but I think we're going to find a number of loopholes."
Steve nodded and thought about the helicopter assault. "It wouldn't be too difficult to take an airliner from the mainland, attack the tour boat, hide the helicopter, jump back on a flight, and be back on the West Coast in short order."
"Especially," Susan stated calmly, "if you came over on the red-eye, hit the tour ship early in the morning, then caught a midday flight back to the Coast."
She stopped to analyze her logic. "People on the mainland who had seen the pilot late one day would again see him late the following day.
"A perfect alibi," she said evenly. "If it appears that the pilot was on the mainland when the crime took place in Hawaii, then that's a pretty good defense."
Wickham studied the long list of pilots. "If someone was going to try the airline approach, an alias and a good disguise would make it virtually impossible for us to trail them."
"Correct," she declared with an underlying excitement in her voice. "I think the helicopter is still on Oahu, or one of the neighbor islands, but it's probably been repainted by now."
Steve handed the FAA list to Susan. "Let's discuss the possibilities--the 'what-ifs.' Do you have any information on what kind of helo we're talking about? I know it's a Bell, but I don't know the model or type."
"Right here," she answered and pulled out another folder. "A number of experienced helicopter pilots have viewed the videos, and every one of them agreed that the helo is a Bell 206B JetRanger identical to the one operated by the television station."
"What's the speed and range?"
Susan consulted the JetRanger performance section that her staff had compiled in the wee hours of the morning. "Depending on the altitude and conditions, the speed is approximately one hundred fifteen knots, with a range of around three hundred fifty nautical miles at low altitude."
After some mental calculations, Steve finally spoke. "The pilot could have flown nonstop to any of the islands, even down to the sparsely settled areas on the big island, and still had plenty of fuel to spare."
"You're right, Steve, but I feel that fuel wasn't the critical element in the escape. It was the exposure of being seen in a brightly painted helicopter."
"That makes sense." He was impressed with her reasoning and with the amount of information she had assimilated in such a short period of time.
"The longer the pilot placed himself in a position to be seen," she continued with a slight shrug, "the worse the odds became of a successful evasion."
"You're right," he admitted and placed himself in the pilot's position after the assault. "The pilot, who was going a little over two miles a minute, probably didn't stay in the air for more than ten to twelve minutes after the attack."
"That's basically what I've been thinking," she responded a moment before Callaway approached them. "It would have been easy to land in a remote place, camouflage the helo, repaint it, then fly it out later."
Marcus waited until she was finished. "Speaking of helicopters, I just saw the TV station pilot--the Sky Nine pilot--being interviewed."
Wickham had an intuitive feeling that they needed to interview her. "She might be able to give us some valuable information plus some background profiles of the helo jockeys on the island."
"I've already sent a request," Susan informed him with a level gaze, "to meet with Ms. Garney tomorrow morning." She observed the surprise in Wickham's eyes. "It would be good for all of us to talk with her, then compare notes."
Before Steve could respond, Marcus changed the subject. He knew that Susan's penchant for being organized could be intimidating at times, especially if you hadn't had time to do your homework.
"We've got people crawling all over the Hawaiian Islands," Callaway informed them with a dour look, "and we haven't found a damn thing."
Susan observed Steve for a moment, then softened her approach. "We don't have much to go on now,
Steve nodded and thought about the helicopter assault. "It wouldn't be too difficult to take an airliner from the mainland, attack the tour boat, hide the helicopter, jump back on a flight, and be back on the West Coast in short order."
"Especially," Susan stated calmly, "if you came over on the red-eye, hit the tour ship early in the morning, then caught a midday flight back to the Coast."
She stopped to analyze her logic. "People on the mainland who had seen the pilot late one day would again see him late the following day.
"A perfect alibi," she said evenly. "If it appears that the pilot was on the mainland when the crime took place in Hawaii, then that's a pretty good defense."
Wickham studied the long list of pilots. "If someone was going to try the airline approach, an alias and a good disguise would make it virtually impossible for us to trail them."
"Correct," she declared with an underlying excitement in her voice. "I think the helicopter is still on Oahu, or one of the neighbor islands, but it's probably been repainted by now."
Steve handed the FAA list to Susan. "Let's discuss the possibilities--the 'what-ifs.' Do you have any information on what kind of helo we're talking about? I know it's a Bell, but I don't know the model or type."
"Right here," she answered and pulled out another folder. "A number of experienced helicopter pilots have viewed the videos, and every one of them agreed that the helo is a Bell 206B JetRanger identical to the one operated by the television station."
"What's the speed and range?"
Susan consulted the JetRanger performance section that her staff had compiled in the wee hours of the morning. "Depending on the altitude and conditions, the speed is approximately one hundred fifteen knots, with a range of around three hundred fifty nautical miles at low altitude."
After some mental calculations, Steve finally spoke. "The pilot could have flown nonstop to any of the islands, even down to the sparsely settled areas on the big island, and still had plenty of fuel to spare."
"You're right, Steve, but I feel that fuel wasn't the critical element in the escape. It was the exposure of being seen in a brightly painted helicopter."
"That makes sense." He was impressed with her reasoning and with the amount of information she had assimilated in such a short period of time.
"The longer the pilot placed himself in a position to be seen," she continued with a slight shrug, "the worse the odds became of a successful evasion."
"You're right," he admitted and placed himself in the pilot's position after the assault. "The pilot, who was going a little over two miles a minute, probably didn't stay in the air for more than ten to twelve minutes after the attack."
"That's basically what I've been thinking," she responded a moment before Callaway approached them. "It would have been easy to land in a remote place, camouflage the helo, repaint it, then fly it out later."
Marcus waited until she was finished. "Speaking of helicopters, I just saw the TV station pilot--the Sky Nine pilot--being interviewed."
Wickham had an intuitive feeling that they needed to interview her. "She might be able to give us some valuable information plus some background profiles of the helo jockeys on the island."
"I've already sent a request," Susan informed him with a level gaze, "to meet with Ms. Garney tomorrow morning." She observed the surprise in Wickham's eyes. "It would be good for all of us to talk with her, then compare notes."
Before Steve could respond, Marcus changed the subject. He knew that Susan's penchant for being organized could be intimidating at times, especially if you hadn't had time to do your homework.
"We've got people crawling all over the Hawaiian Islands," Callaway informed them with a dour look, "and we haven't found a damn thing."
Susan observed Steve for a moment, then softened her approach. "We don't have much to go on now,
Similar Books
