you believe his death was accidental?”
Zoe sobered and her eyes flamed with repressed emotion. “That was the official finding.”
“And...?”
“It’s my belief that his traitorous cohorts got him out of the way when he made the mistake of bragging to me that he was getting away with breaking the law. How they found out doesn’t matter. What does is that I went to my commanding officers and reported it. John was dead within a week.”
“Then you can’t be sure.”
With a telling sigh and shrug of her shoulders, Zoe said, “I’m as sure as the encrypted files on his personal computer can make me. If I had not preempted that discovery with my initial report and John had not been removed from my life, I could have been charged with treason or even have met the same fate he did. Then Freddy would have died, too, because I was carrying him at the time.”
“So, you really think God rescued you?”
“It makes more sense than random choice, just like knowing the alphabet and being able to spell makes more sense than closing your eyes and banging on a keyboard until a bestseller emerges.”
Linc stared at her for the longest time before he said, “Know what scares me?”
“What?”
A lopsided smile began to lift one corner of his mouth. “You’re actually starting to make sense.”
Her smile mirrored his, then surpassed it. “Of course I am. That’s because I’m right.”
* * *
Along with a half dozen other mechanics, Jim Ahern was working in hangar seven, as scheduled, when Linc led the way with Zoe behind him.
Linc kept it casual as he approached them. “Jim Ahern?”
The senior mechanic laid aside a socket wrench as he turned to face the Security Forces man. “Yeah.”
Smiling cordially, Linc offered to shake hands. Ahern swiped his palms against his oily coveralls before accepting.
“Which one is Orleck?”
Ahern snorted. “Why? What’d he do?”
“Nothing that we know of. I just figured it would save time to speak with both of you at once. Were you both here working all morning?”
“Yup.” He cupped a hand around his mouth and called, “Hey, Mike. C’mere a sec.”
The younger man who emerged from behind the plane was scowling until he saw Zoe standing behind Linc. Then he began to grin. “Hey, Sarge. What brings you here? Are we late getting a trainer ready or something?”
Rather than let her answer, Linc spoke. “Actually, this visit has to do with Sergeant Sullivan.”
“Really?” Orleck was grinning at her as if meeting an old friend and Linc wasn’t sure he liked such familiarity, although it did indicate no latent animosity.
Ahern was less amiable. “I already told you guys, over and over, I ain’t seen Boyd since he begged me to come visit him in prison. It wasn’t my idea in the first place, but we’d been buddies before, so I gave in and went.”
Linc chose to refrain from mentioning that Ahern and Boyd Sullivan appeared to be more cohorts than everyday friends. If Sullivan hadn’t been drummed out of the service early, there was a good chance Ahern would have been sucked further in and have taken the fall for some of their hijinks. The problem was, and always had been, a lack of concrete proof.
“You haven’t been contacted by Boyd?” Linc asked him.
“Nope. I know rumor has him here on the base but if he is, I sure ain’t running into him.” He pointedly stared at Zoe. “What about her? She’s his kin.” His brow furrowed deeper and his eyes narrowed. “Is she blaming me? Is that it?”
“No. Not at all.” Linc struck a casual pose. “What about you, Orleck? Would you know Boyd Sullivan if you saw him?”
“I might. I did see his picture in the base newspaper and on TV. Why? Did he go and kill somebody else?”
“Not lately. Not that I know of,” Linc replied. He purposely changed the subject. “So, how do you like being a mechanic?”
“I like it fine.” His gaze kept slipping over to Zoe, and his grin was so friendly Linc was disappointed. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have suspected the washed-out pilot had a thing for his former instructor.
“You aren’t sorry you didn’t get to fly?”
Orleck shrugged. “Sure, from time to time. But I get to go along on plenty of test flights and that gives me my thrills. Keeping these birds in the air is what I do best.” Once again, his pleasant expression rested on Zoe. “I actually owe it all to you, Sarge. You helped me find a good fit. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” she said.
“Well, then...” Linc hitched up his utility belt and holster out of habit and gave each man a nod. “We’ll be going. You know who to call if you catch sight of Sullivan.”
Ahern chuckled. “Believe me, if I find any red roses lying around, you’re the first guys I’m gonna call.”
As Linc turned to go, he placed his hand lightly on Zoe’s back for moral support and guidance. Yes, she was perfectly capable of walking beside him without interference. And yes, he could have stopped himself. But there had been something in the manner of both men, not to mention those watching from afar, that made him want to publicly declare that she was with him. Not just there, but with him.
They were almost outside before she spoke. “I can’t imagine Orleck being behind the attacks on me. Can you? He seems perfectly happy here.”
Linc agreed. “What about Ahern?”
“Why would he want to harass me? Because he was a friend of my brother’s?”
“It makes a little sense.”
Brushing back flyaway strands of her long hair, Zoe faced him. “I don’t see it. I think we were grasping at straws coming here in the first place.”
“You’re probably right.”
“So, what’s next?”
“You hungry?”
She laughed lightly. “Why are you always trying to feed me?”
“It’s a Southern custom. We like to eat.”
“I thought I detected a Texas twang, but I figured it was because you’d been stationed here long enough to pick it up.”
“Nope. Born and raised. Remember the Alamo and all that.”
“I get it. Okay, country boy, you can feed me. And this time let’s eat at a table with chairs and napkins and plenty of sweet tea.”
