by Cindy Bell
“No, not at all.” Charlotte shook her head.
“Me neither.” Ally frowned. “He said he checked his pack himself. He said he was an expert.”
“It’s early in the investigation, there could be other explanations at this point. Did he say anything to either of you that would indicate he was in any kind of trouble, or that someone was giving him a hard time?”
“No, not really.” Ally thought back over the conversation they’d had with him. “If anything I’d say he was a really happy person. He said he’d done jumps all over the world. He just seemed really excited.” She frowned. “I’m sorry, I wish there was more that I could tell you, but I don’t know anything else.”
“I understand.” He nodded to them both. “I appreciate your time, and if you think of anything else please don’t hesitate to call. Okay?”
“Absolutely.” Charlotte shook his hand before he walked away. “Ally, we should go.” She grabbed her hand. “We can’t do anything to help here, we’re better off at home where we can try sort this out in our minds.”
“Yes, you’re right.” When Ally looked around the field, she had no concept of their location. “But I don’t even know which way to go, do you?”
As she spoke, a familiar car pulled out onto the field. She sighed with relief as she saw Luke park a few feet away from them. He jumped out of the car and strode towards them. His expression was tense, and she could feel his eyes probing her for any signs of injury.
“Are you okay?” He brushed his hand across her cheek as he looked into her eyes, then turned his gaze towards Charlotte. “I came as soon as I heard, I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner.”
“We’re okay.” Ally wrapped her arms around him. “But we want to get home. The car is back at the farmhouse.”
“I’ll take you.” He reached over and gave Charlotte a hug as well. “I only have a few minutes, but I wanted to be sure you were both safe.”
“We’re okay.” Ally heard the words leave her lips for the second time. But was it true? An accidental death was tragic enough, but now that she thought it was probably murder, she couldn’t think of anything else. Who would want to kill Austin, and why hadn’t he noticed the severed lines?
As she settled in the backseat of Luke’s car, she watched her grandmother settle in the front passenger side. She looked as if she was fine, but Ally could sense that she wasn’t. She reached up and rubbed her hands over her grandmother’s shoulders.
“We’ll be home soon, Mee-Maw. You can come stay with me at the cottage.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.” Charlotte patted her hand. “But I need to go home. I need to rest a bit.”
Ally gazed at her with a hint of suspicion. Her grandmother was never one to rest. Was it possible that she’d been hurt in the quick landing that the plane made?
“Are you okay?” Ally leaned forward to get a closer look at her expression. There it was, that unquestionable determination that she was so used to seeing. “You’re not going to rest, are you?”
“No.” She glanced back at Ally. “But you should. You’ve been through enough this morning. I’m just going to see what I can find out about Austin.”
“I’m sure the detectives on the case will do a very thorough job of that.” Luke glanced over at her as the car bumped over the dirt roads that led back to the farmhouse.
“Maybe. But, I’m curious about this young man. We spent our morning together, and I’d like to know more about him. There’s nothing wrong with that is there?” She flashed a brief smile in Luke’s direction. Ally knew that smile meant determination as well, and also indicated that she wasn’t going to be swayed from her intentions.
“Nothing at all.” Luke pulled to a stop near Ally’s car, then looked over at Charlotte. “But I also know that digging into things doesn’t always lead to the kind of information that you’re hoping for. Just keep in mind that people are not often killed like this without being involved in something dodgy.”
“So you think it was murder?” Ally met his eyes.
“From what I was told, yes, but that’s all I can say about it. Understand?” He gazed back at her. “This is now an active murder investigation, and I am not working the case.”
“I understand.” She offered him a reassuring smile. The way he looked at her made her wonder if she had that same determination in her own eyes that she witnessed in her grandmother’s.
“I mean it, Ally.” Luke frowned. “Someone wanted this man dead and went to a lot of trouble to make that happen. I don’t want either of you getting into the middle of this. I mean, more than you already are.” He sighed, then shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be harsh, I know you’ve both been through a lot this morning. It’s just that I don’t have a lot of time.”
“It’s okay, Luke.” She leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “Don’t worry about us.”
As she stepped out of the car, Luke did as well. His hand was around hers before she could reach for the door of her own car.
“Wait a minute.” He pulled her closer to him. “I’m involved in this case I’m working on, I’m in deep right now, but you know, my heart is always with you, right?”
“Right.” She smiled as her heart fluttered. “I know.”
“If you need me, I’ll be there no matter what.” He gave her a light kiss. “Always.”
“I know, sweetheart.” After a quick hug, she walked with her grandmother to the car. As soon as she was behind the wheel she felt a little shaky. She remembered how nervous she was when she arrived at the farm. As she started the car, her grandmother was quiet.
“Mee-Maw, are you sure you don’t want to come to the cottage? Or I could join you at Freely Lakes?” She put the car into drive, eager to leave the farm behind her.
“Honestly, Ally.” She smiled at her granddaughter. “I think I just need some time alone to sort through all of this. I hope you don’t mind.”
“It’s okay.” She smiled in return. She knew her grandmother would try to work out what happened and then come to Ally with her theories. As Ally pulled up to Freely Lakes, a retirement community that her grandmother lived in, she glanced over at her. “If you find out anything interesting, let me know.”
“I will.” She winked, then stepped out of the car.
Chapter 4
Charlotte walked away from the car and headed into Freely Lakes. She needed to figure out her next step. As shocked as she was over Austin’s death, she was also particularly stunned that it could unfurl right in front of her without some sign that it was going to happen. If there was a murderer like that in Blue River, then he needed to be found as soon as possible. However, she didn’t want to bother Ally with all of the details of Austin’s life, as she knew her granddaughter was upset as well. If she could find something solid before the day was out, the murderer would have less chance of getting away with the crime.
She headed down the hall to her apartment, with her mind already swirling. She mentally hunted for potential motives, little hints that Austin may have given during their conversation, and each and every face that she’d seen on or around the plane. She was so caught up in it that she didn’t notice there was someone else in the hallway with her until she walked up to her apartment door. She was startled when she saw a figure standing beside it, looking the other way down the hall, then smiled as she recognized who it was.
“Hi Jeff.”
“Charlotte.” He turned to face her with a concerned expression. “I heard what happened, and I wanted to be here when you got home.”
“Thanks for that.” She smiled at him as her cheeks warmed with a touch of embarrassment. She still wasn’t quite sure how to react to the man who had inserted himself into her life at a time when she thought that romance was impossible. Yet, there he was, with his arms open to her, and she couldn’t resist resting her head against his chest. As he held her, she savored the sensation of his presence. Although she enjoyed her independence and for so many years she was content w
ith being single, she was very pleased to have Jeff as part of her life now. It had been a long time since she’d felt that kind of attachment with anyone and it was quite reassuring.
“It was terrible. I feel so guilty.”
“Guilty?” He cupped her cheeks and looked into her eyes. “What could you possibly have to feel guilty about?”
“I just want to go in and rest a bit.” She drew away from his touch and opened the door to the apartment. “Come in, I’ll make us some tea.”
“I’m right behind you.” He followed her inside and closed the door behind him. “But I still want to talk about this. I don’t understand why you would be feeling guilty.”
She set the kettle on the stove, then turned to face him.
“We wouldn’t have been there if I hadn’t insisted on it.” Her chin quivered as the full impact of the morning began to set in. “Oh Jeff, it could have been Ally that jumped out of that plane!”
“It wasn’t.” He strode over to her and looked into her eyes. “It wasn’t, and it couldn’t have been. If you and Ally were jumping off the plane you and the instructor would have checked and re-checked the packs dozens of times. You didn’t do anything that put her in danger, you see that don’t you?”
“No, I guess I just don’t.” She sighed as the kettle whistled. Once she’d poured them both some tea she carried it to the living room. “I’m the one that made the suggestion, I’m the one that encouraged her to get on the plane. So that makes me responsible for the fact that she was there when Austin died today.” She sat down beside him on the couch. “I just feel so guilty.”
“You’re going to have to find a way to get over it.” He took her hand in his and rubbed his palm along the back of it. “Because none of this was your fault. Sometimes, in an attempt to make sense of senseless acts we put the blame on ourselves, but you deserve no blame in this situation.”
“Thanks Jeff.” She smiled slightly. “I guess you’re right.”
“I am.” He gave her hand a light pat. “But I’ll tell you who does have some responsibility. The pilot of that plane.”
“Harris?” She raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”
“He should have checked that poor fellow’s pack. He could lose his license for such a mistake, and honestly he should.” He shook his head. “It was his job to make sure that his passenger, and jumper was safe, and he didn’t do it.” He narrowed his eyes. “If I didn’t know Harris myself, I’d almost suspect that he’d done it.”
“Harris could never do something like that.” She shook her head. “That’s crazy.”
“Maybe, but somehow those cords were cut, weren’t they? At least that’s what I heard. Do I have the right information?”
“Yes, you do, but I’m not sure that it’s as simple as that. Ally and I had considered whether he might have done it himself. Perhaps he wanted one last beautiful jump before he let go of life.” She shrugged. “I don’t think it’s completely out of the question. The thing is, he told us that he was an expert, that he had jumped all over the world, and that he took care of checking his own pack. So, I doubt that Harris, or anyone else for that matter, ever had his hands on Austin’s pack. How could anyone sabotage it if they didn’t touch it?”
“That’s a good question,” Jeff said. “I suppose it’s one that you intend to answer?”
“Maybe.” Charlotte smiled as she felt a sense of determination. She couldn’t change the past, and the best thing she could do now was to solve the murder. “But before I can do that, I need to find out a little bit more about Austin.”
“That’s the best place to start.”
”But I might need your help.”
“Okay.” He looked at her.
“Can you do the searching?” She grabbed Ally’s old computer from the side table. Ally had given it to Charlotte recently because she wanted to become more tech savvy. However, Charlotte still had a long way to go when it came to being comfortable on the computer.
“Of course,” he said as she placed the computer on the coffee table in front of him.
“I managed to get his last name from one of the officers, but I’m sure that’s about all they’ll be willing to share with me. Walker, Austin Walker.”
Jeff typed in the name on a search bar, and pressed the enter button. “All right Austin Walker, let’s see who you are.”
It took them some time to narrow down the results for the common name. Charlotte looked at pictures and information as Jeff tapped away on the computer. They did their best to weed out by pictures, experiences, and locations posted on social media. Once they’d narrowed it down far enough they had three possibilities. Only one of them had a picture posted, and the picture was at such a distance that she couldn’t be sure that it was him. However, his profile did state that he was a skydiver and a world traveler. She scrolled through his posts and found that he’d made some jumps in the general area, but none directly from Blue River or any of the surrounding towns. As she studied the profile, she was startled by a new post. This one was from a resort in Mexico.
“Ugh, it’s not him.” She sighed as she flopped back against the couch. “All that time we just wasted.”
“Are you sure?”
“Unless Austin just miraculously came back to life and flew to Mexico, yes I’m sure.” She frowned at her biting tone. “I’m sorry, Jeff, I didn’t mean to be sharp.”
“It’s okay.” He smiled. “I understand your frustration. But honestly, if we haven’t found him yet, we’re not likely to find him. At least, not that way.”
“But don’t you think it’s odd for a young man like that not to be splashed all over the internet?” She narrowed her eyes. “He said he’d jumped in Europe, Africa, even Australia. I would guess that he would have posted pictures in all of those places.”
“Maybe he went by a nickname, or maybe he was anti-technology. Some people are. But either way, we aren’t going to get anywhere by continuing to chase a dead end. Why don’t we go have some lunch? It’ll take your mind off things for a little bit, and I know you must be starving. It’s already past three.”
“It is?” She was shocked as she looked at the time. “Wow, I did waste a lot of time. I’m sorry, Jeff, you must be bored to tears.”
“I’m never bored when I’m with you.” He took her hand as she stood up from the couch. “I’m just glad that you let me stay and help you.”
“Well, I couldn’t have done it without you!” She smiled as she walked him to the door. She was glad that she’d let him stay, too. She knew in the past that she would have worked out a way to find the information if she didn’t want to be dependent on someone. What really surprised her was that she hadn’t even considered asking him to leave. She’d become very comfortable with his company. Was that a good thing, or a bad thing?
After Ally dropped her grandmother off at Freely Lakes she drove back towards the cottage. It had been her safe haven for as long as she could remember, and though now she lived alone in it with the pets, it was where she still felt the safest. She parked in the short driveway, and headed inside. Right away she was greeted by a pot-bellied pig. He snorted at her and paced back and forth in front of her until she reached down to pet him.
“Hi Arnold.” She crouched down to look into his eyes. “It’s been a rough morning.”
He nuzzled her hand, and she began to relax. Arnold was her grandmother’s pet, but he had become one of her best friends, along with her own cat, Peaches. A plaintive meow announced that Peaches expected food, even though she’d already had breakfast.
“Peaches, you silly cat, just because I come home that doesn’t mean that it’s time to snack.”
Peaches padded out from the kitchen with her tail high in the air and meowed again.
“Hmm, maybe you’re right.” She stretched her arms above her head and tried to release some tension from her body. “I could go for some ice cream I think.” When she walked into the kitchen both animals followed after her, eager to r
eceive treats of their own. Once they were satisfied, and she had a bowl of ice cream for herself, she sat down on the couch. The sweet snack did nothing to ease the tragedy of the morning. The event continuously replayed in her mind. Could she have grabbed him? Held him down? Could she have convinced him not to jump? Her stomach twisted as she recalled her concern over his pack not being checked. Had some instinct within her warned her that something wasn’t right?
She shook her head, she knew that her concern was just out of paranoia. She hadn’t felt some sixth sense that the pack was tampered with. But it had been, and he had died because of it. Peaches jumped up into her lap and rubbed her furry body along her arm.
“What a day, Peaches.” She sighed as the cat purred. She always turned to Peaches when she had something on her mind that she needed to work out. “I just wish I knew what really happened. I didn’t even know his last name, or where he was from. In those few minutes we spent together, I feel like I could have learned more.” She stroked the cat’s fur. “Who would want to kill him? And why would they do it that way? They had to know they would be found out. The cords were cut. On both parachutes! That certainly doesn’t happen by accident. It must have been sabotage.” She frowned.
“He said he checked his pack to make sure it was ready, but maybe he overlooked something, or maybe he got cocky and didn’t check it at all.” She pictured the last few moments that she’d seen Austin alive. He had that dream-like smile on his face as he jumped out of the plane. Did it indicate a sense of peace, did he somehow know that he wasn’t going to make it through the jump? She shook her head.
“No, that wasn’t it. It was like he was letting go. Not of life, but of something else, of all of his burdens. That’s what he said, it was just him and the sky, and it was the most spiritual experience that he’d ever had. If it took skydiving to get him to that experience, was it possible that there was more to his life than world travel? He had to have a way to fund that didn’t he?” She tapped her fingertips lightly on the couch and considered what Austin’s life might have really been like. “Was he a lawyer, or a doctor? He looked too young for that. Maybe he inherited a lot of money from someone? Or he was born wealthy?” She shrugged and looked down at Peaches. “Whatever his life was like, he had to have a place to sleep, right?”