Chapter 20: Delta flight leaving at 7:30.
"Nope. They got a tight lid on it. Nobody's saying anything to anybody. We got most of our people over there and we can't get a darn thing out of them. Seems like the F.B.I. has moved in. Our local sources can't get anything."
"Okay," I said in frustration. "Thanks for your help. I'll just have to pray it isn't my fiancée."
"Oh, my, I am sorry to hear that. I hope she's okay. There were quite a few people in that building when she went up. We don't know how many might be dead or injured yet. Maybe give me a call back tomorrow. We might know more then."
"Yeah ... sure. Thanks," I said, hanging up.
I was sick to my stomach and ran for the washroom. I couldn't handle the idea that Nicole would be snatched away from me, from her family, just like that. I hadn't really taken my concerns about the danger seriously enough. I had lulled myself into a false sense of security and now it was coming back to bite me.
I washed my face in cold water and looked in the mirror. I was in no shape to do my job. I had one mission and one mission only. I walked to my boss's office.
"Harry, I need to take a few days off. I've just learned my fiancée has been in a building that has blown up. There's no word on if she alive or dead. I've got to go there and find out."
"Jesus, Will. Where is this?"
"Havenport, Massachusetts. She was doing some work for the Hepplinger Foundation. Somehow the Feds were involved. Most likely the F.B.I. They've clamped a lid on it since it looks like it might be terrorism. I've got to find out if Nicole is alive, or hurt ... or ... maybe ... dead."
"Yeah ... sure ... I understand. Listen ... stay in touch. This sounds like a big story and it has a local angle. You find out about your fiancée, then call me. Take the time you need, Will. We'll keep our fingers crossed that she's okay."
I returned to my desk and sat there, frozen in place, wondering if I should tell Angus and Mary. I weighed the pros and cons. It must have been five minutes before I picked up the phone and called their number.
"Mary, it's Will. I have some news and it's not good."
"What is it, Will? Is it Nicole?"
"Yes. There's been an explosion where she's been working and I can't find out if she's alright or not. I'm going to fly out there right away and see what I can find out. I'll call you as soon as I know. I'm hoping and praying that she's okay."
"Oh, Will. I'm so worried. How could this happen? How did you find out where she was? She wouldn't tell us." Her voice was trembling and she was on the verge of losing control.
"She's in Havenport, Massachusetts. It's not far from Boston. I'm going home to pack a bag and head for the airport. I'll catch the first plane I can. I promise I'll call you as soon as I know something."
"Yes, please do, Will. Oh, I'm so worried. I won't tell Jimmy. He doesn't need to know yet."
"Good idea. Thank you for that, Mary. You keep Nicole in your prayers and I'll do my best to get her out of there. I'll call you tomorrow for sure, even if I don't' know anything."
"Thank you, Will. Good luck. God speed," she sniffed, now giving in to her emotions.
I tore out of the office and down to the lot and my car. It was a short twenty minute drive to my apartment, but I made it in fifteen. I threw a couple of day's worth of clothes and my toilet kit into a travel bag and ran down to my car. It was a two hour drive to Detroit, but I was sure my chances of getting a late flight to Boston were much better there than from Flint or Lansing. I didn't worry about the speed limit, and thankfully the roads were bare and dry.
It was almost seven o'clock when I dropped my car at the valet parking and sped into the terminal. The hell with the cost. Time was of the essence. I stopped to look up at the departure monitor, looking for all the available flights to Boston. It was a long shot, but there was a Delta flight leaving at 7:30. I had to pray there was space on that flight and that I could still make it.
I'm an optimist, as I've said, and tonight I needed all the optimism that I could gather. Theoretically, I was too late for the flight. Theoretically, I wouldn't be able to get through security quickly enough. The hell with theory. I made it with time to spare.
Well, not much time. They were loading the last of the passengers when I ran breathlessly to the counter to present my boarding pass. The woman looked at me with a knowing smile. She'd seen this all a hundred times before I suppose. I took my handkerchief and wiped the sweat from my face and tried to calm myself down. I had made it. They had space, albeit a middle seat in the rear.
I was placed between a slim, older man who was leaning against the window trying to get some sleep, and a young woman who was engrossed in some kind of entertainment magazine. I had room. Breathing room. I put my head back and willed myself to relax and wait for the two hours and twenty minutes it would take us to get to Boston. The actual flight time might have been two years. I can't count the number of times I looked at my watch to see when we would arrive. Dozens, at least.
The Avis counter wasn't busy when I arrived and just after ten o'clock I drove my rented mid-size sedan onto Highway 1 north for my trip to Havenport. I had no idea where I was going to stay, but that wasn't my priority at that moment. I had to find out what had happened to Nicole.
On the plane, I thought of several approaches I could use to find out her whereabouts. The first and most direct approach would be to go to the hospital and see if she was there. I was her fiancé, so I should be able to get some basic information from them. But what if she wasn't there? What then?
Go to the site and talk to the F.B.I. or whoever was in charge. Maybe I'd recognize one of them from the airport where she was picked up. It was a fifty-fifty proposition at best. On the other hand, how many options did I have? It was a little over an hour on the uncrowded highway before I reached the turnoff to Havenport. It wasn't a big town and as I drove slowly through it on what I assumed was the main street, I saw a building surrounded in yellow tape, the front of it gone with only the rear left intact. I felt my stomach lurch and I pulled over immediately and lost what little I had to the pavement.
I wiped my face with my sweat-soaked and now soiled handkerchief. I sat in the car with the door open and waiting until I could collect my wits. I looked back at the ruins of the building, but couldn't remain longer than a couple of seconds. It seemed impossible that anyone would have survived that explosion. I had begun to believe that I had lost Nicole and that defeating notion took every last bit of energy out of me.
I'm not sure how long I sat immobile, but at some point I closed the car door and started the motor, driving away from the scene. I had no destination in mind and when I reached what appeared to be the edge of town, I spotted a vacancy sign on an aging motel. On instinct, I pulled in and went into the office.
An older woman came out from the back and looked me over. I guess I passed inspection.
"You looking for a room?" she asked.
Why the hell else would I be here, I thought?
"Yes. I'm not sure for how long. Let's say two nights for now."