by Julie Hyzy
Murmurs from those surrounding us probably helped Adam to make up his mind. “Makes sense,” he said. He turned to Evelyn as he consulted his watch. “We’ll still be in the air for a long time. We should take turns keeping an eye on her. I don’t trust her. Not one little bit.”
I exhaled, relieved that I wouldn’t have to go up against Adam on this one. Although I understood that he was the leader of the band, the one everyone else looked to for direction, if he’d disagreed with my reasoning, I would have fought him every remaining minute of our flight. Fortunately, we seemed to be on the same page.
Evelyn piped up. “I don’t know about serving dinner,” she said uneasily. “I can’t be certain that she didn’t gain access to our entire food supply.”
“I didn’t touch anything,” she said. “Except for the dog’s food.”
One of the two women who’d kept up the relentless chatter, and whose names I still didn’t know, said, “If she was only working on the dog’s food, then I don’t see why we can’t eat.”
Adam beat me to answering. “Do you really want to take that chance?”
The woman looked at her friend for support. She squirmed. “I guess not.”
I turned to Evelyn. “Do you have any prepackaged snacks on board? That might be enough to get us through.”
Awakened by the ruckus, Jeff stumbled to his feet. His black T-shirt had ridden up and half his hairy belly was exposed. “Something smells good,” he said, sniffing the air. “I’m hungry. What do we got?”
Evelyn said she would check in a minute.
Jeff noticed that were all standing in a crowd around Pinky’s seat. “What’s going on?” he asked. “She get airsick or something?”
“Or something,” his friend Carl said, leading Jeff back to his chair. “I’ll tell you about it.”
Adam settled himself next to Pinky. “I’ll take the first watch. We’ve got a long ride ahead of us.”
“Count me in,” I said. “I’ll take over after you.”
Rudy patted him on the shoulder. “I will help, too,” he said with a glance toward Evelyn. “If you can spare my assistance.”
She gave a terse nod, her expression at once analytical and relieved. “I’ve never encountered a situation like this before,” she said to me. “This is highly irregular. I’m not sure I approve of keeping the pilot in the dark.”
In a low voice, I agreed with her. “I’m hoping I’m able to get some answers out of Pinky when it’s my turn to babysit.”
Bennett joined us. “I’m not sure you will,” he said. “Look at her. There’s more going on behind those eyes than she wants us to realize.” He gripped my shoulder. “Be careful, Gracie.”
Chapter 11
ADAM HAD HIS HANDS FULL WITH PINKY. SHE fidgeted in her seat, stood and stretched every few minutes, and wandered up and down the aisle, complaining that her legs were aching from lack of circulation. If her grievances had come after a couple of hours, I may have felt more charitable, but she got up to move after less than fifteen minutes and she was blasé about her detention and our scrutiny. I sensed she was up to something.
As a group, we discussed the food situation. Jeff was all for eating whatever food had been prepared, despite the risks involved. The rest of the passengers, including Bennett and me, decided to make do with whatever sealed snacks Evelyn was able to scrounge up.
“I’m hungry,” Pinky said. “I’ll eat the food. Give me whatever plate you want. You guys are all being paranoid.”
With good reason, I thought. Her announcement, however, lent credence to her claim that she hadn’t bothered any of the other dinners. The group changed. “What the heck?” Matthew said. “I’m starved.”
Evelyn told me that she intended to personally inspect every bit of food before serving it, adding in a whisper, “The rest was waiting in a warming tray that I don’t think Pinky even knew existed. I’ll use that”—she wrinkled her nose—“and make it stretch. We’ll be okay.”
After everyone was satiated, more or less, a few passengers turned off their personal lights and decided to sleep the rest of the ride home.
All the excitement kept me from being able to relax. I decided it was my turn with our prisoner. “Adam.” I tapped him on the shoulder. “Let me take over for a while.” I pointed out the windows, where the daylight was beginning to wane. “We’ve still got a long way to go.”
He shot me a look of gratitude. “If you insist . . .”
Doing my best to battle my jitters, I took his seat, aware of Pinky’s glower of animosity. Despite her declarations to the contrary, I knew she’d targeted Bennett, and I wanted answers.
“Pinky’s not your real name, is it?” I asked, keeping my tone even.
“Back off. I’m not your friend.”
I scooched forward to the edge of my seat, hot anger rising up the back of my throat, my entire body tingling with the urge to grab this woman by the neck and take her down. “I’m not trying to be your girlfriend.” Lowering my voice I fairly growled at her. “You tried to harm Bennett. That makes you my enemy.”
“I told you. I wanted to sedate the dog.” She came almost nose to nose with me. “But you are my enemy. I won’t forget what you did to me.”
I nearly launched out of my seat. “What I did to you?” About to remind her that it was she who’d been caught in an act of sabotage, I clamped my mouth shut and counted to three. Arguing with this nutcase wouldn’t get me anywhere. Not where I wanted to go, at least. “Oh, no, sweetheart,” I said, reveling in my burst of snippiness, “you got yourself into this mess.”
Her eyes flashed. “You and your sugar daddy are in a world of hurt—you just don’t know it yet.”
I pounced. “I knew you were targeting Bennett.”
At that she faced the window. “I’m tired. Leave me alone.”
“Not until you tell me why you did it.”
Still staring out the window, she remained silent, working hard to keep her expression blank, but there was no mistaking the fury rippling its way across her features.
I tried again. “I’ve never met you before. Bennett doesn’t know you, either. I suggest you tell me what this is about before we turn you over to the police.”
She took a quick breath.
“Oh, so that bothers you, does it?”
Making eye contact now, she rolled her eyes. “As if.”
But there was something there. A twist of fear behind her unsteady frown.
“You have a record,” I said as realization dawned. “Back in the States, I mean. I’ll bet you weren’t supposed to leave the country, were you?”
She didn’t answer.
“Were you?”
If she could, she’d have bitten my head off. “Mind your own business, sweetheart.” Leaning forward, she tossed my word back at me with a chilly smile. “Sticking your nose into things is what gets you into trouble all the time, isn’t it?”
“Is she bothering you, miss?” Rudy asked me.
I could have decked him for interrupting. The pent-up anger Pinky was harboring had been ready to blow. I’d felt it. The fact that she knew enough about me—about us—to make a statement about meddling in other peoples’ business told me I was onto something big.
“Everything is fine,” I said, tersely. “Thank you.”
But it was too late—the light of rage snuffed right out of Pinky’s eyes. The disruption had allowed the angry woman space enough to calm herself.
Rudy placed his hand on my shoulder and spoke softly. “I can sit with the lady for a while if you like to walk around and talk to others.”
“No—” I started to say.
“I have to use the bathroom,” Pinky said. She boosted herself up and spoke in a clear, loud voice. “Did you hear me? I have to go to the bathroom. The potty.
Are you going to let me go like a civilized person, or will you make me hold it for the whole rest of the ride?”
Adam and Matthew exchanged uneasy glances. The two women kept their heads together and shot looks of disdain Pinky’s way. “Don’t ask me to go with her,” one of them said to the group. “I never signed up for that job.”
I wasn’t keen on accompanying another adult to the washroom, either. Evelyn spoke up. “There’s barely room in there for one person so I don’t recommend two trying to squeeze in. Besides, there’s only soap, water, and paper products in there. We don’t stock anything that could even be remotely considered dangerous.”
Rudy watched all this through narrowed eyes. He worked his mouth then shook his head. “No.”
Evelyn asked, “What do you mean?”
“She must stay in sight.” He folded his arms and lifted his chin as though daring any of us to argue.
Evelyn shot me a look that spoke of exasperation. “I’ll tell you what, Rudy. Why don’t you go into the lavatory and see for yourself. If there’s anything in there that gives you concern, we’ll remove it.” She spoke to him as though talking to a stubborn toddler. “Does that sound fair?”
He continued making pursing movements with his lips.
“Please,” Pinky said. “I really need to go.”
Rudy didn’t answer. I knew from the look on Evelyn’s face she wanted to ask, “Who put you in charge here, buddy?” but she was doing her best to achieve her goal without pulling rank. The entire cabin had gone silent as though waiting for some god on high to make a solemn pronouncement.
“You Americans,” he finally said. Whatever that was supposed to mean. He strode toward the rear of the plane. Over his shoulder, he said, “I will do as you suggest.”
Pinky made little huffing noises as though severely put out by our lack of courtesy. I couldn’t imagine what kind of trouble a visit to the lavatory might cause, but I wasn’t in the mood to be granting her any favors, either.
As Rudy moved off to inspect the washroom, Evelyn took a deep breath, surveying the cabin with a practiced smile. “Can I get anyone anything?”
It was hard to ignore the banging and bumping noises coming from the lavatory. From the sound of it, Rudy must have been ensuring that the wall and ceiling panels were solid despite the fact that there weren’t very many places to escape, not when flying thirty thousand feet in the air. He emerged a few minutes later.
Pinky griped, “It’s about time.” Without waiting for any of us to give her a verbal okay, she stood and started away from us, purse slung over her shoulder.
“Hey,” I said, going after her. “Leave your purse here.”
She spun, giving me a withering look. “You’re going to make me leave my purse?” Her laugh was ugly. “Give me a break. What do you think I have in here, anyway?”
Before I could answer, she unzipped her bag and thrust it at me. “Go ahead. You want to know what I’m carrying, look. Knock yourself out.”
All eyes were on me, standing mid-aisle with this oversized shoulder bag gaping up at me. “Anybody else want to check it?”
No takers.
I pawed through, grateful for the fact that the bag wasn’t stuffed. I pulled items out one at a time and dropped them on her vacated seat. Wallet, makeup, cell phone . . .
“Hurry up, would you? And you can leave a few things in there, if you know what I mean.”
I saw what she was talking about. A collection of female necessities. I reached around them, finding little else. There were no hidden pockets, no unexplained weight. Not even any more medications. I thought that was odd. Empty now, the purse had contained nothing more frightening than a brush, comb, and massive wad of cash.
“This is a lot of money to be carrying around,” I said, holding it up.
She snatched it from my hand and stuffed it back in, along with the other items I’d found. “Yeah, well, I don’t like using plastic. Last I heard, it wasn’t a crime. Or are you going to have me locked up for that, too?”
Turning away from us, she marched around the back of the plane and slammed—inasmuch as one can slam something so lightweight—the lavatory door. It wasn’t until we heard the “Occupied” lock turn that we all breathed easier again.
Evelyn approached Rudy. “You and I should remain in the galley until she returns to her seat. I don’t want her accessing anything we might have in storage back there.”
Rudy nodded.
“Evelyn,” I said quietly, mostly so that Pinky wouldn’t hear through the door, “When I caught her drugging the food, I’d come back to talk to you.”
“Oh?”
“I’d intended to thank you for all your help, and for all you’ve done for of us.” I smiled. “I still do want to thank you, but right about now I’d have to say you’ve gone far above and beyond the call of duty.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“We’re all very grateful for your calm influence on this situation.”
“I wasn’t feeling very calm when we confronted her and saw those pills.” Evelyn kept her voice low. “I’ve handled many in-flight emergencies in the past, but nothing like this. I confess, I’m rattled.” She waved air near her face. “More than a little.”
“Thanks just the same,” I said.
Rudy watched our interchange with wide, dark eyes, looking for all the world like a puppy who hasn’t gotten an expected pat on the head.
“You too, Rudy,” I said. “I don’t know what we’d do without you here.”
His chest puffed. “It is my honor to be of value.”
I returned to my original seat. Bennett was settling himself. Before he got too comfortable, I wanted to revisit the topic that had been on my mind before all the excitement threw us into a tizzy.
“So,” I began, “until Pinky returns, why don’t you tell me about Nico’s fake skull? What kind of proof do you have?”
Chapter 12
BENNETT GESTURED FOR ME TO TAKE THE jump seat near his. I pulled it out from the wall again, and lowered myself onto it, making sure no one would eavesdrop. I needn’t have worried. Matt and Adam were deep in discussion and over the quiet drone of the plane’s engines, I couldn’t make out any of their conversation.
One of their female companions made herself heard. “I’m not watching the troublemaker. We came on this trip for fun.” Shaking a finger, she said, “Having anything to do with that mess is about as un-fun as you can get.” With that, she turned back to talk with the other woman.
I couldn’t figure out what role these two played in the band members’ lives. Maybe they were in charge of business issues. Although that didn’t seem likely.
As soon as my backside hit the seat, Bennett leaned close. “I think we’re in deeper trouble than we thought, Gracie,” he said with a furtive glance around. “I didn’t really pay her any attention, but with all the fuss . . .”
He was speaking slowly and quietly. When he let the thought hang, my impatience made me feel as though teeny bugs were trying to escape from under my skin. “Yes? What?”
His gaze darted around the cabin before he answered me. “While you were going through her purse, I had a chance to really look at her.”
“Do you know her?” I couldn’t help rushing him. If he recognized her that would give us another clue as to why he’d been targeted. “Do you?”
He made a “Quiet, please” gesture with his hands. “Her expression changed while you were going through her purse. She made a face and it struck me that I’d seen her before.”
“Where?”
He stroked his left temple, and I could see how hard he was concentrating. “I know how ridiculous this is going to sound, but I’m almost certain that she’s the woman who was arguing with Angelo the other day. Remember when we heard them?”
“But . . .” Now I struggled to remember. “We didn’t see who he was arguing with. I know we were curious, but I thought we’d just shrugged the moment off. Unless . . .” Light began to dawn and I found myself getting caught up in the possibility. “When Irena came to escort us downstairs to dinner, you went off on your own, didn’t you? Did you see this woman? This Pinky?”
“You know how context often influences one’s impressions? If this is the same woman, she was in a maid’s uniform. Her hair was tied back.” He gave an uncertain shrug. “And there’s always the chance I may be mistaken about her. She might not be the woman I followed after all.”
“You followed her? Why didn’t you tell me?” This revelation was huge, and my words came out rather sharp.
“I had no reason to, young lady,” he said in a tone a father might use when his daughter got snippy. “Until now, that is. After Angelo stormed by, I decided to find out if I could determine who he was fighting with.”
I softened my next admonishment. “Didn’t you tell me that we should keep our noses clean this time?”
“I said that you should. I never said a word about myself.”
I was about to retort, but he continued, “I didn’t get a good look at her and perhaps I’m making a lot out of nothing. But I’m fairly certain this is the same woman. She tried to open a door that was locked. When she turned around, she scowled—exactly as she did when you were rummaging through her purse.”
“Did she see you?”
“She did not,” he said with more than a little pride. “I’ve been around you long enough to know how to operate in stealth.”
My jaw dropped in mock indignation. I tried not to laugh as I said, “Operate in stealth? You make it sound as though—”
The lavatory door banged open and even though it came from across the plane, the noise made me jump. “All right,” Pinky said, hands in the air. “Whose turn is it to sit with me this time?”
No one volunteered. I didn’t want to give up my chance to talk with Bennett now that we’d finally found a few free moments with no one else around, but the two female groupie-esque women ignored Pinky. Adam and Matt gave each other resigned glances, both looking as though they hoped the other would volunteer first. Jeff and Carl ignored us.
