Chapter Fifteen – Reminiscing

Gemma Harrison was furious as she walked up the large paved path leading to the Harrison family house. She'd walked half the distance when she stopped to stare at the building. She wondered bitterly if the plain and simple façade that hid all the indoor luxury could be compared to their relationship. She wondered if people saw her and Kevin as the mysterious yet dashing couple on the outside and fantasized about their intricate troubles behind closed doors. The house was large but not overly so and didn't stand out among the rest. Instead it easily became invisible between the beautifully ornate buildings situated on each side of it. Their neighbors seemed to compete with each other when it came to decorations and luxury materials. Kevin had once, in his youth, lived sparsely in Africa and learned to keep the luxury inside to himself and not show off. In Africa it was common sense not to build flashy houses that would invite greedy thieves by telling them there was a fortune to steal inside.

Gemma huffed and chuckled at the irony of her musings. "What a simpleton you are," she muttered sullenly to herself and gently wiped the tears away from under her eyes.

She still couldn't believe that Kevin had something going on with that horrible, insensitive news anchor, Maggie Whelan. Gemma wasn't a complete fool. She knew Kevin had spent a lot of time away from her and probably had fed her a white little lie when it came to his whereabouts on more than one occasion but it still hurt to get the suspicions confirmed by someone else. And it was especially hurtful to hear it from a beautiful, bold younger woman while standing face to face. Gemma didn't know if that was the worst of it or if it was the fact that the woman had accused her husband of trying to kill everyone including herself on that supersonic flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Maggie Whelan's words had violated her trust in Kevin and everything she believed in. However, she had to admit that there was something strange going on at the company too and she couldn't get her head around the fact that she had been talked out of seeing her husband one last time by their family doctor and common friend. He had looked at her sadly when she'd said she'd wanted to give Kevin one last goodbye and had more or less disallowed her to do so. He claimed Kevin had died of a stroke during a charity event in Switzerland. It had been nothing dramatic about it, it wasn't like he had been covered in blood or gore. Gemma knew Kevin was stressed out and that his blood pressure was high but she'd never imagined he'd die from it. With a sigh in frustration and confusion she walked up to the door and inserted the key. The door easily opened and she headed straight for the TV to put it on, just like she'd grown accustomed to do when alone at home, at least it gave her some company. She then headed into the kitchen to feed the cat.

"We can now confirm that Harrison Industries has filed a report about the incident in which their military test drone deviated from its course and almost destroyed Federation World Airlines Concorde en route to France with several important passengers onboard," the male news anchor said.

Gemma whirled around to face the TV at the mention of her husband's company and walked closer to it.

"According to Harrison Industries spokesman Joshua Anderson, the drone was misguided from the control tower and several minor internal troubles led to a breakdown in the communication system. The incident luckily ended without any casualties. Rumors are that the military is still showing interest in the drone and its technology. However, further testing has been postponed until further notice," the man reported.

"Further rumors that the aircraft accident at the Swiss Alpine Resort would somehow be connected to the damage it sustained due to the skirmish with the Buzzard drone has been demented. FWA's Concorde did not crash because of the failed Buzzard test. Investigators are still working the case and nothing new has been revealed. Several passengers that we've been into contact with does say that the aircraft was fired upon even after the Buzzard drone had been destroyed. We've tried validate that statement from the French Air Force or FWA's personnel but neither has been interested to talk to us," the news anchor finished.

Gemma let out a relieved sigh. 'Maggie Whelan must have got it all wrong', she thought and once again headed for the kitchen area. However she didn't get very far until doubts surfaced in her mind. There was something desperate in Maggie's voice, the way she said it, like she was convinced she was telling the truth. It involuntarily made Gemma search her memory and remember things Kevin had said and done that hadn't made any sense – until now.

He had gradually started to shield her from his business, told her she didn't need to worry, didn't need to help him at the office. He became more secretive about day to day work and after a good year he hired several new recruits in various fields of expertise almost on a whim. When she'd questioned him about it he'd simply waved her concern away and said that the company was expanding in the profitable weapons industry. She'd given her a piece of mind, telling him what she thought about weapons but he was adamant. After another few years he'd taken to charity, lots of it. At the time she'd thought nothing of it and shrugged it off as a way of easing his conscience. He claimed it was good PR for the company. Harrison Industries grew bigger and expanded rapidly over a short amount of time but Kevin had also started to work harder, both at the office and abroad to sell his merchandise.

She remembered when he got back from his second trip to Africa. He'd been devastated and his straight back was arching slightly, like he wanted to shrink and shy away. She'd asked what had happened but he'd just ignored her. When she'd given him a reassuring smile and said he could talk about everything with her he'd hesitated and then opened his mouth, like he wanted to tell her, but then he'd just as suddenly clammed up. He hadn't been himself for days. A calmer year followed and they found each other again, rediscovered each other, did things together. His work seemed to come in cycles with more or less work, more or less contracts. When he worked the hardest she'd worried about him, wondering if he could handle all the pressure. Kevin had always been a sensitive person, a kind person – not the type you'd usually thought to be an executive officer in a large business. However, coming to think about it, he'd gradually changed over the years; it had been subtle changes, so small that she hadn't really noticed until it was too late.

The last year he'd started to travel and work late a lot but she'd thought nothing about it at first. He'd bought her presents and told her how beautiful she was, how lucky he was to have her. It sometimes felt like he was compensating her for something. She knew now that he'd spent those late nights with Maggie Whelan. She clearly remembered the day before the scheduled Buzzard test, the same day as the unfortunate incident with the supersonic aircraft. He'd been tense and irritated, he'd shouted at her for no reason and complained of a headache. She'd been concerned for him but figured it had to do with the exclusive deal he was to make with the military and she knew his days was filled with various meetings and other scheduled activities that added to his already stressed living.

She suddenly felt sick as she realized Kevin had fooled her a long time and she hadn't seen it. However, she'd known him for so many years that she refused to believe he was a cold bloodied murderer. Gemma thought back at the meeting with Maggie Whelan. The woman looked haunted, she was pale and injured, although her eyes had been clear, almost pledging with Gemma to believe her statement. Why would a respectable news anchor feed her a bunch of lies? She mulled over the possibility that there was something more going on that she wasn't privy to know about. If Kevin had managed to have secret little meetings with a mistress without her suspecting much of it what else had he left out from her? She shook her head and blamed her confusion on her vivid imagination and too many nights in front of the TV. Gemma calmly gave her black cat a fresh portion of salmon and disposed of the tin can. Turning around she caught sight of the letter confirming Kevin's cremation and hesitated for a moment but then something in her sparked and with determination she headed for the door with the car keys in a tight grip. Something told her she had to see her husband one last time.

OOOOOO

Sanna Daniels sighed in relief as her father came through the door. "Dad, there you are. I tried to phone you at the office. Maggie drove off and she hasn't returned," she said worriedly.

Lennie froze, a chill running down his spine. "Thanks Sanna. I'll take a look at her apartment," he said and hugged his daughter gently before he turned to leave again.

However, he only made it out in the garden before a taxi drove up outside the gate and a very familiar woman walked out, paid for the ride and turned toward him.

"Where have you been?" he asked accusingly, his voice tight with concern.

"Harrison Industries," she said simply, her voice cold as she walked past him.

He stared after her as he made for the entrance door of his house. "Are you out of your mind?" he hollered.

She whirled around in anger and stabbed a finger at him as he neared. "Why did you think it was a good idea to hide the fact that Kevin died not long after crash?" she asked. "You thought I couldn't handle it? That poor Maggie would break apart?"

"I wanted to spare you the pain," he said simply, avoiding to look her in the eyes.

Her fierce reply died on her lips and she softened a little.

"The moment I heard about it I tried to find out what happened. It's a lot of hush hush about Harrison's death, Maggie," Lennie said cautiously. "After a lot of digging by the news division back at Nightly News and the use of our contacts back in France and Switzerland I've finally found out that he supposedly died of a stroke the same day as your plane crashed in the Alps."

Maggie frowned. "Antonio lend you all those resources?" she wondered aloud.

"No, I took the liberty of using them and they volunteered. Those guys are amazing Maggie but even they had trouble researching the good doctor's death," Lennie replied. "Harrison Industries asks for us to let their founder rest in peace and reveals nothing news worthy and his wife is nowhere to be found."

"I don't know about that," Maggie returned and pursed her lips into a thin line of displeasure as she turned to walk into the house.

"Why? What happened at the company?" Lennie asked as he followed her through the front door and into the living room.

Sanna glanced at them over her shoulder from where she sat in the sofa, watching the news.

"I met Gemma Harrison in person," Maggie let on smugly.

"And?" Lennie pressed.

"I told her I'd slept with her husband," she said simply.

"You what?" the science reporter asked.

"Amongst other things. Let's just say that she didn't take it that well," she admitted.

"How hard did you hit your head?" he finally said in disbelief.

Maggie ignored him and turned to watch the TV intently as if to make sure she didn't miss anything out. The news anchor reported about a radical group that had taken responsibility for a shooting in downtown Washington and several minutes were reserved for that terrible crime where psychologists and a researcher on human behavior tried to explain to her and the general population why this crime had succeeded and the police bared the brunt of a massive critique together with the intelligence sector. The news hour seemed more diverse than ever. She grimaced as she began to work out the kinks in her back, her attention wavering thorough the various news. Then a name caught her interest and she returned her full attention at the TV.

"We have taken part of a freshly made report from the Concorde factory in Toulouse, France. The investigators at the scene of the accident and the internal investigators at the factory has come to the conclusion that the flight crew was not to blame for the accident and calls their landing a heroic deed given the severity of the situation caused by the opened cargo hatch," the news anchor said.

Maggie broke into a smile as a slide of pictures taken from the accident and the factory was run behind the news anchor. The final picture showed a photo of Captain Metrand helping Captain Patroni out of the aircraft.

"The investigators writes in the report that it is impossible for the cargo hatch to open mid-flight by itself. Several tests at the factory and at the supplier of the part confirms that theory. The technological department that is responsible for the programming of the aircraft suspects that the cargo door in question had been tampered with so that the handle would open by a remote command," she reported seriously, shoveling her papers around.

Maggie suddenly shivered at the thought of someone rigging what could have been a fatal accident. 'Why would anyone do such a thing and how?' She mused.

"There is no question about what caused the aircraft to start breaking apart in the air. The police and flight investigators are not keen to divulge further into the crash with the press at the moment but reassures us that they have leads that could further shed some light about what really lies behind the crash-landing in Switzerland."

OOOOOO