Chapter Six

Their chauffeur drove up the circular drive at LaGuardia Field and dropped them off in front of the Marine Air Terminal. According to the official airport-time clock outside, they had twenty minutes until Johnny’s flight was scheduled to leave. He was probably already on board. Maybe he would see her wave from the observation deck.

She had been to the airport once before, when Floyd had brought her and Mom out on one of his plane-spotting trips. He wanted so badly to share his passion for flying with them, he even paid their ten-cent fee at the turnstiles to the observation deck. He explained the differences in the Boeing and the Douglas DC and the other planes, but to Kate, they all looked the same.

“Well? Where to?” Josie asked.

There was a loud roar and they all looked up, squinting against the sun to see a plane rising into the blue sky.

“We’re supposed to meet in the passenger waiting area near the globe. I think it’s this way.” Kate led them toward the rotunda with more confidence than she had, but there was no time to waste. While scanning the crowd for Johnny’s dark brown hair, she dodged passengers lugging suitcases that looked like oversize briefcases.

They found the globe but no sign of Johnny or his family. The waiting area was filled with nicely dressed folks waiting to fly out or waiting to meet someone coming in. She exhaled a little too loudly, and Princess Kolodenko patted her shoulder. “Keep looking, dear.”

While Josie and Nessa talked about the Art Deco mural, Kate dug through her purse for the piece of paper that had the Days’ flight information on it. She found a grocery list, the sketch of the stone cottage Johnny had drawn for Elsie, but no airline information. It was probably sitting on the counter in the kitchen.

Suddenly, hands clasped over her eyes and she froze, trying not to spill everything out of her handbag. Her heart leaped. “Those better be the hands of Johnny Day,” she said, faking an irritated voice. She peeled off the fingers as she spun around.

“Sparky. What took you so long?” He grinned, obviously pleased he’d surprised her.

“Sorry, we got held up at the hospital.”

“Elsie?”

Kate bit her lip as she thought of her aunt, wild eyes and clutching the diamond with a death grip. “She’s had a little spell. I’ll tell you about it later, if we have time.” She hoped Johnny would get the message and lead her off to be alone. There were several things she wanted to talk to him about. The sketch in her purse had just given her a new idea.

“We’ve got plenty of time now.”

She frowned. “I’m not going to make you miss your flight.”

“Oh, you’re not. There’s been a delay because of mechanical reasons. That means my mom is trying to talk my dad out of flying because the plane is broken, and therefore going to crash just like that Baltimore flight back in May.”

“Oh, don’t say that. Fifty-three people died in that crash.”

He waved someone over. “And speaking of Mom, here she is.”

With such little warning, Kate’s stomach barely had time to somersault before a petite woman, all smiles, came and gave Kate a welcoming hug. Mrs. Day had to tilt her head to not hit Kate with the wide brim of her straw hat, and her dangling earrings tickled Kate’s cheek.

“It is so nice to finally meet you,” she said. “Johnny’s never introduced me to a special girl before.”

“Aw, Ma.” Johnny put his hands over Kate’s ears. “Don’t tell her things like that.”

She cast a loving look at her son. “Well, it’s true.”

Kate grinned. She’d never seen Johnny so embarrassed before. It was a nice change from her being the one with the glowing face. “I’m happy to meet you, too,” Kate said.

“Take her to the Sky Bar outside and buy her a little snack,” Mrs. Day said while reaching for her purse. “Birdy and your father are still out there watching the planes.”

Johnny stopped her. “I got it, Ma. You girls want to come, too?” he asked Josie and Nessa as they rushed up from the direction of the shops.

“You bet,” Josie said.

Nessa handed Kate her shopping bags. “Be a dear and hold these for me? Thanks.”

Without thinking, Kate accepted the bags and followed the group outside. The Sky Bar was a small snack shack on the observation deck. Johnny bought them all Cokes and they spread out along the crowded area. Nessa and Josie headed straight to one of the binocular stands while Kate and Johnny held back and found their own place at the railing. Johnny’s sister, Birdy, spotted them and waved at Kate.

Kate dropped Nessa’s bags and waved back.

“Why’d Nessa give you her bags?” Johnny asked.

“I think she’s used to having people do things for her.” Come to think of it, Nessa often began her sentences with “Be a dear,” followed by a demand.

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to go with me?” Johnny bumped his side against hers and stayed there so they were still touching. They watched a small truck pulling a cart loaded with luggage up to a plane.

“All the way to Italy?”

“You should have auditioned for the movie.”

“I’m sure the other actors would love it if the producer’s son’s . . . friend . . . ended up with a role.”

He laughed. “My friend would be great as an extra.”

“Don’t you use locals for extras?”

Johnny shrugged.

Kate pulled the pencil sketch out of her purse. She started opening it when Mr. Day called out to them.

“Hey kids, it’s time. Come on, Johnny.”

“I’m not expecting you to find it, but here, take it with you.” She raised her voice as another plane took off. “I just want to know the significance of the place. Elsie had you draw it for her, and my dad obviously saw it, too, since he sent me a watercolor of it. It might be a clue, one the army doesn’t have.”

He pointed to the roof. “That gingerbread trim is pretty distinguishable. Like many things in your life, it’s a cottage from a fairy tale.”

“Why do you have a picture of our gardener’s cottage?” Nessa came up from behind, and was looking at the drawing with a curious expression.

“This is on your estate? My dad made a painting of it.” Kate couldn’t believe a clue to her dad’s whereabouts had been right in front of her all this time. “Why didn’t you tell me he’d been to your house?”

Johnny grabbed Kate’s hand and pulled her toward the building. “Let’s walk and talk,” he said.

“I don’t know about your dad,” Nessa said a bit defensively. “The estate is quite large and spread out over several valleys. We’ve got more than twenty farms, and we had all kinds of military men pass through from every country you could think of. We hid a lot of them in our forests and abandoned buildings. You said your dad was in Italy for the artwork? It’s possible he came through. Imagine if he did. That was before you and I knew . . .” She glanced at Johnny. “About each other.”

They walked the length of the observation deck and back into the building. Johnny held the door open for the girls. Nessa went in first, still talking. “You could ask my babcia. I spent most of my time keeping the children occupied. And I try to avoid the babuszka, our gardener. She’s, well, quite mad, to be honest. My mother made us bring her fresh bread and jams, but we would wait for her to go inside, leave it on her doorstep, knock, and then run.” Nessa laughed. “She must have a cottage full of baskets for all we left her.” Nessa put her hand on Kate’s arm. “I’m sorry I don’t know any more. I will ask around when I get home, though.”

Kate refused to let go of the new hope growing. If Dad had been to the Kolodenko estate, there was a chance someone there could give them more information. This was the best news she’d heard in a long time. The diamond was another unanswered question, something else just out of her reach. But a known place could be revisited. Surely someone would remember her dad.

“I’ll even bring the babuszka some pastries and see what she knows.” Nessa held up her hand. “Don’t get your hopes up. Your Elsie has problems with her memory, but at least she is sane. This woman, though . . . I’ve never known her to make sense my entire life. She’s always lived in her own strange world.”

“You forget, I’ll be there, too. I can help.” Johnny squeezed Kate’s hand. “We’ll ask around and see if we can piece together who he knew and where he went.”

They caught up with Mr. Day and the others. Mrs. Day’s arms were crossed, her head shaking. When she saw Johnny, she broke from the group and strode toward them. “It’s decided. You are not getting on that airplane today. I don’t trust it and I don’t want the two of you on there. Your father, stubborn man,” she said, shooting her husband a look, “will go on ahead and you can meet him there with the rest of the crew.” She turned to Princess Kolodenko. “Better yet, Johnny can escort you and your granddaughter.” Mrs. Day held her hands up to her chin like she was praying. “A perfect solution.”

Johnny’s gaze lifted to his father, who shrugged in defeat.

“But it’s perfectly safe, Mom,” he pleaded. “The pilot wouldn’t fly if he didn’t think it was.”

Kate could sense his frustration, but was impressed he kept his tone respectful.

Mr. Day came over and gave Johnny a hug. He whispered in his ear, loud enough for Kate to hear. “You can fly home with me. Don’t worry, I’ll get you on a plane yet.” He clapped his son on the back. “Time to fly.”

He waved a general good-bye to the group. To the Kolodenkos, he said, “I am looking forward to seeing your estate. Any message you want delivered?”

Princess Kolodenko held out an envelope. “For my husband. Thank you.”

Lastly, he kissed his wife. “I’ll send you a telegram when I arrive.”

After Mr. Day left, they all went onto the observation deck to watch the plane take off.

“I’m sorry you don’t get to fly,” Kate said, resting her hand on Johnny’s arm.

“It’s not all bad, staying behind. It means I get an extra few days with you.” He smiled, but his eyes didn’t light up.

Kate slipped a little closer to him. She was happy he wasn’t leaving yet, though she didn’t have the fear of flying that Mrs. Day did. “I’m not as fun as a first airplane ride. But I think I can help you take your mind off it.”

He tickled her side. “I’m counting on it.”

She pushed him playfully away. “It won’t all be fun and games. We’ve got a criminal to interrogate.”