“Do I need to tell you about my childhood?” she asked with confusion.
“If you think it’s helpful, then yes,” said Luke, trying to ease her discomfort.
“Okay. Well, my parents left me when I was just eleven. My father said he had hit a big one on the roulette wheel, but my grandmother and I didn’t believe him. They said they weren’t meant to be parents. But don’t feel sorry for me. Because if there was ever a woman meant to be a mother, it was my grandmother.
“Sh-she is. She was,” she stopped swallowing, looking down.
“Take your time, sweet girl,” said Max, seated in the front row. “We got all day.” She nodded at the big man, feeling suddenly comforted and protected at the same time, then continued.
“She was this amazing rock of Gibraltar. My north star. She taught me to ride a horse, bake a pie, and multiply fractions. She even taught me to shoot a gun. That woman made a living for us and somehow saved enough for me to go to college and get my pilot’s license.
“When I first started flying, I just had this small, used Cessna 402. Grandma helped me to reupholster the seats because they were all torn up. Then we redid the flooring. But she was mine. Bought and paid for. One night, I dropped a passenger off in Las Vegas, and there was this man standing there looking at his watch. He was wearing a dark suit, and I knew his watch was expensive, so I figured he was waiting on a private plane. I took a chance and asked if he needed a ride somewhere.
“He said he was waiting on his personal jet, but it had been delayed due to weather. He was going to the Los Angeles area, and I offered to take him. I don’t normally let people sit in the co-pilot seat, but he seemed harmless enough. We talked the entire time.”
“What about?” asked Luke.
“Mostly his wife. She had colon cancer and was dying. They had an amazing marriage, and he was willing to do just about anything for her. When we landed, he asked me if I could take him back to Vegas the next day. So, I did. It went like that for a few months, then one day, he said my plane just wasn’t going to cut it.
“I thought he was firing me, but instead, he pulls out this Cessna Citation Mustang. God, she was beautiful,” smiled Autumn. Evie, Savannah, Chipper, and Doug all grinned at the young woman. She spoke about airplanes like most women speak about shoes or handbags. “That plane had everything in it. He said he wanted me to be his exclusive pilot, but if he weren’t going anywhere, I was welcome to take on other customers. It was a no-brainer for me.
“As Annette, his wife, got sicker, she would fly with him just because he didn’t want her to be alone. Her nurse would fly with us as well. Now, they’re both gone.”
“What happened the night of the crash?” asked Hex.
“We left Los Angeles after his usual visit with Annette and stopped in Fresno. He said he had a short meeting with someone. I didn’t even get out of the plane. We lowered the stairs, and the bodyguard went out to a black SUV to yell at someone. I heard the voices but nothing else. Mr. Liconitis never left the plane.”
“Okay, then what?” asked Cam.
“Everything was going normally. I filed my usual flight plan, although the control tower said I didn’t. We crossed over the mountain range, and I heard this loud bang, and suddenly, I had no control.”
“We saw the photos,” said Chipper. “It looks like it was a small rocket launcher, and it went right through your wing. There was no way for you to control it.” Autumn nodded.
“I looked for a lake or something flat to land on, but there was nothing except trees. My best option seemed to try and land treetop and hope for the best. I saw the ravine below me. The one where they killed my grandmother, and that was the last thing I remember.
“I woke up once, just barely, but I heard voices yelling that they had to get him out of there, then I was out again until Cowboy showed up.” Benjamin nodded, standing beside her.
“After my encounter with her grandmother, I set out in the direction she thought the plane had gone down. I was shocked as shit when I found it. Autumn was trapped inside; her foot was stuck between two pieces of metal, and she had that nice gash on her head. Honestly, I was surprised she wasn’t dead.”
“Autumn, when the man was on the other ridge with your grandmother, what did he say he wanted?” asked Cam.
“He said he wanted his ‘pack,’ but I don’t know what that is. I’d never seen that man before, and I didn’t have anything in the plane other than Mr. Liconitis’s suitcase and his bodyguard’s suitcase. I had a small box with my snacks I always carry and my personal things, a purse, sweatshirt, that sort of thing.”
“You had the tote with the magazines,” said Cowboy.
“What tote?” she asked with confusion. “I didn’t have a tote of magazines.”
“Fuck me.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“I never thought to ask you,” said Cowboy. “I mean, I saw all these women’s magazines and just assumed they belonged to you.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head, staring at the magazines spread out on the table. “I’ve never seen these before.”
“Why would Liconitis have a tote bag full of women’s fashion magazines?” asked Hex. “Could he have bought them for his wife?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” said Autumn. “Annette really wasn’t able to look at anything for very long. She was so sick those last few months. Besides, the hospice center she was in would have had all of those for her if she wanted them. No, he was more inclined to buy her diamonds or rubies, not magazines.”
