Free The Trial of Dr. Kate by Michael E. Glasscock III Page B

and climbed to 4,000 feet above ground level as she headed for the practice area.
    Hal had told her that they would be doing a series of acrobatic maneuvers in addition to the usual check ride ones. At his instruction, Shenandoah went through the maneuvers: slow flight, S turns, and spins. She felt confident in all that she was doing. She’d performed these hundreds of times.
    The next thing on the agenda was a series of barrel rolls. She preferred to perform them to the right, so she quickly pushed on the right rudder and at the same time pushed the control stick to the right. In doing so, she unintentionally released the clasp on her safety belt. As the biplane rolled upside down, Shenandoah fell out of the cockpit.
    Shocked, terrified, and confused, she reached out and grabbed one of the struts that went between the wings. Her weight tipped the plane. She could see Hal fighting to keep it level.
    “Drop off!” Hal yelled. “Parachute!”
    Shenandoah had gone through parachute training, but the thought of dropping through the sky further terrified her. She began to crawl-walk back toward the cockpit. Two or three times, her boot actually fell through the canvas of the wing. She was afraid to even look at Hal because she could hear him yelling curses at her. Her heart raced, and her palms were so wet that she could barely hold onto the struts. Finally, she reached the cockpit and climbed aboard.
    “I’ve got the fucking plane!”
    Hal yelled as she strapped herself in. Hal flew them back to base and made a perfect three-point landing. He taxied them to the hanger and shut down the engine.
    Shenandoah was horrified, ashamed, and frightened that she would be washed out of the program. She wasn’t sure she could face her instructor. But once on the concrete, she steeled herself and turned to look at her nemesis with a hang-dog expression.
    To her surprise, Hal had a big grin on his face. He yelled, “Scared the shit out of yourself, didn’t you!”
    “Yes, sir. Sorry.”
    Hal walked over to where Shenandoah stood and placed his arm around her shoulders.
    “Hell, I would have done the same thing. The only time I ever plan to jump is if the fucking plane is on fire. You’re an excellent pilot, Shenandoah. You should be proud of yourself. I’m going to give you a great recommendation.”
    * * *
    As she moved down the highway in a daze, Shenandoah barely noticed the landscape as she gradually picked up speed. By the time she reached another straight stretch, she was going seventy miles an hour. Suddenly, a man stepped onto the highway about fifty yards away and waved his arms over his head. “Now what?” she whispered under her breath as she pulled the shoulder bag next to her hip.
    She brought the Bel Air to a skidding stop in the middle of the road and turned back to meet the man. He was about five foot eight, with jet-black hair parted in the middle and held in place with greasy lotion, and he wore a pair of bib overalls without a shirt and heavy construction boots. He had a several-day growth of beard but a pleasant face and a twinkle in his eyes. Smiling, he strolled nonchalantly to Shenandoah’s open window.
    “Howdy, ma’am. Randall B. Moody, mayor and poet laureate of Moodyville, Tennessee. Hope you don’t mind me flagging you down. I like to personally welcome folks to Moodyville.”
    “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Moody,” she said, surprised to have met the person she was coming to talk to in such a way. “My name’s Shenandoah Coleman. I’m a newspaper reporter from Memphis. I’d like to ask you a few questions about Dr. Kate.”
    “Memphis, you don’t say. You’re a right smart ways from home. We got us some Coleman people up here in this part of the state. You any kin?”
    Shenandoah sighed. “I’m originally from Beulah Land, Mr. Moody.”
    “Ain’t that something? You being a reporter and all.”
    “You do know Dr. Kate?” she asked.
    “Lord, yes, I know Dr. Kate. Why are you interested