Chapter 18
“I thought you weren’t hungry,” Gloria teased Margaret, playfully pointing at the half-eaten chicken wing she was holding.
“This place has some great wings. I need to bring Stephen here. He loves bar-style food.”
“Speaking of Stephen, how is he? You haven’t mentioned him lately.” Lucy dipped her fry in catsup, eyeing her friend.
Margaret shrugged. “He’s good. He’s busy. I’m busy.”
“Are you two ever going to tie the knot?” Ruth asked.
“Maybe. I dunno. If we do, it will be a spur-of-the-moment kinda thing.”
“Why don’t you two fly to Vegas and let Elvis marry you?” Lucy joked.
“We were thinking more along the lines of a small, intimate affair, maybe even a quick trip to the courthouse.”
Gloria made a choking sound. “Color me shocked. You’re seriously thinking about getting married again?”
“Some days I think it would be nice to have someone to wake up to every morning while there are others that I’m convinced it would be crazy. Why rock the boat if we’re happy with the way things are?” Margaret tapped the top of the table and pointed to Gloria. “What about you? You and Paul have a few years under your belt now. Would you marry him if you had it to do all over?”
“Absolutely. One hundred percent.”
“So would I,” Liz chimed in. “Floyd is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“He spoils you rotten,” Margaret said. “I’m not sure your marriage is a fair comparison. It’s not like you’re in the trenches, struggling through life, trying to make ends meet.”
“We have our ups and downs,” Liz insisted. “Look at what we’re dealing with now? Floyd could be arrested at any moment.”
Rose made a clicking sound with her teeth. “I have to admit, I’ve never met someone who had such a mess of troubles following them around.”
“Many of them self-inflicted.” Gloria set her napkin on the table. “It’s time to take a walk and survey our surroundings.”
Lucy slid out of her chair, and Liz stopped her. “I’ll go with Gloria. You sit and enjoy the food.” She scooted around the table and caught up with her sister near the bar. “Thanks for helping me. I’m sorry about the skydiving scare.”
“You’re welcome. Looking back, it turned out all right,” Gloria said. “Although I was scared out of my mind.”
Liz cast a glance over her shoulder. “Do you think Margaret and Stephen will get hitched?”
“Who knows? It took a long time for her to recover from Don’s suicide. She took it hard and maybe in some ways she still hasn’t completely recovered.”
“Because she blames herself?”
“Yeah. I’ve never dealt with a suicide and can only imagine Margaret has second-guessed herself, wondering if she missed some sort of sign, if she could have done things differently and been able to talk Don out of it.”
“I have to say his death changed her,” Liz said. “She’s become a little less judgmental and kinder.”
“Margaret has always seen things in black and white with no gray area. I guess, in a way, something positive came out of it.” Gloria stepped close to the chain-link fence running along the rear of the restaurant.
“I see it. Over there.” Liz nudged her sister toward a trio of planes lined up in a row. “This must be where they store planes needing repairs.”
With Gloria leading the way, they walked single file along a narrow strip of concrete past a plane with a missing propeller. The second plane sported flat tires and a crinkled door. The third plane, yellow and with blue-tipped wings, was the one they were looking for.
“Is this it?” Gloria asked.
“Yep. I would recognize it anywhere. It’s in worse shape than I thought.” Liz inched closer to the fence, studying the crumpled side and missing propeller. “I don’t see a bullet hole.”
“Maybe the bullet entered on the other side.”
Liz knelt on the ground. Tilting her head, she studied the underside of the small plane. “There’s no sign of a hole in the bottom. I think you’re right.”
Gloria approached the gate and lifted the lock. She gave it a firm tug.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to figure out if Lucy can pick the lock.”
“Why do we want her to pick it?”
Gloria stared at her sister. “To open the gate so we can take a closer look at the plane.”
“We would be trespassing. Emery warned us this was a restricted area.”
Gloria let go of the lock and pulled her cell phone from her pocket. “We need Lucy to come back here and check it out.”
“What if we get caught?”
“The airport’s security guards will tell us to leave. By the time they show up, we’ll already have had our chance to check it out.” Gloria slid her phone back inside her pocket. “She’s on her way.”
Lucy appeared moments later. “You found the plane.”
“We found it, but can’t find a bullet hole.” Gloria tapped the top of the padlock. “Which means it has to be on the other side of the plane, the side we can’t see.”
“You want me to spring the lock?”
“Please.”
Humming under her breath, Lucy placed her hands on her knees. “It’s a simple heavy duty long shackle aluminum padlock. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my lock-picking tools with me.”
“What about improvising?”
“I’ve had some success using large paper clips.”
“How many locks have you picked?” Liz asked. “Ballpark estimate.”
“Maybe a dozen. I’ve actually gotten good at it.”
“She sure has,” Gloria said proudly. “Lucy is our go-to gal for easy access.”
“Do you have a paper clip in your purse?”
Gloria rummaged around in her purse. “Nope.”
“I’ll see if anyone else has one.” Liz hurried off, making a beeline for the table.
Margaret watched as Liz scurried toward them. “What are Lucy and Gloria doing?”
“We found the plane out back. We couldn’t find a bullet hole, which means it has to be on the other side. First, we’ll have to get through the gate that’s padlocked. Lucy needs a paper clip.”
Margaret, Dot and Ruth dug around in their purses, but came up empty-handed. “I have some in the spymobile.”
“Which is at home, parked in your driveway. I’ll check with our server.” Liz caught the woman’s eye and circled the table. “I was wondering if you had a paper clip lying around I could borrow…err…have.”
“Let me check.” The woman stepped behind the bar and began rummaging through the drawers. “Hey Cal! You got any paper clips back here?”
“Third drawer on the left.”
The server opened the drawer. “Here they are.” She removed a small one and handed it to Liz.
“I…hate to be picky, but do you have anything larger?”
The woman held up a second one that was twice the size. “How about this one?”
“It might do the trick to…clip some thick papers together.” Liz thanked her and could feel the woman’s eyes on her as she casually strolled to the table.
“Did you get a paper clip?” Dot asked.
“Yes. Is the server still watching me?”
“Not anymore,” Ruth reported. “She’s checking on another table now.”
“I’ll be back.” Liz hurriedly dashed behind the bar. She caught Gloria’s eye and ran over. “This is all I could find.”
“I think it will work,” Lucy said. “What took you so long?”
“No one had a paper clip. I finally got one from our server.” Liz lowered her voice. “She was watching me, wondering what I needed it for.”
“I got it.” Lucy slid the lock from the door latch and held it up. “Easy peasy.”
“Let’s get in and get out.” Gloria eased the door open and motioned to Liz. “Keep an eye out and make sure no one comes back here.”
“How am I going to do that?”
“You’re resourceful. I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
“Damsel in distress and faking an injury are the top two,” Lucy said. “We’ll need at least five minutes.”
Liz sucked in a breath and squared her shoulders. “I’ll monitor the situation. You’ll get the time you need even if I have to break a fingernail doing it.”