Accidents Waiting to Happen (22 page)

“No, I’m good, Jack.”

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Why aren’t you working?” Josh asked.
 
“Where is everyone?”

“I’m not sure there’s much point.
 
The FAA is blaming me for the crash and they’re likely to take action against me.
 
They’ll probably close me down.”
 
Murphy doodled on his desk blotter with a pencil, unaware of what he drew.
 

“But people rely on you.”

“Well, that’s not a very wise thing to do.
 
Letting me touch their birds is likely to get them killed,” the mechanic said, pointedly.

“Jack.”

“Jack, nothing.
 
One of my planes went and killed someone.”

Josh let the subject die.
 
Murphy wasn’t going to see sense right now.

“What do you say to their report that you left the oil cooler hoses loose and tail section bolts without split pins?”
 
Josh noticed Murphy was unaware he now doodled on an invoice on his desk and not the blotter.

“I don’t believe it.”
 
Murphy threw the pencil down.
 
It went skittering across the desk and onto the floor.
 
“I always do a wrench check after servicing, I even do an engine run to make sure everything is sealing.
 
The oil cooler hoses shouldn’t have been loose in the first place because I had no reason to take them off.
 
What they found are fundamental errors that no mechanic would make.
 
If I were that bad I wouldn’t have been surprised if the prop fell off.”

“So did you undo then tighten the hose connections?”

“No.
 
I didn’t need to.
 
The same goes for the elevator and rudder controls.
 
I had no need to touch the split pins.
 
The pins were in good shape.
 
I only tighten them when there is movement.”

“How do you know whether there’s movement?” Josh asked.

“I paint a white line across the nut and bolt.
 
If the white lines aren’t matched up then the bolt has moved, but they were all lined up.
 
I swear to you that aircraft left me in better condition than it did the day it left the factory.”

Murphy’s explanation disturbed Josh.
 
Murphy was an honest man and a good mechanic.
 
Josh believed his story.
 
He was sure he’d done everything correctly and hadn’t touched the parts of the aircraft that had caused the crash.
 
Josh’s paranoia antenna twitched.
 
Why was he getting the feeling that Mark Keegan’s death wasn’t an accident?

“The thing is, in the twenty-five years I’ve been involved with aircraft, I’ve never known the bolts or the hose connections to come undone before.”
 
Murphy spoke, as if he were in the witness box.
 
With the way things were going, he would have to be before long.

An uncomfortable silence wedged itself between the two men.

Josh knew no more could be learned.
 
He stood up and offered his hand to the distraught mechanic.
 
“Thanks for talking to me, Jack.
 
I really appreciate it.
 
For what it’s worth, I don’t blame you for what happened to Mark.”

Murphy shrugged.

Josh left Murphy’s office and headed out of the shade of the hangar for the harsh brightness of the day.
 
He was only halfway to the hangar doors when Murphy called to his back.
 
He stopped and turned to face him.

“If I didn’t know better,” he paused.
 
“I would say that someone wanted that plane to go down.”
 
Ominously, Murphy’s words echoed throughout the hangar, ricocheting off the walls like bullets, each one burying itself in Josh.

***

Josh opened the front door to let Abby and Wiener into the house.
 
He unclasped the dog’s leash from his collar and hung it on a coat hook.
 
The dachshund shook himself and trotted over to his water bowl.
 
The dog was tired after his walk to the park and thirty minutes of chasing a ball around.

Abby rolled a squeaky ball after the dog.
 
“We’re home,” she called.

Kate came halfway down the stairs.
 
“You’re just in time.
 
I’m running a bath for my little girl.”

“Oh.
 
Do I have to?” Abby whined.

“Yes.
 
If you don’t, I don’t think we can let you stay up this late on vacation.”
 
Kate kept her tone firm, but not unkind.
 
She just negotiated her position with her daughter.
 
It was a regular occasion for Abby to take Wiener for an evening walk with one of them but because Abby was on spring break Josh had taken them late, after nine o’clock.

“Dad.”
 
Abby turned to Josh for support.

“I think your mother’s right.
 
A bath before bed.”
 
He paused.
 
“Or you could go to bed now.
 
Your choice?”

The child thought for a moment.
 
“I’ll have a bath.”

“Good girl,” Josh said.

Turning on her heel, Abby ran up the stairs, following her mother.

Josh sat in the living room reading a book and could hear the noise of splashing and giggling coming from the upstairs bathroom.
 
Wiener sat on the floor, in front of Josh, washing his tufted feet.
 
The phone rang and Josh picked up the cordless handset from the coffee table.

“Hello,” he said.

“Josh, it’s Bob.
 
Have you got the television on?”
 
Bob’s tone was urgent.
 

“No, I was reading.
 
Is everything okay?
 
You sound-”

Bob cut him off.
 
“Turn on Channel 3.
 
Look at the news.
 
It’s on the TV.”

Whatever it was, it was bound to be bad news.
 
Josh looked at the remote control on the coffee table and hesitated.
 
If he didn’t turn the television on he would be ignorant.
 
Ignorance sounded nice.

“Hold on, Bob.
 
Let me turn the TV on.”
 

Channel 3 was in the middle of a commercial break.

“Bob, what am I meant to be watching?”
 

“It was on the headlines.
 
It’s the next story up.”

“Can’t you just tell me?”

“Here it comes.”

The commercials ended and the cameras went to the news anchor, a sharp looking black man in his thirties with a pencil moustache and glasses.

“We have a breaking story of corruption in the building industry.
 
An anonymous source contacted the station this evening and made the allegation that the Mountain Vista apartments in Dixon were built to unsafe construction standards.
 
We don’t have exact details, as yet, but Channel 3 will be investigating all angles of this claim when we receive more information.
 
We now go live to Howard Decker outside Mountain Vista apartments in Dixon,” the anchor said.

The television image switched from inside the studio to the reporter illuminated by television and security lights.
 
He stood outside the apartments, kept out by security gates.
 
The reporter looked serious and concerned at the same time.
 
He was conservatively dressed in a blue suit and white shirt.

“Thanks, Doug.
 
Howard Decker reporting live from the Mountain Vista apartments in Dixon.
 
The apartments behind me were built eight years ago.
 
The development consists of over three hundred apartments and condos.
 
The anonymous informant alleges the apartments were built to inferior standards to save money.

“Our informant, who wishes to remain nameless, says they have information detailing the major players involved and the shortcuts made.

“We’ve spoken to some concerned occupants who didn’t want to be filmed tonight but expressed their concern at the revelation.
 
We, of course, will be pressing for an investigation by the apartment management company to establish the validity of the claim made exclusively to Channel 3.
 
This is Howard Decker reporting live from Dixon.
 
Back to you, Doug.”
 
Howard Decker’s serious face immediately brightened as he switched on a broad smile at the end of his report.

The screen returned to the grave looking anchor.
 
“A disturbing story, let’s hope we can get to the bottom of it.
 
Debbie?”

The camera went to the female co-anchor and she began a story about a farming policy going through the state capitol.
 
Josh turned off the television before she could finish.

“Josh, is that the apartment complex you were telling me about?”
 

Josh didn’t answer.

“Josh, are you there?”

Josh had known as soon as they mentioned the name of the apartments that it was the construction project he had taken the bribe on.
 
He couldn’t believe Bell had gone and done it.
 
A chill ran through him, as if a chunk of ice circulated through his bloodstream.
 
Gooseflesh broke out along his arms and down his back.
 
Josh fell back onto the couch, relieved to be sitting down.
 

Bob was still asking if he was there.
 
Josh interrupted him.
 
“Yeah, that’s the project I worked on.”

“Do you think it was Bell?”

“It wouldn’t be anyone else.
 
She came around after I came back from Forget-me-nots.
 
She said if I refused to play along with her, she would do something to hurt me.”

“At least she didn’t mention any names.”

“This is a warning, she will if I don’t comply with her demands.”

“Which are what?”

“I have no idea, but I’m sure I’ll find out.”

 
“Hey, man.
 
Are you okay?” Bob said.
 
“You don’t sound good.”

“Everything just seems to be going to hell.
 
I think I’m losing this one.”

“Well, if you feel that way you might as well give up and concede defeat.
 
Tell Kate about the blackmail and the affair, walk into the cops and tell them about the kickback and tell Bell to go fuck herself,” Bob said sharply.

Josh didn’t understand Bob’s hostility and the change in character shocked him.
 
“What’s crawled up your ass?” he asked.

“You.
 
You’ve surrendered.”

“I haven’t given up.”

“Then don’t act like it.
 
And if you need my help, call me.
 
I’m here for you.
 
But don’t give up on me and more importantly don’t give up on you.
 
You’ve got to bring this mess to a close.”

Bob was right.
 
It was time to drop the self-pity.
 
He had too much to lose by giving up.

“Thanks, Bob.
 
I’ll be talking to you.”
 
Josh hung up.

“Josh, is everything okay down there?” Kate called from the upstairs landing.

“It’s nothing.
 
Everything’s going to be okay,” he said, but didn’t know if he believed it.
 

Chapter Sixteen

The professional sat in his rental car parked several houses down the street from Margaret Macey’s ranch home.
 
He tutted his disapproval.
 

“Margaret, Margaret, Margaret, what have you done?” he asked.