Chapter 13
“I’m still trying to figure out how Liz talked me into this.” Gloria cast Margaret a side glance. “I was awake half the night with heart palpitations. Every time I thought about jumping out of a plane, the only thing I could visualize was the parachute not opening.”
“What did Paul say when you told him?” Margaret asked.
“He made me promise to text him about half an hour before we go up in the air so he could drive over and watch. He doesn’t think I’m going to do it.”
“Same here. Lucy called early this morning, wondering if I was going to go through with it. I’m almost positive the others plan to be near the airport to watch us fall to the earth.”
“Great,” Gloria groaned. “An audience.”
“So, are we really going to do it?”
“What’s our other option?”
“I have a Plan B,” Margaret said. “We tell everyone Vlad cancelled the class, so we went shopping.”
“Liz will talk us into rescheduling. I’m already having trouble sleeping. I can’t imagine prolonging the agony and anticipation.”
“True.” Margaret fiddled with the edge of her blouse. “I wouldn’t say I’m terrified of jumping out of a plane. In fact, I watched a few videos on the internet last night to have some idea about what to expect.”
“And?”
“I’m either going to throw up, pass out or go for the gusto.”
“That’s the spirit.” Gloria thought about all the adventures and mysteries she and her friends had been involved in. To put it mildly, the last decade had been one wild ride.
She still remembered the low point in her life when she felt there was nothing left. James, her first husband, had died. Her children were grown and had families of their own while she was at loose ends. Everything changed with the death of Daniel Malone, when she discovered she had a knack for solving mysteries.
Soon, she and her tight-knit group of friends were honing their investigative skills and, over the years, had built up a reputation as senior sleuths. Paul Kennedy, her husband and retired police officer, was the later-in-life love she thought she would never find.
But God had plans Gloria knew nothing about, for a new “career,” deep and lasting friendships and golden years filled with memories to cherish forever. Although skydiving wasn’t one of them. “I’m going to grit my teeth and look at this as not only a daredevil adventure, but a one and done.”
“You said it,” Margaret said. “We also need to remain focused on the reason we’re doing it.”
“To find out all we can about Tristan Keller. While I was awake, I made a mental list of things we need to know.”
“Like Keller’s daily routine, if he had any enemies, or if there was any sign of trouble when he left the airport Thursday morning to fly over Liz and Floyd’s place,” Margaret rattled off.
“I hope we’re not wasting our time with this Vlad guy.”
“What if he’s a Russian spy or terrorist?”
“The thought has crossed my mind,” Gloria admitted. “You hear about terrorists enrolling in flight schools while planning attacks.”
“We have a pretty good feel for the bad guys.” Margaret tugged on her seatbelt. “I think you and I will be able to tell pretty quickly if Vlad is on the up and up.”
“We’re here.” Gloria turned into the Green Springs Regional Airport’s parking lot and found a primo spot near the door. “The parking lot is half empty.”
“Maybe Saturdays are their slow days,” Margaret said.
“I would think Saturdays would be super busy.”
“Either way, at least we won’t have to fight crowds.” Gloria lowered the visor and studied her reflection in the mirror.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to remember what I looked like before I embarked on the most terrifying event of my life.”
“Very funny. I thought our pep talk settled your nerves.”
“It reinforced my resolve but did nothing to calm my jitters.” Gloria flipped the visor back up. “I’m as ready as I’m going to be.”
The friends strolled through the sliding doors and stopped at the front desk to check in. The receptionist handed them name badges, a receipt for payment of their class, the one Liz had taken care of after Eleanor found the open spot and then directed them down a long hall.
Reaching Classroom 3, Gloria gave the door a light knock and turned the knob. The room was empty except for a young couple seated near the front.
The man and woman did a double take when they saw Gloria and Margaret enter the room. “Is this Vlad Golubev’s skydiving class?”
“It is. You’re in the right place.” The woman told them he’d stepped out and would be back in a minute. “Are you taking the class?”
“We are,” Margaret replied. “Gloria and I are total newbies.”
“Us too. It’s my boyfriend’s birthday. Skydiving is my present to him.”
“Happy birthday,” Margaret said.
“Thank you.”
The young woman squeezed the man’s hand, gazing lovingly into his eyes. “We’ve been planning this for months now. You said you were newbies so I take it you’ve never done this before.”
“Never. It will be the first and last,” Gloria said.
“I bet it’s one of those bucket list items. You know…something you want to try before you die.” The woman’s eyes grew round as saucers. “I mean…I didn’t mean you dying or us…or anything.”
Her boyfriend chuckled. “You better stop while you’re ahead.”
“Yeah. Anyway, here’s to a great class and some awesome jumps.”
Before either could reply, the side door opened. A bearded man, in his mid-fifties, if Gloria had to guess, stepped inside. “You know how to pick the young ones,” she whispered.
“Stop.” Margaret elbowed her. “He was probably after my money.”
“Good afternoon.” He greeted them, a thick accent lacing his deep voice. He reached for a paper sitting on the desk. “Margaret Hansen and Gloria Kennedy, I presume.”
“Here.” Gloria lifted a hand.
“Perfect. I am Vlad Golubev, your instructor.” Vlad explained they would be splitting up. “Because the planes we’re using can only accommodate the pilot plus four people and all of you are diving tandem, we will be taking two planes.”
“H-how…high do we fly?” Gloria stammered.
“It’s a twelve minute ride to an exit altitude of almost thirteen thousand feet.”
Gloria could feel the blood drain from her face. “Thirteen thousand feet.”
“Correct. We will be up over two miles above earth.”
“Good grief.” Margaret’s hand shook as she reached for the back of the chair. “I’m already feeling dizzy.”
“You will be fine.” Vlad reached for a remote. “But first, we’ll show you how to gear up along with giving each of you some important safety information.”
Gloria slumped in her chair, only half-watching the video, demonstrating how the harness system worked. Thirteen thousand feet. I have lost my mind. Liz should be doing this. Not me. Why did Tristan’s buddy have to be a skydiving instructor? Why couldn’t he have been an English professor or a golfer?
The video ended, and Vlad turned the television off. He handed clipboards to each of them.
“What’s this?” Margaret slipped her reading glasses on.
“A waiver for you to sign.”
“And if we refuse?”
“Then you cannot dive.”
“I’m not signing.” Gloria pursed her lips. “It releases the airport and you from any liability.”
“You dive at your own risk. But you will be fine.” He rattled off the number of times he’d gone skydiving, which was actually pretty impressive. But it only took one incident. One accident and…bye-bye skydiver.
“Just sign.” Margaret scribbled her signature and handed him the clipboard. Vlad reached for it and paused. “Margaret. I thought your name sounded familiar. You were Don Hansen’s wife.”
“Yes.” She offered him a tight smile. “It’s been a while.”
“A very long time. It’s good to see you again.” Vlad’s voice softened.
“Same here.” Margaret stepped closer to Gloria. “My friend Gloria and I decided to give skydiving a try. It was a kind of last-minute decision.”
“Very last minute,” Gloria chimed in. “As in yesterday, last minute.”
“I had a cancellation. I guess it was meant to be. Do not worry. I will take very good care of you,” Vlad promised. “Now that we have the video and waiver out of the way, we will head to the observation deck to wait for the other instructors.”
Gloria stood, her legs like rubber. This was it. She was going to jump out of an airplane.