Fears
Chapter 11
He decided he would tell her, "I'm...I'm afraid to fly, Kate."
Kate almost wanted to sayIs that all? but she knew enough not to discount his feelings, "Oh Daniel...I didn't know..."
He looked out the window of the car, embarrassed, "I never told you."
"What is it that you fear when you fly?" Kate asked gently.
"I hate not having control," Daniel tried to make her understand, but as always, when he did that, his statements would seem over the top, "Maybe I should learn how to fly the airplane just in case the pilot faints or has a heart attack. Then I can take over."
Kate couldn't helped the grin that came to her face. So Daniel-like.
"Oh, Captain Pierce," Kate lightly teased him, " You just need to know that if you push the stick forward, the houses will get smaller. That is, unless the stick comes off in your hand - then the houses will get bigger again."
"That's not assuring me, Kate," but he managed to squeeze out a smile, too.
"Daniel, I can't imagining moving ahead with this investigation without you," Kate admitted, "Say you'll go with me to Boston. I'll be right there next to you on the plane, right by your side, okay?"
'I don't know...maybe," he looked at her comforting eyes, "You probably think I'm being silly."
"No, Daniel," she replied honestly, "I like when you show your vulnerability. It means you're being real with me."
"Oh yeah..., vulnerable. You know what being vulnerable means? "Daniel asked cynically, "it means that your heart is opened up so someone can go in there and mess it all up."
"Oh Daniel!"
Outwardly she smiled at his comment, but inwardly she thought, I would never do that to you.
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Daniel slept on it and decided to give it a try. Otherwise, they could not continue the investigation. Serena was standing next to the Cessna when Daniel and Kate had arrived early the next morning.
"Thank you for chartering this plane for us on such short notice," Kate said gratefully.
"Anything for one of Paul's friends," Serena stated as she climbed into the pilot seat. Daniel had insisted that Kate sit in the passenger side while he wedged into one of the two rear seats. It was a few minutes before take-off. Kate excitedly looked out the front window, anxious for the plane to take off.
"You'll love viewing the clouds from the window of a small plane," Serena stated excitedly, "It's like flying through cotton! It'll be the same for you, too, Daniel," she stated as she turned to look behind her.
Serena turned to look behind her. Daniel sat stiffly in his seat, his head leaned back, his eyes shut.
"Daniel?" Serena asked alarmed, "Do you...have a fear of flying?"
He slowly opened his eyes to look at her, "I don't have a fear of flying, Serena," he stated, "I have a fear of crashing."
"Daniel." Kate should have trusted her instincts and sat next to him. Unbuckling her seat belt, she climbed in the back and sat next to him, "Don't worry," she assured him, "I'll be here the whole time."
"Kate, please, don't think by you saying everything is alright, it will make everything alright," Daniel said nervously.
"O-kay, you're a man of science, a man of facts, Daniel. What if I give you stats," Kate proposed,, "Do you know statistically, it is 260 percent safer to fly a long distance than it is to drive that same distance?"
"Making up numbers doesn't help, either."
When Serena heard the conversation, she gave Kate a wink and then turned to Daniel, "Okay, Daniel, you can trust a pilot to be honest about flying, right? Tell me what your concerns are and I'll address them."
"Fair enough," Daniel proceeded to ask Serena, "Why do my ears feel funny when flying? Why does the wing look weird when I look out the window? Why do we hit turbulence? Why are we being asked to keep our seat belts on if it's so safe?
"Oh, that's a mouthful," Serena said sensibly, "I'll give you the short version. Your ears will pop because of the change of pressure, the wing looks weird while flying because it splits the airflow in two directions which is necessary to keep the plane in the air, turbulence is caused because of the jet stream along with the change in the plane's altitude, and we need seat belts because we ARE in motion and it is used as a precautionary measure only. Satisfied?"
"I don't know..." Daniel held on tight to his armrests and leaned back uncomfortably.
Serena then told Kate, "I can't take off if he's going to be scared the entire time. You have to decide if this will be worth the trip because once I take off, I don't plan on turning back."
Kate looked at a scared Daniel. Intuitively, she reached out when she placed her hand assuredly over his, she could feel his body loosen slightly.
"Any other concerns?" she asked.
"I'm also worried about air on a plane," Daniel told her, "Are the germs recirculating over and over again? Is there enough fresh air in this small plane for the three of us?"
"Cabin air is actually healthier," Serena explained, "we have filters that keep the air clean. It's basically hospital- quality air."
"And, Daniel, see up above you?" Kate pointed out a small latch, "that's where the oxygen masks are kept."
"Okay, since we're on the subject of oxygen masks, I have a theory," Daniel stated, "I don't think an oxygen mask is filled with oxygen...it's used to place over your mouth to muffle your screams."
Daniel was being sarcastic, but Serena and Kate laughed heartily and that helped to relax Daniel, too. He never realized how ridiculous he sounded until he said his fears out loud.
"Daniel," Kate said gently, "We don't have to fly, if you don't want to. But if we do, it'll be because your desire to reach your destination in order to continue the investigation is stronger than your fear of flying."
That is exactly what Daniel needed to hear.
"You're right, Kate, of course," he took a deep breath,"I think I can do it. I'm ready."
Kate looked hopeful, "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Daniel gave a wobbly smile "Let's go."
Kate turned to Serena, "You've heard him, Serena. Let's go!"
They were ready to fly. Serena pushed the throttle to the wall and suddenly the small Cessna picked up speed on the runway. Daniel closed his eyes as the plane accelerated on the runway. He felt Kate's hand over his and it assured him. Then he heard a thrust of the engine and felt himself being pushed a little back in his seat. Then there was a swooshing sound and when he opened his eyes, they were airborne.
"That take off was fast," Daniel commented, "my body didn't have time to understand that it defied the laws of gravity."
Kate laughed pleasantly which pleased Daniel. When the plane had reached the correct altitude and had leveled itself, Kate gave Daniel a small pat on the hand and sat back.
Daniel opened his briefcase, took out his headphones and was quietly listening to music, while at the same time, he was in deep thought. At one point his eyes widened and when he turned, Natalie was sitting between Kate and him. He removed one side of his earphone.
His internal mind kicked in,"You have that look again," Natalie stated.
Daniel couldn't say anything out loud so he merely gave Natalie a confused look.
"You've been thinking about the case, haven't you?" Natalie asked, "And when you're presented with a puzzle, it brings all your concentration into focus and that sparks your inquisitiveness. Because you have started connecting the dots."
"Sometimes things that are not seemingly related are actually connected." Daniel hadn't meant to say his thoughts out loud.
Kate had obviously heard him talking, for she now turned to look at Daniel, "What did you say, Daniel?"
Natalie was already gone and he couldn't ignore Kate's question.
"Do you believe in coincidences?" he asked Kate.
She gave it some thought, "In my profession, where some people see coincidence, I see conspiracy. Why?"
"Remember I told you at the party that Jenny Clayton had a Bostonian accent," Daniel reasoned, "isn't it a little too coincidental that we are headed to Boston because of something we saw in Hilda Jones' room?"
"Are you saying the Claytons are connected to the Hilda Jones's murder?" Kate asked.
"It is an incredible coincidence." Daniel declared.
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In less than two hours, they had landed at Logan Airport in Boston. Taking a taxi, they checked into a charming Back Bay hotel, inspired by old European architecture. After throwing their luggage into their separately assigned rooms, they met up again to head out to Skydeck Pub.
From their taxi, they could see that Boyston Street was bustling with shoppers. The Back Bay area of Boston had morphed from Victorian elegance with treelined streets to a twenty-first century place chocked full of towers, condos, shops, restaurants and bars, including the Skydeck Pub.
The pub appeared to be the quintessential neighborhood bar and grill.
They entered a took a seat at the bar where the bartender was busy wiping down the glasses, getting ready for another day. He seemed to be a cheerful, portly gentleman with a handlebar mustache. At last the bartender came to where they sat and asked what he could get them.
"Just a glass of club soda for me," Daniel said.
"Make that two," responded Kate. The bartender filled up two iced glasses with the club soda.
"So what brings you lovebirds to Boston?" the bartender inquired, as he placed their drinks on the counter.
"We're not a couple," Daniel immediately answered.
The bartender smiled, "You don't say now? I've been in this business for 20-plus years, son, and I know a couple when I see it!"
This time both Daniel and Kate blushed.
Although Kate's coloring was still rosy, she managed to bring up her badge, "I'm agent Kate Moretti from the FBI and we are here to inquire about Hilda Jones."
The bartender's brow shot up, "So you want to know about old Hildy?
"So you know her?" Daniel asked expectedly.
He looked at the two of them cynically, "Why is the FBI so interested?"
Kate opened her mouth to fudge the truth a bit, but decided to be upfront, "It's difficult to tell you this, but I'm sorry to say that Ms. Jones is dead."
He looked shocked, "Dead?"
"Murdered," Daniel continued bluntly, "and in front of my house."
"Ohhhh boy," he said, as he proceeded to reached over for a shot drink and pour himself a drink.
"We're sorry to break the news to you this way," Kate empathized.
But the bartender brushed that comment aside, "Oh no, that's fine. I was just...momentarily shocked, though I shouldn't be."
Daniel and Kate exchanged looks.
"Care to explain?" Kate asked.
"Hilda Jones, along with her brother Henry used to own this pub," the bartender told them, whose name was Sam Baxter, "One day, the mob decided they wanted a piece of this business, so they demanded protection money. Hilda was always the feisty one and refused. A week later, her brother was found in a ditch dead, and she was beaten up pretty bad, supposedly to teach everyone in the neighborhood a lesson."
"Such a sad tale," Kate commented, now taking a sip of her drink.
Bartender Sam shook his head, "Tell me about it. Folks didn't think she would make it. But her stubborn self pulled through, although her brain never worked right. Then she disappeared."
"And what happened to the bar?" Daniel asked.
"That's where it gets complicated," bartender Sam claimed, "The mob produced allegedly forged documents stating that Hilda and Henry sold it to them but it didn't hold up in court so they never took over. And then one of the mobsters behind the takeover ratted out the other two goons, which sent them to jail."
"And don't tell me...the mobster who betrayed his cronies was then promised immunity and put into witness protection?" Kate asked.
The bartender shrugged, "Who knows? All I know is that he's gone, Hilda became crazy and I never heard of her again until right now."
"Do you happen to remember the name of the mobster who snitched on the others?"
Bartender Sam looked up at the ceiling, "Let's see...it was pretty big news back in the day...I think his name was Terry? no, no...it was more like one syllable...Troy? No, but chose...uh...Trey? yeah, that's it! Trey Canto."
Kate took out a notepad and jotted the name down, "By the way, Mr. Baxter, do the letters H-Y-S-T-I-C-S mean anything to you?"
"Hystics?" He scowled in puzzlement," Can't rightly say that I've heard that word before, but whatever it means, it doesn't sound pleasant...sounds like a disease you get or something... why?"
"No reason," Daniel said, somewhat disappointed.
Some other customers had started arriving and soon bartender Sam left to attend to the others, leaving Daniel and Kate alone at their end of the bar.
"Do you think this Trey Canto somehow found his way to Chicago, found Hilda and then killed her as a way of revenge?" Daniel asked.
Kate shook her head, "That doesn't make any sense. Canto is in witness protection. He would want to steer as far away from anything from his past as much as possible. He wouldn't risk his identity being found out. Besides, if he was the one who DID kill Hilda Jones, how could he have gotten the knife that was in your kitchen?"
"Maybe through the famous telekinesis method of HYSTICS," jested Daniel.
"You're determined to fit those letters in, aren't you?" Kate smiled, but as she took another sip, when an idea suddenly burst into her mind.
Excitedly she grabbed Daniel's arm. Unfortunately at the same time, he was lifting his glass of club soda to take a drink. Everything had happened so quickly. Daniel's arm was jerked abruptly sideways, sending the glass of club soda crashing to the floor, where it fell and broke into hundreds of pieces.
Both Daniel and Kate tried to get away from the spilled liquid and stood up, startled.
"Sorry, Daniel, " Kate began.
"Kate, I hadn't expected-" Daniel stated at the same time.
Kate looked down. The drink had managed to hit the midpart of her blouse before it went tumbling down to the floor. The spilt now liquid felt cold and clammy against her skin. Meanwhile Daniel had grabbed a towel that had been left by the bartender on the counter and proceeded to try and dab at the spilled spot on Kate's white shirt. It did not help at all.
"Daniel, what are you doing?"
He stopped mid-dab when he realized he was physically touching Kate's front torso with the cloth. Heat rose on his face.
"Cleaning your...uh...stain..." Daniel just held the towel in mid-rub. He didn't know how to continue as he could only stare at her stunned face.
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