The Flight Attendant(54)
“Is that why you became a flight attendant? You love to travel?”
She shrugged, unsure whether this was chatter to wear down her reserve or he needed to know for some reason. Washburn’s gaze was moving between her and the pad on the table in front of him, but he wasn’t writing anything down. “I think so,” she answered simply. She remembered her carefully scripted answer during her job interview with the airline eighteen years ago: I enjoy people. I think customer service is a real art.
“Ever consider becoming a pilot?”
“Nope.”
“How come?”
“Not really my skill set. I kind of think you don’t want a person like me ever driving a cab or a school bus.” She’d meant it as a joke, but she saw Ani’s eyes grow a little wide and she realized that humor—at least humor that acknowledged her more irresponsible tendencies—was a particularly bad idea.
“Oh, why is that?”
“I just meant that I live in the city. I don’t even own a car.”
Hammond nodded and Washburn started to write.
“So, we’re just clearing up a few little things as a courtesy to Dubai,” the case agent said. “This shouldn’t take very long at all. You said that you and Alex Sokolov spoke during the food service on that last flight—the one from Paris to Dubai on July twenty-sixth.”
“That’s correct.”
“You said he was a flirt.”
“Kind of.”
“How? What kinds of things did he say?”
“He said he liked our uniforms. We actually have three kinds: A pants suit. A skirt and a blouse. And a dress. I usually wear the dress.”
“Why?”
“It’s the most flattering on me.”
“That’s interesting.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’d wear the one that was most comfortable.”
“That’s because you’re male.”
He chuckled and nodded. “Probably true.”
“But, to be honest, they’re all pretty comfortable.”
He seemed to think about this. Then: “What else did he say?”
“Alex Sokolov? I don’t remember. I’ve had”—and Cassie paused to count in her mind—“four flights since then.”
“The air marshal recalls you two talking a lot.”
“I don’t know about that. I try to do a good job, and part of that is making passengers feel relaxed and happy on a flight.”
“He tell you anything about himself?”
“Not really. He probably didn’t tell me much at all.”
“You said he told you that he was a money manager. What else?”
“I can’t think of anything.”
“You two both talked about living in Manhattan, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Another passenger recalled him telling you that he was an only child. You told him you had a sister. Do you remember that?”
“Not really.”
“Some other family stuff, maybe?” he asked. “Someone else said you two talked about Kentucky. How your sister and her family still live there.”
She glanced at Ani and then at the way that Washburn had suddenly, inconceivably filled almost an entire sheet of paper on the yellow legal pad. “I don’t know. It’s possible.”
“Did he tell you about why he was in Dubai? His work?”
“I don’t remember him saying much about that.”
“Okay. He said he was a money manager. What else?”
“He said he ran a hedge fund.”
“Good. Go on.”
“That’s all. I don’t even know what a hedge fund is precisely,” she admitted.
“What meetings did he mention?”
“I know he had a meeting, but we didn’t discuss it.”
“It was supposed to be the next day?”
“Yes.”
“Who was going to be in it?”
“Investors, I suppose.”
“So these were investors in Dubai?” he asked.
“I’m just speculating.”
“Any names?”
Instantly she recalled Miranda and almost offered that name, but as far as the FBI knew, she hadn’t seen Alex once he exited the jet bridge in Dubai. She considered telling Hammond that he brought the woman up on the plane, but she wasn’t sure she would be able to manage the questions—the fallout—that would emerge from the revelation. And so she answered, “Not that he told me on the plane.”
“Okay. What about friends? Did he say anything about any acquaintances or buddies or women he might have been planning to see while he was in the Emirates?”
“No. He didn’t mention anyone.”
“I don’t think we asked this when you landed. I’m so sorry. Did you see Sokolov in Dubai?”
She thought of how Ani had warned her that she might not feel the knife going in, but she knew she would. Here it was. The question, the third in a string of short sentences, was the blade at the edge of her skin. Did you see Sokolov in Dubai? She also recalled how Ani had said that under no circumstances should she lie. It was better to take the Fifth. And so she took a deep breath and she did.