Janine was trying her best not to panic. The cameras, boom mikes, noise, and crowds made her very anxious.
“Mommy, you’re hurting my hand.”
“I’m sorry, Pumpkin. How about if I pick you up, so you can see better.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
Molly reached up to her, and she bent down, picked up her little girl, and positioned Molly between herself and Ryan. She held on to Molly as if her life depended on it. In desperation, she forced herself to do a four-count breath exercise so she wouldn’t hyperventilate.
Just a few more seconds. It’ll be over soon. Hang in there. You can get through this.
If she focused on her mantras and continued to breathe, she knew she’d be all right. She was familiar with the routine of dealing with Ryan. He’d been very clear when he’d warned her to not say anything if asked. And she knew very well the consequences of defying him, which weren’t pretty.
Janine pasted on her well-practiced, modest smile as she stood before the press. Ryan’s strong grip on the top of her shoulder meant he expected her to stand politely and not say a word. She couldn’t help but look for Kerri. She scanned the crowd repeatedly, desperate to find the face she trusted, the face she needed—Kerri’s face.
Janine had asked about her, and the flight attendant managers explained that she was in a different location until the NTSB completed its debriefings. Hers was scheduled for tomorrow morning and would last all day. Maybe she’d get lucky and run into Kerri in the debriefing room.
Ryan squeezed her shoulder hard and said, “Let’s get out of here.”
Janine looked around the crowd one more time, hoping to see Kerri. She wasn’t here. Where was she? Why hadn’t she called? Ryan had confiscated the phone they’d issued to her and monitored all her calls. He hadn’t done anything insane or violent yet, but she knew his viciousness was still there, just under the surface.
They returned to her hotel room, where Ryan bolted and chained the door closed.
“Thank you, Mommy and Molly. You guys were both great today.” He wore that sick smile.
“Molly, why don’t you go into the bedroom and lie down for your nap. Mommy and Daddy need to talk.”
“I don’t need a nap. I’m not tired.”
“Molly, don’t make me angry. Go lie down now.” His voice was threatening.
He reached for the buckle of his wide leather belt, so Janine ran over to Molly, scooped her up, turned her back to block him, and hurried her into the bedroom. She had to make Molly comply.
“Pumpkin, you have to lie here, be quiet, and try to go to sleep, or Daddy will get very mad.”
“I don’t care. I don’t like him. Why can’t we go home?”
“We’ll get home soon, but for now, you have to do what he says, or he’ll hurt us. Do you understand? It’s very important that you do.” Janine pulled her into a hug and cried into her small neck. “I’m so sorry about all of this. I wish it was different, but for now, we have to pretend to go along with Daddy. Will you do that for me?”
“Yes, Mommy, I will. But I still don’t like him.”
“Me either.”
Janine went back into the sitting room to talk to Ryan. “She’s lying down. All this has confused her.”
“Her manners haven’t improved since I let her live with you. She needs some hard discipline to make her shut that smart mouth.”
Janine cringed at his ugly tone of voice.
“Jan, darling, we have more important things to talk about.” He flashed her a smile with his perfect veneers. “I was devastated when I thought I’d lost you. Then when they found you, I felt like we’ve been given a second chance. I want us to try to be a family again.”
Hearing these words from him stunned her. After all the terrible things he’d said and done to her in the past, now he expected her to believe him? She knew better than to interrupt him with a question. She kept her face expressionless and listened.
“There’s one more thing. I’ve decided to run for Congress. I need you and Molly to move back to Chicago and live with me. Nothing will change about our current arrangement. I have an image to maintain and need everyone to see that I’m a good family man. You understand, of course.”
She certainly did. With his newfound political ambition, he planned to make her, and Molly, his prisoners again.
Janine would die before she’d let that happen.
* * *
Saturday, May 10
After a fitful night, Kerri woke up exhausted. She couldn’t get that image of Janine, with Ryan’s grip on her shoulder, out of her mind. What was he doing to her and Molly? Worry for both of them consumed her.
She was glad she’d been able to see Molly. Janine’s daughter was a darling little girl, who clung to her mother’s neck like a baby monkey. On the news show, Kerri noticed that Janine held on tight to Molly, and that she’d positioned Molly between herself and Ryan. Molly must be so confused by all this, especially when her estranged father had showed up.
Kerri had to see Janine. She remembered her cell phone number from when she’d stalked her and dialed it.
A strange man answered. “Who is this?” Crap. That must be Ryan.
Kerri hung up on him. She didn’t intend to ever speak to him. She didn’t like anything about him, and she wanted to get Janine and Molly away from him as fast as possible. Her ringing phone interrupted her rising fury.
“Good morning. I hope you’re dressed and ready to go. Meet me in the lobby for coffee in ten minutes.”
“Okay, Camille. I’ll be down in a few.”
Kerri hastily showered and dressed in her new Trans Global uniform. She made sure her lady’s tie was even, and she straightened the insignia on her captain’s hat. Camille had her sizes correct, but the slacks were loose on her hips. She hadn’t even stepped on a scale to see how much weight she’d lost during their ordeal.
A vision of Janine, wearing her blue uniform dress and her black high heels, came into Kerri’s mind. She was so beautiful that Kerri’s breath caught. Kerri missed her. She missed sitting next to her on the raft. She missed lacing her fingers between Janine’s. She missed the sound of her calm voice. Kerri missed kissing Janine. She really, really missed kissing her. Her lips were so full and luscious that Kerri could kiss them for days. Most of all, she missed looking into Janine’s pale-blue eyes.
Kerri saw so much when she looked at Janine. She didn’t just admire her beauty and her gorgeous body, but she saw the caution in Janine’s eyes turn into trust. Kerri had witnessed a fierce determination to survive when they worked together on the raft. She’s seen resigned sadness, but also grace, when they faced death together. Janine’s inner strength gave Kerri the courage to not give up. Together, they claimed the will to live.
A sharp knock at the door interrupted Kerri’s memory.
“Come on, Kerri. We have to go. I have coffee for you.”
As she sipped it, she focused on what she would say at this debriefing. She also listened to Camille’s advice in the car ride over to the NTSB field office, located in the Honolulu Federal Building.
“Only answer the direct question they’re asking. Don’t volunteer anything additional, unless they ask for it. Do not speculate on what might have caused the accident. That’s their job. Keep your temper in check no matter what they say. This will all be filmed. Got it?”
“Yes, Camille. Thank you.”
Kerri was very glad she’d gone through prisoner-of-war training in Air Force Survival School. This would be a hostile interrogation. Every word she uttered would be scrutinized.
After federal officers checked their credentials, Camille led her down a long corridor. She rounded the corner, saw Janine, and stopped completely. After they locked eyes for a long moment, they walked toward each other with outstretched arms. Kerri wrapped herself firmly against her and buried her face in Janine’s neck.
“I’ve missed you so much.” She inhaled Janine’s perfume deeply.
“Oh, Kerri. I miss you too.” Janine kept her tight grip on her.
“Are you all right?” She stepped back to look at Janine.
Janine pulled her into another big hug. “We’re okay, but I need to talk to you.”
“Jan! Get over here. You have to go in now.” Ryan’s voice was a threatening whisper.
Janine looked at her, one last time, before she entered the debriefing room for the flight attendants.
Kerri’s heart sank in disappointment.
“Come on, Kerri. You’re not supposed to speak to the other crew members until you finish your debrief.” Camille led her to the pilots’ debriefing room.
Kerri walked into a large conference room with three separate tables. The largest one stood at the front, with microphones on it and seven chairs around it. Kerri walked over to the table on the side, which held two microphones. Cameras were placed directly across from her to record her every word. She saw her first officer, Ray, gave him a hug, and sat next to him.
“This preliminary hearing will now come to order.”
A silver-haired man in an expensive suit and tie pounded the table with a gavel.
“Good morning. I’m Robert Ellsworth, vice-chairman of the NTSB Aviation Division. We’d like to thank the representatives from Boeing and Trans Global Airlines for being here today. And, of course, we welcome Captain Kerri Sullivan and First Officer Ray Elliott. This is a preliminary hearing only to gather facts. We will not be providing any analysis or causal factors. Let’s begin by swearing everyone in.”
Kerri observed Robert Ellsworth carefully. He had a great deal of power over her life, and her flying career, and she understood that he would be deciding her fate. She had to impress him.
“Captain Sullivan, let’s start with you. We’ve already examined your flight-training records, your medical files, and your accident history with the FAA and find nothing out of order with your qualifications or training. We’ve also reviewed the complete maintenance history of the aircraft, and everything was up to standards. Please tell us, in your own words, what happened on flight 401.”
The entire room was silent, everyone waiting for her to speak. She took a sip of water, then told the full story of what occurred in the air and what led to the decision to ditch the aircraft. Kerri had begun to describe the aircraft evacuation and their time at sea in the raft, when Mr. Ellsworth interrupted her.
“Captain Sullivan. Let’s return to your first indication that something was wrong. Tell us exactly what you saw, and in what order.” Ellsworth was leaning forward in his seat, like he couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say.
“As I already said, the first officer, Ray, was out of the flight deck using the restroom, and Flight Attendant Janine Case was the safety person on the flight deck with me. Ray gave us the signal that he was ready to come back to his seat, I put on my oxygen mask as required, Janine opened the cockpit door to let Ray in, and then all hell broke loose.”
“It’s important that you be more specific with your answers, Captain Sullivan. How, exactly, did all hell break loose?”
This guy intended to be relentless in his interrogation. She had to be very clear in stating her facts.
“First, I heard, and felt, a large boom, followed immediately by instant fog in the cockpit, and then the cabin-altitude warning horn sounded. The red master warning lights came on, and I realized we had an emergency decompression. While we were completing the emergency checklist, a few seconds later, I felt the aircraft slow and start rolling to the right. I looked at the engine gauges and confirmed we’d also lost the right engine.”
Kerri was growing frustrated at having to repeat herself, so she took a drink of water and waited for the next question. She had to make an effort to keep her facial expression neutral. She could show no weakness before them, or they would shred her to pieces. Kerri tried hard to remember every word she’d said to them, so she wouldn’t contradict herself.
Ellsworth turned to Ray. “First Officer Elliott, is that how you remember the sequence of events?”
“Ah, yes, sir, I believe so,” Ray answered tenuously.
Kerri was shocked. He should have backed her up with more certainty.
“First Officer Elliott, do you believe Captain Sullivan’s description of events is correct, or do you know they’re correct?”
Ray was squirming in his seat and hesitated to answer.
“Do you want me to repeat the question?” Ellsworth sounded condescending.
“No, sir.” Ray stammered. “It’s just that I was a little fuzzy for a few seconds at the beginning of the emergency. But I’m sure Captain Sullivan’s recall of the events is accurate.”
“How can you be so positive, when you admit that your mind was fuzzy?”
“I don’t know, sir.” Ray hung his head.
“Let’s get back to Captain Sullivan. Are you aware that the automatic-engine-reporting system transmitted data on the condition of both your engines just three minutes before the mishap occurred? Are you also aware that all the engine data was in the normal operating range?”
“Yes, sir. I’d just looked at both engine gauges when we crossed the halfway checkpoint on the route of flight, and they were fine.”
“What happened to the right engine in the three minutes between a satisfactory engine report and a catastrophic disintegration that punctured the hull of your aircraft?”
“Mr. Ellsworth, I have no idea.” Kerri had to count to three before she answered, so she wouldn’t yell at him.
“Could a severe compressor stall cause an engine to disintegrate?”
Kerri hesitated. She didn’t trust this old fucker as far as she could throw him. He was trying to trap her, but she had to answer truthfully.
“Yes, sir. That is possible.”
“Good. I’m glad we agree on that point. Now, isn’t it also possible that moving a throttle rapidly to idle power, then quickly back to max power, can cause an engine to compressor stall at thirty-five thousand feet?”
Kerri was fuming. Not only was Ellsworth questioning her skill as a pilot and her judgment as a captain, but he was trying to humiliate her by asking her elementary jet-engine questions in front of the cameras.
“Of course rapid throttle movement at cruise altitude can cause engine damage. That’s why we have a warning in our flight manual. If you like, I can show you which page of the flight manual it’s on.”
“Thank you, but unnecessary. We already have that page from your company’s flight manual. I just needed to confirm you were aware of that engine restriction.”
Kerri was seething. She dug her nails into the palms of her hands to keep from screaming at him.
Camille spoke up. “Mr. Ellsworth, as a representative of the pilot’s union, we object to you questioning Captain Sullivan about basic aircraft systems. If you have no further questions relevant to this investigation, I suggest you conclude this interview.”
Kerri could hear grumbling in the seats behind her. Stealing a glance over her shoulder, she saw a packed room of reporters.
Ellsworth sat up in his seat, straightened his tie, adjusted his glasses, and tried to look dignified. “We will adjourn for today after one final question. Captain Sullivan, did you intentionally damage your right engine? Why would you do that?”
Kerri shot up from her seat. “No, sir. I absolutely did not damage my own engine. That’s an idiotic suggestion, and no pilot would ever do that.”
“We’ll see, Captain Sullivan. We’ll see. In the meantime, due to the possibility of pilot error in this mishap, you will surrender your Airline Transport Pilot license and your FAA Class One medical certificate. You are hereby suspended from any flying until the results of this investigation are known. You are also prohibited from leaving the country, and you will surrender your passport. I will find out the truth, no matter what it takes. You’re dismissed.”
Kerri felt like she’d been knifed in the chest. She’d worked her entire life to earn that license, and now it was being taken from her, possibly forever.