The Avengers were torpedo bombers launched after Pearl Harbor and used to turn the tide of naval warfare in World War II. Flight 19 was a routine training mission out of the military airbase in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, now the site of the city’s airport. On December 5, 1945, months after the end of the war, five Avenger bombers with a total crew of fourteen took off in the afternoon under clear skies. At some point they appeared to become disoriented, reporting erratic compass readings. They were under the impression that they were hundreds of miles away from their radio position. Contact was lost and a rescue mission was launched. A Mariner seaplane with a crew of thirteen exploded in midair during the search and all hands were lost.

The wreckage of Flight 19 was never found. Dozens of Avenger bombers had been ditched in that part of the Atlantic during similar missions and never recovered. The pilot in charge of Flight 19 had bailed out of similar planes twice in the past. What made Flight 19 notorious were the erratic radio and compass readings, the loss of all the crew, the complete lack of wreckage and the loss of the rescue plane, all in clear weather.

The historian explains that statistically, this kind of event was to be expected, given the number of flights flown out of that base during World War II. In all, ninety-three men lost their lives on similar missions.

But the numbers haven’t detracted from the mystery. Conspiracy theorists love to hold up Flight 19 as one of the big unsolved unusual events of the twentieth century. The fact that the ocean is vast and it’s hard to find things there doesn’t do much to dispel the idea that something paranormal has taken place.

Before we land, we receive confirmation that the body of the man dressed in a pilot uniform found in the plane resembles one of the missing airmen physically. By the time we get to the scene, the bomb squad from the Miami field office is going over the plane inch by inch looking for a trap.

A1A, the highway that runs along the beach, has been blocked off, but that hasn’t stopped several hundred people gathering to see the missing plane. Our van passes at least six news trucks before we get to the police line.

This is chaos. The sun is barely up and the streets are filled. Although I shouldn’t be surprised in a town that specializes in bars that open before most places stop selling breakfast.

After the cemetery incident, people are primed for another so-called miracle. When the news broke about the plane, they all came. Nobody has said it aloud yet, but I get the sense people believe these things are connected. This is the age of dark mysteries.

On the trip down I surfed the Web and found hundreds of articles and discussions making religious connections to Chloe’s graveyard spectacle. Everyone has an opinion. From the secular to the religious. The Warlock started more than one fire. Nothing sparks a discussion of religion like bringing back the dead.