“NASCAR pit crews,” Ten said with a so-there look. “With their identical racing suits with all those logos on them. His most favorite is the jack man.”
“I do like a man who knows his way around a heavy tool.” Ronan snorted, neither confirming nor denying that Tennyson was on the money.
Wanting to change the subject from tools, Jude grabbed the remote and turned on the television mounted above them.The Price is Rightshould be on and he loved to guess the prices along with the contestants. The screen came to life in the middle of a commercial block.
“Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!” an excited announcer shouted. “Watch as legendary daredevil Cannonball Jackson goes over Niagara Falls in a barrel.” The shot cut to a man jumping cars on a motorcycle, then switched to the same man racing what looked like a rocket in Death Valley, before landing on an unassuming young man who wore a pair of jeans and black tee with the word Cannonball spelled out with stars and stripes to look like the American flag. “Sunday, at one pm, I’m gonna make history. It’s time to say my prayers and name my heirs!” The young man crossed his arms over his chest and stared into the camera. “This one’s for you, Dad.” Cannonball pointed to the sky. Details for the stunt were posted on the screen.
“Who the hell was that?” Ten asked.
“According to Wikipedia, Cannonball is the son of famed daredevil Carl ‘Rooster’ Jackson, who died in 2003 after his barrel lost its structural integrity on it’s way over Niagara Falls. He was supposed to have gone over the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side, but the current took him over the American falls where his barrel was smashed to pieces on the rocks below. His body wasn’t discovered for three days after the accident.”
“Christ, now I understand why he mentioned his father.” Ronan shook his head.
“Cannonball’s gonna die, just like his Daddy,” Everly said from the back of the plane.
“What, honey?” Cope asked. He’d tried reaching out with his gift during the commercial but hadn’t gotten any information on how the stunt would turn out for Cannonball.
Everly ran to the front of the plane and climbed into Ronan’s lap. “Cannonball’s gonna drown. I don’t know how to explain whatI’m seeing.” She held her hand out to Tennyson, who took it in his own.
“Oh, no,” Ten said, opening his eyes.
“What did you see?” Jude asked.
“Cannonball survives the trip over the falls, but gets caught in the water. The barrel keeps getting submerged and won’t pop out from under the falls. He opened the hatch, thinking he could just swim free, but the power of the water was too strong.”
“We need to call him, Dad, tell him what’s gonna happen.” Everly looked between Ronan and Jude with a pleading look on her face.
“We’ll see what we can do,” Ronan assured his daughter.
“You bet we will,” Jude agreed, but had no idea how to do it. If he reached out to Cannonball through his social media, the man was likely to think he was a nutjob or might not see the message at all. There had to be a better way.
Everly hopped off her father’s lap and went back to her seat.
“What if we try to reach out through the Ontario Police?” Ronan asked. “They know PsychicFest is in town and might be more apt to believe us.”
“Yeah, but we’re screwed if we get an officer who thinks our gifts are bullshit,” Cope said.
“Well, then you just work that Sherlock Holmes thing you do where you tell the cop that his mother won a Betty Crocker look-alike contest in 1952 and that his father’s missing pocket watch is in a box with Christmas ornaments in the closet.” Jude waved his hand in the air with gusto.
“That might work,” Cope admitted. “What if we try to get in touch with his production team? If they’ve made this commercial, there’s bound to be people who are working with him behind the scenes.”
“So much for leaving our detective hats at home,” Fitzgibbon said.
“Are you serious, Cap?” Ronan asked.
“We can’t let this boy die, Ronan. Not when we have three days to save his life. I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t do everything in my power to stop Cannonball from dying.”
Jude nodded. “I’m in. Whatever I can do to help. Hey, Everly?” he called, with an inspired voice.
“No, Uncle Jude, I don’t know where Uncle Cope hid your tiara.” Everly shook her head and laughed.
“Wait! Copehidit! He said it was lost!” Jude turned an angry look on his husband.
“We’ll talk about your crown later, princess. For now, let’s stick to trying to save Cannonball from his father’s fate.”
“Do you know where we can find Cannonball?” Jude asked his niece. He figured if anyone could pin point his location, it would be Everly.
“He’s staying at the hotel with big red letters on the building, but I can’t read the word.” Everly wore a puzzled look.
