Джордан Шор - The Search

Michael Williams looked bewildered. “It still doesn’t explain the text message.”

“Perhaps she noticed the plane was off course,” George said. “I mean, she’d flown the same route all day. She must have been used to seeing certain surroundings. And when the pilots didn’t respond to her every request, she assumed they’d died.”

George felt as he’d forgotten about something.

“Wait a minute, didn’t she send the text message around midnight, you say?”

“Yes, I believe so,” Mike responded.

“The plane was scheduled to land in Anchorage around midnight, am I right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, there you go.” George shrugged. “She must have realized something was wrong when the pilots never initiated landing. And when the pilots didn’t respond to her at the door, she tried to call the police, but was cut off due to poor reception. Then she panicked, and sent her husband a text message.”

“It takes a cold person to ignore someone pleading for their life,” Mike said, and shook his head firmly.

“I’m not sure I follow. What do you mean by that, Mike?”

“I mean, Captain Daniels must have ignored Elisabeth McAllister pleading for him to open the door.”

“He was most likely dead already.”

“I beg your pardon?” Mike said.

“Ironically, at the time she sent the text message, both pilots were most likely dead. Elisabeth McAllister’s assumption was probably true.”

“You think Captain Daniels killed himself before the plane crashed?”

“Suicide would spare him from the pain and agony of enduring a plane crash. Perhaps he killed himself as soon as he’d changed the destination.”

“Destination,” Mike muttered, and sounded baffled.

George thought his boss looked clueless, and at that moment, he felt quite pleased with himself.

“The plane deviated from its route. He probably changed the destination of the aircraft, and then killed himself. I mean, the plane was bound to run out of fuel sooner or later. An altered destination might also explain why the plane flew into the Canadian wilderness. Perhaps he tried to avoid crashing into a populated area.”

At least he showed a shred of decency .

“Wouldn’t it be better to head for the ocean?” Mike asked.

“If the plane crashed into the ocean, then perhaps there would be a slim chance of his wife actually surviving the crash. But if the plane crashed into the Canadian mountains…” George didn’t finish the sentence, but shrugged his shoulders.

So much for a shred of decency , he added to his thoughts.

“But the plane crashed into the Great Slave Lake,” Mike pointed out.

“Allegedly,” George responded. “Or, perhaps he simply miscalculated and the plane crashed into the lake instead of a mountain.”

“What do you mean by allegedly?”

“Just because the plane disappeared from radar near the lake, doesn’t necessarily mean it crashed into the lake,” George said. “It could have kept going. Perhaps it did crash into a mountain.”

“They’re searching the surroundings with drones, and they have satellite images also. They would’ve noticed the debris if the plane crashed into the woods.”

Once again, George thought of the German plane that had crashed into the French Alps, and how the entire plane had turned into bits and pieces.

“But he had to have killed his co-pilot,” Mike said. “And the pilots go through the same type of screening as the passengers. He couldn’t have brought a weapon on board.”

“He could have strangled him, I suppose,” George said, and winced. “Captain Daniels was a very large and muscular man. And his mother told me he was ex-military. It wouldn’t have been hard for him to kill his co-pilot with his bare hands.”

“You really think he could’ve strangled his colleague to death?” Mike asked.

“Perhaps they weren’t that close, or maybe they didn’t care for each other. Besides, he was going to kill every other person on that flight, so—”

“It’s not the same.” Mike interrupted. “Killing his co-worker in cold blood would be much harder.”

“Perhaps he was psychotic at the time.”

“Each pilot has to go through a mental health evaluation,” Mike retorted.

“A psychologist can only tell so much. Besides, healthy people can suddenly snap. Perhaps he snapped when he saw his ex-wife with another man.”

Michael Williams looked appalled; the side of his mouth kept pulsing.

“Or perhaps the co-pilot was in on it,” George added. “It could have been a suicide pact. Depression is contagious. Perhaps the co-pilot had his own reasons to end his life.”

“No, they didn’t fly together on a regular basis.”

George thought his boss looked as he was about to be sick, and he figured changing the subject would be a good idea.

“I hate to sound cynical. But do you know if the passenger load factor has increased or decreased in the past week?” George asked.

“Actually, the load factor has increased in the last week,” Mike said. “We’re selling more tickets than ever.”

“Fly F.A. or the terrorists have won,” George said, and quoted a man on the street, who had been interviewed on TV the day before.

“This doesn’t feel right,” Mike said and bowed his head.

“Well, it could have been a coincidence for all we know. I mean, Captain Daniels could’ve purchased the tickets for his ex-wife and her companion from the goodness of his heart.”

“Do you believe that, George?”

Of course not .

“It doesn’t matter what I believe. The only thing that matters is what you can prove. You need evidence to convict someone. Even a dead man.”

After an awkward pause, Mike Williams eventually shook his head and spoke.

“I find it incomprehensible a Christian person would do such a thing. Mrs. Daniels told me her son was raised in a home with Christian values.”

Once again, George felt as he had been sucker-punched.

“You didn’t tell her, did you?” He stared at his boss with wide eyes.

“No, of course not, George,” Mike responded firmly. “I just can’t believe a Christian person would cause the death of all those people.”

“Going through a divorce can be devastating. I remember reading about this woman who committed suicide the same day her husband filed for a divorce…” George paused for a few seconds, again to add more drama. “…and she killed their children the same day. Drowned them in the bathtub. One at a time, and placed them in each of their beds. She left a note explaining how killing her children was truly an act of mercy.”

“To protect the children from their father?” Mike looked mystified.

What? Why would you make that assumption?

“No, according to the psychologist who read the suicide letter, she killed her children because they no longer filled a purpose in life. Normally, a parent is supposed to be there to promote the welfare of a child, but in this case, it was the other way around. Her children’s only purpose was to enrich this woman’s life. The children were merely an asset, and when you’re dead, you no longer have a need for assets. So, in her mind, killing her children was an act of mercy.”

The CEO looked horrified.

George shrugged. “I mean, what are the kids going to do when she’s gone? Just wander around the earth without any purpose, with nothing to do, and no one to please? It’s not as if her children had lives of their own or anything—in her mind.”

George thought his boss looked as if he was about to have a stroke.

“She killed the cat too. Rat poison,” he added, and then mentally prepared himself to dial 9-1-1.