Chapter 66

I spent those two weeks alone in Vic Villa. I enjoyed the staff there, even if the maid was the only straight member of the staff. The gay guys and I got along fabulously. They had directed me to a red neck bar. I went only once with less than stellar results. Oh I had offers, but none of them were up to my really low standards.

I drank real liquor from the liquor store and chatted on the computer. I kept track of Wilson's digital investigation. He found three women who had apparently been raped, but were reported as simple assault. Those were within the last two years and all were on Jefferson Island. Most likely there were others, who hadn't reported it to the police. They would have jacked the numbers had they been reported.

It looked as though I needed to do some checking. I couldn't think about it at the moment. I needed to keep my mind on what I was doing at the moment. All during those two weeks, while I completed the flight school, it staying just below the surface of my mind.

On graduation day Madison brought a bottle of champaign to the hanger and we drank it. I was happy that it was behind me, but I knew I wasn't ready for a coast to coast flight either. I needed to rack up a lot more hours.

Someone told the chief mechanic with Hanford Aviation that I had graduated, and might be looking for a plane. He was expecting me when I approached him. "Hi there," I said extending my hand. "I'm Sylvia Porter, I wonder if I might take you to lunch and talk airplanes?" I asked.

"Actually I was supposed to approach you to see if I could offer some advice. Hanford air is a broker for several manufacturers," he said. "We also can evaluate a used airplane for you."

"Well if the company wants you to talk to me then fine, looks like I saved the price of a lunch. So what do you recommend for a first plane?" I said.

"Depends a lot on what you plan to do with it, and that kind of thing. He said first of all let met tell you they aren't cheap to buy, operate, or maintain." he said.

"I don't know if you knew it or not, but I'm living in a small town. I live down in New Wales," I explained. "I doubt that I will use it for business. If I did, I might fly 500miles no more for sure. I know they probably told you I could afford it, but I don't usually buy things that eat. Sounds to me like airplanes eat."

"Oh, I never heard it put that way, but an airplane definitely eats," he said smiling.

"Okay what kind of plane eats the least?" I asked.

"Well here we go again on how you want to use it. A motorized glider is your best bet. You can take off and land in a level grassy field. You probably got a few of those down there. You could use the motor to take off get to altitude then feather the prop and glide as long a the air current were favorable it should go a heck of a long way on a teaspoon of gas," he said.

"I don't really think I want one of those. How about an ultralight?" I asked.

"Probably get 65miles and hour in it. That that pretty much the downside." he said.

"So what is the upside," I asked.

"You could land one of those in a field as well. You could get the motor worked on by any competent auto mechanic. It would burn regular gas and oil and would have the simplest of avionic, unless you want more," he said.

"Sounds kind like flying a Sopworth Camel," I said.

"Yeah it is," he said.

"Actually I like the sound of that. Tell your boss to email me the relevant links and prices to have it delivered here. I will fly it the two hundred or so miles home.

After that I drove home in the truck to begin looking at the statistics and cases that Wilson found. Nobody was paying me, but I had to live in the town and I had been a victim, okay a possible victim of date rape. It didn't take much to motivate me to take a closer look. In my case I would never call it more than a misunderstanding, unless there were drugs involved. If there were drugs involved, someone was going to jail.

"Hey welcome home. Believe it or not I missed you," Wilson said.

"Why did you run out of money or did you need someone to tell you screwing both a mother and daughter was just plain wrong?" I asked.

"No smart ass, I have a wad of information for you," Wilson said.

"Can it wait till I get a cup of coffee?" I asked.

"Yes but I don't know what you are going to do with it, once you have it?" Wilson asked.

"I guess it depends on how bad the problem was. Rape is a hard crime to get investigated and prosecuted. Even when there is good evidence, let alone when the girl's memory is shit," I suggested. "I know it was the drugs that destroyed their memory but that doesn't help when you are trying to put someone in prison."

"Get your coffee and let's see what you see," Wilson suggested. "You see things different than anyone I ever met."

I did as Wilson suggested. I had a cup of coffee and tried to relax after my long drive. Okay the drive wasn't that long and the coffee didn't clear my mind. I was still thinking about airplanes. Sure I could afford a hundred thousand for a restored airplane from the Vietnam era, but I really didn't want one. I could also buy one of those 30k ultralights and that did appeal to me. I didn't like the choices I had seen so far. If it had a good looking and serviceable body design, it also had an exotic motor. If it had a motor that was small and reliable, the plane's design was crap. I was having a problem deciding what to buy.

Then I planned to buy a grass strip somewhere near the marina. I even thought about buying an float plane but the were just to clumsy. The safest plane for me to own seemed to be a small motorized glider. I was going to look into that, in the meantime I had a date with Wilson.