Chapter 6 - THE MAN WHO ARRIVED TOO EARLY
Seattle airport security met the plane at the gate.
Preston Hale was escorted away before most passengers stood.
He didn’t resist.
That scared Naomi more than if he had shouted.
Men who thought they were innocent usually wanted everyone to hear it.
Hale suddenly looked like a man doing calculations.
Naomi exited beside Daniel while passengers quietly wished her luck.
The two teenagers from Row 3 apologized for recording her.
Naomi surprised them.
“Keep the part where he tells me to go to the back.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
She thought about it.
“People should see how he acts when he thinks someone isn’t important.”
Daniel smiled.
“That sounds like Rachel.”
At the terminal, Ethan finally reached her.
He pulled Naomi into his arms so tightly Blue was crushed between them.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“No.”
“Better answer.”
She stepped back.
“Who is Harold Pierce?”
Her father stopped smiling.
Daniel walked away to give them privacy.
Ethan glanced around.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“Hale.”
That was enough.
Ethan took Naomi into a private airline lounge.
Susan Keller, the retired investigator, was already waiting.
So was Harold Pierce.
Gray-haired.
Expensive navy suit.
Kind grandfather face.
He stood when Naomi entered.
“My goodness.”
He smiled.
“You’ve grown.”
Naomi didn’t remember ever meeting him.
“How do you know?”
His smile weakened.
“I’ve seen pictures.”
Ethan stared at him.
Naomi saw it.
Suspicion.
New and sharp.
She sat beside her father.
“Mr. Hale said Mom called you before Flight 417.”
Pierce’s face went still.
Susan Keller turned.
“Harold?”
He slowly sat.
“That was years ago.”
“That wasn’t the question,” Ethan said.
Pierce sighed.
“Yes. Rachel called.”
“You told investigators she never contacted you.”
“She called from a blocked number. I wasn’t sure it was her.”
Naomi frowned.
“You just said it was.”
Pierce looked irritated.
Only for a second.
Again, Naomi noticed.
Adults always believed children missed the dangerous parts.
She didn’t.
Susan Keller opened a notebook.
“What did Rachel say?”
“She believed AeroDyne had changed her report.”
“Did you tell her to fly to Seattle?”
Pierce’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
Ethan stood.
“You sent my wife onto that airplane.”
“I was trying to get her in front of an FAA contact!”
“And then you lied about it for six years?”
Pierce rose too.
“Because after the crash everything became chaos.”
Naomi interrupted.
“Were you at the crash site?”
Pierce looked at her.
“Eventually.”
“How fast?”
Silence.
Susan Keller’s eyes narrowed.
“Harold.”
“Two hours.”
Ethan stared.
“The passenger manifest hadn’t even been released.”
Pierce’s face changed.
He knew.
Everyone in the room knew.
He had arrived too early.
Susan quietly called airport police investigators waiting outside.
Pierce saw the movement.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Nobody answered.
Naomi looked at him.
“Did you know something was going to happen?”
Pierce’s face twisted.
“No.”
“Then how did you know where Mom was?”
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Susan’s phone buzzed.
She looked at the message.
Then at Ethan.
“The sealed archive box arrived from federal storage.”
Ethan nodded.
Pierce immediately said:
“You cannot open that without foundation counsel.”
Susan stared at him.
“Why do you care?”
“I am foundation counsel.”
“Not anymore.”
Two security officers entered.
Pierce’s face finally cracked.
Not completely.
Enough.
As he was escorted out, he turned toward Naomi.
“You think your mother was some perfect hero?”
Naomi didn’t answer.
Pierce smiled bitterly.
“Ask your father what Rachel did the week before the crash.”
Ethan went pale.
Naomi slowly turned toward him.
May you like
There was another secret.
And this one belonged to Dad.
