“Will do,” Kat said. “I’ll also see if I can get them to hold the flight completely.”
“I’m meeting you there, Jessie,” Ryan added in a winded voice that suggested that he was already on his way.
She pumped her legs hard, as if she was making the final sprint in a race. As she passed gate 13, Kat spoke up again.
“I’m being told that eleven people bought tickets for this flight today and that five of them are women,” she said, “But not surprisingly, none of the names match. Multiple agents checked these people in so I’m having trouble getting a visual identification. I wouldn’t put much stock in that anyway. I’d be stunned if she’s not wearing a disguise.”
Jessie agreed with that but was too short of breath to reply.
“Also,” Ryan added, wheezing, “She could still have bought the ticket to throw us off and caught a different flight or left LAX altogether.”
Jessie didn’t try to respond to that either as the last few gates whizzed by. People stared at her open-mouthed as she passed them but she didn’t care.
“I’m trying to get them to hold the flight,” Kat announced. “But tickets agents don’t have authorization to do that on their own. One of them is trying to get approval from her supervisor.”
Finally, Jessie arrived at the gate and ran up to the agent near the jetway door, which was closed. The gate agent, a fragile-looking young man with a nametag that read “Manny” gaped at her, unsure what to make of the woman in front of him who was desperately sucking in air as she sweated profusely.
“Need you…to hold flight,” she gasped.
“I’m sorry ma’am,” he said apologetically. “But boarding is closed and the flight is full. It’s about to pull away from the gate.”
“Not…a passenger,” she panted, holding up her temporary security badge. “May be a fugitive…on flight. Don’t let it leave. Need to board.”
The gate agent appeared at a loss. Clearly, he’d never encountered a situation like this and had no idea how to handle it. As he fumbled for what to say, Jessie allowed herself to take several long deep breaths. As she did, she heard Ryan’s voice over the phone.
“At security now,” he said, breathing heavily. “Will be there ASAP.”
But ASAP wasn’t soon enough. Jessie worried that once the plane was delayed, Bridget would realize something was wrong and do something rash—maybe even put another passenger at risk.
“Listen, Manny, my name is Jessie Hunt,” she said, now able to complete full sentences. “I’m a profiler with the Los Angeles Police Department. And there’s a suspected murderer on that plane trying to escape justice. Passengers may be in danger. First, I need you to open those doors so I can stop her, and then make sure the pilot doesn’t leave the gate. Got it?”
Manny looked utterly terrified.
“Listen to her,” ordered an older woman in a wide-brimmed, church-style hat and a lavender cardigan who was sitting nearby. “Don’t you know who that is? Jessie Hunt catches serial killers, young fellow. There are a lot of people alive today who wouldn’t be if not for her. If she says someone’s dangerous, you should pay attention.”
Between the security badge, Jessie’s forceful demeanor and the older lady’s vote of confidence, it was too much for Manny. He nodded and opened the jetway door.
Jessie was about to head down when she had an idea and turned back to the older lady.
“Thanks for what you said, ma’am,” she cooed. “How would you like to help me catch this person?”
“How can I do that?” the woman asked, stunned and excited.
“May I borrow your hat and cardigan?” she wondered. “This fugitive might recognize me and your outfit could help disguise me a bit.”
“It would be my honor,” the woman said, taking off the cardigan before Jessie had even completed the request.
Jessie put in on as she walked down the jetway and was just adjusting the hat to hide her face when Ryan piped in.
“Hold on,” he yelled. “I’m through security. Don’t board the plane without me!”
She stepped onboard and gave the flight attendant a big smile as she muttered a reply.
“Too late.”
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
“I’m with the LAPD,” she whispered to the attendant, a tall, redhead in her thirties named Larraine. “Have you been informed of the delay?”
The woman nervously shook her head yes.
“Good,” Jessie said, making sure that the large hat was blocking any passengers’ ability to see what she was saying. “Just announce that there’s a minor mechanical issue that should be resolved soon. Otherwise act normally. My partner will be arriving any minute. Do you know if there’s an air marshal on this flight?”
“There isn’t,” Laraine said quietly.
“That’s okay,” Jessie said reassuringly. “Just do what I said and it will all work out.”
Laraine nodded as Ryan’s voice bellowed in her ear.
“Jessie,” he shouted, “Just wait. I’m almost there.”
“Shh!” she hissed. “I’m already on board. Let me concentrate.”
She scrutinized the first class passengers, focusing less on hair or eye color, which were malleable, and more on facial structure, body type, and demeanor. Just as Jessie couldn’t hide her lean five foot ten inch frame, it would be hard for Bridget to mask her fundamental features on such short notice.
No one looked overtly suspicious. A few people glanced up, mildly amused by the tall woman in the giant hat, before going back to their phones or books. As she passed the divider from first class to economy, she heard Larraine make the announcement she recommended. The economy section was split into two aisles with groups of three seats on either side and a middle section with four seats.
She was scanning the right side of the plane when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.
“No need to turn around,” Ryan’s familiar voice said. “See anything so far?”
“Not in first class,” she told him without looking behind her. “I was just starting back here. What are the chances that we’re just wasting our time and she’s on another flight or simply got out of one taxi and into another one right away after she arrived at the airport. How do we know she didn’t ask a cabbie to drive her all the way to the Mexican border?”
“I asked airport police to send their footage from the last two hours to Jamil and Beth so they can use facial recognition to try to identify where she went,” he replied. “Unfortunately their system is so slow that it’s going to take hours just to collect and send it, much less go through it. So we better hope this is the right flight. If not, we may never see her again. Should I take the left aisle and you keep to the right?”
“Sure,” Jessie agreed.
“Nice hat, by the way,” he whispered with a sly grin. Even when they were having their issues, he was still roguishly charming.
She was about to start down the aisle when she saw Larraine waving at her from the front. Ryan was already well down the left aisle of economy, so she went back on her own.