Bogey, Tanner, and Benji stood outside the corporate offices for Coastal Airways. It was a massive metal warehouse structure with only a few windows.
“This feels wrong,” frowned Bogey.
“I’ve damn sure never seen a commercial airline housed in a place that looked like this,” said Benji. “Let’s see if we can find Mr. Harvey.”
They were surprised that the front door had no security, camera, or alert attached to it. The three men just walked inside and stood directly in the open hangar area. There were three small jets parked inside, all getting worked on by mechanics.
“Are you fucking with me right now?” murmured Tanner. “Anyone could come in here and screw with the planes.”
“Hey! Are you guys the new mechanics?” yelled a man walking toward them. He appeared to be in his early fifties and long since removed from a gym or salad. The heavy belly hung over his belt, the buttons on his shirt straining with their last thread to hold the shirt closed.
“No. We’re here to see Daniel Harvey.”
“That’s me. What do you want?” he asked. The three men stared at one another then back at the man.
“You know, for someone who is allegedly the human resources manager for flight crews you have a shitty attitude. I can’t believe anyone would want to work here,” said Bogey.
Daniel stepped back, staring at the men.
“Who are you? What do you want? We’re not hiring for pilots right now.”
“We’re not pilots, although we’ve been known to fly a few things.” Daniel stared at him, then the other two men. “Is there somewhere we can speak privately?”
“Sure,” he nodded. He turned and marched toward an office at the back of the building. The office had a full scape of windows with great views of the runways and all the planes coming and going. He took his seat, shuffling papers mindlessly. Taking a sip of what appeared to be cold coffee, he finally looked up at them.
“Okay. What can I do for you?” he said nervously. Bogey took a deep breath and stared at the man wondering how in the hell he got this job.
“We’re trying to figure out why you would fire a stellar flight attendant like April Lewis,” said Tanner.
“We’re done,” said the man standing as if to dismiss them. None of the men moved. Daniel stared at the three men, beads of sweat forming above his lip. “I said we’re done.”
“We will be done when you answer our questions and I think we’ll start with your attitude with her when she reported that she’d been kidnapped and was on the opposite side of the country.”
“You’re one of her grandfather’s minions,” he scowled. “Old man is dead but still giving me headaches.” Benji slammed his hands on the desk towering over the fat man.
“He was a decorated colonel in the United States Army and you will speak respectfully of him.” Daniel said nothing just staring at the men. “We aren’t working for Colonel Lewis, nor are we in the Army.”
“Listen, I just think it was a bunch of bullshit. She probably hooked up with some passenger and flew off to catch some sun.”
“She flies a route through Florida and Mexico. I think she’s exposed to plenty of sun,” said Bogey. “She was kidnapped and the kidnapper was dragging her on the beach when our friends found her. She was drugged, hit over the head, and obviously confused.”
“I-I don’t know anything about that,” he said emphatically.
“See, I think you’re lying,” said Tanner. “In fact, I’m sure of it. Liars give themselves away. The sweating above the lip, the trembling hands and tremors in your cheeks. Even the way you’re sitting at your desk, as if you’re protecting something.”
Daniel looked at his hands, then around the desk as if he’d find what they were seeing.
“There’s nothing to be done about it now. She’s fired. She needs to return her airline uniform and suitcase.”
“The suitcases aren’t issued by the airline,” said Bogey. “Flight attendants buy them.”
“H-hers was broken. It was broken and we think it belonged to someone else,” he stammered.
“You think? Or you know?” asked Bogey. “Never mind. It was rhetorical. You know, for someone who had one flight attendant kidnapped and another murdered in his car, you seem incredibly relaxed. I’d be worried about my own safety.”
“I have nothing to be worried about. The police are handling Jerry’s death and the issue with April is done.”
“It’s done alright. We’ve made sure of that but we’re not done. We want to know who you’re selling flight information to,” said Benji calmly.
