Code Black
Page 31
“Hello, I’m Dr. Mueller.” He hesitated for a moment. “I’m sorry—but we lost her. We did everything we could—but her injuries were just too severe. I’m deeply sorry.”
EPILOGUE
It was a picture-perfect south Florida evening. A gentle breeze swayed the tall palm trees and the ocean waves lapped up onto the white sand. Donovan and Lauren, hand in hand, had quietly slipped away from the wedding reception. The ceremony had been beautiful. Michael had been the best man and Calvin Reynolds had given the bride away. They’d been man and wife now for nearly four hours. They walked across the patio, away from their reception at the Breakers Hotel.
“The air feels wonderful,” Lauren said, as she leaned close, putting her head on Donovan’s shoulder. “I hope they won’t miss us.”
“They’ll be fine.” Donovan kissed her cheek and slipped his arm around her waist. “It was down there on this very beach where we had our first kiss.”
“I remember.” Lauren smiled at the memory, then pointed out over the waves. “And somewhere out there you proposed.”
Donovan nodded as they stopped at the ornate railing that looked out over the water. It had been a perfect day. Their friends and loved ones had made the trip to West Palm Beach for their wedding. Everyone was spending the weekend at the Breakers. The next day, he and Lauren were getting on a chartered jet and flying south to a private island. They’d marveled at the pictures of the luxurious house, pristine grounds and protected beach. It was going to be a memorable honeymoon.
“What do you think will happen from here?” Lauren said wistfully, asking the question that had been on both of their minds.
Each day they’d both devoured the newspapers and followed the media coverage of the dramatic events in Chicago. The aftershock had been wide and varied. As promised, neither Donovan, Lauren, or Eco-Watch had ever been mentioned. Leo Singer and Wayfarer Airlines had been the focal point of the after-crash media barrage. Henry’s daring exploits had served to draw the attention away from the twenty-nine passengers who had been permanently damaged from lack of oxygen. The loss of his wife had served to make Henry an even bigger hero. Wayfarer had acted swiftly and decisively to spin the aftermath into a celebration of those who had lived and those who had helped facilitate the rescue. As far as Donovan knew, John and Christy were still in the hospital; both Captain Tucker and Keith were fine and had been released. Keith was back home in Aspen. Rafael was in Chicago getting ready to start school. In their statements to the press, everyone involved had carefully kept to the story orchestrated by Leo and Henry. Norman Wetzler had eagerly agreed to stay silent in return for a dismissal of the federal charges leveled against him. All of the personnel at O’Hare were quietly commended by the head of the FAA, as well as by the mayor of Chicago. The inadvertent shutdown of the Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center was branded a freak accident, and additional steps were already underway to ensure that a repeat of the tragic events would never occur.
“I wish I knew,” Donovan replied honestly. “But whatever happens we’ll deal with it together. Maybe we could buy this island we’re going to, and live there happily ever after.”
“I like that idea. Run around naked for the next thirty or forty years.”
Donovan smiled, but the shadow of the events in Chicago loomed heavily over their future. Lauren had bravely reassured him that whatever the future brought would be fine with her. But only he fully understood how dramatically their lives would shift if the secrets of his past were made public. His fortune could buy them a certain amount of privacy, but the price on their security and mobility would be high. Abigail would probably suffer the most. As the only child of billionaire Robert Huntington, she would grow up with the media focused on her every move. Any hope for a normal childhood would instantly vanish under the onslaught. It was that thought that made Donovan the saddest.
“Any regrets?” Lauren looked up into his eyes.
“Only that I didn’t find you years ago.”
“Good answer.” Lauren smiled.
“Excuse me, am I interrupting?” a man’s voice called out from behind them.
Donovan turned, not sure who had spoken. In the waning light someone was approaching. Several moments passed before he recognized Leo Singer.
“Well I’ll be damned.” Donovan faced Lauren. “Did you know about this?”
Lauren shook her head.
Donovan stood and waited for him to draw closer. He wasn’t sure what to expect; he hadn’t talked to Henry since the hospital. Leo Singer had been kind enough to call earlier in the week to give Donovan updates on everyone’s condition. But after that he’d heard nothing.
“Hello,” Lauren said.
“Congratulations. May I kiss the bride?” Leo put one arm around Lauren’s waist and kissed her gently on the cheek. Then he put his hand out to Donovan.
Donovan shook Leo’s hand, knowing that this wasn’t a social call—something had happened. Donovan braced himself for the worst.
“I hope you don’t mind that I crashed your wedding,” Leo began, then hesitated as he searched for exactly what to say next. “There have been some developments.”
“Uh oh.” Donovan reached out and found Lauren’s hand.
“Yesterday,” Leo said, “A body was discovered in the Wayfarer employee parking lot. It was found buried under fifteen feet of snow. Apparently it took almost a week for the snow to melt enough to reveal the body. It has been identified as Cyrus Richtman.”
“What?” Donovan shook his head at the news. “What happened?”
“The preliminary autopsy indicated that he suffocated,” Leo said. “The authorities speculate that he must have inadvertently wandered into the path of a snow plow on the way to his car. They’ve ruled his death accidental.”
Donovan squeezed Lauren’s hand. With Cyrus dead, and by all appearances it looked as if he’d died shortly after he’d left the airport, there was almost no chance he’d told anyone what he knew about Donovan’s past. A brief image of Emmett flashed through Donovan’s mind. Had the grief stricken man taken justice into his own hands?
“There’s more,” Leo continued. “Henry and I have discussed much of what needs to be done before we can put this ordeal behind us—both professionally and personally. When Cyrus’ demise was made public, I used that opportunity to announce that after an appropriate interval, Henry Parrish would be named as the new Chief Executive Officer of Wayfarer Airlines. It has to be voted on by the board, but I’ve been assured that it’s merely a formality. I have you to thank for planting that seed.”
“How are he and Matt doing?” Lauren asked. “We so wanted to come to Audrey’s funeral, but under the circumstances, we knew we couldn’t afford to be seen.”
“Henry knows, and he understood. He and Matt are doing as well as can be expected. Thankfully, they have each other; otherwise I’m not sure they’d be doing very well at all. It’ll just take time, I guess.”
Donovan nodded in solemn agreement. “What else is going on? I’m just guessing, but there’s more to you being here than that?”
“As I flew down here,” Leo said, “I spent most of the flight thinking about your father, and the young Robert Huntington I knew all those years ago. It’s still a shock to discover you’re alive after all this time. It made me realize how much I owe you for everything that you’ve done in the past, as well as the present. I wanted to share that with you in person. You have my eternal thanks and know that I will carry your secret to my grave.”
“You’re welcome.” Donovan tried to smile. “But what about Henry? How does he feel about everything?”
“It’s the final reason I came down here.” Leo reached inside his suit coat and pulled out an envelope. “Henry wanted me to hand deliver this, and under the circumstances I felt that I should.”
“What is it?” Lauren asked as Donovan took the envelope from Leo and carefully slid his finger beneath the seal.
Dear Donovan:
U
nder regrettable circumstances, I’m sure you understand why I wasn’t able to deliver this letter in person. You and Lauren have truly made an impact on my family, and if I could change anything, it would be for Audrey, Matt and myself to be there with you. But, as you know, that’s not possible. I have learned a great deal in the past week, and as you can imagine, some of it is truly overwhelming. Through the most unusual of circumstances I discovered you were still alive. To be honest, I’m still trying to grasp the fact that the last twenty years weren’t what I thought they were. But now, with the death of Audrey, I find myself in the unenviable position you once found yourself in after Meredith was killed. I can now see why you chose the path you did. I too, have had my moments where I’d love to shut everything down and vanish, but I don’t have that luxury.
As you can imagine, a number of people involved with the events last Friday have come forward, they were kind enough to explain the chain of events as they saw them. I now know much of what happened after the midair collision. I understand how Audrey was hurt; how you did everything you could to save her. I want to thank you for that. I also learned from Leo what you did after you were on the ground as it pertained to Cyrus and the authorities. You averted what would have been a total disaster for all involved. More importantly, I guess I need to thank you for what you did nearly twenty years ago. I was so full of anger and resentment that it never occurred to me to question why I was contacted, and then hired by Wayfarer Airlines. I had no way to grasp the fact that it was you behind the scenes. All of that said, I guess I should get to the matter at hand. With everything that has happened, I need to finally tell you that I have no ill will toward you or Lauren. Your secret is safe, and I believe Leo will echo the same sentiment. There is nothing to be gained by your past becoming public once again. Call it a wedding present. It’s difficult to pick a wedding gift for a billionaire, but I’m hopeful that you’re both pleased. One day, in the not so distant future, I hope we can all get together under more pleasant circumstances. I know Matt would enjoy seeing you. He and I have grown immeasurably closer in the last week. I know it was Audrey’s final wish and I thank you for helping make it happen. Good luck to you both.
Best wishes,
Henry
“Did you read this?” Donovan asked Leo he handed the letter to Lauren.
“Yes.” Leo nodded. “Henry wanted me to look at it. I think it was a difficult letter for him to compose.”
“It’s beautiful.” Lauren finished the letter and passed it back to Donovan. “I think they’ll both be just fine.”
“I agree.” Leo pulled a lighter out of his pocket as he took the letter out of Donovan’s hand. He held one corner and lit the bottom edge. Moments later, nothing remained but a few black ashes that swirled and disintegrated in the evening breeze.
“In light of everything we’ve just heard—I think it’s finally safe to give you this,” Donovan said to Lauren as he removed something from his pocket.
“What is it?” Lauren had no idea what to think as Donovan placed a small, carefully wrapped box in her hands.
“Just a little wedding present.” Donovan smiled, as he waited patiently for her to open the gift.
Lauren tugged on the ribbon and opened the box. Inside she found a key, with a small gold tag attached. As she studied the delicate engraving, it took her a moment to understand that it was an address. The address of the house she’d fallen in love with. She looked up at him, wide-eyed and speechless.
“I didn’t want to give it to you until we were certain we weren’t going to have to make a mad dash out of here. But I think we’re okay.”
“I can’t believe—this is—amazing!” Lauren threw her arms around her husband, and after kissing and hugging him, whispered in his ear. “You had this all week didn’t you? This is why you left me in Chicago and flew home. I knew it! I can’t believe you would keep a secret like this from me.”
Donovan could only smile as he shrugged off Lauren’s accusations.
“I don’t know what you gave her, but I know a happy woman when I see one. Well done.” Leo rubbed his hands together. “I think we need to find some champagne—and toast our combined good fortune.”
Donovan put one arm around Lauren, the other he placed on Leo’s back. Together, the three of them walked back toward the party. “I think we can arrange that,” Donovan said. “In fact, I’m buying.”
Leo looked at Donovan, then at Lauren, and smiled broadly. “You bet you are.”
Philip S. Donlay is a professional pilot who has spanned the globe in jets for nearly three decades. A native of Kansas, he divides his time between Minneapolis and Northern Virginia. For more information go to www.philipdonlay.com
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