Chapter 23: Mrs Quonsett Escapes

Chapter 23: Mrs Quonsett Escapes

Customs Officer Harry Standish did not hear the flight departure announcement, but he knew that it had been made. He had a special interest in Flight Two, because Judy would be travelling on it. Judy was a fine young girl, and a great favourite with her uncle Harry.

He was a very busy man, but he found time to walk over to Gate 47 to say goodbye to her. When she had gone he stood near the gate for a while, watching the last few passengers hurry by Tanya Livingston was watching them, too.

A tall, fair young man went through the gate. He seemed to be the last one. Tanya left as soon as he had disappeared, but Standish saw two other people arrive. One of them was a small figure in black, a little old lady.

‘My son just went through this gate,’ he heard her say to a ticket agent. ‘He’s a tall, fair young man. He’s forgotten all his money. May I take it to him, please?’

The agent was busy with his papers. ‘Go and ask an air hostess,’ he said, smiling kindly at the old lady.

The last passenger came a moment later. He was a thin man who was carrying a small case. Something about this man attracted the officer’s attention. He knew immediately, from his long experience in dealing with the public, that there was something strange about him.

---

He had successfully bought and posted the insurance policy, and he was on the plane. D. O. Guerrero felt full of confidence. All his difficulties were over.

‘Have a pleasant flight, sir,’ the agent at the gate had said to him.

His seat was by the window. There was an empty seat in the centre, and then another man. He closed his eyes. He felt happier than he had for a long time. He put his fingers inside the case and felt the important piece of string. When he pulled it, the plane would be destroyed immediately.

Immediately? He hoped that there would be a last second in which he would know about his success. And then - thank heavens - no more.

He opened his eyes. One of the air hostesses was counting the passengers.

During the count, Mrs Ada Quonsett was hiding in one of the toilets. If she could remain hidden now, she knew that she had a good chance of reaching Rome. It had been a nasty shock seeing that red-haired woman at the gate, but in the end all her plans had gone well.

She opened the door a little, and looked out. There was an empty seat between two men, and she decided to slip into it. As she did so, she was included in the passenger count.

She hoped that she would find someone interesting to talk to during the flight. She knew that sooner or later she would be found and sent back to Los Angeles, but before that happened she intended to enjoy a film, a good meal and some pleasant conversation.

She looked at the man on her left. He had a thin, yellowish face, and looked as if he needed a good dinner. Perhaps he was worried about something. He had a small case on his knees, and he was holding it firmly. Mrs Quonsett always wanted to know about other people, and she wondered what was inside the case.

---

Standish was talking to Tanya.

‘I watched the last passengers get on Flight Two,’ he told her. There was one man I felt very worried about. If he’d been arriving instead of leaving, I would have asked him to open his case.’

What do you think he’s doing?’

‘I don’t know. Oh, perhaps I’m wrong, but I have a strange feeling about him.’

As Tanya walked back to her office, she wondered what - if anything - she should do about this.

She found Peter Coakley waiting for her there.

‘What are you doing here?’

He had to tell her that the little old lady had been too clever for him.

Tanya was extremely angry. ‘Didn’t I warn you about her?’ she shouted.

All they could do now was telephone the gates and warn all the agents not to allow an old lady in black to get on a plane.

Tanya knew that it was total war between Mrs Quonsett and her - and the old lady was winning.

For a moment, her conversation with Standish was forgotten.

---

At the controls of the Golden Argosy, Vernon Demerest was beginning to lose his temper.

‘What are we waiting for? Why can’t we take off?’

He saw Gwen coming towards him. ‘Gwen! What’s happening?’

She looked worried. ‘The passenger count keeps going wrong. We’re checking it now. We seem to have one passenger too many.’

That, Vernon thought, was not a good enough reason to delay their take-off any longer, especially on a night like this, when traffic was very heavy. A delay like this was expensive as well as annoying.

He did not waste time, but found the officer who was responsible for checking the passengers’ tickets.

‘Look,’ he said, ‘the engines are running. We’re using up fuel fast. There’s a runway ready for us now, but there may not be later. If we wait for you to fool around any longer, there may be a really big delay. Now decide what you are going to do - but please, make the right decision!’

As usual, Vernon won. The passengers were not checked again.

‘Rome - and Naples - here we come!’

It was 11 o’clock. A tired, badly dressed woman almost fell as she ran towards Gate 47. She had no breath left to ask questions, but she could see that it was unnecessary to ask.

Inez Guerrero saw the lights of a plane moving away from her into the darkness. She had arrived too late.