Wolf in the Shadows - Marcia Muller [3]
“This plane,” I said, resting my hand on the Citabria’s wing, “has it been moved since last Wednesday?”
The man shook his head, then looked more closely at me. “You were the passenger, I remember.”
“Right.”
“Well, it’s been here all along. The people at the counter in the terminal are getting a little curious; fellow said he’d only be tied down overnight, and it’s coming up on a week now. He doesn’t show pretty soon, they’ll have to do some checking.”
“He said he’d be staying here in the area?”
“Guess so.”
I couldn’t believe Hy had lied to me about his destination. That wasn’t his style; rather than lie, he’d simply employ silence. “Did he mention where?”
“Not to me. In fact, at first he wasn’t going to stay at all. Said he was going to make a phone call, then fuel up. But when he came back outside, he told me his plans had changed and got his gear.”
“And went where? Did somebody pick him up?”
The lineman shrugged. “Didn’t notice.”
“Well, thanks for your help.” I dug in my bag and gave him one of my cards. “If he comes back or calls in, anything like that, will you get in touch with me?”
His eyes widened slightly, the way some people’s do when they realize they’ve been talking to a private investigator. “Sure. You might want to check with Sandy at the desk inside. She probably knows more about this.”
“I’ll do that.” I gave the Citabria a last glance and headed for the terminal.
Sandy had curly auburn hair and a friendly freckled face, and reminded me a little of my assistant, Rae Kelleher. When I explained what I was after, she pulled the card Hy had filled out and let me see it. All it gave was his name, address, and the plane’s registration number. He’d also told her that he only intended to tie down overnight and had asked that they have the Citabria refueled.
“The lineman told me that Mr. Ripinsky originally came inside to make a phone call,” I said, handing the card back to her.
She nodded and motioned toward the pay phones. “He did that before he checked in with me.”
I myself had made a brief call before driving back to the city; Hy must have come in very soon afterward. “Did you notice if it was local or long-distance?”
“Long-distance. He came over and asked me for change for the phone, but I couldn’t spare any, so he said he’d use his credit card,”
“Did he make just the one call?”
“No, two. And he wrote something down, maybe directions.”
“And then he checked in with you?”
“Yes. Afterward he went outside, and a little while later I saw him talking with Jerry, one of the linemen who was just going off shift. I got the impression they know each other pretty well. Does Mr. Ripinsky fly in here a lot?”
“Fairly often. Is Jerry working today?”
She shook her head. “He’s on vacation—visiting his folks in the Midwest, I think. Won’t be back till next week.”
Dead end for now—dammit.
“Jerry gave him a ride,” Sandy added. “Probably to the main terminal.”
“What makes you think they went there?”
“Because Jerry’s seeing a waitress at the snack bar there and he usually goes over and has breakfast when he gets off.”
“You’re a good observer.”
“Well, I had a good subject.” She winked at me. “Mr. Ripinsky’s a very attractive man.”
* * *
I could think of only two reasons Hy could have had for going to the main terminal: to catch a connecting flight to a city that was far enough outside the Citabria’s range to make flying himself there a hassle, or to rent a car. And since he’d told both the lineman and Sandy that he only planned to tie down overnight, the latter was the more likely. It was close enough to the time of day when he would have arrived at the terminal that I reasoned the car-rental