Final Turn: A story of adventure, intrigue and suspense. (15 page)

He spotted Dave over by Jack's sailplane. They were engaged in an animated discussion, apparently over some problem Jack had with his glider. They seemed to have settled it and Dave called out for some help to remove Jack's glider from the line-up. Jack looked distraught even from that distance. Something had forced him to withdraw from the contest. He gathered up his parachute and his maps and threw them with dejection into the cockpit and shut the canopy abruptly. He then helped to push his machine to the side. Jack stood with his hands on his hips and looked around him with a dampened scowl. Dave came over to answer to Roger's wave. He told Dave of his intentions to withdraw, not giving any reasons. Dave had a doubtful look on his face. Two withdrawals in as many minutes, this was unusual. He began to make adjustments to his notes and signaled for some help to remove Roger's airplane from the line-up as well.

Sandy had landed and taxied into position to tow the sailplane two spots in front of Roger's position. He stopped the engine and staggered from the plane with the ashen look of a ghost. He had been overcome by airsickness and was in desperate need of relief. He spotted Roger and came over to seek advice. The importance of launching the gliders quickly had been made clear to him and there was concern in his voice. Roger decided immediately to fill in for Sandy giving him a chance to get out of the way and avoid having to explain to everyone why he was withdrawing.

Just as people came to push Roger's sailplane off to the side, Jack came running up to Roger. He stopped directly in front of him, genuine excitement on his face.

"Why are you withdrawing?" He asked hurriedly. Roger was reticent to tell him about his suspicions about the airplane. It occurred to him that perhaps Jack had come up to him to continue the altercation from the night before. He quickly made his answer.

"Sandy is getting tired. I'm going to replace him for a few trips." Roger started towards the tow plane that had been abandoned by Sandy.

"My radio gave out. I couldn't fix it so I had to pull out." Jack spoke to Roger's back as he followed him. All the rancor of the previous night seemed to have gone from his voice. "If you're really not going to use your glider, can I take it? Just for today. I'll work on my radio tonight."

Roger stopped with a jolt. He turned around and looked at Jack with bewilderment. What was he asking? What was he saying? He was willing to take the sailplane. Roger felt a rush of quilt and shame. He realized that he had made a fool of himself last night. Jack was not a treat to him. His suspicions about the safety pins on his sailplane were completely imagined. He looked at his friend's face and nearly laughed with tears. He was a friend, a real friend, and one who could be trusted. Roger wasn't going to tell Jack why he had decided to pull out of the contest. He just let him believe that he was going to fill in for Sandy. He knew Jack would think him crazy for giving up his spot in the contest to fly the tow plane.  But it didn't matter, not any more it didn't matter.

"Yes, you use it. Go ahead Jack. It's all yours and have a good trip. I have to get going." With that Roger climbed into the tow plane and started it up. Explanations and apologies could wait until later.

Trudy had been sitting with her face to the window since they left the city. Whenever Sam looked across to her, she could see Trudy's hands trembling in her lap. They were just west of Okotoks when Sam spotted a place along the road where she could pull over. She felt an urgent need to get to Roger, but she had to deal with something now.

Trudy looked at her with blankness, and then said, "What are you doing? Are we going back to the city?"

"No we're not." Sam said. "But I'm not going down there to start a big fight between Jack and Roger and us. I want to know what you think. Are you going to question Jack about all of this or what?" She leaned on the steering wheel and looked at Trudy.

Trudy looked cornered, trapped. Her face said she feared the worst for Jack. Sam wanted her to come to grips with that now and not strike out in hot pursuit of something else once they got to the airfield. Trudy pulled the bankbook from her handbag and said, "I'm going to start with this."

"And the accident with Roger?" Sam asked persistently.

"I don't know. I don't know if I can. That is not my idea." Trudy was clearly on the edge of collapsing.

"We'll see if Roger has already talked with him. Otherwise, we'll do it together. All of us. Agreed?" Sam suggested. Trudy ruefully nodded holding the bankbook aimlessly in her hand.

"You're sure?" Sam was not fully convinced.

"I'm sure. I'll try. Let's go. I have to get this over with." Trudy was near tears again. 'No more than I do' Sam thought. She started up the car and steered onto the road again. They had not driven a half-mile before Trudy turned to Sam to speak.

"What did you say about Roger's accident? What happened?"

"He went down after on a long tow out over the foothills. He barely survived. The plane was a total...."

"I know. I know all that. You've told me that before. Why did he crash? What happened?" Trudy had impatience in her voice.

"He crashed because he ran out of fuel. He said the gauges still indicated fuel but there was none. That is what made him suspicious. He is very careful about that kind of thing. Can you imagine Roger running out of fuel in that situation, out over the hills....." Both of them realized at the same instant that these words had passed between them before. Sam's mind raced for the connection. They had been Trudy's words when she told Sam about her father's accident. An accident described by Trudy as equally improbable.

"Where was Lindquist?" Trudy turned herself towards Sam. "Where was he? Was he there?"

"Lindquist? I don't know. Yes, yes he was there. Roger was towing him on that flight." Sam said trying to follow Trudy's meaning.

"It was him! It was Lindquist. Him all the time..." Trudy seemed like she was going into shock. She looked near bursting with anger and frustration. Sam put her hand onto Trudy's arm to attempt to calm her. Now there was no reaction, no repulsion. She did not seem angry with Sam any more. Sam knew Trudy would be desperately looking for anything to point away from Jack. She would have to face it. There was just too much implicating Jack, both for the robbery and Roger's accident. She explained to Trudy, "Lindquist was just there flying his glider. Jack was at the club and had prompted both Roger and Lindquist into making the long tow out over hills. He had time to set up the fuel gauges. He.."

"No!" Trudy pulled on Sam's sleeve with desperation. "No, it wasn't Jack. It wasn't. It was Lindquist. Don't you see? He was there both times. My father's accident was exactly the same. It was Lindquist then too. My father and Roger both ran out of fuel with the fuel gauges still showing plenty in the tanks. Lindquist must have known my father was on to him during the trial. You said it yourself. Lindquist had plenty of reason to kill my father, you told me he did." Trudy was beginning to make sense after all. Maybe it had been Lindquist. Roger had often hinted at a diabolical Lindquist just below the surface of that polished formality. Sam's concern was with Roger and this didn't explain Roger's crash. Lindquist would have no reason to cause that.

"Why would Lindquist try to kill Roger?" She asked Trudy.

"I don't know. Why would Jack want to kill him?" Trudy said with some defensiveness back in her voice. Yet Sam could see that Trudy was considering the question with determination.

Sam said, "Jack knows that Roger has uncovered a lot of information about that armored car robbery. Information that points seriously to Jack. Roger told Jack about it before he really suspected him. He unwittingly gave himself away, set himself up." She put little enthusiasm into that.

"Lindquist would have the same reason." Trudy said suddenly. "He must have found out what Roger was up to. Either from Jack or because Roger had innocently told him as well as Jack...." There was a note of triumph in her voice, cut short by the sudden realization that she was beginning to admit to Jack's involvement. After a shocked pause she continued.

"Lindquist would know that if Roger had linked Jack to the robbery, Jack would have nothing to loose in disclosing Lindquist's blackmailing. The dirty bastard. His poison runs everywhere.' She grabbed Sam's arm with panicked look.  "He may try again. This week. Today. With all those planes there during these contests anything can happen. It's chaos at best. No better time...." Sam suddenly realized what Trudy was saying. Trudy placed her hands on the dashboard in front of her as Sam's foot purposefully pushed the accelerator against the floorboards. Sam knew that Roger would not be wary of Lindquist; he would have his attention on Jack. That would make things even easier for Lindquist.

The car skidded around the corner onto the gravel road leading up to the airfield. They quickly gained speed over the hard gravely surface. A plume of dust rose behind them like smoke from a rocket. Sam's knuckles were white around the wheel. Her eyes scanned the road for ruts and rocks. Trudy was still fastened to the dash with her legs pushing her body hard into the seat.

Roger felt the tug as Jack released from the towrope. He looked back to see Jack in a sharp turn to the right and already in the embrace of enthusiastic lift. He suddenly felt elation for his friend and wished him a good flight in his heart and then over the radio. Jack did not respond and Roger had not really expected that he would. That was all right, they could deal with it later. He would have heard and he would be thinking about it. They had been friends for a long time and a few hours or a few misunderstandings would not stand up against that. Whatever was going on with that robbery, he didn’t give a damn any more, at least not now, not this weekend. He was here to fly, fly he would and he hoped Jack would enjoy the flight in his sailplane. They would re-live it that evening under the stars beside a bonfire.

Roger swung the tow plane into a steep descending turn. He could feel his cheeks pulling against the bones in his face as he built up the g-force by pulling on the control stick and feeding in the throttle to rev up the powerful engine. He enjoyed these fast, hard descents although they were quite unnecessary and frowned upon by most club members, mostly by those who did not have the opportunity to practice them. To hell with them, it was fun.

As he came down to the altitude to enter the circuit pattern to land, he saw a disturbing sight below. Some idiot was careening recklessly up the gravel road towards the airfield. The car looked like the tiny head of a comet, a gigantic tail of dust streaming behind. It had already passed the farmer’s yard and the thick, choking dust drifted eastward to envelop the farmhouse. It had to be someone from the club, someone late for their position in the line-up for launching. No one else would be in such a damned, stupid hurry. The farmer would soon come out to the club on his tractor, miserable and there would be hell to pay. This time they would certainly have to oil the road to keep the peace. The club treasurer would not be pleased. Damned idiot driver!

As Roger taxied into position to hook onto the next sailplane, he saw Sandy come up to the tow plane. He looked as if he has recovered. Clearly he wanted to fly again and that was fine with Roger. He wanted to catch that idiot driver anyway and give him a piece of his mind. People who used this club were going have to learn some common sense rules. Roger already had a defaming speech forming in his mind, he would lace into this guy and give him something to consider. As he walked across to the parking lot to intercept the driver he saw Sam and Trudy come running up to him. He stopped. They looked frantic, came up to him out of breath and disheveled. Was it Sam, driving like that?

“What are you doing here? Was that you racing down that dusty road....” Sam ignored his concern and started in.

“It was Lindquist. Your accident. He’s the one, not Jack. Where is he?” Sam blurted out while taking in the scene around her. Trudy bumped into her from behind as Sam stopped. Roger almost laughed at their bewildered state.

“What are you talking about?” Roger began to see concern in Sam’s eyes. That was not often there. Behind her Trudy stood with an aggravated concern. Then the first of it started to seep in. It wasn’t Jack. Right. He already knew that. Somehow he wished he had been able to tell Sam about that before she had told him. He had an anguished feeling over his accusations towards Jack. He looked to Trudy to sense if Sam maybe had told her about it. It looked like maybe she had. Roger felt a scorpion in his heart.

“Lindquist? What do you mean Lindquist?”

“Lindquist rigged the tow plane before your crash. He did the same thing to Trudy’s father. Where is he? Is he around here?” Sam had a look about her as if she were ready to throttle someone. She was in a more excited state than Roger had ever seen her. He took her arm and led her away from the people milling about the flight line. Trudy followed them to a more secluded spot beside the hanger. Coming down from her excitement, Sam explained what Trudy and she had been discussing. She did so with certainty and conviction, there was even a tremor of relief in her voice. She explained with the speed of one releasing tension. Roger glanced to Trudy. She did not seem as committed to the explanation. Still, her face did indicate confirmation and the same sense urgency. For her it was not so pleasant a tale. It was not so much relief as it was the discovery of a tragedy and a re-awakening of the grief she felt for her father, a horrible uncertainty that could now be put to rest.

Roger’s mind was beginning to numb under the onslaught. Court martial, blackmail, real estate deals, Trudy’s father, Jack’s father at a museum and all the rest of it. Sam had been busy. Lindquist, Lindquist was at the center of all of it. Roger’s gut reaction to him had been right. Why hadn’t he trusted it? Here were Sam and Trudy standing before him with accusations of the most corpulent kind towards Lindquist. High society and all the status in the world be damned, these two could see through it, there was no doubt. Roger recalled all the times he had seen Jack shrink before Lindquist like a slave before his master.

“This is too much.” Roger said to Sam. “Let’s go to my camper. We can sort it out there. I’m not sure I understand all of this.”  They rounded the corner of the hanger and made for Roger’s camper parked down the rise.

As the three of them walked with their backs to the gliding scene, a commotion erupted behind them. People were frenzied, dropped what they were doing and ran to the ground station radio to listen in. Others turned up the radios in their sailplanes and bent to listen with intensity. The place suddenly came to a halt. An electric tension shimmered across the airfield. Roger sensed danger, fear and uncertainty. Everyone sensed it. It was as if someone had suddenly yanked aside the placid veil that normally covered people’s innate fear of flying. 

An excited voice came from the radio speakers, a voice with fear born upon a shrill note of near panic. In spite of its modulations and emotional distortions, Roger recognized it as Sandy’s voice. He was reporting that a glider had gone down. He had watched it spin into the ground with one wing folded back along the fuselage. Sandy was circling the crash site and reported that the glider had gone into the ground at a steep angle at high speed. There was no chance of survival for the pilot and Sandy had not seen a parachute deploy. Sandy could see the registration letters on the wing and he reported those.

Sam had also sensed the danger and sheltered herself inside Roger’s arms; Roger could feel her trembling. Trudy stood beside them, looking incredulously about her. Everyone seemed to be waiting for something to happen. Waiting to know more.

Dave was standing near the ground station radio and called out, “It’s Roger. Roger Blackstone just crashed two miles south. Get someone out there! Now!” Someone ran to the telephone inside to hanger to call an ambulance. Others sprinted to their cars. Two members on their way to a car came to an abrupt halt in front of Roger. They stared at him incredulously, mouths open. Roger looked from them across towards Trudy. She returned a questioned look that quickly passed through confusion, doubt and ended in fear.

“Roger, why are you...Why did they say it was you....” She began.

“Jack borrowed my glider.” Roger blurted out almost involuntarily and felt himself weaken for having said it. He couldn’t believe himself that this was happening. The horrid realization of it began to work on Trudy. Instantly Roger was certain that Sam had told her of his suspicions of Jack. Trudy’s mind was racing. He started to explain to her how Jack had come to use his glider.

In the next instant he knew Trudy had already misjudged it. She shook her head, let out a high-pitched nervous laugh and stopped dead cold, her face white. For a second Roger thought she would collapse. Her eyes held no meaning. Suddenly her face turned red and fire flew into her eyes as she threw herself at him, beating him about the chest and head and screaming unintelligible obscenities and accusations. He turned away from her as Sam took hold of Trudy and pinned her arms against her body, trying to control her and comfort her. Trudy was strong and driven by a raging fury. Sam spun to the ground as Trudy broke free and came at Roger like a wildcat. One fist struck the side of his neck as the other hand clamped like a vice around the hair on the back of his head. Roger reached back, grabbed her wrist and groped in front of his face for the other one. He missed and Trudy’s forearm came hard across his cheekbone doubling everything in his field of vision. Roger hung on to her wrist and spun himself around hard to wrap her about him where he could grab her other arm. He felt a sharp knee smashing into the small of his back as Trudy’s feet came off the ground from his motion. His hand closed about her free wrist just as both of them were struck to the ground. Sam had charged at Trudy, misjudged and thrown her flying weight against both of them. Roger struck the ground flat and heavily with Trudy and Sam on top of him. His wind went out of him in a single ‘whoosh’. He tried to relax, not to gasp for air. He forgot his grip on Trudy and she kicked him in the thigh and rolled away. Roger came to his knees, his mind counting seconds like hours waiting for his breath to return. Through unfocused eyes, he saw Trudy running crazily down the runway. She ran away from everything, into the emptiness of the airfield. Sam was already up and after her with a sprinter’s surge. Several bewildered club members followed with less conviction. Suddenly Trudy stopped, wheeled around and ran straight back towards her pursuers. She threw Sam aside as she flew past and scattered the others like bowling pins. She came straight back at Roger. He gasped, hoping his lungs were ready to work again. With a chest half full of air he came to his feet just as Trudy came up to him. She flew straight past him towards the parking lot. Dave ran out to cut her off. She swung at him, missed and spun halfway around. He stepped against her, wrapped his arms around her and hung on.

Sam was there in an instant. Trudy was exhausted and nearly fell into Sam’s arms. The fight was out of her and she slumped against Sam sobbing, her legs rubbery. Sam guided her towards the parking lot and they got into the back seat of someone’s car that carried them off in the direction of the crash site.

The people left behind stood in silent, bewildered groups. Some looked towards Roger, some stared off in the direction of the crash site. Some aircraft were returning to the field for no apparent reason. No one was thinking of flying. Roger ran to another car that was heading out. He slumped into an available seat.