'They're not realy trained for this kind of thing.'

Over Crowe's shoulder an old man in a Cherokee Volunteer PD jacket poked through a pile of debris. I decided on tact.

'I'm sure you've told your people that crash scenes must be treated like crime scenes. Nothing should be disturbed.'

She gave her peculiar down-up nod.

'They're probably feeling frustrated, wanting to be useful but unsure what to do. A reminder never hurts.'

I indicated the poker.

Crowe swore softly, then crossed to the volunteer, her strides powerful as an Olympic runner's. The man moved off, and in a moment the sheriff was back.

'This is never easy,' I said. 'When the NTSB arrives they'l assume responsibility for the whole operation.'

'Yeah.'

At that moment Crowe's cel phone rang. I waited as she spoke.

'Another precinct heard from,' she said, hooking the handset to her belt. 'Charles Hanover, CEO of Air TransSouth.'

Though I'd never flown it, I'd heard of the airline, a smal, regional carrier connecting about a dozen cities in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee with Washington, D.C.

'This is one of theirs?'

'Flight 228 was late leaving Atlanta for Washington, D.C. Sat on the runway forty minutes, took off at twelve forty-five P.M. The plane was at about twenty-five thousand feet when it disappeared from radar at one oh seven. My office got the 911 cal around two.'

'How many on board?'

'The plane was a Fokker-100 carrying eighty-two passengers and six crew. But that's not the worst of it.'

Her next words foretold the horror of the coming days.

CHAPTER TWO

'The UGA soccer teams?'

Crowe nodded. 'Hanover said both the men and women were traveling to matches somewhere near Washington.'

'Jesus.' Images popped like flashbulbs. A severed leg. Teeth with braces. A young woman caught in a tree.

A sudden stab of fear.

My daughter, Katy, was a student in Virginia, but often visited her best friend in Athens, home of the University of Georgia. Lija was on athletic scholarship. Was it soccer?

Oh, God. My mind raced. Had Katy mentioned a trip? When was her semester break? I resisted the impulse to grab my cel phone.

'How many students?'

'Forty-two passengers booked through the university. Hanover thought most of those were students. Besides the athletes there would be coaches, trainers, girlfriends, boyfriends. Some fans.' She ran a hand across her mouth. 'The usual.'

The usual. My heart ached at the loss of so many young lives. Then another thought.

'This wil be a media nightmare.'

'Hanover opened with that concern.' Crowe's voice dripped with sarcasm.

'When the NTSB takes over they'l deal with the press.'

And with the families, I didn't add. They, too, would be here, moaning and huddling for comfort, some watching with frightened eyes, some demanding immediate answers, beligerence masking their unbearable grief.