Heartbeat, page 5
Shirley laughed. “I’ll bring you a big bath towel to preserve your dignity. How’s that?”
Sean grinned. “Probably the better plan. Thanks.”
He went one direction, while Shirley went another. He was still taking off his clothes when she laid the bath towel on the washer and left him to it.
While Sean’s homecoming was fairly calm, the same could not be said for the parents bringing their children home from the school. Even the ones who had not been injured in any way were traumatized and shaken. Some couldn’t stop crying. Many didn’t want to go to school again, and the ones who’d been taken to the hospital for oxygen treatments were sent home with their cuts stitched and bandaged, afraid to close their eyes.
It was understood that the elementary school would be shut down for a considerable period of time to repair and replace that which had been damaged or broken, and the crash site cleared of all debris. But the horror of the day slowly morphed into gratitude and relief.
Michael Devon, the co-owner and manager of Hotel Devon, was on his way down the hall to the conference room to meet his dad, Marshall, when the crash occurred.
He was on the fourth floor with a bird’s-eye view of Jubilee when he happened to glance out the wall of windows and saw a burning chopper falling from the sky. It fell out of sight, and then seconds later, a ball of fire and smoke shot up into the air, and he knew the helicopter had hit the ground.
He knew Wolfgang Outen was due in for the meeting and had yet to arrive. Horrified, he immediately called the police chief, Sonny Warren, on his cell phone to alert him to possible identities.
Sonny saw the caller ID and answered, even as he was running out the door.
“Hello.”
“Chief, I know this is a hell of a time for a phone call, but I was on the fourth floor of the hotel when I saw a chopper falling. It was on fire before it crashed. And I might know who was onboard. Wolfgang Outen is one of the hotel’s investors. There’s a board meeting scheduled for one o’clock today, and he’s not here.”
“Thanks, Michael. I’m sorry for whoever it is, but you’ve given us a head start on possible identification.”
Sonny disconnected, and then so did Michael, but he was sick to his stomach, and after Outen failed to show, he delivered the ugly news to the waiting board members.
A tentative identification of both victims came late in the day, when a pilot and chopper were reported missing after losing contact. The chopper belonged to a Zander Sutton, a commercial pilot out of Miami. He’d filed a flight plan early the same morning, bound for Jubilee, Kentucky, with one other soul on board—a man named Wolfgang Outen.
Their identities were assumed, but authorities would have to wait for DNA results for definitive confirmation. However, coupled with the flight plan and Michael Devon’s report of a missing man, it was evidence enough to notify the next of kin.
Fiona Outen left the office a little early to avoid the Friday nightmare of weekend traffic and was already home having a cocktail by the pool when the housekeeper came out of the home, flanked by two men in dark suits.
“Mrs. Outen, these gentlemen asked to speak to you.”
Fiona set her drink aside and stood. “Thank you, Dee. Gentlemen, how can I help you?”
“Mrs. Outen, we’re from the NTSB. We’re sorry to tell you, but there was a chopper crash just outside of Jubilee, Kentucky, a short distance from an elementary school. Your husband and the pilot were listed as the sole passengers, and there were no survivors.”
Fiona staggered in disbelief. “No! No, please no! This can’t be happening,” she cried, and then burst into tears.
“Maybe it’s best if you come inside,” they said, and led her back into the house, sobbing and stumbling as she went.
They got her settled in the living room, and after a few minutes of hysteria, she finally pulled herself together enough to hear them out.
“I don’t know what to ask. What happened? Oh my God, I can’t believe this is real,” she wailed, and set off a fresh set of tears.
One of the men began to speak.
“We don’t have details, but there were reports from witnesses on the ground that the plane exploded in midair. It was already burning before it hit the ground.”
Fiona gasped. “You said it crashed near a school? Please tell me the children weren’t hurt.”
“The explosion damaged the building. Some of the children didn’t get evacuated in time, but their injuries seem to be minor.”
Fiona covered her face and leaned forward, rocking where she sat. “Thank God.” Then she looked up at them with tear-filled eyes. “Would he have suffered? Would he have been alive when it was on fire? I can’t bear to think that he suffered.”
“We’ll have more answers after the autopsies. We’re so sorry for your loss. Is there anyone we can call to come be with you at this time?”
Fiona shuddered. “I’ll make the calls, and I have Miss Dee.” Then another thought occurred. “How will I claim his body? I don’t know what to do.”
“You will be contacted in due course.”
Fiona nodded…and then frowned. “Wait… You said the plane exploded in the air. Does that mean mechanical failure or…?”
“There is a team from NTSB on-site. They’ll begin their investigation tomorrow. We’ll know more later. Here’s my card. If you have further questions, feel free to call this number.”
Fiona’s hand was shaking as she reached for the card, then summoned the housekeeper.
“Dee, would you show the men out? I need to make some calls.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dee said, and walked the men back through the house and saw them out, then came hurrying back. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I’m so sorry. Can I get you anything? Should I call your doctor? What can I do to help?”
“Bring me a whiskey on ice, and make it a double. This is a nightmare. A fucking nightmare. I can’t believe he’s gone.”
As soon as Dee brought her drink, Fiona took it up to her room, downed it with a sleeping pill, then called Wolf’s office, as well as Arnie Walters, the company lawyer, then took herself to bed.
The crash site investigators from the NTSB arrived in Jubilee just before dark, notified the local authorities they would be at the crash site by daybreak, and checked in at Hotel Devon.
Chief Warren, in turn, notified the officers he had assigned to guard duty that the investigators would be on scene early and to keep the school and crash site cordoned off.
As far as Amalie Lincoln was concerned, today had been a day of progress and revelations. Her office and security systems were in place. Life had brought her full circle to a childhood friend she thought she’d never see again, and he’d promised her dinner.
But by the time she locked up the office and headed to her car, she was exhausted from the emotional turmoil. She’d been neglecting her own comforts to get the office in shape, and now there weren’t enough groceries in her house to have breakfast tomorrow. Instead of going straight home, she headed for the supermarket.
She pulled into the parking lot with a mental note of things she needed, and went inside. It was crowded, but it quickly became apparent that the chopper crash and the damage and trauma at the elementary school were the topics of conversation.
People were huddled in little groups down every aisle she went, talking about the disaster. Some were parents, reassuring their friends that their children were okay. Others were friends or families of teachers and firemen, or the police. And that’s when Amalie realized that beneath this huge tourist attraction, there was a small-town vibe of the people who lived here. One day, she hoped to be one of those people, looked upon as a resident of Jubilee.
She maneuvered her way up and down the aisles, ignoring curious glances and the double takes when they saw the ghost streak in her hair and then the scars. All she wanted tonight was food in the house.
Cameron and Rusty Pope were unusually quiet at the supper table. Their two-year-old toddler, Eric Michael, a.k.a. Mikey, was making enough noise for all of them. He was at the I do it myself stage and was banging his spoon on the tray of his high chair, rhythmically beating his green beans to a pulp.
Ghost, their white oversized German shepherd, was wearing the flying pulp that hadn’t fallen on the floor and giving Cameron pitiful, imploring looks. Ghost was Mikey’s sidekick in all things, and food slinging was the cross the dog stoically bore.
Cameron sighed. He knew what was bothering Rusty. The same thing that had given him a kick in the gut when he heard. But for the grace of God, that chopper would have crashed into the school.
Lili Glass was his niece. Rachel was his sister. She had called them from the ER to tell them what had happened, and how Dani had sounded the warning that saved them all, and then the officers who went in to help lead out the ones who’d been trapped were his friends and his people. But for them, Lili might have died today. One day, their son would be going to school, and they would have to trust other people to keep him safe.
Rusty’s years of undercover service in the FBI made her immediately suspicious when she heard the news. Planes don’t just blow up in midair. Neither do helicopters. They can catch on fire. And the engines can fail, and the plane can begin to lose altitude. But in midair, when something explodes, the first thing they look for is a bomb.
She leaned over to wipe green beans off Mikey’s fingers before he shoved them in his hair, and then looked up at Cameron.
“I’m going to be curious as to who was onboard that chopper,” she said.
“You think it’s a bomb, don’t you?”
“Short of a missile shooting it down in midair, you know it was. Somebody in that chopper was the target. If there was something onboard they wanted, they wouldn’t have blown it up. That was an annihilation, and it almost took the whole damn school with it.”
Then Mikey wailed when the spoon slipped out of his grubby little fingers and flew across the room.
Ghost crawled beneath the dining table.
Rusty sighed.
Cameron laughed.
“I’ll clean up the dog and the floor. You get the kid and the high chair.”
Rusty sighed. “Thank you.”
Cameron cupped the side of her face. “We made him together. We’ll raise him together.”
Shirley Pope’s plans for a festive family evening had been sidelined, but the food wasn’t going to waste. She just made less of it and did without the list of groceries Sean didn’t get to fill. She also talked nonstop all the way through the meal, quizzing Sean about the events of his day. He’d already been through the school rescue twice and decided to shift the subject.
“In spite of the unexpected delay, I finished up on the job in town and, in the process, ran into an old school friend.”
Shirley paused and glanced up. “Really? Here? In Jubilee? Who in the world was it?”
Sean got up to refill their iced tea glasses, talking as he worked.
“Mom, do you remember that elementary school we went to back in Conway?”
“You mean Ellen Smith Elementary? Yes, of course I remember it. All four of you went there.”
“Remember that time I got a week of suspension for fighting?”
Shirley frowned. “Yes. Something about them bullying a little girl in your class, wasn’t it?”
Sean nodded. “Yes. Well, the woman I did the work for today turned out to be that same little girl, all grown up. Her name is Amalie Lincoln.”
“Good grief! What a small world,” Shirley said. “Did she recognize you, or did you recognize her?”
“We both kind of recognized each other.” He paused, forked another bite of cake, and popped it in his mouth.
Shirley waited, and when he kept eating cake, she sighed. “And?”
Sean pushed his plate aside and rocked back in his chair.
“Did you know anything about her at the time?” he asked.
“Nothing I can remember now. You tell me,” Shirley said.
“I found out today that she was a foster kid. She told me her foster parents were angry about the incident, cut off all her hair, then told DHS they couldn’t keep her anymore because she was causing trouble and gave her back to the state. I never saw her again and found out today it’s because they took her away. She lived her whole childhood in foster homes.”
Shirley’s eyes welled. “Bless her heart. So, she’s a CPA now?”
He went on to explain where Amalie had been living, and then the accident and the scars, and that moving here was her way of starting over and being her own boss.
“Are the scars that bad?” Shirley asked.
“I think they look worse to her than they do to other people. By the time the day was over, I didn’t even see them anymore. I just saw her. She’s pretty. And really smart. And I asked her if I could take her to dinner some evening.”
Shirley smiled. “That’s about the best news I’ve heard all day. Just don’t drag your feet and wait too long to ask. That kind of stuff weighs heavy on a woman’s heart…being asked out and then getting…getting…spooked? Is that the right word?”
Sean grinned. “Ghosted. The word is and don’t worry. After all the slap downs our family had back in Conway, I wouldn’t do that to anyone.”
“Okay then,” Shirley said. “Have you finished eating?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll clear the table and put up the leftovers. You can load the dishwasher. Then I’m going to bring up some more firewood in case it snows tonight. Hard to get a fire to catch when the wood is wet.”
Shirley glanced out the window. “You go do the firewood now. I’ll do dishes. It’s going to be dark before you know it.”
“Okay, and thanks for supper. I won’t be long,” he said, and went to get his work coat and gloves.
Principal Lowery didn’t leave the hospital that evening until the last child had been released, and then she went home. Her husband met her at the door. Stephanie fell into his arms, sobbing, finally free to let go of her emotions and weep for the shock and horror she’d gone through, feeling responsible for everything when, in fact, nothing had been her fault.
Chapter 4
Maisy Eggert had been treated for smoke inhalation and cuts on her face and neck, and kept thinking how blessed they’d been to come out of this alive. If it hadn’t been for Dani Pope seeing the chopper explosion and realizing the trajectory of the crash, children would have died.
Her husband, Duane, was a pipe fitter and was laying pipeline two states away. She hadn’t seen him in over a month. He knew nothing of what had been happening, but she was cold and couldn’t quit shaking, and she needed to hear his voice.
She sat down on the sofa and called him, but the moment he answered, she came undone and started sobbing.
The utter devastation in her voice scared Duane senseless, and then she began talking, telling him everything, from the frantic message over the intercom to trying to get the kids from the music class out of the building and getting caught in the blast from the debris when the chopper finally crashed.
“Oh my God, honey! Are you okay? Were you injured?” he asked.
“A few cuts and too much smoke. I’m going to be fine.”
“You said it was already on fire before it hit the ground?” Duane asked.
“Yes. Dani had seen the chopper coming in a few minutes before, then heard an explosion and looked up. The chopper blew up in the air. It was on fire before it crashed.”
“Jesus, honey. That sounds suspicious.”
“I know. The NTSB will be investigating. The police have guards on the site. That’s all I know,” she said.
“Did you go to the ER?”
“Yes, along with Dani Pope and thirteen students. They gave me oxygen for the smoke inhalation and picked the glass particles out of my face and neck. I’ll sleep in and take it easy for a few days. School won’t reopen until repairs have been made, and they’re pretty extensive to the south side of the building and hallways. I called because I needed to hear your voice.”
Duane Eggert swallowed past the lump in his throat.
“I can’t get over it. I was sitting in a trailer eating lunch when you nearly died. Do you need me to come home? I’ll do it in a heartbeat.”
“No, no. I’m good. I just needed to tell you, that’s all.”
“I love you, Maisy. Forever and a day, sugar. I’ll be home in about a week. Stay warm. Stay safe.”
“Love you, too. Be safe. I’ll see you soon,” Maisy said, and ended her call.
She sat staring at the darkened TV screen, at the thin layer of dust on the tables, and then made herself get up and find something to eat. Maybe she’d heat up a can of soup. Something she didn’t have to cook. She needed something warm in her belly to stop the shaking.
Aaron went off duty the moment Dani was taken to the hospital. He sat beside her in the ER while they gave her oxygen for smoke inhalation, then loaded her up in his car and took her home, and then the second the door closed behind them, Dani burst into tears.
Aaron reached for her, hugging her over and over as he kept praising her until she was able to pull herself together.
“You are a real hero. Both you and Maisy faced hell today and held it together for those kids. I’m proud of you, baby, so proud, but I’ve never been so scared. We all heard the explosion and saw the smoke at the same time we began getting info from the PD. I couldn’t think of anything but needing you to be safe.”
Dani kept sobbing. “I thought the chopper was going to hit the school. I thought we wouldn’t get the kids off the playground in time. Then Lili just curled herself up into a ball on the ground and wouldn’t move. I grabbed her and ran. I didn’t think we’d get into the building before the chopper crash. And then Maisy and her kids got caught in the blast, and they were screaming and screaming.” Her voice broke, and she buried her face against the front of Aaron’s coat.
“But you did it, baby. You. Your quick reactions saved them. Saved every kid that would have been in those rooms. I have never been so scared in my life, seeing that smoke and thinking it was the school that had exploded.”
