“Did you happen to see the two men before they climbed into the plane?”
“I did. They walked through the hangar over to where the plane was parked.”
This made me perk up. “Could you describe them to me?”
“Well, hell, now you’re really testing my memory. But I think one guy was probably fiftysomething. He wore a business suit and carried a briefcase, which I found kind of funny as he climbed into a little two-seater. I only found out later he was a lawyer.”
“What about the other guy?”
“He was a lot younger. Probably in his twenties.”
“Was he also in a business suit?”
“Nope. Just plain street clothes. Jeans and a T-shirt.”
That seemed odd. Why would Joe have been dressed down? “Did the younger guy kind of look like the older guy? They were father and son.”
“Hard to say. The older guy was clean-shaven. The younger guy had a thick beard.”
A beard? There were no photos of my father-in-law at that age with a beard. So who the hell got in the plane with Joe’s dad? Where was Joe?
“Mr. Crosby, are you sure both men got on the plane that day?”
“Yep. Watched them both climb inside and set off down the runway.”
“You’re an expert mechanic, wouldn’t you say?” I asked Crosby.
“Well, I don’t know about that. But I’ve certainly seen a lot of engines in my sixty-five years.”
“I bet. The newspaper implied that the plane exploded because of mechanical failure. Is that what you also saw that day?”
“Funny you should ask me that. Because to me, it looked more like a bomb exploded than an engine failing. But what the hell do I know?”
TWENTY-NINE
The campaign event started about fifteen minutes late. The crowd had grown bigger. I estimated around two hundred people, although it was hard to tell who actually showed up for the event and who were just curious mall shoppers. I figured that was part of the reason to hold a campaign stop here. A candidate could draw a lot of extra eyeballs. I stood in the back of the crowd, waiting for Scott and Greta Malone to step out onstage. Someone in a suit finally walked up to a microphone and gave an over-the-top welcome to who he called the next congressman from the Eighth Congressional District of Virginia. Then I spotted the couple appear from off to the right and step up onto the stage.
I felt a wave of relief pour through me that Greta was here today with her husband. Because I had to be back in Austin tonight for Joe’s service tomorrow, I did not have the luxury of bouncing to every campaign event over the next few days, waiting for Greta to show up. The woman looked much younger than her nearly sixty years of age. Her hair was blonde and pinned back. She wore a blue dress with a USA pin on the front. Her husband had short black and gray-speckled hair and wore a dark blue suit with a red tie. The crowd cheered while patriotic music played on some speakers. I looked up and noticed more people stopping on the floors above us and staring down into the courtyard. Scott and Greta waved for a bit, then kissed, and Greta walked off the stage to the right again. She huddled with a short woman with silver hair in a black pantsuit. I began to move around the crowd in Greta’s direction.
From the podium, Malone began to give the kind of speech I’d heard countless times from others running for office. Positive change and reform on this and that issue with what felt like planted clapping throughout. I continued to weave closer to Greta’s side of the crowd. She was about fifty feet away from me. I noticed a man in a black suit right behind her who looked like he could break a telephone pole in two. I figured he might be some kind of security. Not only was Scott Malone running for office, he was also very wealthy. I studied Greta without being too conspicuous, wondering what role she played in all this mystery surrounding Joe. She had clearly been there in the beginning, when my father-in-law went from being Daniel Gibson to Joe Dobson. And now I knew she was also there at the end of his life. What had happened in between? Had they stayed connected all these years? What brought them together in DC ten days ago?
Scott went on and on in his speech. I had to admit, he had a dynamic presence onstage and made for a good political candidate. I figured at this point I would need to wait until the speech was over and everything was concluded to get my opportunity to approach Greta. I wondered what kind of reaction she would have when she found out I was Joe’s son-in-law. She had hung up on me the first time we’d spoken. Would she be more open to a discussion this time around? I had no idea what to expect but would find out soon.