Chapter 56

Before leaving his house, William collected all the journals, set up the TV room so the detective would find the basement in the garage and then packed a few things and went out the front door. He made enough noise so that the neighbor would notice him leaving with his bags. He then drove off in a taxi toward the office but instead of turning left, they turned right and went to the airport. He needed to make his flight on time so he could tie up all his loose ends. It was a shame that he got greedy and decided to play with the police, but he just couldn’t help himself. Prodding that detective was fun and Gayle’s death was unfortunate, but she was not strong enough to complete this mission. He would have had to kill her eventually, and sooner is always better than later. Less attachment. It was also unfortunate that his brothers got involved. Ending Thompson’s life was easy and took little effort. It truly was exhilarating, similar to his first kill. However he had one large loose end to deal with. William had anticipated that Andrew would go to Bora Bora, so he got himself a flight that left an hour after Andrew on a different airline and a ticket for the next day to Greece. As William waited in the lounge of the bar at the airport, thoughts drifted through his head of all the good times he had had with his wife.

The crackle of the intercom broke his thoughts and his plane was called to board. William was a few hours away from absolute freedom. A freedom he had never had before. Even in the womb he had been constantly surrounded. William handed the boarding pass to the lovely stewardess and then walked onto the plane. After he stowed his carry-on bag, he sat next to the window watching the people on the tarmac performing their tasks. Thanks to his diligence he had put close to a million dollars away in a Greek bank under his alias, Herman Joseph King. When he finished his work in Bora Bora, he would spend the evening changing his wardrobe to that of someone of wealth. William was a conservative man; Herman would be daring and bold. The Captain chimed in telling the passengers that they were third in line to take off and that the weather in Bora Bora was a balmy 87 degrees and that when they landed it would be the Festival of some saint. William was only half listening. He felt a bump and looked to his right; there was a young woman who was about 25 years old. Beautiful brown hair with bright green eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” she said.

“No worries, my dear. These seats are not meant for anyone with an arm span.”

The young woman giggled and nodded.

“Headed for Bora Bora?” She paused then shook her head,

“Of course you are… I’m sorry, I’m just so nervous. I’ve never been anywhere and I am going on my first-ever vacation. I’m supposed to meet my friends there, I had to work yesterday when they left, but I made today’s flight!” The young lady went on and on and William resigned himself to nod politely and pray she fell asleep soon. As her voice faded, William felt the plane’s engine ramp up and then in short order, felt the plane roll forward and then with the ease of a bird, glide slowly into the air. Within 10 minutes of take-off, the captain announced that they would be at their destination within six hours. William took a big breath and then felt as though his cares were melting away and that the world was almost his.