Chapter 19
Lucy jogged toward the front of the plane, ducking when she noticed someone exiting a hangar and crossing over to an adjacent building. “Get down.”
Gloria scrunched down and hugged her knees, certain that at any moment an airport employee would show up, demanding to know what they were doing.
The seconds ticked by. Nothing happened.
“Let’s keep moving.” Lucy cautiously crept around the other side.
Gloria, a few feet behind her, was the first to spot the plane’s damage. “It’s over here.”
Lucy backtracked and caught up with her friend. “This could’ve been so bad. The bullet hole is only inches away from the wing. Tristan Keller was lucky.”
“Why?”
“Because AVGAS, aviation gasoline, is stored in the wings.”
Gloria’s eyes widened. “Meaning if the wing had been hit, the fuel could have exploded and…”
“Kaboom!” Lucy threw her hands in the air. “Goodbye pilot, plane and anyone on the ground who was in the vicinity.”
Gloria fumbled inside her pocket. She removed her cell phone and began snapping pictures of the damage.
Lucy grabbed hold of the door handle. “Give me a boost.”
“We told Liz to give us five minutes. There’s no time to search the inside of the plane.”
“I’ll only take a quick peek, to see if the bullet made it inside the aircraft.” Lucy popped onto the tips of her toes. “It’ll only take a sec.”
“Okay, but hurry.” Gloria clasped her hands, palm sides up.
Lucy helped pull herself up, balancing on one foot as she peered inside the open window.
“What do you see?”
“Keller wasn’t too tidy. The passenger seat is full of fast food wrappers.”
“What about clues? Do you see a bullet hole?”
“No.” Lucy sniffed the air. “Gross. The inside smells disgusting.”
“He was tossing rotting tomatoes out of the plane. Maybe there are a few still inside.”
“I can see a bag of something leaking on the floor. Let me snap a couple quick pictures.” Using her free hand, Lucy removed her cell phone from her pocket. “I hope I’m not too heavy.”
“Actually, you’re light as a feather.” Gloria shifted, keeping a solid grip on her friend’s shoe. “I noticed your clothes are baggy.”
“Eleanor.”
“You’re wearing Eleanor’s clothes?”
“No. I’ve been taking her Pilates classes and trying to eat healthier.”
“All of your hard work is paying off,” Gloria said. “Maybe I need to sign up for one of her classes and start monitoring my eating habits. Look at how great Rose looks.”
“She says she feels like a different person. It’s amazing how much you notice when you pay attention to what you put in your mouth. I’m done.” Lucy hopped down, landing lightly on her feet. “Thanks for the lift.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Back to the diet. Do you have any idea how bad fried foods are, especially if they’re fried in certain oils? Soy, corn and canola are the worst. They have linoleic acid which stays in your body for up to seven years and causes inflammation to the brain.”
“I love fried chicken. Why does everything that tastes so good have to be bad for you?”
“You don’t have to give up your favorite foods. Start experimenting with good oils,” Lucy said. “Avocado oil is one of the best.”
“Avocado oil,” Gloria repeated. “I’ll have to try it. Whatever you’re doing, it’s working.”
“Thanks.” Lucy snapped a few more pictures, this time of the plane’s exterior.
“Hey.”
The women turned to find Liz standing near the gate. “How’s it going?”
“Mission accomplished.” Lucy waved her phone in the air. “We took pictures of the damage and interior of Keller’s plane.”
“Sweet. Did you find anything?”
Gloria and Lucy slipped back through the door and replaced the padlock.
“The inside of the plane stinks to high heaven. The guy isn’t very tidy, and he got lucky.”
“How?”
Gloria held her finger and thumb about an inch apart. “The bullet came this close to hitting the wing which holds the plane’s fuel.”
“If it had hit the aviation fuel which, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, is highly flammable, he could’ve been blown to smithereens and we would be looking at a possible murder charge.” Lucy patted her pocket. “We’ll know more once we have a chance to look at the pictures I took.”
Liz limped ahead of them, cutting through the center of the outdoor seating area.
“What’s wrong with your foot?” Gloria asked.
“Not my foot.” Liz removed her shoe and held it up. “Our eagle eye server was heading in your direction. I distracted her by tripping.”
“Good job.”
“Thanks. Unfortunately, my favorite pair of Jimmy Choo shoes is toast.”
“I’m sure you have dozens of other pairs to take its place.”
“But they were my favorites,” Liz whined.
“Do you want to get Floyd off the investigator’s radar?”
“Of course.”
Gloria made a zipping motion across her lips. “Then put a zip on it.”
They reached the table and found the appetizers were long gone.
“What happened to the food?” Lucy asked.
“Sorry,” Ruth said sheepishly. “We got to talking. Next thing I know, the food is gone. We can order more if you’re hungry.”
“Nah.” Gloria waved dismissively. “I’m ready to get going.”
Lucy consulted her watch. “I installed a large television in my gun safety classroom. I’ll cast the pictures we took of Keller’s plane to the television to see if we can spot anything.”
“Let’s round up our vehicles and all drive over to Lucy’s place,” Dot said.
“Sounds like a plan.” Ruth slurped the rest of her soda and stood.
“Speaking of casting to the screen, I wouldn’t mind watching the skydiving videos. We might have to borrow some of your noise canceling headphones, Lucy, if Gloria is screaming as loud as she claims she was,” Margaret teased.
“Great.” Gloria rolled her eyes. “I’m never going to live down my plunge from the plane.”
“Not for a very long time,” Ruth said. “At least not until the next wild adventure comes along.”