Flying Too Close to the Sun by George Jehn (novels for beginners .txt) 📕

“Define a lot.”

“For now, let’s figure approximately three quarters of a million each.”

“I’m all ears.”

They immediately resumed walking, but much slower.

“You gotta promise whatever I tell you stays between us.”

“That goes without saying.”

Christina spoke as they ambled, relating details from her divorces and alimony payments, to Erik’s bank payments, to the perceived threats to Shuttle Air’s future. She purposely omitted her epilepsy or Laurel. He concurred with her concerns about Shuttle Air as she provided a seemingly rapt Juni with the particulars, including the fact that the Boston supervisor who entered the delay code had also recommended the airline not renew the contract with the government after it expired in September. “That means we have to move quickly.”

Juni asked, “At this point is anyone else other than you and this second officer involved?”

“No.”

“Under no circumstances are you to tell David anything. If he happened to notice us speaking or says anything, threaten to cut him off.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle him.” She waited a moment. “Does this mean you’re in?”

“Not yet,” came the immediate reply, “although I must admit what you outlined intrigues me. But, I can’t commit right now.”

“Why not?”

“What kind of person do you think I am? I run a legitimate business and have a wife and two kids to support.”

“But I thought...”

“You thought what? That crap David told you about? You don’t even know if this will work.”

“It’ll work; with or without you,” she crossly replied, now walking behind him.

After a few moments of awkward silence a frowning Juni spun around stopped, dropped his fake mask and allowed some humanity to show through. “The possibilities are enticing and I can use the dough...”

“It’s the perfect crime,” an uplifted Christina interjected.

“Perfect crime? Perfect marriage? No such things. When it comes to crimes there are only good ones, well planned out ahead of time so the chances of getting caught are minimal. Arrogance only leads to mistakes. With today’s technologies even clever isn’t good enough ‘cause there’s always one small chance somethin’ will be overlooked, no matter how trivial it might seem. I may become involved, but first have to fly to Boston and scope out the area. Gimme me your phone number and if everything works out I’ll get back with you to set up a meeting.”

Christina provided her home number and then removed two maps from her beach bag. “I brought these Boston airport charts in case you were interested.”

Juni seemed to relax just a bit and put an arm around her delicate shoulders. He laid the maps on the boardwalk railing and looked at them. “You know you’ll be prime suspects?”

“If we play our cards right that’s all we’ll be, suspects.”

He liked this woman for more than the obvious reasons. She didn’t seem to have her nose in the air and her feet were firmly planted on the ground. “Sure you ain’t Italian?”

Christina chuckled. “I’m more akin to D.B. Cooper; the guy who hijacked a Northwest 727 back in ‘71, got two-hundred grand in ransom and parachuted out somewhere over the state of Washington, never to be seen or heard from. The cops never discovered his identity. There was lots of speculation, but they had nothing. In this case there should be lots of suspects if we play our cards right.”

“Cooper was a solo operation. But remember, in this case if the cops really suspect your involvement they’ll try everything, including playing you off against each other.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’ll tell you stuff like the other pilot confessed. Or tell you he cut a deal and fed you to them, or maybe the other way around? They can and will lie to you. Tricks are a part of the cops’ game, so don’t fall for their ploys, no matter what they say. The government is allowed to bend all the rules. Consider anything they say to be a lie, ‘cause if they do something like that it will only be a gimmick. Be certain you relay this to the second officer.”

“That’s pretty scary. But we will need a credible way to account for the money.”

“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself.” After a moment Juni added, “Remember, you can’t go throwing money around because unlike Cooper you’ll get nailed. And if you get caught the chances are good I will—if I’m involved.” A fierce darkness came into his eyes again. “You have to launder your shares correctly. I might be able to help ‘cause I still have some contacts in the banking business. I’ll get back to you on that one.”

She handed him a small piece of paper with some telephone numbers.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the second officer, Erik Preis’ home number. He only recently hired on. I also included our work number, the operations offices at both LaGuardia and Boston. If you phone either of us only use a pay phone.”

“I make most calls that way. Since you brought it up, like I’ve said, if you have one, never call to or from a cellphone.” I’ve heard they’re easy to trace. The cops will probably wire your home phones. They’ll get a court order, go back months and check all your calls, and absolutely no emails. Those are the simplest to trace. You’ll be my primary contact. What’s the best time to reach you at work? That would probably be the best place to contact you.”

“We fly the afternoon and evening Shuttles and the first departs at three. We check in at two, so call between two and two-thirty.” She rattled off the operations number and he jotted it down. “If you reach me on the job, tell whoever answers you’re the flight dispatcher and want to speak with Captain Shepard. Dispatchers are FAA-licensed and do all the flight planning and weather checking. They frequently call so no one will be the wiser. In an emergency you can normally reach me at home either before eleven in the morning or after eleven at night.”

“I’d