Chapter 2
Furious, Liz stormed down the steps to see what the pilot threw out the window.
Gloria darted out the door and caught up with her at the end of the driveway. “What are you doing?”
Liz hunched down and stared at the ground. “I’m almost certain the pilot tossed something out of his window.”
“I don’t see anything.” Gloria circled the area, searching for some sign of what had been tossed out. “It could be your eyes were playing tricks on you and you just thought you saw something.”
“At least he’s gone now.”
“If I were you, I would try to wrap up the outdoor filming and head inside in case he or she comes back.”
“Good idea.” Liz did an about-face. With her sister by her side, she returned to where the camera crew stood patiently waiting. “Sorry for the disruption.”
“What happened?” Evie asked. “I saw the plane and then you took off down the steps.”
“The pilot tossed something out the window.”
“He did? I didn’t see anything.”
“He’s gone now.” Liz rubbed her palms together. “Where were we?”
“Wrapping this segment up. We have enough footage of the exterior.”
Gloria, Dot, Margaret, Lucy and Ruth joined Liz in the kitchen. It took several recordings before the camera crew was satisfied with the filming of their “casual gathering.” After finishing, the friends slipped out the back door and waited on the porch.
“Despite outward appearances, I can tell Liz is ticked,” Dot said. “What was she doing when she ran down the driveway?”
“She said the plane’s pilot tossed something out the window,” Gloria said. “We searched the area but couldn’t find anything.”
Lucy craned her neck. “It looks like Evie and her camera crew still need a few more minutes. Maybe we can take a look around while we’re waiting for them to wrap things up.”
The women spread out, systematically searching the driveway, the ditch, the road and even along the edge of neighbor Christi Kravitz’s yard.
Gloria continued walking until she found herself next to the mobile home where her sister’s tenant, Echo Quigley, lived. Backtracking, she returned to where the others had gathered, all eyes on whatever Lucy was holding.
“You found something?”
“This.” Lucy held up a chunk of blue rubber.
“What is it?”
“It looks like what’s left of a water balloon,” Margaret said. “Maybe the pilot tossed a water balloon.”
Dot ran a light hand over the grass. “The ground isn’t wet, but it could have already dried.”
While the women discussed the possibilities, Ruth slipped away and approached Liz’s mailbox.
Gloria hurried over. “What are you doing?”
“Checking out the mailbox.”
Lucy and the others gathered around. “Did you find something else?”
“No. I’m trying to figure out if my mailbox monitor would work for Liz’s mailbox.”
“Mailbox monitor?” Lucy wrinkled her nose. “Let me guess…it’s some sort of surveillance tool you’ve been working on.”
“Bingo. I have a prototype at home and have been dying to try it out,” Ruth said. “There’s only one problem. Actually, there are two.”
“The first is your mail is delivered to a PO box at the post office,” Margaret guessed.
“Yep. I was planning to ask Gloria if I could test it out on her mailbox, but I’m thinking now Liz might be an even better candidate.”
“What’s the second problem?” Dot asked.
“As soon as the mailbox post is pounded into the ground, it becomes federal property.”
“Seriously?” Gloria arched a brow. “The government owns my mailbox?”
“One hundred percent, which means installing some sort of surveillance camera on federal property becomes a gray area,” Ruth said.
“You mean like the time you installed a camera inside the Belhaven Post Office and got caught? C’mon, Ruth,” Lucy chided. “It’s not a gray area. It’s a you-could-get-in-deep-doo-doo area.”
“You don’t need to remind me. I remember the incident very vividly.” Ruth grimaced. “I have several customers interested in the product, but I’m having trouble sorting out the legal implications.”
Gloria rolled her eyes. “I say it’s a no go. If you want to test a camera or other surveillance device, mount it on a tree or nearby post.”
“I’ll add my two cents.” Margaret made a thumbs down. “Putting it on the mailbox is asking for trouble.”
“I agree,” Dot chimed in. “You need to operate within the parameters of the law.”
“I still haven’t given up on it,” Ruth said.
“Because of the gray area,” Gloria guessed. “Which is?”
“The post. Is the mailbox post considered federal property?” Ruth shrugged. “Like I said, I’m still looking into it.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Gloria caught a movement near the house and watched as one of the cameramen carried a bag of equipment to the van. “I think they’re wrapping it up.”
The women began heading back when Gloria heard someone calling her name.
“Yoo-hoo!” Liz’s neighbor, Christi Kravitz, darted down the driveway.
“Here comes the nosy neighbor,” Margaret muttered under her breath.
“She’s nice,” Gloria whispered back. “Liz said she’s lonely.”
“Gloria!” Christi, her cheeks red and slightly out of breath, stopped at the end of the driveway. “I thought that was you.”
“Hello, Christi. How are you?”
“Fine. Fall is in the air, which means I’m working on wrapping up my yard projects.” Christi motioned toward Liz’s house. “I see the Elegant Estates by Evie star and camera crew showed up. How is it going?”
“Good, except for the annoying plane,” Gloria said.
“Annoying is putting it mildly. I don’t know who it is, but they’re driving us nuts.” Christi went into a long spiel, similar to what Liz had said, how the plane was flying over from early in the morning until late at night. “It got so bad, I called the police the other day. They said there’s nothing they can do.”
“What about contacting the township?” Lucy asked. “I told Liz maybe you should see if there’s some sort of noise ordinance.”
“Good idea. We’ll have to check it out.”
The women made small talk until Christi’s cell phone rang. “My husband, Darren, is coming back from out of town. Maybe I’ll see if we can go to the township together.”
“I think Liz might beat you to it,” Gloria said. “She’s fed up.”
“She’s not alone.” Christi returned home while the friends made a beeline in the opposite direction. They slowed when they noticed the cameras were once again rolling, filming Liz and Evie, who stood casually chatting near a basket of fall flowers.
Liz was in her element, and Gloria hovered off to the side, proudly watching her sister, who was a natural in front of the camera.
Off in the distance, she could hear the faint buzz of a plane. It grew louder and Gloria didn’t need to look to know the pesky pilot had returned.
A flicker of annoyance flitted across Liz’s face. It was quickly replaced by her warm smile as she tried to wrap up the final few comments, thanking the show’s host.
Buzzzzz.
The faint buzzing grew louder, to the point it was apparent whoever was operating the plane was doing it on purpose. It dipped down and circled around before slowly flying off.
Evie’s brows knitted, and she turned her gaze skyward. “The plane is making way too much noise. Do you have any idea who it might be? Maybe you can ask them to stop, at least until we finish taping our segment.”
Liz, fed up and furious, said the first thing that popped into her head. “I have no idea who the pilot is, but if I had a gun, I would be tempted to shoot them down.”
*****
A moment of uncomfortable silence ensued as Evie and her camera crew stared at Liz.
“Liz isn’t serious,” Gloria blurted out. “She would never shoot at a plane.”
“No. I…” Liz’s eyes flitted toward the cameraman. “Of course, you didn’t record me saying that.”
“I recorded it, but we’ll edit it out.” The man lowered the camera, watching as the plane circled once again. “I don’t know what the pilot’s problem is, but it doesn’t appear we’ll be able to record additional outdoor scenes.”
“I think we have enough.” Evie unbuttoned her crisp black tailored jacket and carefully laid it across the passenger seat’s backrest. “Thank you for your hospitality, for trusting me to help you create your vision. You have a beautiful home, Liz.”
“Thank you for helping me.” Liz clasped her hands, watching as Evie and her crew finished packing up and drove off. “I am so sick of that plane,” she gritted out. “This has to stop.”
“Shooting them out of the air isn’t the answer,” Margaret said. “Although it would solve your problem, at least one of them.”
“Liz isn’t shooting anything.” Gloria tapped her sister’s arm. “Let’s call the township to see what can be done.”
“I have their number in my contact list. I use it often, especially when I need to apply for permits.” Lucy swiped her cell phone’s screen before handing it to Liz. “It’s ready for you to call.”
“Thanks.” Liz cleared her throat and pressed the call button. “Hello. My name is Liz Rasmussen. I live on Cash Creek Road and have a quick question.” Using her calmest voice, she explained to the person on the other end of the line why she was calling.
Although Gloria could only hear half the conversation, she could tell by the tone in her sister’s voice she was getting somewhere.
“I appreciate the information. Thank you for your help.” She ended the call and handed Lucy her phone. “The township clerk told me I can start a petition to limit the hours and number of times pilots are allowed to fly over. She said she’s not sure if anything can or would be done, but based on previous issues from other property owners, she thought it should be the first step.”
“Similar to issues of dogs barking at all hours, right-of-way concerns, stuff like that?” Margaret asked.
“Correct. She said she’s never personally had someone complain about annoying planes or air traffic, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be addressed,” Liz said.
“Cool. So, start a petition and take it to the township,” Gloria said.
“Before we go.” Lucy removed the thin piece of blue rubber from her pocket. “While you were filming, we took a quick look around. I found this at the end of your driveway.”
Liz took the piece of rubber, a slow anger building inside of her. “Echo.”
“What about Echo?” Dot asked.
“She’s been finding similar pieces of rubber around her property for the past few days.”