Ring of Lies (51 page)

The storm passed on, but Grace found it impossible to sleep.
She rolled over, and deliberately shut Jack out of her mind, preferring instead to wonder if Olivia had her baby.
But thinking of babies focused her mind once more on Jack, and made her
question
why he hadn’t told her about
his wife and daughter.

Outside, palm trees rustled in the
lingering
breeze, a sliver of moonlight filtered through the gap in the drapes.
As
her
eyelids grew heavy with sleep, it was Jack she dreamed of, not Daniel.

The following morning, e
vidence of the ferocity of the storm
lay all around.
T
wo large planters had blown over spilling their contents on
to
the
decking
. L
eaves and palm fronds littered the footpaths.

G
race glanced at pink bracts
from t
he bougainvillea
floating
on the surface of the pool
.

‘
The garden’s a mess.
It will take months to recover.
’
She picked up a fallen rose and dropped the
bruised and torn
bloom in
to
the trash.

‘
That was just a tropical storm,
’
Jack replied, as he followed
her
through the garden toward his
car
.
‘
You should see first-hand the damage a hurricane c
auses.
’

‘
I’d rather not
.
Do you think Pete
Jacobs
will
risk
flying
in this wind
?
’

‘
Those seaplanes are robust, but
I guess
it will depend on what it’s certified for.
’

The drive into town took only minutes.
The local eateries, normally bustling with
the
early
lunchtime crowd, were
half empty
.
As they drove along
Bayou Street
past
the island’s public dock, Grace caught a glimpse of a
white
seaplane
with red stripes
slow
ly
taxiing toward the mouth of the
inlet
and open water
.

‘
Isn’t that
Jacobs’
plane?
’

Jack
slowed just long enough to
lean
over and
peer out of the
passenger
window.
‘
Sure looks like it.
He’s probably refuelled at the marina
and is heading back to the dock
to pick up passengers
.
’

Grace continued to watch the plane. The rudder flicked from side-to-side. The wing flaps lowered
.

‘
I think you’re wrong.
I think
he’s preparing to take
off.
’

Jack cast a glance at the ocean.
There was a slight swell, but no white-topped waves.
He hit the gas pedal and headed for the empty lot adjacent to
a
bridge.
Milliseconds
later
,
the Explorer
skidded
to a
stop
in a cloud of dust.
Grace
threw open the door and
leapt
out of the
passenger seat
before Jack pull
ed
on the
parking
brake.
She
hit the ground and
ran to the water’s edge
.

But it was too late.

As t
he
seaplane reached open water,
Jacobs
clearly visible behind the windshield
,
opened the throttle
.
T
he
engine pitch increased,
the
plane gathered momentum
, a small wake forming under the floats
.
As
the nose ti
lt
e
d
up
,
the flo
ats lifted clear of the water
,
and the plane
rose
gracefully into the air
.
Grace
shield
ed her eyes
and watched
it
gain height
, then
bank to the
right.

Suddenly, a
blinding light burst from the engine compartment.
An instant later, the fuselage
shattered by a thunderous explosion, turned
the small plane into a fireball.
The concussion reverberated through the air until it faded
into the distance l
ike a
retreating
thunderclap
.
Flocks of terrified pelicans and gulls took to the air in a screaming
,
whirling
brown and white
mass.

Immobile
, Grace watched
part of
a wing
spiral down and
slam
med into the sea.
It was
followed
seconds
later by a
section of the tail
.
Jack
ran across the empty lot
, threw
her
to the ground and shielded
her body with his, as
pieces
of the shattered seaplane
rained down
.

For a few seconds
a tense silence filled the air
.

Then people
started
stream
ing
out of houses and the local inn to stare at the twisted, charred metal and burning aviation fuel floating on the ocean.
In the distance, a fire truck’s siren wailed.

‘
We’ve…
got…
’
Grace
swallowed hard against the fea
r and concentrated on breathing, her ears still ringing from the explosion.

Jack helped
Grace
to her feet
and wiped the dust from her face
.
She tried to pull away, but
he
held her tight.

‘
Easy, Grace.
There’s nothing you can do.
’

‘
But—
’
She turned
away from him
to stare at the ocean,
its
surface
a burning caldron.

‘
Grace
, don’t.
’
He caught her face between his hands, forcing her to look at him.
‘
No one could have survived
that
blast
, least of all Pete
Jacobs
.
’

Horrified
and helpless
, she began to shake
.
‘
Do…
do you think it was an accident?
’

‘
Even though his business was in
financial
trouble,
by all accounts,
Jacobs
was a stickler for maintenance.
I’m no expert, but I’d say that was an explosive device of some kind.
’

Grace felt the
colo
u
r
drain from her face.
Jack’s words tore at her heart.
She closed her eyes, but could still see the image of the burning plane.
The world spun, her knees buckled.
Tears streamed down her face.

‘
Oh my
G
od.
Jacobs
.
Parous.
They woul
d
still
be alive if I ha
d stayed at home
and sold the house
.
’
She clamped a hand over her mouth
to stop the scream begging for release
.

‘
Jacobs
knew
what he was getting into
, j
ust as I’m
sure
Elliott
did
.
And if you
ha
d
sold the house, whoever’s behind this scam would still come after you.
’