Skid by Rene Gutteridge

Author:Rene Gutteridge [Gutteridge, Rene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-49904-2
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2008-07-08T16:00:00+00:00

“Sir, we need you to move forward.”

Jake had just settled into a comfortable position, listening to music, his thoughts syncing with the heavy rhythm of the bass guitar. Since he’d moved to the very back of the plane, his back against the wall of the toilet, he’d felt better. He could watch every movement on the airplane now and not wonder what was going on behind him.

Maybe this was what it felt like to be in the mob.

He’d watched the flight attendants move passengers forward one by one and knew his time was coming. Soon enough, the flight attendant with an aversion to warm temperatures stood over him.

“The woman—how did she die?” It was a stupid question, but he needed to hear that she didn’t die because she was carrying something very valuable and someone murdered her.

“She was very old. Very old.”

“Can I stay back here?”

“I’m afraid not. We’re moving the body back here.”

Jake considered his options. On one hand, he didn’t want to be near a dead body, but on the other hand, he’d felt much less afraid since relocating, and a dead body couldn’t kill him. Haunt him, yes. Kill him, no.

“I’d rather stay back here.”

“That’s not an option, sir. Please, I need to move you forward.”

Jake looked at the old man and young woman on the opposite side of the airplane, the couple he’d studied earlier. “They’re not moving.”

The flight attendant followed his gaze. “That’s a special circumstance.”

“Look, I’d feel better if I could stay here. I don’t care about being near a dead body.” He did, but he tried not to show it. He caught her looking at his hands gripping his stomach.

“Are you still feeling sick?”

Roll with it. “Yeah. Maybe an ulcer.” He remembered this flight attendant seemed sensitive to temperature. “Plus, it feels cooler back here.”

She straightened. “You’re right. It does feel cool back here, doesn’t it?”

“Much cooler.” He moved his hands around on his stomach for effect. “I’m afraid being with the other passengers might feel stuffy. Then I might get clammy, then sweaty…”

She started fanning herself. “Okay, you can stay back here. But I’ll warn you that the daughter of the woman who died is very upset. It may not be a pretty scene.”

“I’ll keep a low profile.”

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