Without Warning

by Lynette Eason

  Katie let it go. “How’s the insurance settlement coming?”

  “All the paperwork has been filed. I’m just waiting on the check.”

  She tapped her lip and he moved closer to lift her chin. “What is it? I can see your brain clicking along at warp speed.”

  For a moment she could only stare. The memory of the kiss swept over her and she almost closed the gap between them. But she didn’t. He’s a client, remember? She stepped back. “Do you mind if I check Martin out a little more closely?”

  Disappointment flashed in his eyes, then he glanced at the door where his friend had just left. “No. I don’t mind. Martin has nothing to gain if I die. In fact, if I die, he’s got no one to borrow money from. He has no reason to want me dead.”

  “Good point.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I still think we should check him out.”

  “Fine. You won’t find anything.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why? You already did a background check on him?”

  He laughed. “No, I didn’t have to. The school did.”

  “Ah. For the internship.”

  “Yes.” His eyes widened and then he closed them on a groan.

  “What?”

  “The internship. Martin’s not employed by the university anymore.”

  Understanding hit her. “Oh no. Poor Riley.”

  “Yeah. If he’s not employed, Riley won’t get the credit for the internship.”

  “And Martin could be sued for misleading the school—and everyone else.” He sighed. “Even if he’s not involved in something more sinister, this is a big mess-up for him. Do the check.”

  “Thanks, I will.”

  She sent a text to Olivia asking her to get things moving on it. Olivia shot a reply back affirming she’d take care of it.

  Also, Haley and Maddy on another assignment. L staying with R. All is fine there. I’ll take over for you tonight at 8:00.

  Got it. Thanks.

  “So, are we finally ready to get in the air?”

  In the hangar, Katie hauled herself into the front of the single-engine plane, settled into the passenger seat, and pulled on the harness.

  Daniel climbed into the pilot’s seat and did the same. “Have you ever flown in a private plane?”

  “Yes, a few times, but never one this small and never in the front seat.” She stared at the display in front of her.

  “Small? It’s a four-seater. It’s not small.” She laughed and Daniel looked at the array of screens, knobs, and buttons in front of him and tried to imagine it through her eyes. “Looks crazy, doesn’t it?” He handed her a set of headphones.

  “I hope you know what to do with all of it,” she said as she fastened her seat belt and slipped the headset on her head.

  He laughed. “Of course.” He pulled on his headset and went to work. He pointed. “Here’s our weather display. It does look like we may have to wait.” He adjusted his headphones. “N125MK, a Cirrus SR22, requesting IFR flight plan Columbia to Charleston.”

  “Hold for release,” came the response.

  He looked at Katie. “Well, I don’t have to say this often—” he shot her a grin to let her know he was kidding—“but I was wrong. We’re not going to be able to outrun the weather after all, but it’s just an area thunderstorm and is slated to pass in about twenty minutes.”

  “It’s fine. I don’t mind waiting.” Her phone rang. “It will give me time to take care of this. Hello?” She listened and glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Uh-huh. Really? Wasn’t expecting that. Okay, thanks.”

  “What was that about?”

  “That was Olivia. She talked to the worker from the dig who was hurt, and he said Martin was with him the entire time and even drove him home.”

  Relief filled him. Followed by another thought. “Well, he could have had help.”

  “Yes. But we know the person at the North Lake restaurant definitely wasn’t Martin.”

  “Unless the worker is lying.”

  “I don’t think so. Olivia also called the hospital and talked to several of the staff who worked that day. They all agreed that Martin was there the entire time.”

  “Okay then. That’s good. Right?”

  “Unless he had someone working for him.” She tilted her head and stared out the window for a moment. “So we know it wasn’t Martin. That’s good news.”

  “Yes. And while we could have been hurt by the column, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the same person causing us grief. It could have simply been someone who was trespassing and just didn’t want to get caught.”

  “True.” She sighed. “We may never know.”

  “But,” he held up a finger, “we know it wasn’t Martin.”

  “Yes.”

  The radio crackled. He listened, then gave her a thumbs-up. “We’re released for departure.”

  They sped down the runway just outside his house and then swooped into the air.

  “This is great.” Her voice came through the headphones. “What beach are we going to?”

  “A buddy of mine I served with in Iraq has a runway in his subdivision like I do. He also backs up to a private beach in Charleston. We’re going to land in his front yard, then walk down to the beach.”

  “Sounds lovely.”

  “I thought so.”

  She pointed to a screen. “What’s this?”

  “These are PFDs—Primary Flight Displays. They provide information such as airspeed, altitude, and heading.”

  “And these?”

  “MFDs—Multi-Function Displays. Here we can see what the engine is doing—” he pointed at the instruments—“this is the weather radar, and so on. This also makes sure we don’t have a midair collision or get too close to the ground without warning.”

  “Yes, let’s avoid all that. How long is the flight?”

  “Just under thirty minutes.”

  “Parachutes?”

  He smiled. “Yes. Under each seat and the plane even has one. But we won’t need them.”

  For the next fifteen minutes or so, she entertained herself by looking out of the window and commenting on different landmarks. He found himself smiling and feeling the weight of the last week start to lift. He needed this. Not having to worry if someone was going to shoot at him or hurt someone close to him.

  Yes, Riley was still at the dig site, but no one had gone after her or bothered her. Whether that was due to the bodyguards or the fact that the person after Daniel didn’t need Riley for any reason, he wasn’t sure. And didn’t care as long as Riley was left alone. He knew Lizzie would call if there were any concerns and he was grateful for a silent phone. “So tell me about your family.”

  “I’ve already told you about them. What else do you want to know?”

  “All I know is that they blame you for your brother’s death.”

  She sighed. “All right. My sister, Daphne, is an ER nurse. She works at the hospital and is incredibly passionate about her job.”

  “When’s the last time you saw her before this weekend?”

  “On her birthday. In January.” He whipped his head around to stare and she shrugged. “I told you, my family and I are . . . estranged. My mother calls on all of the important dates like my birthday, but . . .” She sighed. “I promised my sister I’d call my parents, though, and . . . check in.”

  “Have you?”

  She grimaced. “I tried. I dialed the number and hung up.”

  “I think you actually have to talk to them to make progress.”

  She pursed her lips and shot him a sideways look. “It’s just too stressful. It’s like I can actually feel the blame rolling off of them. And I’m just not going to put myself through that anymore.”

  “I can’t say I blame you.” He paused. “But you promised, right?”

  “Yes. I did.”

  “Then . . .”

  “I know. I will.”

  “When?”

  “Soon.”

&nb
sp; The plane jerked and he gripped the control wheel. Katie raised a brow. He gave a low grunt and leveled the craft back out. Only to have it jerk again. This time he frowned.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Not sure.”

  The wheel pulled from his hand and the plane dipped. He heard Katie’s gasp. He grabbed the wheel and pulled the plane level, but it jerked and twitched and his concern ratcheted up a notch. “What the—”

  “Daniel?”

  “I’m having a hard time keeping the plane level.” He checked the reading on the panel. “Something’s wrong with the elevator.”

  “Okay. So what does that mean?” He could hear the controlled fear in her voice, but he didn’t have time to look at her.

  “It means we need to land and we need to land now.”

  “Are we going to crash?”

  “No way.” At least he hoped not. “But now might be a great time to send up some prayers.”

  [24]

  The plane pitched forward again and Katie grabbed the dash. “Hang on. If worse comes to worse, we’ve got a parachute, remember?”

  “Parachute?” She shot him a look of sheer terror.

  “There’s one built in on the plane. I’d need to take it up to a higher altitude though to release it.” And then the chute could drag them out into the ocean and he’d have no more control over anything. “But I don’t need to do that. I can land us, just hang on.”

  It was taking all of his strength and skill to keep the plane level, adjusting the trim as he flew.

  “Mayday, this is N125MK, a Cirrus SR22. I have an emergency and need to land.”

  Silence.

  Finally, “This is Charleston Approach. I see you on the radar. There’s no place where you can immediately land.”

  Daniel adjusted the trim and power again, pulled the control wheel, and continued to descend. “You don’t understand. I either find a place to land or we’re going to crash. I have no control over the elevator. I’m using power and trim to land. Got it?”

  Silence. Then, “Got it.” The radio crackled. He was getting out of range. “I’m looking. The only place . . . on . . . beach.”

  “Which beach?”

  “Cape . . . a . . . beach that’s about five miles long.”

  “Which beach?”

  Nothing but static. He switched frequencies. “Mayday. I have an emergency. I need to land.”

  More silence on the radio. His head pounded and his eyes blurred. He blinked and the instrument panel swam back into focus.

  He looked out of the window. “I’m going down on that beach right there.”

  “Which one?”

  “The long one.” He spoke into the microphone again. “Mayday, I’ve got an emergency, can you hear me?” He gave his coordinates. “I’m going down on the beach.” He shot a glance at Katie. “You see any people down there?” he asked.

  She craned her neck. “No, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.”

  “Hopefully they’ll move. I think that’s Cape Island. If so . . . what’s today?” He adjusted the stick, then the trim and power once more. The plane lowered and stayed level, with the nose slightly up.

  “Um . . . Saturday. I think.”

  “Saturday. Cape Island.” He moved the throttle and then returned his hand to the stick. “The ferry that brings the tourists over only operates on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.”

  “And you know this why?”

  “Field trip with my mother when I was in high school. I see the beach area.” Daniel continued the battle with the plane. “I can’t hold it much longer. We’re going to be on the beach,” he said into the headset. “Hopefully, the chilly weather is keeping people away.”

  He grunted and worked the trim more, keeping the nose of the plane up. Katie remained silent, but he caught a glimpse of her white-knuckled fingers gripping the armrest. The aircraft bucked and jerked and Katie watched him, eyes wide, lips tight. “It’ll be all right,” he said. “Just hang on. It won’t be the smoothest landing I’ve ever made.”

  “Just as long as we’re in one piece at the end of it.”

  “That’s the plan.” He tried the radio once more and got no one. Too low to the ground to get a radio signal and no one else in the vicinity. Great.

  He only had one shot at this. The beach came closer. He had the wheels down. Using the parachute that came with the plane wouldn’t work this close to the ground. He had stayed low on purpose to allow Katie to see the ground, follow the route, enjoy the view. Now he was going to have to land with a faulty elevator. No flaps, as they might induce more pitching moments that he had no time to countermand. He worked the trim, kept the nose slightly tilted to the sky, and made a beeline to the beach. Only the nose began to tilt down and he wasn’t exactly sure how much trim and power to apply to lift it. “Ease the seat back.”

  “What?”

  “The seat has a power button, move it back now. Fast.”

  She did and the plane leveled back out, the nose slightly up once again. He’d had her shift the seat in order to change the center of gravity for the plane.

  The wheels touched down. Bounced. He pulled the control stick, then pushed it forward slightly. Adjusted the throttle. He hit the hard-packed sand once again and pressed the brakes. The plane bounced and shook but slowed. And finally came to a stop in the middle of the beach with the waves lapping the wheels. And not a soul in sight.

  Daniel took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a brief prayer of thanks.

  He opened the doors and got out, his legs shaky, muscles tight, as he landed on the sand. Katie crawled over to the pilot’s side and he helped her down.

  She stepped into the circle of his arms and clasped him around his waist. “You did it.”

  He held her close, relishing the feeling of being alive—and having her in his arms. “Yes. I did, but I shouldn’t have had to.”

  She let go of him and he missed her. “What happened?” she asked. “You did the preflight check and, knowing you, you were careful.”

  “Of course I was. I don’t know what happened, but I’m going to find out.”

  [25]

  Riley stared at the empty spot in the hangar. He’d taken the plane up. She smiled and figured Katie was with him.

  “Hey, what’s going on?”

  She turned. Haley and Steve walked up. “Where’s Lizzie?”

  “She had something she had to take care of,” Haley said. “Hope you don’t mind me subbing.”

  “Not at all.”

  “What are you doing?” Steve asked.

  “Well, I was going to check the plane out, but I guess Uncle Daniel beat me to it.”

  “Yes, he took Katie up,” Haley said. “She texted me about an hour ago.”

  “I was supposed to be at the dig site today, but Martin sent everyone home, so I thought I’d go flying. Did she say when they’d be back?” Riley asked.

  “In a couple of hours.”

  Riley punched in her uncle’s number and hit the button to FaceTime with him. It rang four times. He finally answered. “What’s up, Princess?”

  “You took the plane. Steve’s here and I was going to show it to him, maybe go up.” She held up a hand. “And before you ask, his parents said it was okay.”

  Daniel gave her a smile, but she thought he looked . . . weird.

  She frowned. “You okay?”

  “We’re fine. We just had a little emergency landing. It’s going to take us a bit to get back to you.”

  Her adrenaline surged, but since she was looking at him, they must be all right. “What happened?”

  “I’m not exactly sure. I’m getting ready to figure that out.” He cleared his throat. “How’s the dig going?”

  “It’s going fine.” She gave a small laugh. “Although I seem to have better luck finding artifacts in other places than the dig.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She dug into her pocket and pulled out the coin. “This. I fou
nd it the other day when we were at the restaurant site.”

  “A coin?”

  “Yes. It’s rare too. I looked it up. I meant to show it to you this weekend, but everything was quiet and you were locked in your office working so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  “Aw, Riley, you know you can come talk to me anytime you need to.”

  “I know I can. Don’t be going all guilty on me. Anyway, this coin is cool and really old. It has 1804 on it, but it wasn’t actually minted until sometime in the 1830s. There were only fifteen ever minted. Isn’t that crazy?”

  Another strange look crossed his face. “And you say you found that at the restaurant on North Lake?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Have you told anyone else about it?”

  “I texted Martin a little while ago and asked him if he’d ever seen one before.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He hasn’t answered me yet.”

  “Let me talk to Lizzie.”

  “She’s not here. Just Haley.” She glanced over her shoulder to see Haley talking on her cell phone. “What’s wrong, Uncle Daniel?”

  “I’m not sure. I have my suspicions, but I—” He sighed and rubbed his head. “Let me talk to Haley real quick.”

  “Haley?”

  Haley looked up, phone pressed to her ear. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you back.” She ended the call. “What is it?”

  “Uncle Daniel. He wants to talk to you.”

  Haley walked toward her.

  “Riley? Riley, you here?” Martin’s voice came from outside the hangar.

  Haley’s hand went to her weapon.

  “It’s Martin,” Riley said.

  “Don’t trust him,” Daniel said. His urgent tone took her aback.

  “What?”

  “Riley, listen to me.”

  “Riley?” Martin called again.

  Haley kept her hand on her weapon. She’d heard Daniel’s plea.

  “Riley, look at me.” She did and saw Daniel’s frown and the . . . fear . . . in his eyes. “Don’t go anywhere or do anything with him. Understand? And don’t give him that coin. If he knows you have it, he won’t need you, understand?”

  “But—”

  “Do you understand?” he yelled.