It was 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday in the lobby of the Residence Inn.
Howard sat in the lobby wearing his Fedora hat and sunglasses. He peeked over the top of his newspaper, then sipped his coffee, which was taken from the continental breakfast area for the hotel guests.
Howard observed Brett walking out of the elevators through the lobby, his suit and flight bag in hand. “Why is he wearing a suit?” he whispered.
After Brett exited through the hotel’s front doors, Howard got up from his chair.
In Corrie’s kitchen, she drank her morning coffee. Her eyes widened. She opened up her cell phone and looked at her address book. She made a phone call.
“Good morning, Tony; it’s me, Corrie Matherson,” she said into her cell phone.
“Good morning, Corrie; how can I be of service?” he answered.
“Your company is interviewing a Brett Woods this morning,” she told him.
A few seconds of silence. “I checked, and Manfred is interviewing this gentleman. How did you know?” Tony replied from her cell phone.
“He’s a good friend, and I would like to give him a reference,” she replied.
Meanwhile, Howard’s Cadillac tailed Brett’s Fairmont through the streets of Columbus. “I wonder if I should buy another car for my private investigator work? Maybe a Honda Civic to save on gas?”
Twenty minutes passed.
Brett pulled his Fairmont into the Sky King Aviation parking lot and parked.
Howard pulled his Cadillac into the parking lot and parked. Howard turned off his Cadillac and got his digital camera ready. He snapped a picture of Brett walking to the entrance of Sky King. He opened his cell phone.
He sipped on his coffee in Sidney’s office and reviewed other financial reports. His cell phone rang. “Sidney,” he answered.
“Your subject just went into Sky King Aviation,” Howard said from Sidney’s cell phone.
“Sky King aviation? I wonder why he’s doing that?” Sidney replied.
“He’s wearing a suit, so if you don’t have any business connections with them, I’d say he’s going for a job interview,” Howard suggested.
“An interview, well, that’s interesting. Very interesting indeed,” Sidney responded with a vast smile, rubbing his chin. “Keep me up to date on further movements and send more pictures later today,” he said.
“Yes, sir,” Howard replied.
Sidney disconnected the call and then immediately made another phone call.
“Bruno, Sidney here. Let’s move on to my plan tomorrow night. I’ll call you with further details.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Bruno responded from Sidney’s cell phone.
Sidney disconnected his call and did a small victory dance in his chair. “I should have done this years ago,” he whispered during his chair dance.
Thirty minutes passed.
Brett sat in Manfred’s office. His interview was finishing up. A knock on Manfred’s door.
It opened, and a man in a suit entered. He walked up to Brett. “Hello, I’m Tony Newark, President of Sky King,” he said.
Brett stood up. “Brett Woods,” he said, shaking his hand.
“I had a good reference provided by Corrie Matherson this morning,” Tony said.
Brett smiled.
“So, we’ll be in touch with you soon. I feel we could use you here at Sky King. Since our finance director is retiring, we need someone to run that department,” Manfred said.
Brett danced inside. His eyes widened. “Oh, can you contact me at my hotel room if you can’t reach me on my cell phone? I’m in room 406 at the Residence Inn,” Brett added.
“Sure thing,” Manfred replied, jotting down the information.
Ten minutes passed.
Howard watched Brett walk out of the Sky King building with a spring in his step. He walked over to his car.
Brett got inside his Fairmont. He cranked it up and drove out of the parking lot.
Howard’s Cadillac tailed the Fairmont.
Later, outside Corrie’s Flying Service, Brett parked his car in the lot.
Brett got out and removed his suit jacket and tie. He tossed them on the other end of the seat. He reached inside, down at the passenger floorboard, grabbing his flight bag. He got out of the car with the bag in hand.
Brett strutted to Corrie’s building, whistling a happy tune with a spring in his step.
Brett entered and saw Corrie at the front counter in the lobby. She was talking to Britney.
“Brett, you look very handsome this morning,” Corrie said.
“I just came back from my job interview,” he said, smiling.
“Based on your smile, I take it went very well?”
“Sounds like they’ll be making an offer,” he replied, grinning.
“Very good, now. Are you ready to get airborne?”
“I’m ready,” he replied, then turned around and went outside.
Howard watched Brett walk over to the Warrior from inside his Cadillac.
Brett started his pre-flight inspection.
Howard quickly punched in a cell phone number.
Sidney sipped his coffee, reviewing paperwork at his desk. His cell phone rang. “Sidney,” he answered the call.
“He left Sky King and went back for another flying lesson,” Howard tattled from Sidney’s cell phone.
“Only contact me when something interesting happens besides his flying lessons,” Sidney ordered. “Just document these types of things in your report,” he sternly said.
“Yes, sir,” Howard replied, and Sidney disconnected the call
He returned to his paperwork, wondering if he screwed up.
At the flight line, Brett finished his pre-flight. He noticed Corrie leaving the building and heading his way.
He got inside the cockpit of the Warrior.
Inside the Warrior, Brett had his checklist ready. Corrie got inside and settled in her seat.
He glanced at her and leaned over, kissing her on her cheek.
“What’s that for?” she asked, surprised. “I don’t think kissing your instructor is on the checklist,” she said, chuckling.
“That’s for calling the head of Sky King and giving me a good reference. You don’t know how much it means to me to get a job down here and leave my wife. Since our son died, my life has been so miserable, and now I have a chance at a happy life,” he said, smiling.
“It was my pleasure. Now, let’s get to work and get this baby up in the air,” Corrie instructed.
Brett double-checked that the carburetor heat was in the off position, then followed the instructions for starting the engine.
He flipped the beacon light to the “on” position, pushed the red mixture knob to the rich position, pushed the throttle up to the fully open position three times, left it cracked open a quarter of an inch, flipped the battery/alternator switches to the “on” position, flipped the fuel pump switch to the “on” position.
“Clear prop,” Brett yelled out the opened air vent in the window, then turned the ignition, and the engine started.
Brett taxied the Warrior away toward the taxi-way.
The Warrior took off on runway 32.
“He took off in the airplane,” Howard jotted in his notebook with time.
Brett flew the Warrior forty-five hundred feet above the countryside in the sky above the Columbus countryside.
He performed a power-off stall in the Warrior, then performed slow flight in the Warrior. Brett flew the Warrior back to the airport. Brett flew back into the pattern of the
Columbus airport and performed four touch and go’s on runway 32. He floated on one of his landings but quickly corrected it.
He made his fifth landing.
He taxied back to the flightline at Corrie’s Flying Service.
Howard sat in his Cadillac. His eyelids drifted closed, and then his head sank, chin touching his chest.
The sound of the taxiing Warrior is heard. Howard’s head jerked up, opening his eyes.
Howard glanced around, dazed, then spotted the Warrior parking on the flight line. The engine shut down. He observed Corrie get out of the Warrior and walk back to her building.
“He taxied the plane back to the airport,” he jotted in his notebook, glancing at his watch.
Brett stayed behind and secured the Warrior.
Brett got out and closed the door; then, he went around and tied down the Warrior.
He rushed over to Corrie’s building.
Brett entered the lobby of Corrie’s business, heading straight for the briefing room.
Corrie waited inside at the table.
He sat down, removed his logbook, and handed it over to Corrie.
She opened up his logbook and started documenting today’s flight. “You did great today. The stalls, takeoffs, and landings were good. You’re on your way to being a pilot,” she said.
Brett puffed out his chest. “It’s because of the great instruction I’ve been receiving.”
Corrie smiled and finished his logbook entry. She slid his logbook over to him.
Brett glanced at her. “If you’re not busy until our next lesson, I was wondering if you could show me around town. I would love to see it, and I know you would make a great tour guide.”
Corrie looked at Brett.
He crossed his fingers under the table.
“Go with him,” Britney whispered from behind the counter.
“My schedule is very light today, so it would be my pleasure,” she replied with a loving smile.
Brett grinned ear to ear.
In the lobby, Britney danced in her chair behind the counter.
In Howard’s Cadillac, he watched Brett and Corrie walk out of her building five minutes later.
They walked to his Fairmont. Brett locked his flight bag into the Fairmont’s trunk.
They walked over to Corrie’s Jeep.
Howard quickly grabbed his camera and snapped a picture of them getting inside Corrie’s Jeep.
Howard quickly punched a phone number into his cell phone.
Inside Sidney’s office, he turned around. He stared out his office window, sipping on a cup of coffee Agnes had brought a few minutes ago.
“It won’t be long until I’m rid of that Brett idiot!” he smiled.
His cell phone rang. He turned around, picking it up from this desk.
“Sidney,” he answered.
“It’s Howard; our subject is on the move with his female instructor. I’ll let you know where they go. And he’s spending most of his time with this female instructor and hasn’t been at the plant since yesterday,” Howard said from Sidney’s cell phone.
“Good. Email me all the pictures you take today as soon as possible,” Sidney ordered.
“Yes, sir,” Howard replied.
Sidney disconnected the call and gazed out his window, sipping his coffee.
Later that day in Columbus, Howard’s Cadillac followed Corrie’s Jeep down Lindsey Street.
Corrie turned her Jeep left onto 5th Street.
Howard turned left and followed her Jeep down 5th Street.
“You know something, after all these years, I’ve never driven down this street,” Corrie said, looking the Street over.
“Too busy flying to see all of Columbus?” he asked.
“I’ve been all over Columbus from the air; I just haven’t spent much time seeing it from the ground,” she replied. “But you know something, this part of Columbus has that homey feeling,” she added.
“I know. I have this strange feeling I’ve been down here before,” Brett said, gazing out his window.
Corrie looked interested in his comment.
Brett eyed the Irwin Home and Gardens they passed by off to the left. His eyes lit up.
“Stop!” he yelled out, glancing back at Irwin Gardens.
Corrie looked at Brett and got concerned. “More chest pains?”
“No. I need to check out this place back there. I had this weird dream that I’ve been there before,” he said.
“What place?” she asked.
Brett turned around and looked out the back window. “I believe it’s called Irwin Gardens,” he replied.
Corrie got curious, and she turned right onto Pearl Street.
She made a right turn on 4th Street and then made a U-turn on 5th Street.
She found a parking spot and parked her Jeep.
They got out of her Jeep and walked to Irwin Home and Gardens.
Brett stood in awe at the sight of the entrance to the Irwin Home and looked at the outside of the building.
“You know something; I also got a strange feeling about this place. A warm, comforting feeling,” said Corrie.
Howard stopped his Cadillac on the Street.
He leaned across the passenger seat and snapped a picture of Brett and Corrie standing outside the Irwin House.
Howard drove off down the Street.
“I believe this is a bed and breakfast place,” Corrie said, staring at the outside of the Irwin Home.
“My dreams of this place had beautiful gardens in the rear.”
“Why don’t we go investigate and double-check?” she said with a smile.
They walked inside the Irwin home.