Chapter 55
As we walked, I asked, “Did you really ask to work at the airport? You used to love road patrol.”
“Still do. But the girls are getting older, and with all their activities, I wanted more regular hours. Tuesdays and Thursdays I coach basketball. Mondays and Wednesdays I coach softball. I’m outta here by four every afternoon. Overall, it’s a pretty sweet gig.”
“Is it, or do you just keep telling yourself that?” I smiled to show him I was joking.
“A little of both, I guess,” Vince admitted.
We kept walking through the bustling concourse. I noticed how people stared at the giant man in uniform. Vince didn’t seem to care. He smiled or nodded to virtually everyone we passed.
Once we were at the gate, Vince said to me, “Do you know what this dude looks like?”
I held up my phone and showed him the blurry photo I’d taken from the internet. It showed Alain behind a podium, addressing a group of law enforcers somewhere in Europe.
Vince said, “That looks like one of the questionable photos I see of Bigfoot or UFOs. You know how tall he is? What’s he weigh? You know, the kinds of questions most cops would ask ahead of time.” He gave me a grin. “How’d you ever make sergeant?”
If we weren’t in public, I would’ve turned around and punched him. Not that it would have any effect. Vince wasn’t just big; he was solid.
“Forgive me if I thought standing next to the biggest cop in the airport might tip him off to my presence.”
“Maybe you should make up a sign with his name and hold it like a limo driver.”
The plane landed, and a few minutes later, the first passengers started to deplane. A tall man in his early sixties emerged from the doorway.
I smiled and said, “Alain?”
The man shook his head and kept walking.
Then a short, fit man came out and we went through the same dance without success.
When a portly man wearing a sport coat walked right up to me, limping slightly, I hardly gave him a second glance until he said with a charming French accent, “Would you be Lindsay Boxer?”
When I nodded, he said, “Alain Creasy, at your service.” He gave a little bow and shook my hand. My impression of him immediately switched from chubby and frumpy to courtly and charming.