Parts Unknown

Toni Niesen

Description

Somewhere over the Alaskan wilderness a plane has disappeared.

As winter approaches Anchorage, flight instructor Beri Quinn races to find a student who took off in one of her planes, and hasn’t been seen since. She’s convinced he’s still alive despite the Civil Air Patrol calling off their search. She strives to locate the missing pilot, save her reputation as a flight instructor and keep her business. But both in the air and on land, she must overcome gathering forces conspiring against her.

A single mother, Quinn fears losing custody of her son. She draws on her knowledge of aviation and musters the emotional strength necessary to overcome unseen adversaries and protect her family. With missing gold, sabotaged aircraft and unsolved murder, the stakes are high for Quinn and for her enemies.

To resolve her dilemma, Beri must answer one underlying question: did her student misjudge the weather and make a fatal mistake, or was he the victim of an elaborate murder plot? In her quest for an answer, she discovers unexpected betrayal and a massive criminal conspiracy.

Told with suspense, humor, and a fighting spirit, this is a mystery for anyone who has ever dreamed of adventure in Alaska.

Sujets

• Anchorage, Alaska
• Flight instructor
• Mystery
• Murder
• Adventure
• Suspense
• Plane
• Anchorage
• Alaska

Informations

• Publié par: Written Dreams Publishing
• Date de parution: 18 août 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780999187043
• Langue: English

Extrait

Praise for Parts Unknown


“Toni Niesen has landed a rapid-fire thriller with Parts Unknown . Set in remote and urban Alaska, her fictional adventure takes us into the inner workings of general aviation and the personalities who pursue it with passion. Protagonist, Beri Quinn, kept me turning pages late into the night.”

—Elizabeth D. Nobmann, PhD, MPH, RDN, and Member, The Ninety-Nines, Inc., Alaska Chapter





“Great book! A suspenseful love letter to flying and Alaska!”

—Eric Bergstrom, Radio personality for Cat Country 95.1






“Toni Niesen has crafted a mystery as compelling as the Alaskan wilderness where it is set. Parts Unknown takes the reader on a twisting adventure that kept me guessing until the very end. Fans of Dana Stabenow will enjoy this new series and be asking for more. Well done!”

—Dorothy St. James, Author of the Southern Chocolate Shop Mysteries






























Parts Unknown by Toni Niesen, © copyright 2017 by Toni Niesen.
Author Photo courtesy of McKenna Johnson.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and events are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual places or businesses, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher, Written Dreams Publishing, Green Bay, Wisconsin 54311. Please be aware that if you’ve received this book with a “stripped” off cover, please know that the publisher and the author may not have received payment for this book, and that it has been reported as stolen property. Please visit writtendreams.com to see more of the unique books published by Written Dreams Publishing.

Edi tor: Brittiany Koren
Copy-editor: Jessie Harrison
Cover Art Designer: Barbra Sprangers
Interior Layout Designer: Amanda Dix


Category: Mystery/Adventure
Description: Can a flight instructor in the wilds of Alaska find the answers she’s searching for whe n a plane disappears, or will she have to close shop on her flight instruction school?
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-9991870-2-9
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9991870-3-6
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9991870-4-3
LOCN: Catalog info applied for.
First Edition published by Written Dreams Publishing in July, 2017.
















For my Alaska-born family, Krista, Sterling and Cole



Chapter One

July 18, 2000
T he wings of the Super Cub seesawed above the terrain 1000 feet below. Buzz, my student pilot taking his second flying lesson after ground school, clutched the stick in an iron grip, his eyes glued to the runway ahead. A panoramic view of Anchorage streamed beneath us, but all I could think about was whether to let Buzz continue at the controls or to shout, “I’ve got it!” and take over myself.
I sat in the rear seat of my favorite taildragger, observing as the plane continued to tilt unsteadily on final approach to Merrill Field. “Buzz, you’re doing fine,” I said into the mic, “but you’re over-correcting. Try relaxing on the controls to smooth out our landing.”
“Okay, Beri,” he said. “After I land the plane, I don’t apply the brakes, I add power and take off again instead?”
“Correct. The tower has given you clearance for a ‘touch and go’. We need to practice take-offs and landings. So what do you do next?”
He shifted in his seat. “Uh, I decrease my speed and altitude?”
Even with him speaking into his mic, I strained to hear him over the vibrations of the engine. “Yes, and remember to breathe too, please.”
I watched as he descended toward the runway until the plane’s tires hit concrete. We bounced twice before he went to full power, pulled the stick back and surged down the runway to take off again.
“That felt good,” he said once we were in the air and he leveled off at 1500 feet. “Except for the bounces, I mean.”
“You did great, Buzz. Now, let’s fly to Willow and do it again.”
He followed Ship Creek to the west, flew over cargo containers stacked five high at the dock of the Port of Anchorage, and started across the mud-colored waters of Cook Inlet. Denali glistened in the distance as we headed for the gardening mecca of Matanuska Valley, home of most of Alaska’s prize-winning giant cabbages.
Mid-trip, the radio came alive. “This is Talkeetna Flight Service advising pilots to keep a look-out for an overdue Piper Cub. Tail number November 2789 Echo. Plane may be along your route.”
I adjusted the microphone on my headset. “Please say again.”
Sure enough, I’d heard the number right the first time. It was one of my planes. Fear struck me to my core.
Buzz turned in his seat and gave me a questioning glance. “Is something wrong?”
“No, you’re doing a super job, but would you mind if we cut the rest of today’s lesson short and started back now? I’ll make up the time next lesson.”
“No problem. Is that one of our planes?”
“Afraid so. I need to find out what’s going on.”
Buzz worked as an intern with my mechanic. He considered flying lessons a valued perk of his job.
“Our last lesson ended when the engine misfired,” he said. “I’m beginning to think I’m jinxed.”
“Of course you’re not jinxed. That was just a magneto acting up, but we didn’t want to take any chances. I’m sorry to interrupt your lessons, but I’m lucky both problems happened while I was flying with you. Most of my customers wouldn’t be as understanding.”
He swiveled around to glance at me. “I’ll keep my eyes open for the missing plane.”
We returned without spotting anything and taxied to the tie-down beside the office hangar. As Buzz cut the engine, I spotted Angie, my office manager, the folds of her ever-present tunic top rippling in the breeze against her petite frame. Why was she standing outside on the tarmac? Angie rarely emerged from inside the office except when it was time to leave for the day. Something was wrong.
The moment Buzz left the plane and entered the hangar, Angie grabbed me in a fierce bear hug. “Beri, it’s Ken. He’s missing.”
“What? I heard flight service announce one of our Cubs was overdue. Ken’s the pilot?”
“Yes. He rented the plane yesterday.”
Ken Abbott was my favorite advanced student, and friend of my ten-year-old son, Jack. Ken liked to prospect for gold during his summers off from graduate school and planned to buy his own Super Cub soon. Meanwhile, he sometimes rented one of ours while he saved enough money for the purchase.
“Has anyone checked with his roommate?” I asked.
“He’s out of town, but Ken’s girlfriend, Shawna, says she hasn’t heard from him since he left to visit one of his prospecting sites. She said Flight Service called her when he didn’t close his flight plan last night.”
“He probably ran into some weather and is just delayed. Where was he going?” I grabbed my flight bag from inside the plane, slammed the door and entered the office with Angie following a step behind.
“I’m not sure, but I know he planned to return yesterday evening.”
“Hold on,” I said once I reached my desk. “I’ll call FAA to see if they’ve checked with local airports or heard from any pilots on his route.”
I grabbed the phone from my desk and made the call, but hung up a few minutes later. “They say he filed a round-robin to Frozen Man Creek through Rainy Pass and back. The weather was poor through the pass so he probably set down somewhere to wait it out.”
“I hope that’s all it is,” Angie said. “You might want to give Shawna a call to reassure her. She sounded scared.”
Before I had a chance, Shawna pushed open the office door and walked inside.
“Beri. I’m glad you’re here. I’m worried about Ken.” Shawna slumped, her small frame seeming lost in the chair next to my desk. Her meticulously highlighted chestnut hair dangled in clumps from the baseball cap she’d slapped on her head. “I’ve been up all night. I couldn’t go to sleep after I heard Ken hadn’t closed his flight plan.”
“Let me make you some tea, and we’ll figure this out.” I knew Shawna had always been nervous about Ken’s flying. She’d admitted as much to me the day Ken first soloed, when we’d waited together for him to return. She tolerated Ken’s flying only because she knew it was important to him.
“You know Shawna,” I said, “there are lots of reasons Ken might not have closed his flight plan.”