Test Pilot's Daughter: Revenge (29 page)

“
That’s all we have to say right now!” Heather shouted back as they shoved their way through the crowd.

Customs and police were waiting behind the press.

“
Well, just one more question then,” screamed a persistent reporter. “What caused the death of the pilot?”

The mob quieted to hear the answer. Christina stopped and turned. “Uhhh . . . do we look like doctors? We have no way of knowing that. He just died instantly without a word.” Her gut ached once again as she envisioned Weston sitting in front of his TV, clapping his hands with joy.

When they were done with the authorities, the girls made a number of phone calls. Heather talked with her parents, Christina called her dad and Billy’s parents showed up in the terminal. The ordeal had sealed a bond between the three, and it was hard to say goodbye. The time had come for the girls to part company with Billy, a fifteen-year-old kid who now seemed much older. They walked him to the lobby to find his parents. After all the screams and crying of elation had settled down, Christina spoke to them.

“
Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, you should know that your son literally saved our lives at least three times. He was incredibly courageous. We owe a lot to this young man.” Christina wanted to make sure he got full credit for his heroic deeds. “You need to make sure he gets that Eagle Scout rating. He could teach Eagle Scouts a thing or two.”

Heather supported her case putting her arm around Billy. “If you’re going to be stranded on an island, this is the guy you want with you. William, I’ll never forget what you did.”

“
Do you think I could come up to Atlanta and visit sometime?” Billy asked.

“
You bet,” answered Heather.

“
How about if we come to West Palm and visit you?” Christina added with every intention to follow up on the promise.

Billy’s mother looked at the girls with wet, shifty eyes. She seemed anxious to get him out of there and left as soon as they were free.

Christina suggested that Heather call Weston.

“
Why don’t you call him now and try to gauge his demeanor before he has a chance to prepare something?”

“
I can’t. What would I say?”

“
Just say, ‘Hello, this is Heather.’ See how he reacts to the fact that you’re still alive. I expect he’ll shit a brick. Then go have that ring checked.”

Christina tried to call Lazer and discovered he was already on his way in a borrowed plane to pick them up. While they waited, she had to make
the
phone call, the one she had been dreading since they landed.

“
Hello.” It was clear the woman had been crying.

“
Mrs. Ward, this is Christina Matthews. I guess you’ve seen the news.”

“
Yes,” she said sobbing, “we just saw you on CNN. What happened to Jessica?”

“
I don’t know how to tell you this,” Christina said, trying to clear her throat. “I’m afraid she didn’t make it. I’m afraid Jessica was killed.”

“
Oh, my God! So it’s true?” her mother wailed. She finally calmed down and asked. “How. . .how did she die?”

“
Well, she died a hero. We were attacked by two drug runners. They were going to kill us all and try to take the plane. One of them was hurting Heather, and Jessica managed to get free and kill him.”

“
Was she tortured or. . .raped?”

“
No, they tied her up, but she managed to get free and stab the guy. She picked up his gun and shot the other one. Unfortunately, she was shot at the same time. She died instantly.” Christina didn’t want to go into any more detail.

“
Where’s my baby’s body?”

“
We buried her on the island. I was able to get the exact longitude and latitude off the GPS, and I have given it to the authorities. Probably won’t be able to get in there though, not until after the hurricane passes. God knows if anything will be left.”

“
But where were
you
. . .when she was killed? Why didn’t
you
help her?”

Christina choked. She wasn’t ready for that. She stammered a response, “Well. . .well, Billy and I were. . .looking for water. We heard the shots. . .and came running. . .but it was too late. I am sooo sorry I couldn’t help her. She died in my arms. She said, ‘Tell my mom I love her.’”

Her mother started bawling again. Finally, she said, “Christina, thank you so much for calling. I know this must have been difficult. I’m glad. . .I’m glad you and Heather are still alive. Please stay in touch.”

“
Thanks, I will. I figured you’d hear all about it on the news, and the way the media distorts things, I just wanted to make sure you knew the truth, exactly what happened. Those guys were going to kill us. Jessica sacrificed her life for ours.” She felt a slice of pain deep in her chest, a very familiar pain.

Jessica’s mom started wailing again, and Christina heard the phone click. As she ended the call, she turned to see Lazer coming down the hallway and ran into his arms.

Chapter Twenty-One

It was perfect weather, the calm before the storm. Heather stared out the window of the twin Bonanza worried about her fiancé. A chill ran up her spine and she trembled. Before flying back to Atlanta, Lazer dropped Heather off at the Athens airport, and they said their goodbyes. Although there was still a chill in the relationship between the girls, old wounds seemed to fade.

Heather knew exactly what she had to do. Only guessing what Christina had in mind, she feared the worst. She had to find some convincing evidence of Weston’s innocence,
and fast!
As soon as she got in her car, she worked up the nerve to go see him. First, she had to look him in the eyes and hear what he had to say. She drove across town with great trepidation and found his car in the parking lot. With some hesitation, she sucked it in and went right to his door ringing the bell. There was a long delay, so she rang it again and again. Finally, she heard someone shouting.

“
Okay! Okay!
Goddammit,
I’m coming!”

The door opened and there stood Weston in his bathrobe; his hair was a tangled mess. He looked at Heather like she was someone else, someone selling Girl Sout cookies. Squinting, he moved his face closer and looked again. It was as though he had seen a ghost, and suddenly he turned white as a sheet. She didn’t say a word. He seemed only semi-conscious, like he was wasted on booze. He took a wobbly step backwards and suddenly appeared as if he might faint. She just stood there and waited.

“
Mah Gawd! Heather? Is it. . .I thought. . .you were. . .” he stuttered.

“
Dead?” she filled it in.
“
Why would you think that? Haven’t you seen the news?” she asked calmly.

“
No, as a matter of fact, I’ve been in bed. I’ve been. . .uh, sick. You really should’ve called. I got a terrible flu.” All of a sudden his expression changed; he looked panicked. He swung the door to, leaving just a crack.

She wondered why he wasn’t jumping for joy, why he didn’t throw his arms around her, why she was still outside. Those weren’t the words she expected, not the words of a man whose lover had been lost for weeks, not the words of a man whose fiancée materialized out of thin air. Weston was his own judge and jury. By the look in his eyes peering through the crack in the door, she knew. He gave his own verdict:
guilty as charged!
Her knees buckled.

Before he could say anything else, she heard a voice from the bedroom. It was the high pitched voice of a child, a female child with a Spanish accent.

“
Doctor Esteban. . .vengase, por favor.”

Heather was confused and, at the same time, boiling mad, but most of all she was overcome by curiosity. She forced her way in the door and stomped into his apartment. Weston had no children, and she couldn’t imagine what child would be in his bedroom. Trying to block her path, he wobbled in a drugged stupor. She shoved him out of the way and marched over to the bedroom. What she saw kicked her in the gut. She stood there sucking the air for breath. A young girl, no more than thirteen, lay naked in his bed. There were sex toys scattered about and porn on the TV. She gasped with terror when she focused on the stark image of blood stains on the white sheet.

“
Que paso? Como se llama?” the girl asked, pulling the covers up to her neck.

Without saying a word, Heather turned and ran for the front door. She couldn’t even look at him; she couldn’t breath; she couldn’t believe the abject horror of the monster she once loved.

“
Heather, wait,” he yelled. “It’s not what you think. There’s an explanation.
Please!
”

Out by the car, nausea took control. Her knees crashed to the pavement, and she heaved a stream of vomit which splattered on the surface of the parking lot. Her stomach cramped, and she heaved again. At that moment, she couldn’t imagine how she had come to love such a fiend. Between retching gags, she looked at her hand and noticed the engagement ring. She took it off and put it in a pocket of her purse. At last, her stomach settled long enough to stand up and enter the car. She had to get out of that evil place, a place of ghouls and nightmares.

Heather was crying so hard she could barely see to drive. Remembering what Christina had said, she couldn’t help but wonder if the ring was real. She looked like hell, but for once in her life, she didn’t care. As she drove through downtown Athens, she saw a sign; it was a jewelry store. She had to know. Wiping the mascara off her cheeks, she tried to get it together. She got out of the car, walked in and asked for the manager.

A large man with a pencil-thin mustache came out from the back room.

“
A friend of mine got this ring, and I thought it looked suspicious. Would you be so kind to take a look and give me a rough appraisal?”

The floor manager gave her an inquisitive look, raising one eyebrow. He leered at her like he was going to appraise her chest instead of the diamond.

“
Sure, let me see,” he said with a big smile.

He looked it over with his magnifying glass, then put it under a microscope. Finally, he put some kind of tool up against the metal in the ring. After no more than a minute he walked back and handed it to her. “Well, little lady, it’s the real thing all right. Right there you got yourself a very high quality Zirconium, mounted on a gold plated band. I estimate its value at about $25.”

Heather choked, flushed with embarrassment. Not only was she totally humiliated, she was irate with herself for being such a fool.
That bastard!
Her mind was stunned, but her heart was destroyed. Betrayed by the man who had made her feel so special, a man she defended over her best friend’s accusations, Heather sank into the depths of depression.

“
My friend will be very disappointed to hear that,” she said.

The manager seemed to sense her reaction. He ogled her again staring at her low-cut blouse. “Now who did you say this friend of yours was? Maybe I could meet her. Bet I could get her a better ring than that.”

“
No, it doesn’t matter. Thank you anyway.”

He put his hand softly on her wrist.

“
No problem, my dear. Would you like to come in the back, and I’ll show you how to tell a real diamond from a fake?”

All traces of self esteem vanished. She felt just like a side of beef hanging on the inspection rack. “No, I gotta go.” She jerked her arm away and ran for the door.

“
Well, you just come back and see me any time,” the man cackled.

Later that night, after drinking a whole bottle of wine, she still couldn’t sleep. She called Christina’s dorm room, but no one answered. She called Lazer’s apartment, and it rang and rang. Finally, someone picked up.

“
Huh?”