The Digital Detective, Pay the Piper II

Last episode saw our hero (cough, cough) under threat. We continue with…

Fury © Piper Aircraft

Escape from Loch Haven

Piper’s corporate director was psycho. The rat bastard was enjoying himself.

I turned on my heel and left his office. The programming staff took one look at my face.

“Oh, my God. What did he do?”

I told them. “I think he physically threatened me or at least wanted me to believe it.”

The staff stared at one another. “He’s ƒ-ing mental. Regular people don’t talk to one another like that. That stuff about the forests, probably just wants to scare you. He doesn’t have enough friends to pull off a mur– a threat.”

Jennifer said, “He wouldn’t dare, but why take a chance? God, this is so embarrassing. Welcome to the Chamber of Commerce.”

He wasn’t merely uncivil, he was uncivilized. “Your boss is a psychopath.”

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania

“How do we get you out of here?” one of the guys said.

Jennifer dialed the airport and spoke only a minute. “Manny wasn’t kidding. He’s informed the airport to turn you away on sight. He put the word out for company pilots not to help you.”

“Okay,” I said as implications began to sink in. “Surely some sensible VP will stop this.”

The staff said, “On a holiday weekend? All the executives are in Vero and spend less and less time here. You might not see one for a week or two. At the moment, he’s the on-site top dog. He’s got you.”

I couldn’t conceive a way to involve law enforcement or the court, a kid up against the largest employer in the area, especially on a holiday weekend. “Judge, O Judge, willfor thou issue an emergency order to force Piper to return me to my doorstep?” In my head sounded Bill Cosby’s voice: “Right.”

Phoning Rich, my old boss, proved fruitless, never mind my investigation absolved his product. “You’re on your own,” he said coldly. “You’ll figure it out.”

I fantasized about a special place in The Ninth Circle for the principals in this case.

My door at Piper’s rooming house stood open. Inside, a woman was stuffing my suitcase.

© Piper Aircraft

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I don’t know, sir. Someone told management you’re not staying.”

“Is there a motel within walking distance?”

“Not even close.”

“I’m going to place a call.”

“Not long distance, okay?”

The reality of spending a homeless night on unfamiliar streets set in. I phoned Jennifer and told her the residence considered me persona non grata. Bumped from the bunkhouse, as Jennifer put it.

“I’m glad you called,” she said. “Nobody has heard of anything like this, but no one dares oppose an executive director. Yet if we’re careful, I think I’ve found a way to get you home.”

Bless her. Out of sight hadn’t meant out of mind. She’d been working overtime on my behalf.

“My heroine, thank you. Will you get in trouble?”

“Maybe. Screw ’em. I feel kind of responsible getting you here. No one guessed how insane he is.” I could picture her thin-lipped smirk. “If they fire me, I’ll file an ADA case naming Manny personally. They won’t want that. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

She directed me to leave my suitcase behind with a promise Piper would ship it after the holiday. I didn’t want to abandon my flight case with my discs, tapes, and listings.

“Take it, that’s a bonus. It enhances the plan. Let’s have an early dinner; you are going to need it.”

© Artisan DeLand
Skydive University

As we sampled Dutch sausage, she slipped me a ball cap with a logo that read ’SkyDive DeLand’.

“It’s in Florida a few hours from Vero,” she said. “Here’s the deal. Jerry, my jump master, has agreed to sneak you out of Dodge. We’ll wait until evening shift change, hoping Manny hasn’t spread the word to them. As we sail in, your ball cap and flight case should suggest you’re one of the brethren. Jerry will file a flight plan heading west rather than east in case someone is looking at eastbound flights. He will fly you only to the next light aviation airport, no farther. No need to expose him to additional risk.”

“Whew. I’m grateful as long as he doesn’t airdrop me from ten thousand feet.”

© Piper Aircraft

She chuckled. “You’ll take a hill hopper to the next town and after that a commuter link. Eventually you’ll come to an airport with real jets, which will get you to Philly, Newark, or LaGuardia. From there, you can book to Boston Logan, and find transportation to Plymouth. It’s grueling, but will that do?”

“Wow, thank you, clever one. You are brilliant.”

“I hate what Manny’s done to you and done to the company. Unfortunately, he stands a good chance of getting away with it.”

“But so many people know.”

“The executives are out of town and when they finally return, they’ll have bigger tasks than look into the unlikely abandonment of a consultant. But maybe, who knows? He’s certainly abused his authority and burned through karma.”

rescuing damsels

Return on Investment

Jennifer waved at the airport attendants and smiled at the security guard. Staff paid no attention to me, another jump junkie lugging a flight case.

We trudged onto the tarmac. I didn’t relax until we were in the air beyond recall. What would I have done if their impromptu human smuggling operation hadn’t worked out?

The trip worked exactly as Jennifer planned. I arrived exhausted in Boston well after midnight where my girlfriend picked me up. My car in Plymouth could wait. As we drove to our apartment in beauteous Brockton, she pumped me for details.

She laughed way too riotously when I told her about Jennifer.

“Leave it to you to arrange rescue by a fair damsel.”

Charon, ferryman of the River Styx
“Find your own way back.”

Aftermath

Rich, my old boss, damn his dark soul, had bebuffed requested help of any kind, even a brief drive to Chelsea to pick me up at the airport. He refused to pay his portion of the bill despite my investigation getting him off the hook.

Of course Manny saw to it Piper didn’t pay either, avoiding a dent in his precious budget. Outgo exceeding income is not a way to run a consulting business, and the chain of flight fees left me well in the hole.

UPS dropped off my suitcase. I gathered Willy found a job on the West Coast. Jennifer left Pennsylvania after which we lost touch. Piper shifted most operations to Vero Beach.

Manny, the crooked salesman turned crooked manager continued some months until I lost track. Somewhere Karma awaits. I like to picture him ferried across the River Styx where Charon boots him off and says,

“Find your own way back.”