Read Online Amerika by Paul Lally - Free Book Online Page B

pause.
    ‘Two-six.’
    ‘He damn well used the opposite end.’
    ‘We’ll file a report.’
    The image of the sleek, high-priced aircraft flashed through my mind. Most likely belonged to some steel or oil tycoon.
    ‘Fat lot of good that’ll do.’
     

     
    By the time we taxied up to the ramp, dusk had surrendered to nighttime. Our landing lights picked out the small shack attached to the small hangar that I leased from the airport. I wouldn’t park the plane inside tonight, because Orlando had filled the floor with parts of the engine he was overhauling. Not to worry. The Florida night air was surprisingly sweet and clear, the moon bright, and conditions perfect for sleeping beneath the wing under the stars. And that’s just what I intended to do; like back in the old days when I was learning to fly by following barnstormers.
    As my engines rattled to a stop, the office door banged open and Rosie hurried toward me. Her face looked more serious than I wanted at this hour.
    Abby leaped over onto my lap, slid down the window and shouted,
    ‘Grams, I flew all the way to Miami!’
    Rosie tried to look interested but failed. ‘Good for you, dear.’
    ‘And I slept all the way back, except for when that crazy bastard almost hit us.’
    ‘Uh huh,’ she said distractedly.
    ‘Something the matter?’ I said.
    She shrugged. ‘Yes and no. We have visitors.’
    ‘Nazis?’
    ‘A woman. I know I’ve seen her someplace before - and a man. They just came in on that Beechcraft.’
    I felt a quick stab of anger. ‘They came to apologize, I hope.’
    ‘Actually, they want to talk to you. About a charter.’
    ‘As long as it doesn’t conflict my fishermen gig, I’ll fly them anywhere.’
    ‘It won’t, I’m sure. It’s just that...’ She trailed off, folded her arms, pursed her lips and paused.
    ‘What’s wrong, Grams?’ Abby said.
    ‘Nothing, dear.’
    I patted Rosie’s shoulder. ‘Grams is just having one of her premonitions, honey. Fasten your seatbelt.’
    ‘I can’t help it if I get these feelings.’
    ‘Think they’re good for the money?’
    ‘They have cash and will pay up front.’
    ‘Then I can’t help it if I get the feeling that if we don’t pay our bills,
    Carter Aviation is out of business.’
    I unfastened my seatbelt. ‘Tell them to meet me over in the hangar. I’m going to check up on Orlando.’
     

     
    My business partner had spread out the spare engine like a vast, unfinished jigsaw puzzle across the hangar floor: manifolds, pistons, rods, exhaust ports, reduction gears. To the unpracticed eye like mine, utter chaos, but to Orlando, it made perfect sense. Ever since we were boys he had torn apart clocks, radios, fans, and small engines and put them back together again. Nothing had changed, just bigger stuff.
    ‘What’s your best guess?’ I said.
    He straightened up from where he’d been working on a piston. ‘Three, maybe four hours.’
    ‘To put all this back? Not a chance.’
    ‘It’s easy when you know how everything fits - lobsters get there okay?’ I patted my shirt pocket. ‘Our first payday.’
    He lifted the heavy piston in salute. ‘Here’s to many more.’
    ‘We might have another one sooner than you think. Rosie said some folks want a charter.’
    ‘That so?’
    ‘Captain Carter?’
    The woman’s voice drifted from the shadows of the hangar, low and melodious. I turned but saw nothing. The single light bulb above Orlando’s work space created a small pool of light. Beyond that, darkness.
    ‘That’s me,’ I said into the void. ‘But it’s Mister Carter, not captain. And you are?’
    ‘Ava James.’
    She walked into the light and my mouth went dry. It’s one thing to see a movie star on the screen, but to see one in person is unnerving. At least for me. All I could do was mumble like an idiot, ‘I… I saw you in Ceiling Zero , with Jimmy Cagney and Pat O’Brien. You were great.’
    She smiled and brushed back a strand of reddish-blonde hair.