Read Online Vacations Can Be Murder: The Second Charlie Parker Mystery by Connie Shelton - Free Book Online

inland
to have washed up from the sea. The Kalalau hiking trail does go up
that valley, but the body was way off the trail, several hundred
yards, in fact. Apparently, the guy died as a result of a blow to
the back of the head. Seems to me, if he had wandered off the
trail, and fallen off one of those rugged peaks, there would have
been bruises and scrapes all over the body. But they said there was
only the one injury.
    “The terrain was too rugged for a landing,
but they figure a helicopter could fly in there and hover a few
feet off the ground, and drop a body out." He paused, staring at
the wall.
    "I guess the other incriminating thing they
have that ties me in is the blood they found in my aircraft."
    "What can you tell me about that?"
    "Same thing I told them. On my last flight
Friday, the day before the body was found, a little girl sitting in
the back seat had a gusher of a nosebleed. Her mother managed to
get it stopped, so it didn't become a medical emergency, but she
did leave a pretty good sized spot on my carpet. It was the end of
the day, and my mechanic wasn't around, so I cleaned it up the best
I could. I figured I'd get him out there in the morning with some
of that super cleaner he has, to work on it some more. By the next
morning, it had slipped my mind."
    "Any chance of finding the girl and her
mother to verify that?"
    "I doubt it." His shoulders sagged. "I had
Melanie look back over Friday's manifest. The woman's name was
Linda Smith, from Los Angeles. They were a walk-in, so we didn't
get their hotel. By now, there's a good chance they've left the
island.
    “Well, there are always DNA tests, Mack. It
can be proven that it wasn’t Page’s blood,” I pointed out.
    “Yeah, but I can’t afford to let it go that
far. Like I said, even the hint of involvement in this could put me
out of business.”
    I jotted some notes in a little spiral I
always carry with me, and tried to imagine a possible sequence of
events that would tie in with what Mack was telling me.
    "Mack, wouldn't it be physically impossible
for one man to fly a helicopter, and push a body out the door? I
mean, you have to keep your hands and feet on the controls at all
times, don't you?"
    "Exactly. That's what I tried to tell Akito."
He stood up abruptly, and paced to the far side of the room.
"That's the frustrating thing. They just wouldn't listen to
me."
    "So, how do they think you might have
accomplished the deed?"
    "With the help of my mechanic, Joe Esposito.
We had scheduled maintenance at the hangar that evening. Joe was
supposed to change a tail rotor blade that had developed some
hairline cracks in the laminate, and then I was to come out and
start the aircraft, so we could track the blades."
    "So you were both at the hangar that
night?"
    "Well, that's the thing. I never did see Joe.
I finished my last flight, and left the ship parked at the hangar.
I grabbed a box of chicken at Kentucky Fried, and came to the
office to do some FAA paperwork. Normally, Joe would do the work,
then call me either here or at home to let me know when he was
ready for me."
    "But he didn't call?"
    "Drake called about ten o'clock. Teased me
about burning the midnight oil, and told me I was wearing myself
too thin. He suggested that I go on home. He could come out early
the next morning and do the tracking before the first flight. Truth
is, I was beat. I'd just done three days in a row, seven
flights a day. It didn't take much to convince me. I tried to phone
Joe at the hangar and let him know the plan. When there was no
answer, I went on home."
    "Have the police talked to Joe?"
    "I don't know."
    "Okay, Mack, now I need to know the rest. You
knew Gilbert Page, didn't you?"
    He stared out the window, toward the airport.
I could hear rotor blades in the distance. He was struggling to
decide how much he should tell.
    "Mack," I said, trying to keep my voice
gentle, "you might as well tell me all of it. You can bet the
police will find out, anyway. I can't help