What popped up on the screen surprised her.

“Good grief!” Laurie exclaimed.

Lou was having a great time. Contrary to the general public’s romantic image of detective work, actual gumshoeing was an exhausting, thankless task. What Lou was doing now, namely sitting in the comfort of his office and making productive telephone calls, was both entertaining and fulfilling. It was also nice to say hello to old acquaintances.

“My word, Soldano!” Mark Servert commented. Mark was Lou’s contact at the FAA in Oklahoma City. “I don’t hear from you for a year and then twice in the same day. This must be some case.”

“It’s a corker,” Lou said. “And I have a follow-up question. We found out that the G4 plane I called you about earlier had flown from Lyon, France, to Teterboro, New Jersey, on January twenty-ninth. However, the guy we’re interested in didn’t pass through French Immigration. So, we’re wondering if it’s possible to find out where N69SU came from before it landed in Lyon.”

“Now that’s a tricky question,” Mark said. “I know the ICAO…”

“Wait a second,” Lou interrupted. “Keep the acronyms to a minimum. What’s the ICAO?”

“International Civil Aviation Organization,” Mark said. “I know they file all flight plans in and out of Europe.”

“Perfect,” Lou said. “Anybody there you can call?”

“There’s someone I can call,” Mark said. “But it wouldn’t do you much good. The ICAO shreds all their files after fifteen days. It’s not stored.”

“Wonderful,” Lou commented sarcastically.

“The same goes for the European Air Traffic Control Center in Brussels,” Mark said. “There’s just too much material, considering all the commercial flights.”

“So, there’s no way,” Lou remarked.

“I’m thinking,” Mark said.

“You want to call me back?” Lou said. “I’ll be here for another hour or so.”

“Yeah, let me do that,” Mark said.

Lou was about to hang up when he heard Mark yell his name.

“I just thought of something else,” Mark said. “There’s an organization called Central Flow Management with offices in both Paris and Brussels. They’re the ones who provide the slot times for takeoffs and landings. They handle all of Europe except for Austria and Slovenia. Who knows why those countries aren’t involved? So, if N69SU came from anyplace other than Austria or Slovenia, their flight plan should be on file.”

“Do you know anybody in that organization?” Lou asked.

“No, but I know somebody who does,” Mark said. “Let me see if I can find out for you.”

“Hey, I appreciate it,” Lou said.

“No problem,” Mark said.

Lou hung up the phone and then drummed his pencil on the surface of his scarred and battle-worn gray-metal desk. There were innumerable burn marks where he’d left smoldering cigarette butts. He was thinking about Alpha Aviation and wondering how to run down the organization.

First, he tried telephone information in Reno. There was no listing for Alpha Aviation. Lou wasn’t surprised. Next, he called the Reno police department. He explained who he was and asked to be connected to his equivalent, the head of Homicide. His name was Paul Hersey.