Free Eden by David Holley Page B

They are both dressed in dark suits, Tom in dark grey and his partner in deep chestnut. They make an odd pair. Mr. Murphy is a short, rotund man with fiery red cheeks and pale, almost translucent, skin. He has a tuft of salt and pepper hair arranged around a bald spot and a pair of squinty grey eyes that dance nervously. Hank is tall and narrow, with dark eyes and dark brown hair. He has a thin mustache that he strokes incessantly and says little, except for occasionally complaining about wanting a cigarette. Tom, a chatty fellow, more than compensates for Hank’s reticence, as he expresses at length his concern for their missing colleague, Paul Abbot, who was seated in Section One of the Mei Long.
    Noah turns his attention across the fire to a man in his early sixties named Patrick Fulmer. An Irishman, he is long and wiry, with icy blue eyes and a head of close-cropped snow white hair. He had offered to build the fire when Noah asked for volunteers and now he offers emotional support to the bereaved. A woman named Josette holds Patrick’s hand and wipes tears from her face, while a middle-aged man named Craig looks on. None of them were traveling together, but each lost a loved one during the crash. And because of that, they are doing what they can to help one another amidst their grief.
    Away from the others sit the twins, Mia and Max. They face one another, sitting in silence in the same position with their legs bent and knees pointing skyward. Their faces carry similar sullen expressions, and their eyes drift downward. Nearby, Noah sees a young woman named Alice Pearson lying in a fetal position with one of her arms supporting her head while the other is wrapped around her side. She doesn’t look much older than the twins and, according to his wife, she lost both her parents in the crash. She is wrapped in a grey wool blanket that Eve had given her and although her eyes are closed, she is not sleeping. Noah’s attention flips back to the twins when he hears a heated conversation develop between the two of them. They are too far away to hear what they are actually saying, but he still manages to eavesdrop by reading their lips.
    “Stop saying that Mia! You don’t know what you’re talking about, there’s no way that you could!”
    “Please keep your voice down. I know I don’t know, but it’s a feeling I have. I just don’t feel like they’re with us anymore.” She shakes her head gravely.
    Max rolls his eyes. “That’s because they’re not with us! They could still be alive. We survived the crash, why couldn’t they?”
    “I don’t know Max… it’s just a feeling.”
    “Oh really? A feeling? Was it a feeling when you knew the crash was going to happen or did you know it was going to happen? Why didn’t you say something before we got on that fucking deathtrap?”
    This surprises Noah, and he forgets to pretend that he isn’t listening. Evelyn notices his staring. “What is it?” she asks.
    Noah raises his hand and shakes his head, focused on reading Mia’s response to Max’s accusation.
    “I told you a hundred times! I didn’t know before we got on the plane. You’re not listening to me!”
    “I’ve heard enough!” Max shouts loud enough that everyone around the fire takes notice. He picks himself up quickly and storms away.
    Noah starts to rise but is stopped by Evelyn. “Wait!” she says, grasping his arm.
    “I’m just going to ask her a few questions,” Noah assures.
    “Let me do it. She’s obviously distraught. She might be more willing to talk to me.”
    “Alright,” Noah relents. “I’ll go find the boy. But you should know something before you talk to her,” he says quietly.
    “Yes, what is it?”
    Noah stands and walks away from the group as Evelyn follows. He turns to her and whispers: “Max seems to think that Mia knew the crash was going to happen before it happened.”
    “ What? ” her voice is louder than she had intended.
    “She didn’t exactly admit to it