Poetic Justice

Prologue

PROLOGUE

Bob Channing stared out the side window of the Cessna floatplane at the incredible vista before him. Lakes and rivers surrounded by lush green forests stretched as far as the eye could see. The pale blue sky was cloudless and seemed to continue forever. The Alaskan wilderness in late spring was a truly beautiful place. He leaned back in his seat and sighed contentedly as he reached for Elizabeth’s hand. She gave him a wide smile and his heart skipped a beat. To him she was still as beautiful as the day they were married, almost forty-four years ago.

He remembered the first time they met. It was the spring of 1971, her father Greg Channing had invited him to lunch at his imposing mansion on the outskirts of Edmonton. Those were heady times, they had just received the results of a geological survey that confirmed they were going to be incredibly wealthy men. Greg was backing Robert who had recently graduated from M.I.T. with a Masters degree in Geology. The discovery of Wabiskaw oilsand fields in a remote part of Northern Alberta had been confirmed. They were meeting to discuss how to proceed with the formation of their company, when in walked the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Elizabeth was twenty-one years old and a senior at Edmonton University. It was pretty much love at first sight for both of them, and they were married a year later. In a reversal of tradition, Robert had taken her last name, mainly due to the fact that he had headed to Canada to escape the draft. This had devastated his family who had a long tradition of military service. In fact his brother Phillip was serving in Vietnam at the time.

It had broken his heart that his family had disavowed his very existence. He had tried to explain that he had no fear of fighting and dying for his country. He refused however, to fight a war on the other side of the world that politicians could not rationally explain America’s participation in. Tens of thousands of America’s teenage boys were been slaughtered for no apparent reason and he could not in good conscience participate in such madness.

He was shaken from his reverie by a shuddering as the light aircraft hit some clear air turbulence.

Tim, the pilot, glanced back and told them not worry and that they would be at the cabin in about fifty minutes.

‘Cabin’ was a bit of an understatement; it was a huge five thousand square foot log structure built ten years ago on the shores of one of Alaska’s many pristine lakes. It had its own private jetty and boathouse and was lavishly furnished in the French Provencal style that Elizabeth so adored. They were on their way to their annual fishing trip and the staff had been warned to get the property ready for their arrival.

One of the perks of being an oil billionaire was the ability to travel in style and comfort. They had travelled from Edmonton to Juneau in their private executive jet, then onwards in the brand new Cessna 206 which Rob had purchased a few months ago.

Tim Wilson was sixty-two years old and had been his personal pilot for almost twenty-five years now, ever since he purchased his own private Lear Jet. Up till then he had used the companies jets and pilots, but having his own planes afforded him the freedom to travel whenever and wherever he chose.

Elizabeth Channings mother, Kim, had died in a tragic car accident when Elizabeth was only fourteen years old. Being an only child, her father doted on her and spoilt her terribly. Her father had passed away twelve years earlier at the age seventy-three, after battling throat cancer probably brought on by his penchant for Cuban cigars.

Full ownership of their highly successful oil company had passed to Robert, who had been pursued relentlessly by the major oil companies to sell the thriving business to them. Now, at age seventy, Robert was seriously considering doing just that. He and Elizabeth had no children although they had tried right after they were married. By the time in-vitro fertilization and adoption became en vogue, they were to old to seriously consider either option.

He wanted to retire and spend as much time as possible with his beloved wife, perhaps buy a nice beach house somewhere in the Bahamas, maybe even Hawaii. They had vacationed often in both places and he loved the warm weather and white beaches. At his age cold weather was not your friend and the aches and pains were getting worse every year.

Suddenly, Tim let out a gasp and grabbed at his chest. He fell forward against the control column which plunged the little aircraft into a near vertical dive. Elizabeth screamed as Robert quickly released his seat belt and grabbed for the stricken pilot. His mind was racing, it appeared as if Tim had just suffered a major heart attack. He knew enough about flying to realize he had to pull Tim back off the control column. Try as he might, he couldn’t seem to budge the large man. He looked up in horror as he saw the ground rushing up toward them at incredible speed. He heard the terrible screams of his beloved Elizabeth as the small plane smashed into the ground. Then, NOTHING………….