Shoot First(Stone Barrington #45)(18)

“A good day to have Meg as a passenger,” Dino said, looking around. “God help us if she sees a thunderstorm or we fly through a cloud.”

“You think I should have warned her that I would be flying? It never crossed my mind.”

“I think that if you had, she’d be aboard an airliner now.”

Stone opened the New York Times. “You’re in charge,” he said to Dino. “Let me know if anything awful happens.”

They had a strong tailwind and flew at around 500 knots, over the ground for most of the trip. As they flew the arrival procedure for Teterboro, they descended through some clouds until they were at three thousand feet. Shortly, they picked up the Instrument Landing System for runway 6, and Stone put down the crossword puzzle.



* * *



—

CARS WERE not normally allowed on the ramp at Jet Aviation, but Dino’s was, and Fred had managed to follow his car through the gates and out to the airplane. Dino went back and helped the women down the stairs, while linemen took their luggage to the appropriate vehicles. Shortly, they were on their way into the city, well ahead of rush-hour traffic, Dino and Viv in his car and Stone and Meg in the rear seat of the Bentley.

“You’re very quiet,” Stone said.

“I’m still calming down,” she replied. “I mean, I relaxed a lot when we were high up, but when we began to come down and flew through those clouds, I got nervous again.”

“Clouds are just collections of water vapor. Do you get nervous during airline flights?”

“No, not anymore.”

“I hope you’ll get used to flying with me. Did you ever consider a corporate aircraft?”

“I didn’t really fly all that much on business for a long time, so it seemed unnecessary.”

“You should think about it now. I’m sure the board would approve the expenditure, since all of them fly corporate.”

“Do you fly yourself going overseas?”

“Yes, I have a house in England and one in Paris. I fly up to Newfoundland, refuel, then go nonstop from there. Coming back against the wind, I stop in Iceland or the Azores, as well, to refuel.”

“You make it sound like a very ordinary way to travel,” she said.

“It is for me. I don’t enjoy the airport experience, and as you saw, we managed to avoid all that.”

“It’s certainly a convenient way to travel. And I will be crossing the country a lot.”

“If you want to look into it, I can find a consultant to help you find an aircraft that meets your needs.”

“I’ll think about it.”



* * *



—

THEY ARRIVED at Stone’s house and left Fred to deal with the luggage, then went to Stone’s office. Bob, his Labrador retriever, ran to him with tail wagging, and to Stone’s surprise, a nearly identical Lab followed him, wagging all over.

“Who’s this?” he asked Joan, after he had introduced Meg.

“That’s your surprise visitor,” she said. “Her name is Sugar, and she belongs to a lady across the street. We met when walking them, and she asked me to keep Sugar for a couple of days while she was away. Bob is agreeable to the arrangement, as you can see.”

“I hope we’re not going to have a lot of Lab puppies running around here anytime soon,” Stone said.

“I don’t suppose you’ve noticed, but Bob has been deprived of that function, and so, I’m told, has Sugar.”

Stone took Meg up in the elevator and into the master suite, where her clothes had been unpacked and put into the second dressing room.

Meg inspected the premises. “I like the way you live,” she said.

“Thank you, so do I.”

“And now that I’m on the ground safely, I feel better about your flying arrangements. I don’t think I’ll have a problem with it next time.”

“I’m glad of that. I’d rather fly with you than without you.”



* * *



—

GINO AND VERONICA BELLINI got through baggage and customs and found a driver waiting for them. Once in the car, Gino said, “I’m going to buy a fucking airplane.”

“That’s fine by me,” Veronica said, “as long as you’re not flying it. I mean, when you had the little airplane, I kind of enjoyed flying with you, but anything bigger, I’d like a pro—no, two pros—up front.”

“I’ll start looking into it tomorrow,” he said.

“How much does that sort of airplane cost?”

“New, somewhere between five and fifty million dollars, depending on your tastes.”

“That’s quite a price range.”

“I expect we could get something suitable for ten or fifteen million.”

“Why don’t we wait until you screw a lot more money out of Meg Harmon,” Veronica said.

“There won’t be long to wait,” Gino replied.





14




They dined before a cheerful fire in Stone’s study. Bob and Sugar slept by the hearth, curled up together. “I like your house,” Meg said. “How old is it?”

“Seventy years or so. I inherited it from my great-aunt, my grandmother’s sister. I did most of the restoration work myself, just about everything that didn’t require a license, like plumbing and electrics.”