Chapter 31

Sharl offered to drive to the equipment store, try the key similarly marked, and see what was inside. I left her to it, brave girl, for she was the one most suited. Marjory was ill at home with flu, and Elizabeth was a bit too recent addition to our family to thrust tasks like that on her.

She came back to me later, telling me the store was packed full with large machines. She guessed from their looks that some were designed as sweepers for picking up lost nuts and bolts, loose rubber, and other foreign object debris, while several more were snowploughs for use in winter, and some that she didn’t recognise at all. I guessed that these would be towing vehicles for moving planes around.

Fortunately they were parked in lines according to their use, so it would be possible to bring out all three runway sweepers without having to move other machines around to get them out.

I asked what she thought was the level of expertise required to drive them. She said that the controls appeared to be simple enough, so anyone who could drive an auto ought to be able to cope, she thought.

I sighed with relief and asked her to arrange for three drivers to try them out, and if they felt comfortable, take all three machines out and sweep the main runway, three abreast, back and forward until the whole runway was proved to be clear; and most importantly, without visible holes in the surface, that would get in the way of wheels.

I was under the impression that the Air Force had used some fancy automatic detection system and I went online to search. Sure enough, some systems used a type of radar to scan the entire length of a runway and spot anything that showed up that should not appear on an otherwise smooth landing surface. That was the type of practical equipment that would have been automatically removed by the Air Force when they closed down the base, so we forced us back to physical checks and removal.

Sure enough, the next morning Sharlene was showing three of the other women how to drive these runways sweepers. I was told later about the fun they had, treating it like a race to see who could get to the end of the runway first, without missing any debris on the way there. The resulting arguments, about the losers citing delays caused by picking up debris, was hilarious at the dinner table, with Sharl trying to straighten them out about it not being a contest, but an essential safety task.

Contest or not, they had enjoyed trundling up and down the runway and finally being able to report to Sharl that it was now entirely clear of any obstacles to aircraft landings.

Neither I nor Sharl had told them what exactly it was for, so I quietly went off to the phone and reported to our friendly cop that the runway was available for a fixed-wing aircraft landing.

He swore. “Damn! I was looking forward to seeing a chopper land there.”

“Sorry, Captain. A fixed-wing aircraft it will have to be.”

“I know, Jimmy. It s just my boyish enthusiasm for choppers coming through. I’ll get a day and time arranged for you to have Jenny ready to go, with her hand luggage. I should think she has nothing of a heavy nature to take with her.” I agreed with that presumption.

Two more days went by, before I informed Chairman Yeats that shortly I had to be out at the runway to deal with an aircaft landing and departure. That got me a queer lock, for he was well aware that the air base was no longer officially rated for any such activity.

“A real landing?”

“Don’t worry, sir. It is all completely non-existent as far as formal air movements go. The plane will touch down, collect one extra passenger, then take off again a few minutes later; nothing official in the records.”

“An extra passenger?” he repeated. “Who?”

“Jenny. She is being collected by her parents before they fly off to a new hiding-place.”

“Ah, Jenny. Does anyone in authority know about this?”

‘A local police officer arranged it all, sir, and he will be there to see her off safely.”

“Very well, then. Try to keep your time away from your duties here, to a minimum.”

“Yes, sir. I see no reason for any unnecessary delay. I will be back at work the minute she is safely away.”

That mollified Mr Yeats, and he reluctantly approved my presence at that event, once I had given my promise to come back to work the minute the plane had departed. He was still the Chairman, even if I was his son-in-law.

Sharl told me that Jenny had been advised by her to pack her padded bra in her hand luggage, and dispense with applying her new make-up style, so that her parents would see her as the youngster they expected, and not as an older stranger. She grumbled about not being a child anymore, but saw the sense to it, and complied with Sharlene’s instructions. I marvelled at how Sharlene was these days looking on domestic life like a concerned Mom.

Then I returned my thoughts to the impending landing. I wondered how we would manage without a functioning control tower, but the captain explained that when he arrived half an hour before the arrival time.

“I have a small radio transmitter tuned to the frequency used by the plane, so I can tell them that they are cleared to land: essentially that nothing has happened in the interim that would make landing dangerous.”

“Good advance planning, Captain. Jenny is ready, and has all her stuff packed in two small cases. Will there be any weight restrictions in luggage, do you think?”

“None, as this is a private flight. As long as the pilot is happy with his take-off weight, that is all that matters.”

Every one of us except the ill Marjory was present to see Jenny off. I left it to the ladies to deal with the farewells. There were a few tears at the thought of never seeing her again, but we tried not to let her see these indications of our appreciation of her.

The radio squawked into life, as the pilot asked for landing permission. The Captain replied, “You are clear for landing. You will see us standing as a group near my police car. Please taxi towards us once you are down.”

What looked like an impossibly small craft appeared in the distant sky and slowly grew larger as it approached the runway. It delicately placed its wing wheels on the concrete and the nose wheel finally dropped to join the others. The pilot must have been looking closely around him, for once his speed had slowed to what from here seemed not much more than a crawl, he turned the nose towards us and carefully edged closer.

When still a hundred yards away, he turned his craft so that it was side-on to us so that we were not affected by the engine backwash. We could see hands waving at one of the windows, but waited until the aircraft rolled to a halt, before moving forward en masse towards the side door.

The door was opened and a ladder extended down to the ground. As Jenny watched in excitement, a man climbed down and extended his hand for his wife to follow. Jenny started jumping up and down in her excitement at seeing her parents at last.

“Mom! Daddy!”

Sharl held her back from running forward, and told her, “You are a young lady now, Jenny. Show them how you have coped with all your trials: Be brave and act grown-up.”

She released Jenny’s hand and glared down at her, holding her solely by force of will as the parents walked towards us. As they got to within a few yards, Jenny shot a glance at Sharl, getting a nod, then stepped forward and curtsied like a young lady before saying, “Welcome to the Hargreaves family, Mum and Daddy. They have been looking after me recently and treating me like their own daughter.”

Her mother took a quick glance at our peculiar and pregnant family group, then opened her arms. Jenny hurtled over to her and jumped into these welcoming arms, tears now streaming down her cheeks. Thank God she had minimal make-up on.

“I missed you, Mom!”

Her mother held Jenny tightly, her own tears coming out, and mouthing over to us ‘Thank you’. We all nodded our acceptance of these thanks, and Jenny’s father walked over to me as the presumed family head.

“Thank you for looking after our little girl, Mr Hargreaves. I don’t know what all happened, but the police said she had been hurt but was now safe with a family group. I presume that is you.”

“It is, sir. My wives have been marvellous with Jenny, helping her to recover from a sexual attack. She is almost back to normal, but will need all the care and love you can give her in the next few weeks and months. Take good care of her, for she is our little darling. We regard her like our own daughter now. She is growing up, but still needs time to adjust, so keep her safe; that is all we ask. These cases are her luggage, what there is of it.”

I gestured at the two small suitcases at my feet, and he picked them up carefully.

Sharl had stepped forward and spoken with Jenny’s mother; no doubt saying much the same sentiments as I had voiced.

As we stood there, a woman stood at the aircraft door and called out, “Come on, folks! Time to leave.”

Jenny and her parents turned to leave, but Jenny rushed back and solemnly shook hands with each of my girls, and then, surprisingly, shook hands with me.

“Thank you, Mr Hargreaves. You take care of these ladies: they are wonderful women, and will be great Moms.”

“Thank you, Jenny, for becoming our own girl for a little while. Now go with your parents and have a good life!”

Both her father and mother were standing, open-mouthed at this adult conversation from their little girl. She turned, grabbed their free hands (each held a suitcase in the other hand) and pulled them to the waiting aircraft. All three climbed aboard, and as each entered, they turned and gave a wave of farewell.

After the short time it took to get to their seats and strap in, the engine revved up and the plane moved away, turning to take off in the opposite direction into the slight wind; to where, I had no inkling nor did I want to know. We watched as the plane gathered speed and slowly took to the air. In an astonishingly short time, it dwindled to a dot then disappeared from sight.

We all turned back to the police auto, where Captain Thomson was speaking his last farewell to the pilot. He finished his call and spoke to us.

“That was awesome, ladies. You gave Jenny a great send-off; and Jimmy did not bad either.”

That set off the girls to giggling, and teasing me for my help with the cases and dealing with her father.

I told Charles, “I am pleased at how well you arranged that, Captain Thomson. Is there any way we can send a message to Jenny some time? I think the ladies would like to send pics of their babies once they arrive.

“Not at present, Mr Hargreaves, but perhaps if Jenny eventually asks to get in touch with you, we can arrange a method that is safe for everyone. I’ll let you know. Now, I have to get back to my other cases. Crime never stops, so neither do we cops.”

We bade him farewell, and took ourselves back indoors. I prepared to go back to my work duties, and Sharl nudged me in the side.

“One good thing about this, Jimmy: We can get back to welcoming you home without our clothes, and you can get back to making love to us, as and when we want you, and as often as we want.”

“But not at this moment, my love. I have to get back to work and help keep the business afloat. I had to promise the Chairman I would be back as soon as possible. I’ll be back home at my usual time. You did great with Jenny; just the right touch of control. Give Marjory my love. I hope she is feeling better and not too put out by missing Jenny’s departure, but we can’t afford for her to pass on her flu.”

I headed back to Copies, ready to put in my two cents worth. Jim welcomed me as I apologised for my absence, and soon had me shifting stock to the despatch desk. I felt better than I had for days, and slaved away quite happily.

It was only when we stopped for a coffee break that Jim revealed that Chairman Yeats had asked in the last hour if I was back at work. “He said to make sure you didn’t overdo things today, Jimmy. It is funny, but you are the only one off that he asked about. Not even Mr Emerson got that much attention.”