James and Mary got Charles settled in the guest bedroom, agreeing to stop by his house to pick up some items when Mary drove his Oldsmobile to the Romsons’ home from the hangar.
When they arrived at the hangar, they found Officer Donovan waiting. Yellow crime scene tape still surrounded the building, and Officer Donovan cautioned them not to enter the building without an officer in attendance until the site was released. An evidence van was there, and a team was scouring the building and the surroundings for any evidence that might have been missed during the first inspection. Officer Donovan filled them in on what was known at this point.
“We have gone through the Bronco, Jed’s, I believe?”
James nodded.
“We dusted for fingerprints, and we found three sets, two in the front and one in the back, which is consistent with what Teddy Baldwin told us. We found a scrap of cardboard in the back end, where we assume they had their luggage. It said ‘Pete plane lo’ and a vertical mark, and there was a broken pencil next to it. Do you have any idea what he would have been trying to say? It looked like it was written hurriedly.”
James shook his head. “Sounds like he was trying to tell us something, but I have no idea what. Pete—we already know he took them, and it’s obvious he took them in the plane, but I have no idea what it means. Do you, Mary?” She shook her head, puzzled.
“Okay, if you come up with any ideas, we want to hear them. I don’t care how farfetched you think they are. We found some footprints over here, where the plane was parked. Two sets got into the back door of the plane, one large and one small, indicative of a male and a female, presumably Jed and Elizabeth. There was another set of prints shuffling around over the first two that look like someone supervising what the first two were doing, and then they went to the hangar door where it looks like he opened the door and pushed the plane out onto the ramp into the lake. Outside, there were a number of tracks of the same individual consistent with pre-flighting the aircraft. It appears he then started the engine and took off.”
James nodded his head. “That would be the normal procedure, except we would normally board the plane outside so as to make it easier to push out of the hangar. I don’t suppose Pete would want anyone to see the kids in the plane, though.”
“We checked with air traffic control, but there was no flight plan filed. Is that unusual?” Officer Donovan asked.
“No, not at all. Taking off from the lake is uncontrolled, and I’m sure he was flying VFR, which would not necessitate a flight plan. Normally, we would contact air traffic control upon takeoff, just so they would know we were in their airspace, but if he stayed low until he got away from town, they probably didn’t even know he was there. He could have gone anywhere from here. With the modifications we have made on the plane, he could go seven hundred fifty miles, give or take, without refueling.”
“Okay, good. Good to know. We have an advisory out to all airports telling them to be on the lookout, but those can be iffy. We’ll follow up to be sure they pay attention. This will give us an area of focus. Is there anything else we need to know about the plane or people?”
James shook his head. “Nothing I can think of. This just seems like a nightmare I can’t wake up from. I’ll need a copy of your report for my insurance company. They will want to be notified right away.”
“Right. I’ll have it finalized within the day. I’ll leave a copy for you at the front desk if you want to stop by and pick it up tomorrow afternoon.”
“Thanks, Officer. We appreciate your help very much.”
“Keep your hopes up. We’ll find them.”