Free Ghost Writer by Margaret Gregory

 
Ghost Writer
     
    By
    Margaret Gregory
     
     
    Smashwords Edition
     
     
    Copyright 2013 by Margaret Gregory
    All Rights Reserved
     
    Discover other titles by Margaret
Gregory at Smashwords.com
     
     
    This book is a work of fiction and any
resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or
locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of
the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
     
    *****
     
    Please note that I use Australian
spelling throughout. You will see ou’s (colour) and ‘ise’ not ‘ize’
(realise) as well as a few other differences from American
spelling.
     
    *****
     
    Smashwords Edition, License Notes
     
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for your use only, then please return to
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    of this author.
     
     
     
     
Ghost Writer
     
    “It’s a great plane, Edwina. Did
your father really buy it for you?” Christina asked.
    “He did,” I confirmed, taking
off my headset to hear her more easily.
    “I thought he freaked out when
he found you were flying,” Christine’s boyfriend, Ralph
commented.
    “Yeah. He never thought I would
stick at it though. When I got my licence, I told him I could fly
him to his meetings.”
    “Has he been up with you?” Heidi
asked from further back.
    “Not in this – I’ve only had it
a month – but I think I impressed him. He gave this to me for my
birthday. He had it done up, checked, had new instruments put in
and the outside painted in the company colours.”
    “You are lucky with your old
man, Edwina. I can’t even get mine to buy me a car,” Ralph growled
in exasperation.
    “You shouldn’t have totalled the
Mercedes you had,” I chuckled.
    “Too right,” Ralph agreed.
    I put my headset back on and
checked our position. I was about to pass out of one air control
area into another. After making contact with air control on the
relevant frequency, I thanked them for their coverage and changed
frequency to contact the next control area. In response to their
questions, I gave our position, heading and altitude, and received
confirmation that they had us on their screen.
    Being aware that a change was
expected, I then queried the weather at Landsdown Airport, our
destination.
    Going up to the resort, I had
flown on visual, but if the change came through, I might have to
switch to instruments.
    “Cloud cover two octants at four
thousand feet. Low cloud over mountains to the north. Maintain
current altitude until over the mountains. Adjust barometer to
…Mb”
    I acknowledged the instructions,
and automatically checked her instruments and adjusted the
barometer. Everything was spot on. I signed off and removed the
headpiece again.
    Heidi spoke up. “It’s been a
great week end. We should do it again soon. Maybe you can convince
John to come next time.”
    With a forced laugh, I said,
“John reckons he feels green at the mere thought of flying. But at
least he didn’t claim I was a twit at business.” I didn’t want to
admit yet that I had broken up with John.
    “So does your Dad still want to
keep you out of his business?” Christine asked.
    “Not keep out, exactly. He’s let
me follow him around since Mum died. It’s more that he thinks I am
like her and really have no interest in the business. He tells me I
should have fun while I am young.”
     
    I heard what sounded like radio
static and put my headpiece back on. If it was a call, they didn’t
repeat it. I checked the instruments again. All were reading as
they should. The static came again, but the radio was still on the
correct frequency. Perhaps there was a radio below transmitting on
an adjacent