Rocky Mountain Sabotage. Jill Elizabeth Nelson
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Rocky Mountain Sabotage - Jill Elizabeth Nelson страница 11

СКАЧАТЬ shorter the better.” He tromped away to hunker down on one of the cushions near the heat source.

      “I’m going to make one last trip out to the plane,” Kent said. “Phil? Cliff? Are you still my main men?”

      “What about me?” Dirk jumped up.

      “I didn’t think you’d want to handle luggage with a broken finger.”

      Dirk snickered. “You’re right. I don’t.” He turned his back and held out his hands toward the stove.

      Kent gritted his teeth.

      Cliff brushed past him with a sidelong look. “I’m about ready to smack the smirk off of Dirk.”

      Swallowing laughter, Kent followed him and big, lumbering Phil out the door. An hour later, as the sun closed in on the horizon, they returned with a full load of luggage and one stunning item that left all humor out in the cold.

      Kent hauled Mags’s wheelie and a bulky bundle into the makeshift hospital area. He stared down at his inert copilot, frost riming him from the inside out. Lauren took a look at his face and rose from her kneeling position.

      “What is it?” she said. “And don’t give me a slick answer.”

      Kent eyeballed the activity going on near the door where everyone was crowding around to receive their luggage. The prospect of jackets and additional clothing, as well as toiletry items, was exciting in a good way after all the excitement in a bad way. The thumping and bumping and babble of eager voices would likely cover any conversation between him and the too-insightful physician’s assistant.

      “This.” He lifted the bulky pack. “It’s a parachute.”

      Her eyes widened. “Isn’t that standard equipment aboard your aircraft?”

      He shook his head, bereft of speech as the possibilities—no, probabilities—buzzed around in his brain.

      “Someone else brought it on board?”

      “There is no tag on this item, so none of our passengers checked it in. Mags oversaw the loading of the luggage. She’s the only one who could have put it there.”

      “But why?”

      “That’s the gazillion-dollar question, isn’t it? Unfortunately, the answer stinks to the moon and back. Who would have needed an unorthodox exit from the aircraft?”

      The sharp intake of Lauren’s breath marked comprehension. “Only someone who knew an emergency was going to happen.”

      “Bingo. And the layout of my plane allows access to the luggage bay from the bathroom. Just sneak back there, don the chute and out you go. Nice and neat.”

      Color receded from her face. “So we have to conclude that the plane was sabotaged. Would Mags have had the know-how to rig whatever caused the explosion?”

      “Oh, yeah.” Kent crossed his arms. “She was the bomb expert on our flight crew in Afghanistan.”

      “She was in the air force with you? Somebody you trusted? Wow. That’s got to hurt.”

      Kent’s skin tightened. She’d said a mouthful. It was hard to explain the camaraderie that developed between soldiers in the military. Such a level of betrayal bit deep, and somehow, this woman got it without explanation.

      Lauren laid a hand on his arm. “We still don’t know why she tried to destroy the plane.”

      “That, and which one of our passengers was in on the deal.”

      “What do you mean?” Her brows knit together.

      He grimaced. “This is a tandem chute. Two people dive in it. Somebody was planning to leave with her, but got stuck in the plane with us because Mags was incapacitated.”

      Lauren’s jaw dropped, and she leaned in toward him. “Someone walking around in this room tried to kill us? Wow. And they could try again!”

      Kent delivered a single, decisive nod. “For now, let’s keep the discovery of this parachute our secret. Her accomplice doesn’t need to be alerted that his existence has been exposed.”

      “Allow him to relax, get complacent and maybe slip up somehow?”

      “Exactly. And we need to pray that Mags wakes up—at least long enough to tell us his name—or we’re all the proverbial sitting ducks. Anybody with the brains and guts to devise and carry out this sabotage plan will be quick to implement a Plan B that will glean him the same results—us dead and himself home free.”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4QAYRXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/sABFEdWNreQABAAQAAABQAAD/4QRjaHR0cDov L25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wLwA8P3hwYWNrZXQgYmVnaW49Iu+7vyIgaWQ9Ilc1TTBNcENl aGlIenJlU3pOVGN6a2M5ZCI/PiA8eDp4bXBtZXRhIHhtbG5zOng9ImFkb2JlOm5zOm1ldGEvIiB4 OnhtcHRrPSJBZG9iZSBYTVAgQ29yZSA1LjAtYzA2MSA2NC4xNDA5NDksIDIwMTAvMTIvMDctMTA6 NTc6MDEgICAgICAgICI+IDxyZGY6UkRGIHhtbG5zOnJkZj0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMTk5 OS8wMi8yMi1yZGYtc3ludGF4LW5zIyI+IDxyZGY6RGVzY3JpcHRpb24gcmRmOmFib3V0PSIiIHht bG5zOnhtcFJpZ2h0cz0iaHR0cDovL25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wL3JpZ2h0cy8iIHhtbG5z OnhtcE1NPSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvbW0vIiB4bWxuczpzdFJlZj0iaHR0 cDovL25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wL3NUeXBlL1Jlc291cmNlUmVmIyIgeG1sbnM6eG1wPSJo dHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvIiB4bWxuczpkYz0iaHR0cDovL3B1cmwub3JnL2Rj L2VsZW1lbnRzLzEuMS8iIHhtcFJpZ2h0czpNYXJrZWQ9IkZhbHNlIiB4bXBNTTpPcmlnaW5hbERv Y3VtZW50SUQ9InhtcC5kaWQ6Q0VERUQ0NUYxMTIwNjgxMTgwODNBNTZCMzQwRDlERDUiIHhtcE1N OkRvY3VtZW50SUQ9InhtcC5kaWQ6Qjg1NjlBRkI0N0IyMTFFN0FEQ0JGNDZCNjA0NzhFOTMiIHht cE1NOkluc3RhbmNlSUQ9InhtcC5paWQ6Qjg1NjlBRkE0N0IyMTFFN0FEQ0JGNDZCNjA0NzhFOTMi IHhtcDpDcmVhdG9yVG9vbD0iQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNS4xIE1hY2ludG9zaCI+IDx4bXBN TTpEZXJpdmVkRnJvbSBzdFJlZjppbnN0YW5jZUlEPSJ4bXAuaWlkOkEzRjlFQzM0MDkyMDY4MTFC RDg5REJCQzgwNzJCQzg5IiBzdFJlZjpkb2N1bWVudElEPSJhZG9iZTpkb2NpZDpwaG90b3Nob3A6 YTJhZWQ4YzItNGY4Ny0xMWU3LThhMDItYTUzYjIzOWFjNGQzIi8+IDxkYzp0aXRsZT4gPHJkZjpB bHQ+IDxyZGY6bGkgeG1sOmxhbmc9IngtZGVmYXVsdCI+OTc4MDM3MzQ1NzExMy5pbmRkPC9yZGY6 bGk+IDwvcmRmOkFsdD4gPC9kYzp0aXRsZT4gPC9yZGY6RGVzY3JpcHRpb24+IDwvcmRmOlJERj4g PC94OnhtcG1ldGE+IDw/eHBhY2tldCBlbmQ9InIiPz7/7QBIUGhvdG9zaG9wIDMuMAA4QklNBAQA AAAAAA8cAVoAAxslRxwCAAACAAIAOEJJTQQlAAAAAAAQ/OEfici3yXgvNGI0B1h36//iDFhJQ0Nf UFJPRklMRQABAQAADEhMaW5vAhAAAG1udHJSR0IgWFlaIAfOAAIACQAGADEAAGFjc3BNU0ZUAAAA AElFQyBzUkdCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAD21gABAAAAANMtSFAgIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEWNwcnQAAAFQAAAAM2Rlc2MAAAGEAAAAbHd0cHQA AAHwAAAAFGJrcHQAAAIEAAAAFHJYWVoAAAIYAAAAF
СКАЧАТЬ