Chapter Ten.
Amy
Willow Michaelson wasn’t what I expected an FBI ASAC to look like. She was certainly beautiful, but boasted tattoos and a couple of piercings. When Willow arrived, she was dressed in jeans, a tee, and sneakers, not a cheap suit in sight. She greeted Inglorious with a big hug, then Nanci, before heading over to our table.
“How are you doing, Amy?” Willow asked.
“Coping, I think, is the best answer.”
“It takes time, I know,” Willow said, and for a moment wore a distant look. I recognised that emptiness. Willow had lost someone she loved, too.
“Hey, are you alright?” Nanci murmured, leaning over and checking.
“Yeah, fine.” Willow forced a smile to her lips. “Okay, what do you know?”
“Fuck all. The feds aren’t telling us anything. But Monroe and Sully had Amy trying to ID some guy this morning,” Vortex replied.
“Damn assholes, I don’t understand why the JTTF has to act like this. Right, the NTSB has ruled there was nothing wrong with the zeppelin. The fire suppression systems kicked in, but the inferno couldn’t be controlled. They discovered flash marks on the steel girders. ATF has agreed that there was one large bomb and then several smaller ones. That’s why the Titanic of the Skies blew as she did.”
I drew a deep breath. Someone had planted bombs. Natasha’s death hadn’t been because of an accident but had been murder. Somebody had deliberately killed her.
“Amy?” Vortex murmured, concerned.
“Carry on,” I forced out.
“We’ve identified all the bodies, but a member of staff was missing, Justin Havers. It took the JTTF a week to realise this. They tracked down Justin and found him at home. He’d been dead for at least a fortnight. An autopsy is being carried out now. Justin’s family stated that he was on one of the sister ships, the Kalani of the Skies, not the Titanic.
“However, the company has proved he requested a transfer six weeks ago to the Titanic. Justin’s parents also mentioned they believed he’d met somebody, as he’s been really upbeat the last time they’d spoken.”
“Was he involved?” Vortex asked.
“No. Someone took his place and killed him. They got photos of the guy who pretended to be Justin Havers; those are what Monroe and Sully would have shown you. His identity remains unknown, like his motives. He is our main suspect right now, and we’re missing a body. It could be that he jumped from the zeppelin before it crashed, or he parachuted out during the explosions. We don’t know yet.” Willow ran a hand through her hair.
“Shit,” Inglorious ground out.
“That’s an understatement, my friend,” Willow replied.
“What’s with the two dead survivors? There’s something suspicious about their deaths,” Vortex said, and I jolted.
“Nathan Coleman hanged himself, but there was a wound on the back of his head, and the coroner discovered finger marks around his neck. Coleman was hit, strangled, and then hung when he couldn’t defend himself. His family insists the suicide note isn’t his writing. They’re adamant he wouldn’t have done this because he’d not even buried his wife and child yet.”
“Oh God,” I exclaimed as my hand covered my mouth.
“Nicole Tomson was another murder staged to look like a suicide. She had two broken legs, and yet we’re meant to believe she dragged herself out to the car and gassed herself. It didn’t happen,” Willow said empathically.
“What is this? The perp tying up loose ends, or someone making this a real-life version of those movies?” Inglorious asked.
“We’ve no idea. JTTF are supposed to be working with me, but they keep creating barriers. I’m finding out things later than I should,” Willow replied.
“Because they know you’ll feed back to us,” Vortex said, and Willow nodded.
“What now? We’re opening in a few days, should we go ahead? Customers have booked the rooms the Feds are staying in. They need to leave,” Inglorious stated.
“They’ll fight that,” Willow responded, and Inglorious scowled. “Are both hotels full?”
“Yes. We heavily promoted the winter sports and events; we have no openings for the next five months.”
“Move the agents into the houses. They’re not all derelict. If we get a team on them, they can smarten them up and do any repairs. The Feds can have them,” Vortex suggested.
