Chapter 6
455 Words
Chapter Six
After that revelation, “no” was all I could manage, as a significant amount of brain-freeze had developed.
“There’s more,” Ramirez said. This time he would not meet my gaze.
“What?” I squeaked.
“Two years ago, your parents, Richard and Eileen Jackson perished when their plane crashed while in transit from Albuquerque to Colorado Springs.”
I shuddered at the memory but added, “Yes, along with their pilot, Phil Stevens.”
“According to the official report,” Ramirez nodded toward the thickly-bound document he was holding, “all three passengers were accounted for and identified by their dental records. The investigator ruled the cause of the crash as engine failure, which was consistent with the pilot’s final communication. In the end, it was considered an untimely, albeit tragic accident and the investigation was subsequently closed.” This was not news to me, so I simply nodded in agreement.
“A couple of days ago, I was in Starbucks getting my morning brew when I was approached by two men who introduced themselves as private investigators from Los Angeles. Although I was skeptical, they indicated they had some information to offer. Typically with PIs, it’s the other way around, so I decided to hear them out.
“They were searching for a client of theirs who had recently gone missing after heading to Phoenix. That client was Victoria Winestone. Unfortunately, I had to break the news about her death.
“As it turned out, Victoria had hired them six months earlier to quietly look into your parent’s accident—everything from the events leading up to the crash to the investigation that followed.” Ramirez stopped briefly to let this sink in.
Frankly, I was dumbfounded. “Why would this girl go to the trouble of hiring PIs to investigate an accidental plane crash? More importantly, why was she even interested in my family in the first place?”
“According to the PIs, Victoria was convinced the crash was not accidental. She felt bigger forces were at play. Forces that not only affected your family but hers as well. The thing is, Victoria’s parents recently died, too,” he said solemnly.
“Wow, that is awful, though I still don’t see the correlation…”
When I didn’t finish my thought, Ramirez completed it for me, “I know it’s not going to make any sense, but there was a correlation, a connection between all of you. Victoria had proof of it. Proof you were her sister. Proof you were both adopted.” He paused to look at me and for a moment, I wondered what he saw: fear, disbelief, horror?
Whatever it was, he let pass and continued on, though his voice had grown quiet, “The PIs indicated Victoria had known about you and the adoption for some time but weren’t sure why she hadn’t made contact. They were surprised when she suddenly left them a voicemail, indicating her plans to travel to Arizona, for you. It was the last time they heard from her. The next day, she was dead.”
- Writer
