Missing

by L C Lang

  Matt nodded. “Yes, I hadn’t thought of that. Although I doubt the crew had anything to do with it.”

  “I agree. But, after that, what?”

  “After we find who they are, we have to find them.”

  “Maybe they snuck back into the U.S.”

  “Yeah, maybe. At the moment, there is no way of knowing where they went. We don’t know if they flew out or drove away from the airport. Until someone sees them, we won’t know where they are.”

  As Matt headed back into New York, he was deep in thought. While he hoped this wasn’t a terrorist group, why were the passengers going to all this trouble? What bothered him most was how they did it. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to plan the hijacking of a commercial flight, land the plane in an obscure place, and then get everyone out, along with finding bogus names of real people. Because of the airport’s location, no one would have known how they got out. No one even saw flight 3351 land. His gut feeling was telling him there was going to be a problem. A big problem.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON

  WASHINGTON

  Fitzpatrick pulled his car into the garage. It was empty. He had been right; Kim wasn’t going to be back until tomorrow. That was fine with him. Yesterday afternoon, he had taken a break and called his lawyer, explaining what he had in mind. His lawyer, Brent Rushton, had the paperwork ready for his signature when he stopped by his house an hour ago. He figured the paperwork wouldn’t be ready until Monday, but was glad Rushton had expedited it for him. Rushton was also in his second marriage and understood the situation. So, step number one is done, he thought, as he got out of the car. Step number two is tomorrow morning. Rushton will file the divorce paperwork tomorrow. He doubted Kim would find out until the following day, but he wasn’t going to worry about that right now. He had more important things to worry about.

  First, is Harper. Fitzpatrick smiled when he thought about how the meeting on Monday morning will go. After that was over, there was only one more thing to do, and then life will be better. He just had to wait for Tuesday. He was sure Kim was going to be livid, but he made sure the paperwork stated she had to move out of the house on Tuesday. He wouldn’t be here, but Rushton would. All she was to take was her clothes, and nothing else. He paid for everything in the house, so she wasn’t going to get any of it.

  Harper, on the other hand, would be livid on Monday, but Tuesday will be better. Two days of angry people wasn’t going to be too bad, considering the outcomes of each one. Fitzpatrick knew it was going to be uphill from then on.

  He closed the garage door and walked inside the house. The cook hadne.t been in today, so he was on his own for dinner. It is now four o’clock. The coverage of his trip to Texas was going to be on at six o’clock tonight. He hoped Harper saw it. Even if he didn’t, he was sure his friends would let him know about it. He was getting excited about seeing the coverage.

  Walking into the living room, he took his luggage upstairs to his bedroom. He unloaded the suitcase and put everything away. Then, he changed into a pair of black dress jeans and a blue dress shirt.

  Going back downstairs, he walked into his office. He sat down in the chair and unlocked his desk. He didn’t trust Kim, so he made sure he kept the desk locked. The desk had two built-in file drawers. Opening the bottom drawer, he pulled out a briefcase. It is a different briefcase than he takes to work. This one had a special purpose. He laid it on top of the desk and opened it. Inside, he found everything he had put in there on Thursday, except for one thing. He closed the bottom drawer and then opened the top drawer. From this drawer he pulled out a laptop computer and placed it, the USB internet card and the power cord inside the briefcase. Then he closed the briefcase. He sat for a moment, mentally going over what needed to be in the briefcase. He was sure he had everything he needed. Above all else, he wanted to be prepared for tomorrow. He relocked his desk, stood up, picked up his briefcase and walked out of his office, closing the door behind him.

  Not wanting to take the chance that Kim might come back earlier than he thought; he took the briefcase out to his car and locked in the trunk. Then he walked back inside. In the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator and looked inside to see what his choices were. Hannah had made Pasta Vecchia Napoli on Thursday and there was still some left. He brought out the dish and stuck it in the microwave. It wouldn’t be as good as when she made it fresh, but it smelled good and he knew it would taste good too.

  While his dinner was heating, he got out a plate and silverware, and a stemmed glass, setting them on the breakfast table. Then he got out a bottle of pinot noir Cheverny and poured himself a glass, setting the bottle on the table. The bell went off and he took the dish out and slid the contents onto his plate. He rinsed the dish and put it in the dishwasher. Going back to the table, he sat down. Picking up his fork, he picked up a forkful of the pasta, stuffing it into his mouth. He relished every bite, taking a sip of his wine in-between bites.

  Once he had finished eating, he rinsed his dishes and put them in the dishwasher. He refilled his wine glass and walked back into the living room. It was now almost six o’clock. He sat on the couch and picked up the television remote. Turning the television on, he waited for the news to begin. He realized now he should have asked to see the final copy before airing, but he was confident that Sasha Walken and Josh Bradshaw had done a good job. He remembered all the questions Sasha had asked, all the film Josh had shot. She had talked to displaced residents, those who lived in the mobile homes and those who would be soon. She also talked to people who were there to volunteer their help. Fitzpatrick wondered how they could edit all that down into ten minutes, but he was sure it would be in his favor and he had nothing to worry about. He remembered having a good feeling about Sasha and knew she would do a good job. At least he hoped so.

  Just then, the news began. Fifteen minutes later, the Texas trip coverage began. Fitzpatrick took a sip of wine and then sat the glass down on the side table. He wa nted to give it his full attention. Sasha came on the screen. The taped report began when she was in Texas.

  “I am Sasha Walken and I’m reporting from Beaumont, Texas. A month ago, Hurricane Marco hit the southern coast of Texas and then moved inland. The devastation was tremendous. At the time, I had come down here with many other media reporters, but wasn’t able to get very close, due to the rescue operations going on. This time, I had the opportunity to tour the area of devastation with Mr. James Fitzpatrick, the Administrator of Disaster Operations with FEMA. He was making a follow-up visit and my photographer and I were invited to tag along. What we saw down here was hope. Hope of a future that will now go on for the local people.”

  The scenes now went to the towns they had stopped at. Sasha did a voice-over, explaining what they were seeing, the clean up, people helping neighbors, the mobile homes where peoples homes used to be and how it came to be. Next was the interview Sasha did with Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick smiled. She had edited a lot of what he had talked about, but had kept in the most important things. She had kept in the comments of how he developed the idea of permanent mobile homes. That is going to make some points with Harper, he was sure of that.

  The film continued on, showing a couple of interviews with the local people. One was an older woman who lived in one of the new mobile homes. She raved how grateful she was to be able to keep living in the same town she grew up in.

  After five minutes of views of the area, the camera cut back to a close-up of Sasha, who was now sitting at the end of the anchor’s table.

  “I would like to thank Mr. James Fitzpatrick for allowing me and my photographer to go along with him and get an up-close view of the work that has been done to help the people in southern Texas. While the damage from the hurricane was tremendous, no lives were lost. When the National Weather service advised people to leave before Hurricane Marco hit, they did. After Katrina, people were more receptive to the warnings. For this reason, there was no deaths. However, the destruction of t
he homes was tremendous. What we saw today, a month after the hurricane hit this area, are lives getting back to normal. As Mr. Fitzpatrick told me, he wasn’t the only one who was responsible for the recovery of this area. He, along with a team from FEMA, and state and local agencies all worked together to help the people in this area. There is still work to do, but the lives of the people are now getting back to normal in this part of Texas.”

  They now cut to a long shot of the anchor’s table. Sasha was sitting on the end of the anchor’s table. Fitzpatrick noticed she was more professionally dressed than she had been in Texas. He listened as the anchors asked her a few more questions about the trip and then they went on to another story.

  Fitzpatrick picked up his wine glass and held it up. Here’s to you Harper, he said aloud, and then took a long drink, setting the glass back down. He leaned back against the couch. The story had turned out better than he had thought. Now people knew what he is capable of doing. Yes, he had worked with a team, but his was the primary responsibility of the relief and rescue of the victims of the disaster. Harper had nothing to do with it. And now everyone knew it.

  Step two tomorrow.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  SUNDAY EVENING

  Maggie was restless. She was still bothered about her fight with Scott last night. While she had cried herself to sleep last night, today hadn’t been any better. She had sat on the porch most of the day and watched the house across the hill, even though her mind was still on Scott. She knew she was in love with him. Why did he want her to do what he felt a typical wife should do? There had been no discussion. It was almost as if he didn’t consider her opinion. She loves her job. Doesn’t he know that?

  When he finally decided to express his feelings for her, in the next breath he told her he wanted a stay at home wife. She shook her head. If she had been in Indianapolis this weekend, would he have had told her all this? Or, was it just because she was gone and he had taken the day to think about it? She had no idea. Right now, she didn’t want to talk to him. Let him think about what she had told him. Then, maybe when she got back they could talk again. Yes, maybe it was a good thing she had to take a vacation.

  Maggie stood up, picked up her dinner plate and walked into the kitchen. She washed the dishes, placing them on a dishtowel sitting on the cabinet. Then she walked into the living room. It was now six o’clock. Turning on the television, she flipped through the stations and finally settled on the news. Then she went into the kitchen and got a can of Dr Pepper from the refrigerator, walked back to the couch and sat down.

  A few minutes later, the news had a special report from Texas. Maggie remembered when then hurricane had hit. It reminded her of Katrina, and from what she was seeing the damage was almost as bad. This time, it had hit several smaller towns, instead of one big one like New Orleans. The damage had been extensive, but it was obvious lives were now getting back to normal. Then they showed the formal picture of the man the reporter had gone with. James Fitzpatrick, Assistant Administrator of Disaster Operations. Nice looking man, Maggie thought.

  Maggie watched the end of the news and then flipped the channels. Nothing interested her, so she turned off the television. Picking up the can of Dr Pepper, she walked out onto the porch. She opened the can, took a long drink, and then sat the can on the small table next to the lounge chair. She sat down and leaned back, letting her mind drift back in time.

  She had graduated from college with a master’s degree in Criminal Investigation. Since she didn’t know which police department she wanted to apply to, she came back here to spend time with her parents and think about what she wanted to do. A couple of weeks later, she met Jack Westin, an officer with the local police department. It was love at first sight and she quickly decided she wasn’t in any big hurry to work for a police department. So, she got a job as an office clerk in town and stuck around for a while.

  Three months later, she married Jack. At the time, she thought she knew him well enough. It didn’t take her long to realize she hadn’t known him at all. Their marriage worked out well for the first few months before he began coming home late a couple nights a week. She questioned him about it, but he insisted it was because of work. But, as it turned out, it wasn’t work related at all. A couple of weeks later, when she was sure, she confronted him about it again and he went ballistic, denying it emphatically. After that, Jack seemed to mend the error of his ways. Less than two months later, he was back to his old habits, but this time he had a different girlfriend.

  Maggie finally decided she’d had enough. She moved out of their house and moved back home with her parents. Then she filed for divorce. Their marriage hadn’t even lasted a year. Unfortunately, while the divorce was taking place, her parents died in a car accident on their way to Florida for a vacation. Maggie was glad now she hadn’t gotten pregnant. She didn’t want a constant reminder of Jack, and she didn’t want to think about him any more than she had to, and definitely didn’t want to see him again.

  Once the divorce was final, Maggie knew she needed to get out of town. By this time, she had decided which police department she wanted to work at. Indianapolis. Working for that police department would give her the chance of furthering her career, which is what she had always wanted. But, when it came time to leave, she just couldn’t sell the house. Her parents had loved the house, and over time she had too. So, she arranged for a local real estate company to take care of renting it, and then she moved to Indianapolis.

  She easily qualified to get into the police academy, graduated high in her class, and then spent five years working hard before she qualified to go into training to be a detective. She had become a detective a year ago. It had been a long hard fight, but it had been worth it. Most of the time anyway.

  Working in an office of mostly men had its challenges. Mostly, they didn’t give her a whole lot of credit. She was sure it was just because she was a woman. Slowly, over the course of the last year, a few were coming around. Although she doubted if some of them ever would respect her. At least she had the respect of her partner. And, Scott.

  Maggie shook the thoughts from her mind. After taking a long drink out of the can, she looked again at the house on the next hill. Three times today, she had seen a panel truck arrive at the back of the house. Each time the man carried in three boxes. Three times a day, two full days. From the tour bus, she had seen eleven people get off, of which nine went down a set of stairs, into what she figured was the basement. Three men and two woman went in the back door. A few minutes later, two men came back out, got in the bus and drove away. She assumed one was the bus driver and could only assume the second man was his backup . Since then, she hadn’t seen any of the people who had gone into the house. Actually, except for the delivery driver and the one man who had come last night, she hadn’t seen any movement in the house at all.

  She thought about the people that she had seen walking to the basement. Three were women. At the time, she thought it was strange because they seemed to be wearing the same type of clothes. She didn’t know what to make of that. Even with the binoculars, she hadn’t gotten that close of a look at their faces.

  While she sat looking at the house, she remembered the first time she had gone down the ravine to the creek below. It hadn’t been too hard getting down the hill, coming back up was a bit harder. Once she had gotten back to the house and endured her father’s lecture, she began preparations for the next time. First, she made sure her parents didn’t see her. Then, she made handholds and then nailed them to certain trees to help her get past the rougher parts. After that, she got up and down the hill a lot easier.

  Hiking around the surrounding hills, she had seen all kinds of things, mainly different small animals and birds. While she had seen no one else hiking, she knew at some point someone must have because she had found a sterling silver diamond chevron shaped bracelet. It looked as if it had been out in the woods for a long time. She took it home, cleaned it up and still wore it on occasion. At one poi
nt, she’d had the bracelet appraised and found it was worth two hundred dollars. Maybe, someday, if she had a daughter, she would give it to her.

  She looked again at the house. A charge went down her spine as a thought crossed her mind. Yes, she had enjoyed hiking through the woods when she was younger. Maybe it was now time for another adventure. And she knew exactly what she wanted to see. She stood up and walked back into the house.

  Fifteen minutes later, she was dressed in a pair of black jeans, a black sweatshirt and her Easy Spirit Punter shoes. She had found some rope in the garage. Would the handholds she had made all those years ago still be there? If not, the rope would come in handy. She put on her service belt and made sure she had everything she needed. She pulled her sweatshirt over her service belt. Finally, she was ready to go.

  Walking out the door of the enclosed porch, she walked across the back yard until she got to the edge of the hill, and then made a left, walking a few feet into the stand of trees. It took a few moments of searching with her flashlight before she found the marker she had left all those years ago. Then she began her downward descent.

  Ten feet into it, she realized she was a bit more out of shape than she had been the last time she had done this. Her muscles were going to pay her back tomorrow. Still, she kept going. Using her flashlight, she found the nailed hand holds she had placed on certain trees.

  As she began her descent, she found it steeper than she remembered. At least there were plenty of trees around she could grab hold of when she found herself sliding down. Three times, she slid several feet before she caught hold of a tree. Then she learned, again, how to walk sideways down the side of the hill.