In writing my book Stalking the Sky or Stalking the Sky (Kindle), I wanted to introduce another suspect as the air crash's saboteur, one who refused at the gate to walk down the ramp to board the doomed plane because she claimed to have gotten a premonition that it would crash. She would later remember something that occurred at the gate that would prove to be crucial in identifying the actual saboteur.
Here's an excerpt:
Through the opening the men could see the back of a blond-haired woman in a black leotard sitting cross-legged on the floor. . . . A murmuring sound emanated from the room as if she were speaking to someone. . . .
Off the screen and without makeup, the famous seductress's face seemed fresh and wholesome, her large eyes clear. She rose gracefully and approached them. The sex-symbol promotion upon which her early career had been built left her visitors unprepared for the intelligence in her voice.
"I usually meditate in the nude, so I thank you for telephoning first."
Clayton wondered how much more there could be to see. The deep V-neck of her leotard exposed large expanses of breast, and the nipples pressed visibly through the taut material.
"You were talking to someone?"
"To Rolf."
Both men looked stunned.
"Or trying to," she continued in explanation. "But he's probably holding off contacting me out of pure spite."
"You've heard from him since the crash?" asked Clayton sharply.
"No, have you?"
Clayton was confused. "Why would he contact me?"
"He was rather an admirer of the Bureau." Darlene gestured toward the large pillows spilled randomly about the floor. "Why don't you sit down?"
Clayton dropped clumsily onto a pillow after great exertion. Will followed with more grace, accustomed to lowering himself on the strength of his single full leg.
"I have a feeling we're not speaking the same language," Clayton said.
"His spirit must be quite confused. They often are, after an accident. It's difficult for them to make the transition when they've had so sudden and violent a passing."
Clayton took a deep breath. "Let's start again, Miss Valentine. Is your husband dead?"
"That's what your people told me. They found his physical body."
"Then who were you talking with before we came in?"
"I was trying to contact his spirit. He's probably wandering around out there."
"In Utah?"
"In confusion. Space and time don't exist in the spirit world. He's having difficulty making the transition, I just know it."
"Please, Miss Valentine, let's keep the conversation to this world. Was your marriage unhappy?"
She nodded.
"Unhappy enough for you to place a bomb aboard his plane?"
Her eyes snapped wide open in apparent astonishment. "Why would you think that?"
"Witnesses at the airport reported hearing you tell people the plane would crash."
"Yes, I knew it would happen. Oh, not the way you're thinking. I suddenly had a vision in my mind of the plane bursting into flames. It was terrible!"
Will spoke up for the first time, sarcasm edging into his voice. "You seem quite composed for someone who has just lost her husband so 'terribly.'"
"Once I could no longer stop him or all those others, it was clear to me that they were all meant to make the transition."
"Miss Valentine," Clayton interjected harshly, "the ramp agent told us that your husband walked aboard the plane with a large attaché case. Do you happen to know what was in it?"
"Of course, promotional materials for the interviews. Greater Good—the picture we just made together—opens around the country tomorrow, and we had a string of TV and newspaper interviews coming up. Denver was the first. We thought announcing the divorce right now would hurt the film."
Will bent forward, his prosecutorial training surfacing. "So you continued to live together—and hate each other. . . . Perhaps it was to your benefit to have him dead: more profits, no worry about dividing up community property." . . .
Her face grew very sorrowful and then began to twist in anguish.
"I'm so sad for you, Mr. Nye. I'm so sad for everyone who lost a loved one on the plane. You have so few real friends. You trust so few that each is particularly precious."
Her eyelids lifted. "I'm sorry. I really am."
Will realized that his fingernails were digging into his thighs and that he could not speak.
"Perhaps if your friend had been psychic," Darlene added, "he'd have been alive today."
Read more: Stalking the Sky or Stalking the Sky (Kindle). bit.ly/PojdHz
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