Once the captain gave us the all-clear, I jumped into action. I took orders in my section, then prepared my tray for their delivery. Even at ten o'clock in the morning, the alcohol flowed freely among the businessmen, the majority of our clientele. Once everyone had been served, I called the captain and received permission to bring Mikey up front.
“Are you ready?” I asked, noting he still sat in his chair with his seatbelt on. “It looks like you've earned your trip to the cockpit.”
“Yes!” he shouted, trying to wiggle free from his confines.
“The captain says you can't yell,” I said as his mom unlatched his seatbelt. “So let's talk quietly, not in loud voices, okay?”
He hurried out into the aisle and I took his hand to lead him up to the front of the plane. I held on tight to keep the little terror from running. When we reached the cockpit, I knocked gently and wasn't surprised to find Penny on the other side.
“Who is this?” she asked, eyeing the kid.
Monster Mikey.
“This is Mikey, and he's been such a good boy I told him he could meet the captain and see the cockpit.”
“Wonderful!” Penny exclaimed. “We love rewarding nice children, don't we?”
“Yes, we do.”
The captain turned and waved to me, then said, “Come on in, Mikey! I'll show you around.”
“I'll watch him,” Penny said as the kid scooted by her. “Where is his seat?”
“22-D,” I replied, realizing she was dismissing me. She wanted the captains to herself, which was fine with me. I'd get a head start on the clean-up.
As I smiled, chatted, and poured drinks for my customers, I was able to forget about Charles for a little bit, and some semblance of normalcy returned. Yet, the idea of going back to my apartment alone scared me to death.
Who had killed Charles? And more importantly, why? Had it been random, and if so, were Donna and I their next potential victims?
Chapter 4
As my day wore on, I kept a cup of coffee on hand while my energy waned considerably. I sighed with disappointment as we landed in Dallas only to discover I wouldn't be doing any sightseeing during my layover due to the torrential rain. I spent my layover in the airport with more hot coffee. At least I had a book to keep me company.
Once everyone was off the plane, Beth and I disembarked before Penny and the rest of the crew. We smiled as we walked through the airport and waved at the little kids.
“My feet are killing me,” she said between gritted teeth. “Do you want to grab a quick bite? I'm on my way to Chicago in an hour.”
“Sure,” I said. “I'd like that.” Anything to keep my mind off the murder.
We stopped at one of the restaurants and were seated right away. I ordered more coffee and decided on a turkey sandwich with a side-salad. That would definitely keep me tied over until I got home, and maybe even until the next morning.
“I'll have the burger and a slice of cherry pie,” Beth said to the waitress. “Actually, make it two pieces of pie.”
I held my tongue and drank some coffee. Beth’s job may be on the line, but it wasn't my place to police her about her weight.
We had a wonderful lunch gossiping about our co-workers and she shared her mother had been sick, which caused her a lot of stress.
“What can I say?” she said, stabbing her fork into the second piece of pie. “I'm a stress eater.”
I sipped my coffee as she devoured the cherry goodness.
“Tell me what's going on with you, Patty. You said something earlier about your neighbor being killed? That sounds absolutely horrible. Were you close?”
Frankly, I'd rather hear about her sick mother than discuss my murdered neighbor, but on the other hand, perhaps it would be good for me to talk about it. It sat around me heavily, like an uncomfortable, wet blanket.
“We were friendly,” I said. “He watched our cat while we worked. He was a good guy.”
“Well, who do you think did it?”
The question caught me by surprise. Why would I consider who had committed the murder? Wasn't that the police's job?
“I... I don't know.”
“You have to have some idea!” Beth said. “Think about it! Who do you think killed him?”
“Well, he was a private man,” I said. “As I mentioned, we were friendly, but not close.”
“I don't believe you, Patty! Think!”
As I recalled my interview with the detective, I realized I did have a suspect list, and my heart rate picked up as my excitement grew. “Well, there was an anti-war protest going on. Someone could have snuck upstairs from that, especially since a garbage can was lit on fire in the lobby. Charles, my neighbor, was a veteran.”
“Oh, my goodness. Why would a bunch of anti-war protestors kill him?”
“As I said, he was a veteran. You know how they treat veterans.”
“Yes. It's disgraceful. Who else besides a nameless, faceless demonstrator?”
“One of our neighbors downstairs is an anti-war protestor. He and Charles have had words in the past.”
“That sounds like a promising lead. At least it's not some faceless demonstrator. Who else?”
“Well, the police asked me about friends and people he dated. There are a few guys that come around, and he was dating a woman named Karen. But then, they also found divorce papers in his apartment.”
Beth gasped and sat back in her chair, shaking her head. “He wasn't divorced and dating someone else?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, my. That's absolutely appalling.”
“Agreed. I was shocked to learn about it.”
“And you don't know the friends?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It was almost
