Flight Risks. Douglas Schofield

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      Flight Risks

      Douglas Schofield

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0806-4

      Copyright © Douglas Schofield 2010

      The right of Douglas Schofield to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

      Cover by Robert Hammond

      Douglas Schofield is a Canadian-trained lawyer. He currently holds the position of Assistant Solicitor General with the Cayman Islands Government. He makes his home on Grand Cayman with his wife Melody, and Juno, their highly intelligent talking cat.

      Praise for Flight Risks

      “Flight Risks is a fast-paced, snappy thriller that hurtles through the worlds of law, finance, politics and family. ... How Schofield winds everything together is marvellous. He keeps readers enthralled in the chase by developing Grace as an enormously resourceful and courageous figure, whose primary goal is to get her daughter back.”

      – Victoria Times-Colonist

      “I spend most of my time reading screenplays, and I very seldom take the time to read novels. But this novel is an exception. The way Mr Schofield writes is refreshing. His choice of words... the way he uses words... just astonishes me. I kept re-reading sentences just to enjoy them. And what a fabulous story! When I had to put the book down, I couldn't wait to get back to it. It kept me awake at night. I don't like using the word "fantastic" - it's so overused - but this really is a fantastic novel!”

      - Graham Greene, film and TV actor

      Oscar Nominee, Best Supporting Actor, Dances With Wolves

      “Sadly, but completely satisfied, I finished reading Flight Risks. I arrived on the set of Diary of a Wimpy Kid two hours before my call time. I wanted to be alone without any interruptions and just sit down with all the characters in the novel. What a wonderful and exciting story! I just could not wait to pick up the book to continue on from where I left off. What a ride!”

      - Alf Humphreys, film and TV actor

      “My heart was racing from start to finish with no let up in sight. If I have one criticism of the author is that he is relentless in keeping me on the edge of my seat and unable to sleep.”

      - Christopher Dalton, film producer & author

      “There are some pretty tough situations here, but everything is believable and real, especially the dialogue, at which, I feel, this author excels.”

       - Tricia Heighway, author

      “Schofield's easy and simple style of writing brings such vividness to his characters, scenes, the action, and the suspense and does not get in the way of his story's breakneck speed. And best of all, he skilfully ties up the entire story in the final chapter with an ending that took this reader completely by surprise.”

      - Tom Kovacs, film actor and musician

      “Flight Risks is an accomplished novel with a little bit of everything you fancy – mystery, murder, mayhem, sprinkled judiciously with a smattering of sex. Well-researched facts flavour the story instead of overpowering it, and the twist at the end will take any reader by surprise. The perfect book to take your mind off the dreary summer, it will captivate your imagination and never let go.”

      - Elise Hattersley, literary editor

      For My Sweet Melody

      AUTHOR’S FOREWORD

      It will come as no surprise to the reader that Flight Risks is a work of fiction. But beyond the usual disclaimer about any similarity between the novel’s characters and real persons being purely coincidental, another point should be clearly understood. Many novelists writing about international financial skulduggery seem unable to resist resorting to the facile device of ‘secret bank accounts’ in the Cayman Islands. This is pure mythology. In fact, the Cayman Islands’ anti-money-laundering regulations are far more rigorous – and far more vigilantly enforced – than those of many ‘onshore’ jurisdictions. Anyone who doubts this statement should try opening a bank account in the Cayman Islands.

      PROLOGUE

      Dawn.

      A late model Grand Am sped along the Interstate. On either side of the dual ribbons of asphalt, a sere, bone-dry landscape sifted past. Flat. Unchanging. Mind-numbing.

      In the car, five dark-eyed young men sat erect, staring ahead at a dramatic city skyline, starkly silhouetted against an opalescent sky.

      Each man was silent. Each man was eerily still. Each man’s face was freshly shaven, the skin of his cheeks shiny and taut.

      Flickering taillights signalled congestion ahead. The inside lane – the lane reserved for high-occupancy vehicles – appeared clear. The front passenger checked his watch. He muttered to the driver in a foreign language.

      The car slipped left and accelerated, speeding past slower traffic.

      The car closed on a freightliner in the neighbouring lane. Its long trailer was laden with a lopsided load of heavy steel pipe. The transport drifted left, straddling the two lanes. The car’s driver muttered a curse. He swerved to the right, changing lanes to pass.

      On the trailer, a wide strap restraining the rear of the load suddenly parted with a report as loud as a cannon. The load abruptly shifted, pipe ends splaying.

      A horrifying chain reaction of failure followed, as a second strap let go and, with a shriek of grinding metal, tons of pipe rolled off the trailer.

      The truck driver stood on his brakes. The huge rig jack-knifed, taking out a line of cars in a roar of demolition, and came to rest lying on its side on the highway median.

      The Grand Am lay under the load of pipe. Crushed.

      A single length of pipe flexed rhythmically, one end tapping on the pavement.

      Tapping . . . tapping . . .