by Liz Turner
Hallie laughed. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind who you were!”
Just then, a floppy-eared dog bounded into the room, covering Hallie’s dangling hand with slobber. “Well, hello there!” Hallie exclaimed, bending to greet the large, sandy-colored dog.
“Oh, that’s Tiny. Down, Tiny! He’s harmless. Likes to roam the fields,” Lydia said apologetically.
“He’s precious,” Hallie said, unleashing a flourish of affection on the pup who lapped it up eagerly.
Lydia beamed. “Oh, and here’s my husband, Lenny. He’ll be the one to coach you during your lesson today.” At the mention of the lesson, Hallie felt a jolt of adrenaline, recalling her recent not-so-pleasant memories with aircraft.
She must have shown her apprehension, because Lydia suddenly said, “Oh, don’t be nervous! You’re in wonderful hands. Lenny was instructed by none other than the best fighter pilot around—my uncle.”
“Hello there!” Lenny, a tall, tanned man, greeted. He shook Hallie’s hand. “I’m so pleased to meet you in person. Ready for the lesson?” He wore the familiar clothing of a pilot, complete with a set of aviator sunglasses hanging around his neck. With his slow speech and kind eyes, Hallie instinctively trusted him.
“I suppose as ready as I’ll ever be,” Hallie grinned.
“Oh, hold on now, Lenny, don’t you want to give Hallie the grand tour of the grounds first?” Lydia asked
The couple showed her the newly paved runway, explaining that they’d made it longer than it had been before. “A longer runway is less challenging for new pilots,” Lydia explained. Then, they took her into the brand-new hangar.
Hallie was amazed. The inside was more impressive than the outside. It was all natural light, thanks to the large windows taking up most of the domed ceiling. Everything was decorated red and white, and more impressive photos of aviation hung on the walls. Hallie marveled that the couple had managed to amass so many planes in such a short time. She counted eight small planes resting their wings alongside each other in the hangar.
“Wow,” she said breathlessly. “Where did all these planes come from?”
Lydia looked somewhat sad at the question. She paused before answering, “Truthfully, they—all of this—” she gestured around the hangar, “—came from the captain. He left all his beloved youngsters quite a lot of money in his will. We didn’t think anything else should be done with the inheritance but direct it back into the captain’s passion.”
Lenny came and put his arms around Lydia’s shoulders, picking up the story where she had left off, “Our vision was to turn a business that had gotten so sullied at the hands of Gerald and his illegal trafficking ring into the biggest, most professional flight school in New England. Something that a military man like Lydia’s uncle would have been immensely proud of. So here you have it.” Now it was Lenny’s turn to swing his arms around him in demonstration. “A fully outfitted flight school, complete with state-of-the-art hangars, planes, you name it.”
“We’ve got the next few months booked solid with flight lessons!” Lydia chirped.
Hallie smiled. She was beginning to grow quite fond of this cheerful couple. “Well, I think you’ve surpassed your goal. I never knew Captain Tannen, but I can’t imagine that he would be anything but overjoyed by what you’ve done in his memory.”
After the tour had ended, Lydia showed her to the locker rooms, where she was outfitted in a windbreaker and dark sunglasses for her lesson. Hallie looked at herself in the mirror and couldn’t help but crack a grin. I look just like a pilot, don’t I? she thought. She felt her courage increasing.
Then, Lenny began explaining the various parts of the plane to Hallie, the first step of the lesson. Hallie feverishly took notes, until Lenny admonished her vigor, saying they preferred their students take a more holistic approach to learning.
A few hours later, after lessons on the ground, Hallie found herself sitting inside the cockpit of the Turbo on the runway. For this first time in the cockpit, Lenny would be the pilot, and Hallie would serve as copilot-in-training, though her real task was simply to learn as much as she could by watching Lenny in action. Lenny explained everything he did inside the plane before takeoff, pointing and commenting on the various gauges, buttons, and switches. Hallie marveled at the complicated job that was flying a plane, and if she was being honest, doubted she would ever be able to fly a plane by herself.
“Pilot Malone, are we clear for takeoff?” Lenny asked.
Hallie looked at him and looked down the long runway that stretched before them. “Yes, we’re ready for takeoff.”
Then, they were gathering speed down the runway, the green field and the buildings rushing by them in an ever faster blur. Lenny manipulated a few buttons, and Hallie heard a whir. The landing gear were beginning to rise. Pressure pressed her against her seat, and she felt the plane lift off the ground.
A sense of elation filled her. She leaned forward a bit to look down at the ground falling from them. She felt like she was a in a large mechanical bubble, the window from the cockpit as wide and curved as a fishbowl. “That’s why I do this!” shouted Lenny.
“What?” Hallie shouted back. The cockpit was loud; Hallie was grateful she had worn the earmuffs that had been offered to her.
“The expression on your face!” Lenny yelled. He was beaming. “That’s why I do this. It never gets old—seeing the pure wonder come over a person who’s never been in control of a plane before!”
Hallie found herself laughing, relaxing into her seat, feeling weightless. As they climbed higher and higher, she watched the flight school become smaller and smaller below them, and finally melt into the yellow and orange autumn landscape.
Lenny pulled back on the wheel, and the plane leveled out. They were soaring among the clouds. To Hallie, it almost seemed like the plane was completely still, at home in the vast blue sky, and the world was that which was moving swiftly around them.
They were flying.
*** The End ***
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About the Author
L iz lives in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies with her husband Rick and Golden Lab, Abbie.
She’s had a lifelong penchant for mysteries of all kinds. As a girl, she loved reading Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys stories before graduating on to Agatha Christie books. Figuring out who the culprit was always seemed to capture her imagination. Now she enjoys writing mysteries herself.
Not content to stay in one genre, she has written novels in mystery & suspense/romance and most recently - cozy mysteries.
When she’s not writing she is hiking, camping and enjoying the great outdoors.
Connect with her on Facebook, or email her directly at [email protected].
Visit her Amazon Author Page for the complete list of books.
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Murder At The Movies.
Preview of:
Murder At The Movies
A Dr. Hallie Malone Cozy Mystery
Chapter 1
A Night to
Remember
I t was crowded; well-dressed couples and families piled in single file into the narrow space. The lights were already dimmed, and low murmurs filled the place, punctuated by an occasional peal of laughter. Dr. Hallie Malone felt someone squeeze her hand tightly in the dark hallway.
“Come, come, we must hurry if we’re to get the good seats!” Cindy Christopher, Hallie’s housekeeper, was looking at her with shining eyes. Cindy was about ten years older than Hallie, and generally loathed leaving the house, preferring to get the chores done and then relax with a good book and a goblet of wine on the front porch. But tonight, Cindy was in a rare state. Hallie couldn’t help but grin in amusement at her antics.
The housekeeper had dolled herself up in a bright turquoise dress that cinched ar
ound her waist and then ballooned out wildly. Hallie had opted for a dark brown suit dress herself. In the crowded space, she could practically feel the growing excitement reverberating through the balls of her feet. She thought fondly back to last week when Cindy had approached her with a flyer in hand.
“Singin’ in the rain!” Cindy had exclaimed, thrusting the page at Hallie, who had just gotten home from her job as general practitioner at the hospital. “And Gene Kelly!”
“Oh?” Hallie had replied, raising an eyebrow. She lifted her coat from her shoulders and hooked it onto the rack by the door. She had to admit, she didn’t pay much attention to the latest in entertainment these days.
“Oh!” Cindy echoed back, inflecting a surge of delight into the word. “Oh, dear, you probably haven’t had the time to think about silly things like films and movie stars, have you? That hospital is just keeping you later and later into the day. Don’t they have any other doctors—not as good as my Hallie Malone, but certainly adequate, no? By golly, perhaps the male doctors have nothing better to think about than their jobs, but we women need time to be… frivolous; it’s how we stay sane! Well, well, let me enlighten you a bit about this one, it’s sure to be a….”
Hallie couldn’t remember exactly what else Cindy had said as she trilled on and on about this latest film. She was used to comments like Cindy’s—Cindy, who meant nothing but kindness, but was often bemused by Hallie’s commitment to her work and said so frequently.
“…And, I’m sure you remember the silent films? Perhaps you were a bit too young, but for me… why those films opened up whole worlds of magic for me as a young woman! And now, here we have a ‘talkie’ about that magical, silent world… I dare say…”
Hallie had simply nodded along, trying to catch Cindy’s enthusiasm. And when Cindy had asked Hallie if she might accompany her the following week when the film premiered in Warrenton’s movie theater, Hallie checked her schedule and agreed to go along on Monday, the night she had off from the hospital. Perhaps, she had thought, she did need a night off, a chance to think of something other than her patients. Not because I’m a woman, she quickly added in her head, But because I’m human.
Finally, Hallie felt the grip of one of the young ushers at her elbow. He apologized for the crowd, rambling something about it being wholly unexpected, and gallantly led Hallie and Cindy to their plush seats. As she removed her coat and slung it over the back of her chair, the remaining dim lights were switched off and the heavy velvet curtains made whooshing sounds as they were pulled apart to reveal a large, brilliantly white screen. Hallie looked around her. She was always somewhat wonder-struck whenever she went to view a film. As much as she never cared much for movies, the experience at the theater was not unlike going to an opera in the city. Various gilded décor hung on the walls, and the carpet and seats were of the softest velvety fabric. Hallie enjoyed the cozy sensation, feeling as though she were wrapped inside a very glamorous robe.
As she blinked about the room, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, she caught glimpses of small fire flashes against the black and tiny smoldering orange dots illuminating hazy backdrops. People were lighting their cigarettes, puffing smoke into the room.
A young woman, towering over most at five feet eleven, was offering cigarettes to those that hadn’t brought their own. She was the cigarette girl, a staple at most events including the theater. She wore a maroon outfit, complete with a plunging neckline and short skirt over fishnet stockings, and heels. Hallie was transfixed watching her. She had shiny black hair, which was curled to perfection to frame her pretty face. As she marched up and down the aisle, members of the audience would raise a finger to signal that they wanted to buy a single cigarette, and she would obligingly stop, turn on her heel, and grandly offer it to them between her slender fingers. Her lips were full and painted a cherry red to match her nails, and, in fact, to match much of the theater décor. Hallie couldn’t help but think this woman certainly fit in well in these grandiose surroundings.
Hallie turned back around and settled into her chair. She had reservations about smoking; a momentous study had recently been published that clearly implicated smoking’s role in some of the most dangerous cancers, and even though the research was still new, it had been enough for Hallie to recommend to her younger patients to not start the habit. Not to mention, she thought, this is such a small space—and so crowded—what should happen if someone neglected to put out their cigarette properly and the whole place caught fire? She eyed the velvet drapes hanging from the walls. Everything seemed flammable.
Just then, Cindy put a hand on Hallie’s forearm and motioned to the front. The newsreel that would play before the film itself was about to start. Hallie smiled back at her housekeeper and shook her head vigorously. I’m here to forget about the hospital! Good gracious, you silly old woman. She was determined to have a good time.
But shortly, Hallie grew uncomfortable once again. She was unable to focus on the flashing screen in front her. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of smoke filling the room. Does the theater not have proper venting to account for the smokers? she wondered, frustrated. When Cindy coughed loudly, Hallie had enough. She stood up and turned around, prepared to give a lecture on the dangers of smoking right then and there. What she saw stunned her.
There was indeed far too much smoke in the room, but it didn’t seem to be from the cigarettes. No, the smoke appeared to be leaking into the theater from a small space near the ceiling: the aperture to the projection room which sat a level above the ground floor.
Hallie was about to exclaim her surprise when a team of the young ushers suddenly burst through the double doors at the rear of the theater. Hallie caught the eye of one of the men and gestured to the ceiling which was now barely visible through the thick fog. The young man held out his hand and shook his head subtly. Hallie understood. To mention the fire would be to incite panic, and in a crowd this size, panic would be deadly.
Still, Hallie registered the bewilderment in the ushers’ eyes. They were frightened. Just how big is this fire? What on earth has happened? Hallie thought.
One of the ushers jumped in front of the screen which was still playing the newsreel loudly behind him. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have please have your attention,” he began in a booming voice. “Please do not be alarmed. We ask that you quickly but calmly make your way to the exits in the back and front of the theater. Do not rush. Our ushers will escort you along the way. Thank you.”
Loud murmurs began to rise from the theater seats as the people stood and looked around in confusion. People continued to puff on their cigarettes, and Hallie even heard someone wonder aloud where the cigarette girl had gone to. They didn’t seem to understand what was going on, rather, they just seemed to be irritated by the interruption.
Cindy was standing beside Hallie. She suddenly whirled around and exclaimed, in a loud voice that made Hallie cringe, “Where is all this smoke coming from? Has something caught fire?” Hallie closed her eyes, willing the crowd to not have heard her.
But sure enough, soon the shouts began. “Fire! My goodness, she’s right! I saw a flame!”
“Oh heavens!”
“We’ll be trapped! Asphyxiated to death by the smoke!”
“Or burned alive!”
“Out of my way!”
“What’s all this standing about? Move!”
Hallie felt herself pushed rudely into the aisle, a group of young people having shoved by her in a wild desperation. In the fray, she lost track of Cindy behind her, but had no choice but to move with the flow of people toward the entrance.
Though the theater staff had turned the lights back on, it was still difficult to see as the smoke drifted lower and lower. Hallie had her scarf pressed over her mouth and nose, and she bent as low as she could to the floor while she moved forward through the throng of people.
A pain shot through her as someone’s knee railed into her leg. “Ow!” she howled. Her eyes filled with tears
, and she couldn’t be sure if it was from the pain or the smoke. But she plowed on. Shortly, she felt a fresh gust of air hit her forehead. They were almost out!
When she made it through the doorway into the open night, she raised her head up—ignoring a painful reflex in her neck—and ran further away from the building to get a better look.
Her mouth and throat and nose were sandpaper dry, her eyes stung, and her neck felt as though it might spasm any moment, but all she could do was stare back at the theater. The entire top half of the building was ablaze.
Smoke ran out the small windows where the second floor housed the projection room, storage room, and other miscellaneous items. The smoke formed what seemed to her an opaque box—or a mouth, Hallie thought grimly—covering the entrance to the theater from which emerged a stream of people, coughing and sputtering.
Hallie stood, dumbstruck, until she heard the sirens. It was a cascade of different warning noises, the high-pitched weeee-ooo of the ambulances, the ominous oooo ahhh ooo of the police, and the screaming eeeeiiiiuuuu of the firetrucks.
Hallie sprang into action, determined to help those who suffered from smoke inhalation. And to find Cindy. She milled through the crowd, looking for her housekeeper.
“Cindy!” She called, shocked at how painful it was to speak, let alone shout. Her voice came out croaked and weak. As she went along, she led a group of younger women, who were crying and seemed lost, to an ambulance.
Hallie began to feel dizzy. She put her hand to her head and tried to steady herself. She felt herself being led somewhere, and when she could see clearly again, she was inside one of the ambulances; a cup of water was being thrust in her face.
“Thank you,” she said feebly, accepting the water. It went down like knives, but afterward her throat felt much better. The paramedic pressed an oxygen mask to her face and told her to breathe deeply.
Hallie closed her eyes and did as he said, relishing the ease in which she could breathe the uncontaminated air. Her mind was threatening to bolt into full speed, a thousand questions spinning through her head. What happened? Have people been hurt? Cindy? But she kept forcing herself to stave off such worries. Her years as a doctor had taught her that before concerns could be dealt with, the more immediate problems had to be solved. She wouldn’t get answers by ignoring her own health. She tried to concentrate on breathing.