by John R. Kess
Jay was relieved Elly hadn’t been shocked and angry when he told her about killing those men. He had to admit she was what he knew her fans thought of her: Elly was special. Having her hold him eased his mind, like a hot shower on a cold night.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Elly said, “but there’s no way I’ll ever forget you.”
Chapter 12
WEDNESDAY
The diagnostics computer told Nick that cylinder number five had a bad fuel injector. This was no surprise to him as the Ford Bronco had 165,000 miles on the odometer and was still running on the original injectors. He removed the injector and took it with him back to the parts area to find a new one.
“No wonder your fuel mileage tanked,” Nick mumbled as he searched the computer for a part number. The computer showed they had the correct injector in stock and where to find it. Nick turned down the aisle and was a few feet from it when he stopped to look at the old injector in his hand. He remembered the CNN broadcast showing his sister’s plane still in flight over Seattle, heading out over the ocean, and it hit him that the plane took off from Baltimore.
Nick realized he’d been staring at the injector, and his coworker Dave was looking at him. “Are you all right, man?” Dave asked.
Nick turned toward him. “Hey, you used to work on airplanes. Do you know how far a plane can fly on one tank of fuel?”
“It depends on the plane.”
“What about a propeller plane?”
“You mean like a small Cessna?”
“No. I mean a corporate jet, but with propellers.”
“A turboprop?”
“Yeah.”
Dave shrugged his shoulders. “It could be anywhere from a thousand miles to four thousand miles; it just depends on the type of plane and the fuel load it can carry. They’re all different.”
Nick nodded. “Thanks, Dave.”
Nick left the parts department still holding the old injector. He walked across the showroom to Mandy’s office. Mandy was by far the nicest salesperson at the dealership, even to shop grunts like Nick. She was putting on her jacket as he approached.
“Hey, Mandy,” Nick said. “May I use your computer for a few minutes?”
“I’m heading out, so be my guest,” she said, motioning to her chair.
“Thanks.”
“My pleasure.” She grabbed a set of car keys and left her office, closing the door behind her.
Nick found Big Sky Aircraft’s website and wasn’t surprised to see there was no mention of any crash.
He clicked on the link to the turboprop line and found the BSA-3000, which he’d remembered from the CNN broadcast as the model of Elly’s plane. Nick scrolled through the specifications until he found what he was looking for.
“Fuel capacity, 630 gallons,” Nick said to himself. “Maximum range, 2,130 miles.” His next search was even quicker, and his voice got louder. “Baltimore to Seattle, 2,790 miles. What the hell?”
* * *
The smell of burning pine needles woke Elly from a deep sleep. Her eyes were greeted with a soft yellow glow through the tent walls. The shadow projected on the side of the tent showed Jay crouched next to a campfire. The soreness in her legs was gone, and for the first time in months her throat seemed completely healed. She stretched her arms out wide enjoying the fact that she hadn’t been able to wake up and do that for three days. She ran her fingers over her wrists, which were already back to normal.
Elly was wearing a pair of Jay’s gym shorts and a T-shirt that read, “Pender Brothers Helicopter Logging Service.” In fact, everything she was wearing belonged to him. She didn’t mind the oversized clothes and loved finally being rid of the bloodstained shirt she’d been wearing since Sunday. She put on Jay’s hooded sweatshirt and took a few seconds to breathe in his scent.
A dense fog greeted Elly as she exited the tent. She reached out with amazement, as if to touch it, like it was a floating mist of gray cotton candy enveloping the entire campsite. Only a foot or two of lake water was visible from the fire’s glow before it disappeared in the heavy fog. Even the campfire remained hazy until Elly stepped closer.
Jay was putting the last of the branches he’d collected on top. The fire hissed at the wet wood. Jay was shirtless and in gym shorts. Elly’s eyes followed the muscles around his shoulder blades down to his lower back. A tattoo on his left shoulder showed an eagle perched on top of a globe with an anchor through the middle of it. The words “United States Marine Corps” wrapped around it. Jay’s right shoulder had another tattoo of a pair of wings behind a scuba diver, which Elly guessed was also a military emblem.
It took all of Elly’s strength to fight off the urge to reach out and touch him. Elly’s eyes lingered on his shoulders as a wave of euphoria spread in all directions from her stomach like she’d just swallowed something stronger that Vicodin.
Elly wondered what Jay was thinking. He was so serious most of the time, yet for the short time she’d known him, the situation demanded it. His slight frown was almost always present, and then occasionally he’d start joking around about something. It seemed like she was dealing with two versions of the same man. She wondered what he’d be like in a normal situation, one where he wasn’t protecting them from men wanting to kidnap her and kill him. She’d never met anyone who’d just come home from a war before. Elly couldn’t imagine dealing with what he must have seen as a Marine, and it hit her that the joking around must be Jay’s way of coping.
She remembered her shouting match with him when the helicopter flew over them, and then how she shoved him when he’d thrown what she thought were her pills into the forest. Jay challenged her in ways no one did anymore, like a close friend wanting Elly to better herself. She had her bandmates, but Jeremy, Brent, and Alex didn’t challenge her in that way. No one had in a really long time.
The demands of the tour and life on the road had nearly sucked Elly dry of any drive to keep going. She’d been mentally and physically wiped out. But now, having Jay so close, Elly’s desires surfaced, like a forest coming alive after a long winter.
Elly didn’t know what would happen after they got out of the woods and back into civilization. Would Jay want to be around her? What kind of man would Jay be when they weren’t on the run? She decided once they were no longer in danger she was going to find out, but she also didn’t want to do anything to screw it up. Her eyes traced a line from his bare back down past his tattoo to his bicep as her conscience nagged her, I don’t care how good he looks, you don’t know him well enough. You’re not sleeping with him! Elly really hated her conscience sometimes.
“Good morning,” Jay said.
“Good morning.” Elly blinked and shifted her focus from his shirtless form hunched over the fire. “It’s beautiful out here.” Just feet away, the trees seemed to melt into the fog. It made Elly feel like she was in a completely different world. “How cool is this?”
“I absolutely love it out here,” Jay said. “The water is warmer than the air, so the fog is just rolling off the lake.”
“There’s no wind. This is perfect.” Elly stepped closer to him and held her palms out to the campfire, taking in its warmth. “Nice fire.”
“Thanks.”
Elly noticed Jay’s sadness from last night had been replaced with the same serious Marine she’d been following for the last three days.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Jay nodded.
“Is there anything you want to talk about?”
Jay looked at her and opened his mouth to say something but then stopped himself. He turned back to the fire, and Elly wondered if he’d ever open up. She was embarrassed for asking and thought about apologizing. Instead Jay spoke.
“All I thought about when I was in Afghanistan was coming home to something like this.” Jay motioned to the lake and the surrounding woods. “I love coming out here. I spent a lot of time out here when I was younger. I love how peaceful it is.” Jay smiled at Elly and said, “Unless there are
kidnappers in the area.”
Elly laughed.
“Every night, as I was falling asleep in a desert, this place was what I tried to imagine, and my imagination didn’t do it justice.”
“It would be hard to imagine something as cool as this,” Elly said.
“Believe me, I tried. This is way better. I never imagined having a beautiful woman with me.”
Elly’s eyes met his. The flames reflected off his blue eyes as he looked at her. The confident way he said “beautiful” made the hair on the back of Elly’s neck stand on end as electricity flowed out her arms and legs, making everything tingle. He thinks I’m beautiful, she thought.
“I was hoping this place would help me sort out what I want to remember and what I want to forget.” Jay picked up a handful of soil. “If only it were as easy as washing away the dirt,” he said as he let the soil sift through his fingers.
“What do you want to forget?”
“Mostly the war. There are things I’ve done that I know I will deal with the rest of my life. It seems the more I try to forget, the harder it is to do so. Being back here helps, but I’m still trying to figure out how to sort through it all. I didn’t realize how hard it would be.”
“I wish it were as easy as taking a bath.”
“Now that’s an idea.”
“What?”
“In fact, that’s the best idea I’ve heard in a long time.” Jay stood.
“What do you mean?” Elly asked, looking up at him.
“I’m not sure if it’ll work, but there’s only one way to find out.” Jay walked to the shore facing the lake with his back to Elly. He was only partially visible in the fog. Elly froze as Jay removed his shorts and underwear in one quick motion. Her mouth hung open as she took in all the details of his naked body. With one more step forward, he faded into the dense fog, leaving Elly with only the sound of splashing water.
Elly didn’t move. The fire hissed at her as she bit her lower lip. Her desires and her conscience started shouting at each other.
* * *
The soft sandy bottom of the lake greeted Jay’s feet, and the cool water instantly made his aching joints feel brand new. He let himself float silently, with only the faint glow of the campfire intruding into his own private world. It was as if everything had washed off of him: the blood from the men he’d killed just hours ago, sand from the Afghanistan desert, and the loss of his parents and best friend. Jay wanted the fog to stay forever, keeping the world from seeing him. He wanted to feel joy again, and immediately he thought about Elly.
Jay wondered what Elly was thinking. If they were back in the real world, would she want anything to do with him? Is it possible Elly could be interested in him? It was a question he’d been contemplating for days. He thought about how she’d shoved him when he’d faked throwing her pills into the woods, and about her thousands of fans and how she could probably date just about any guy she wanted. But him? Jay figured the answer was no.
He heard a faint splash coming from shore and instantly thought maybe he was wrong. Slowly the curved outline of a beautiful young woman appeared in the fog. The water was up to Elly’s waist when Jay began to see details of her belly button and her arms crossed in front, covering her breasts as she walked toward him into deeper water.
Elly plunged underwater, then reappeared just outside arm’s reach, her chin above the waterline. The fog surrounding them cut out most of the light, but the glow from the fire was enough for them to see each other smile. Jay loved the sight of her wet hair as she pushed it out of her eyes.
“Hi,” Elly said, blushing.
“Hi.” The little light from the fire was enough to highlight the freckles just below Elly’s beautiful brown eyes. Her smiled reflected off the water.
“Have you ever done this before?” Elly asked.
“You mean, wait for someone to try and kidnap a beautiful woman so I could bring her out here to swim early in the morning in this very lake?” Jay shrugged. “It’s my fifth time.”
“Ha! Yeah, right.” Elly splashed water at him. Jay returned fire with a slap of his hand against the lake’s surface. Elly disappeared into the lake.
Jay remained still, trying to figure out where she’d gone. After a few moments she shot out of the water behind him and jumped onto his bare back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. They both laughed as Jay spun around in a circle and felt his heart rate increase. He loved the feel of her skin on his. He slowly stopped their spinning and lowered them both, still as one, so their heads were just above the waterline.
Elly held him tightly, her chin resting on his shoulder and her right cheek against his left. Jay loved the grounding effect of her skin on his. Elly rested the side of her head on the back of his neck.
“There are people trying to kidnap me,” she whispered into his ear, “and yet I’ve never felt so safe. I don’t want to leave here.”
“I wish it could stay like this,” Jay said.
Elly slowly let go and swam around to look him in the eyes, the orange glow reflected off their faces just inches apart.
“Say it again,” Elly said. “Say I’m beautiful.”
Weightlessness overcame Jay. “Elly, you are beautiful.”
She closed her eyes as Jay leaned in. Her lips were softer than he’d imagined. She placed her hands on his solid shoulders as they held their kiss.
Elly smiled as she pulled away. She glanced down at the water with a shy smile, and their eyes met. “When we get out of this, I want you to come with me to my lake cabin.” She stared at him. “Promise me you’ll come.”
“I promise.”
Elly glanced down at the water. “I … I want to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“About a week ago, I was feeling overwhelmed with all the touring and everything. I remember thinking that I didn’t even feel alive anymore.” Elly’s eyes met his. “Being around you has made me feel alive again. I just wanted you to know.”
Jay wanted to kiss her again, to pull her close to him, but Elly slowly backed away toward the yellow-orange glow of the fire. The fog quickly closed the space between them, and the curved outline of the beautiful young woman disappeared. Despite her invitation to her cabin, he feared he’d just witnessed the answer to his question.
* * *
Henry Dunquist and game warden Doug Peterson sat in the back of the fishing boat in their rain gear and watched as Jim Grey, a member of the county’s water rescue team, entered the lake backward off the bow. Grey disappeared under the water, then bobbed back up as he repositioned his mouthpiece.
The boat was anchored in the middle of rainbow-colored oil rings visible on the surface. All three men were able to detect the slight odor of fuel in the air.
Grey reached up to turn on the battery-powered light strapped to his head. He waved to Dunquist and Peterson before disappearing again below the surface.
The water was not as clear as Grey had hoped. The overcast skies weren’t helping visibility. He descended down into the murky water, scanning the area with his headlamp.
Something red caught his eye. At first he thought it was the edge of an old refrigerator, but then he saw the green light bulb and knew he was looking at the end of an airplane wing.
Grey remembered the last plane he’d helped find underwater, eight years earlier. The images of the dead pilot and his two passengers filled his mind. At the time, Grey knew he was searching for a plane and three bodies, but now, without warning, instead of searching for a gas can, he might be looking at dead people again. He took a moment to mentally prepare himself for what he might find.
The pilot’s door was hanging from one hinge and had been badly disfigured from fire. To Grey’s great relief, there were no bodies to be found.
He swam to the bottom of the aircraft and saw both floats were still attached to their supports. The fire had gutted the cockpit, and the main wing was now in two pieces. He swam to the rear of the plane to inspect the tail b
ut found no damage. He swam a full circle around the plane looking for any signs of a body. He noticed the propeller was still intact.
Grey moved back to the front of the plane to look at the engine. The fire had burned most of it. He stopped as he spotted a round hole on one of the soot-covered exhaust pipes coming out the side of the engine. Grey shined his light closer and counted three more holes. Bullet holes. There were more in what was left of the engine cowling.
Grey kicked his legs and headed for the surface. He removed his mask and called to Dunquist and Peterson, “You’re not going to believe this.”
Chapter 13
The Dempter Ford service bay was alive with the sounds of impact wrenches and air compressors thumping away. Nick stood under a vehicle lift supporting a Ford Taurus and unscrewed the oil pan drain plug. He turned around as a man approached him.
“Are you Nick Wittenbel?” the man asked.
“I am. And you are?”
“Agent Aaron Beckholm, FBI.” He held up his badge. “Is there someplace we can talk?”
Nick wiped his hands on a rag. “Sure.” He walked the man into the interior of the Ford dealership to a conference room. Ever since he’d learned about the range of the plane Elly had been in, Nick had been trying to figure out who to contact, someone who wouldn’t just make him fill out another report, someone who would listen and take action. Maybe that someone had come to him. Once inside, Nick closed the door and they sat down.
“Are you investigating the crash?” Nick asked.
“Yes.” Beckholm opened his notebook.
“Let me ask you something,” Nick said. “How is it possible for Elly’s plane to fly over three thousand miles when the plane she was in had a maximum range around just over two thousand?”
“That’s an excellent question, and one we’ve considered. We’re working on finding the answer,” Beckholm said.
