Flight of Dreams by Lawhon Ariel

Author:Lawhon, Ariel [Lawhon, Ariel]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2016-02-23T08:00:00+00:00

“A few of them. Perhaps.”

“Then you have a greater familiarity with them than I do. So I will leave it to you to find the papers.”

“That is unfair. And uncalled for. If you need to find something, I suggest you summon Emilie.”

“You forget yourself, Herr Zabel. Male and female crew members do not address one another by their first names on this airship.”

Max does not apologize.

“I will reprimand Fräulein Imhof soon enough. Right now I am commanding you to locate her papers. And I assure you that I am doing this as a courtesy because I know you care for her. And that you will respect her privacy in ways that other men perhaps might not. I can call another officer to conduct the search or you can do it yourself.”

Captain Lehmann offers no time limits, no room for argument. Take it or leave it.

Max begins in the closet. He lifts the items carefully, sliding his hands in folds and pockets, finding nothing. The top bunk and the suitcase beneath the bottom berth similarly yield no trace of the documents. He makes careful work of the job as Lehmann and Balla watch. He wants to make sure that they cannot argue about his thoroughness. But soon there is nothing left unsearched in the room except for Emilie’s cosmetic case. And searching it seems the greatest violation of her privacy so far. There are things in this case that Max cannot name or describe. Items that he does not know the use for. It has her scent, though, and as he lifts the objects out, one by one, his senses are filled with her. He feels very much as though he is stripping her naked and allowing her to be ogled by strangers. When the case is empty, and the items are piled on the bed, he turns it over and shakes it three times.

Perhaps she didn’t place the hidden panel back in firmly, or maybe the movement knocks the panel loose. Regardless, the thin, stiff board falls out, followed by her travel documents and the cash she has saved. Max sees the note he scribbled on the envelope and turns away.

For the first time since entering the room Lehmann touches her effects. He gives the papers a cursory look, just long enough to verify what they are. He reads the message but does not count the money. He simply stacks everything in a pile and holds it in his palm as though balancing a tray.

“You may go, Herr Balla,” he says, waving one hand at the steward dismissively.

Balla obeys, quickly and silently.

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