Audrey’s face. If someone kidnapped her, he might be trying to smuggle her out with the crowd. At Concourse A, he ran over to the glass doors to scan the electric train tracks and saw Gordy open the small maintenance door.
“Clear,” Gordy said in Cooper’s earpiece.
“No sign of her here, either,” Cooper answered.
Cooper took off jogging again, slaloming through travelers, bumping into a large woman who dropped her bag. He couldn’t stop. His gut told him he needed to move faster. As he approached Concourse B, he slowed, still hoping to identify Audrey in the crowd. Maybe she fought her way free, and he could help her. The trains had just pulled in. Passengers entered and exited in a confused congestion. As travelers clogged the escalators going up, Cooper, on tiptoes, desperately searched the masses. Grabbing the shoulder of a tall blonde, he quickly let go when it wasn’t Audrey’s face, and the lady glared at him. He checked in with Joel and Gordy.
“Nothing at Concourse B. How ‘bout the trains?”
“She’s not on any of them,” said Joel. “Where could she be?”
“Not here either. And this train is headed for Concourse A.” Gordy sounded out of breath on his way to the next door.
Cooper jumped back into action and continued his watchful dash to the next stop at Concourse C.
As he closed in on the waiting area, he heard a piercing scream and his heart dropped.
He fought his way through a distraught crowd gathered at the glass doors protecting the public from the high-voltage electric train tracks. As Cooper pushed his way to the front, he saw Gordy on the opposite ledge staring down, his jaw dangling in shock. Cooper sagged as he recognized the mangled body of Audrey Baumer sprawled on the tracks.
ederal investigators and emergency personnel invaded Concourse C. Cooper and Gordy and a few other witnesses were questioned by agents, as ambulance workers carried Audrey’s remains away in a bag, and officers took pictures of the scene. Gordy’s usually ruddy, smiling face looked pale and shaken from the discovery of the distorted form of his boss and friend. It had been a gruesome sight. An agent told Cooper Audrey had been electrocuted before being crushed by the train.
Poor woman.
While Cooper gave his account of what happened, the reason for his visit, where he’d been, etc., he hoped Gordy was smart enough to avoid mentioning anything about the backups. Cooper glanced over at Gordy and shook his head sadly. The agent took Cooper’s account and his number, telling him to be available for possible further questioning.
After being dismissed, Cooper went over to Gordy who was being drilled by two more agents. Cooper patted him on the back and handed him the comlink headset. Gordy gave him a weak smile. Cooper’s guilt made his stomach hurt. He had involved his friend in a horrific disaster and had no doubt his investigation sparked the events leading to Audrey’s murder. Someone had to have followed him. He now had no doubt he was being watched.
Walking back to the terminal, Cooper resolved to find out the reason for all the death and deception. Phisner was right. Something had happened to his fiancée. And someone wanted to stop him from figuring out what by intimidating him.
To remove the nightmarish image from his head, Cooper focused on what he could do. His instincts told him he needed to stick around. He shouldn’t leave the travelport empty-handed. Audrey died for a reason. His feet led him back in the direction of the locker room. Worried that agents might have already searched her locker or would soon, he sped up his pace.
At the end of Concourse A, a group of travelport workers was gossiping about the incident by an elevator. He went over and pushed the
up
button. The employees all had their opinions, and a few proposed motives. Apparently, Audrey was not a popular person, a good manager, but not a good buddy to slackers.
When Cooper had heard enough, he casually brushed by
“Clear,” Gordy said in Cooper’s earpiece.
“No sign of her here, either,” Cooper answered.
Cooper took off jogging again, slaloming through travelers, bumping into a large woman who dropped her bag. He couldn’t stop. His gut told him he needed to move faster. As he approached Concourse B, he slowed, still hoping to identify Audrey in the crowd. Maybe she fought her way free, and he could help her. The trains had just pulled in. Passengers entered and exited in a confused congestion. As travelers clogged the escalators going up, Cooper, on tiptoes, desperately searched the masses. Grabbing the shoulder of a tall blonde, he quickly let go when it wasn’t Audrey’s face, and the lady glared at him. He checked in with Joel and Gordy.
“Nothing at Concourse B. How ‘bout the trains?”
“She’s not on any of them,” said Joel. “Where could she be?”
“Not here either. And this train is headed for Concourse A.” Gordy sounded out of breath on his way to the next door.
Cooper jumped back into action and continued his watchful dash to the next stop at Concourse C.
As he closed in on the waiting area, he heard a piercing scream and his heart dropped.
He fought his way through a distraught crowd gathered at the glass doors protecting the public from the high-voltage electric train tracks. As Cooper pushed his way to the front, he saw Gordy on the opposite ledge staring down, his jaw dangling in shock. Cooper sagged as he recognized the mangled body of Audrey Baumer sprawled on the tracks.
ederal investigators and emergency personnel invaded Concourse C. Cooper and Gordy and a few other witnesses were questioned by agents, as ambulance workers carried Audrey’s remains away in a bag, and officers took pictures of the scene. Gordy’s usually ruddy, smiling face looked pale and shaken from the discovery of the distorted form of his boss and friend. It had been a gruesome sight. An agent told Cooper Audrey had been electrocuted before being crushed by the train.
Poor woman.
While Cooper gave his account of what happened, the reason for his visit, where he’d been, etc., he hoped Gordy was smart enough to avoid mentioning anything about the backups. Cooper glanced over at Gordy and shook his head sadly. The agent took Cooper’s account and his number, telling him to be available for possible further questioning.
After being dismissed, Cooper went over to Gordy who was being drilled by two more agents. Cooper patted him on the back and handed him the comlink headset. Gordy gave him a weak smile. Cooper’s guilt made his stomach hurt. He had involved his friend in a horrific disaster and had no doubt his investigation sparked the events leading to Audrey’s murder. Someone had to have followed him. He now had no doubt he was being watched.
Walking back to the terminal, Cooper resolved to find out the reason for all the death and deception. Phisner was right. Something had happened to his fiancée. And someone wanted to stop him from figuring out what by intimidating him.
To remove the nightmarish image from his head, Cooper focused on what he could do. His instincts told him he needed to stick around. He shouldn’t leave the travelport empty-handed. Audrey died for a reason. His feet led him back in the direction of the locker room. Worried that agents might have already searched her locker or would soon, he sped up his pace.
At the end of Concourse A, a group of travelport workers was gossiping about the incident by an elevator. He went over and pushed the
up
button. The employees all had their opinions, and a few proposed motives. Apparently, Audrey was not a popular person, a good manager, but not a good buddy to slackers.
When Cooper had heard enough, he casually brushed by
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