Midnight Sun (26 page)

Harold
commented
to
his
smiling
bride,
“
It
sure
is
nice
to
have
rich
friends.
”

As
the
party
wore
on,
the
forty-something
newlyweds
broke
themselves
free
from
the
crowd
and
got
into
their
shiny
new
metallic-green
hybrid
SUV,
a
wedding
gift
from
Maureen
’
s
parents.
The highly
efficient
lightweight
vehicle
was
packed
to
its
limit
with
wedding
gifts
and
suitcases
full
of
tropical
clothing
and
suntan
lotion.
Hidden
among
the
Bermuda
shorts
and
Hawaiian
shirts
were
a
few
very
sexy
bits
of
lingerie
that
Maureen
was
sure
would
make
Harold
’
s
heart
race.

They
had
to
be
at
the
airport
no
later
than
nine
o
’
clock
to
make
the
twelve
o
’
clock
red-eye
for
the
first
leg
of
their
journey
to
Bora
Bora
and
two
weeks
of
romance
in
a
bungalow
on
the
water.
As
Harold
pulled
out
of
the
estate
’
s
curved
driveway
onto
Goldenview,
he
scanned
left
for
oncoming
traffic.
At
half
past
eight,
the
twenty-four-hour
summer
sun
was
still
high
in
the
sky.
The
road
was
clear
as
far
he
could
see.
That
sight
was
limited
by
a
dip
in
the
road
fifty
yards
away,
plenty
of
distance
for
someone
to
slow
down.
Harold
put
his
hand
on
Maureen
’
s
thigh,
and
she
caressed
his
fingers
as
he
turned
onto
the
road.
He
looked
up
in
time
to
see
Maureen's
eyes
register
a
spark
of
horror.
He
turned
his
head
just
as
an
old
pickup
truck
flew
up
from
the
dip
in
the
road
and
plowed
into
their
thin-skinned
Hybrid SUV
.

The
explosive
sound
of
metal
on
metal
jolted
the
air
like
a
clap
of
thunder.
The
wedding
celebration
abruptly
ceased.
Men
and
women
rushed
out.
Mothers
gasped
and
grabbed
children
playing
in
the
front
yard,
some
of
whom
had
seen
the
whole
thing.
Thankfully,
the
distance
obscured
more
than
a
glimpse
of
the
gory
details.

Eight-months-pregnant
Trooper
Lieutenant
Lonnie
Johnson
dialed
911
on
her
cellphone
as
she
sprinted
to
the
scene,
the
long,
pleated
skirt
of
her
maternity
dress
flowing
behind
her
like
a
warning
flag.
Men
from
the
party
were
already
in
the
wreckage,
looking
for
the
victims.
There
was
no
one
to
rescue.
What
was
left
of
the
bodies
would
require
a
DNA
lab
to
put
all
the
right
pieces
in
each
coffin.
Torn
limbs
and
bloody
bits
of
internal
organs
lay strewn
across
the
pavement
among
twisted
sheets
of
steel
,
jagged
aluminum
and
sparkling
fragments
of
glass.
The
debris
radiated
out
like a fan
from
the
point
of
impact.