“He didn’t
Wilkes sighed dramatically. “Wounded again, Jill. Now, you’ll all have to excuse me. Detective Harriman has been waiting for me for half an hour.”
“You’re with the police?” Jill asked Frank.
“He’s not in trouble, is he?” one of the young men asked at nearly the same time.
“Yes, he’s with the police,” Wilkes said, unlocking his office door. “No, I am not in trouble — and yes, we’d like some privacy.” He smiled. “Scram.”
They invited him to join them at the on-campus beer bar when he finished, invited Frank, too. Wilkes took a rain check, reminding them that he still needed to pack for the conference. Finally, after a prolonged chorus of “Bon voyage,” “Are you sure you don’t need a ride to the airport?” and “Good night, Dr. Wilkes,” they left.
“I apologize again,” Wilkes said to Frank, inviting him to take a seat in the tiny but neatly organized office. “Now, how can I help you?”
“I need your expertise on a matter concerning an open case, but I have to ask that this matter remain absolutely confidential.”
“Certainly, I understand — otherwise your investigation may suffer. I promise I won’t discuss this with anyone else.”
Frank hesitated, then said, “Ben said you’re the organizer of the paper airplane contest on campus — is that true?”
Wilkes was openly surprised. “Yes. It’s one of the School of Engineering’s contributions to the university’s Spring Festival. Mercury Aircraft gives cash prizes to the winners. It’s also an assignment in some courses.”
“So it isn’t just for fun?”
“Oh, no. I mean to say, it’s fun, but there is a lot more to it than that. A paper airplane contest is a great way to teach the students about aerodynamics — lift and drag, the effect of thermals, stabilizer and wing design — and much more. For many of them, it’s the first time they’ve designed something as part of a team. Coming up with an original design is always harder than they imagine it will be.”
“Are there specialists in this field? Expert paper airplane builders?”
“Yes, absolutely. May I ask why you need one?”
“You know of the attack on one of our captains?”
Wilkes nodded. “I read about it — horrible. A remote-controlled lift toppled bricks onto him, right? To be honest, when Ben called, I thought you might have wanted me to examine that device.”
“That might not be a bad idea, but I’m here tonight because of a paper airplane. The captain had this one in his pocket.” Frank extended the box to Wilkes. “We think it was used as a lure, so that he was positioned where the bricks would fall — but since the plane is so unusual, I wondered if it was also a signature of sorts. I’m hoping you might recognize the style.”
Wilkes opened the box and took the plane out, then shook his head. “Unfortunately, I do recognize it.”
“Unfortunately?”
“This is a textbook paper airplane, I’m afraid. Literally.” He set the box on his desk, then scanned his bookshelf. He pulled out an oversize paperback, a book called
“So it’s not unique,” Frank said, disappointed.
“Dinterman’s Stunt Flyer,” Wilkes said. “I would have given a failing grade to the student who turned this in — an F for plagiarism and for failing to make progress in the class. We show them how to make this one during the first week of the course. We even demonstrate it at the festival.”
“So dozens of people know how to make this?”
“More than dozens, I’m afraid,” Wilkes said ruefully. “A little over a hundred at the very least.”
Frank studied the folding instructions in the book for a moment, then said, “This looks like origami — aerodynamic origami. It can’t be that easy to learn.”
“Oh, no — most people won’t fold it as precisely as is necessary. I will say this much for your airplane maker — he or she is patient and loves precision. You can see that in the quality of the work.”
“Tell me more about this Stunt Flyer — what is it supposed to do?”
“Acrobatics. The plane is designed to slowly loop its way downward from the height at which it is launched. It’s not designed for distance, but you won’t have to run after it, and it stays in the air longer than most.”
“So it would be ideal for use in an enclosed space,” Frank said.
“Yes.”
“How many paper airplane contests are there each year — locally, in Las Piernas?”
“In Las Piernas? One. Ours. This year’s was our third event.”
“Only open to students?”
“No — anyone can enter. The event is actually several contests — prizes for distance, duration — that’s time aloft — aerial acrobatics, and so on. Within each, there are categories of competition. We have faculty, student, and public competitions. The same man takes the faculty competition every year, so we may start handicapping.”
“You?”
