back and moved down to Castle Rock. Anyway, I was here all day, and no one went near that plane until Mr. Blyleven showed up.”
“What time was that?”
“Around one,” he said. Then he frowned.
“What is it?”
“Well, like I told the federal investigators, that was a little unusual, Mr. Blyleven getting here so early. They weren’t scheduled to take off until four-thirty. Even Larry didn’t show up until three-thirty. He seemed surprised to see Blyleven.”
“Did Blyleven explain why he’d arrived early?”
“Not to me. And really, it wasn’t that big a deal.”
“Did you talk to him at all?”
“Just to say hello. He asked if he could put his things on board.”
“What things?”
“A flight bag and a briefcase.”
“Is that all?”
“Yep.”
“Nothing large enough to pack a parachute in?”
“Hell, no.”
“Okay, so Blyleven put his flight bag and briefcase on the plane?”
“Yep.”
“Did you go in with him?”
“No.”
“So you didn’t see where he put them?”
He shook his head. “I assume in one of the storage compartments.”
“How long was he inside?”
“A few minutes, I guess.”
“What did he do after that?”
“He walked over to the hangar door, sat on a folding chair, and waited for Larry.”
“Wait a minute. You said he got here at one, and Foster didn’t show up until three-thirty.”
“Right.”
“Blyleven just sat there for two and a half hours?”
“Yep.”
“By himself?”
“Pretty much. I saw Chris talking to him for a few minutes.”
“That would be Chris Esteves?”
“Right. Other than that, he didn’t talk to anyone until Larry showed up at three-thirty. They spoke for a while, and then we rolled the plane out of the hangar so Larry could do his walk-around.”
“Walk-around?”
“That’s where the pilot checks all around the outside of the aircraft. When Larry was satisfied, he and Blyleven climbed on board and taxied away. That’s the last I saw them.”
“Did you actually see Blyleven get on the plane?”
“I did.”
“You’re positive it was him?”
“Hey, I was standing ten feet away.”
“Was Chris Esteves there, too?”
“Yep.”
“Where can I find him? No one around here seems to know him.”
“You mean ‘her.’ She quit her job about four years ago, not long after the crash.”
“Because of the crash?”
Doherty shook his head. “No, her husband bought a tavern, and she went to work with him.”
“Where?”
“In Denver. A place called the Adobe Bar. Hey, look, I should be getting back to work.”
“One more question. How did Blyleven seem to you that day? I mean, his mood.”
“His mood? Excited.”
“Oh?”
“He was always excited when he came here. He loved to fly.”
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