Turbulence (Stone Barrington #46)(14)
“I did, and it’s already in the car’s tank, though we’re not driving anywhere. The streets are mostly blocked by fallen trees, and the highway north is closed. Who left it there?”
“Would you believe Joe Box? He recovered his car, and he had a full tank, plus that container.”
“I don’t believe it,” Holly said.
“Well,” Stone said, “I guess he thinks his life is worth five gallons of gasoline.”
11
LATER IN THE DAY, Stone discovered a chain saw in the garage, with a full tank. He and Dino went out to the street and began sawing large parts of trees into smaller ones that would be easier to haul away. They piled the debris at one side of the street, leaving them egress onto Truman Avenue. After a hot shower, they piled everybody into the Mercedes, and they took a tour of the town.
Crews were hard at work hauling away debris and freeing up streets, and they saw three or four trucks from out-of-state power companies working on lines. “Somebody at the power company is doing a great job of organizing,” Stone pointed out. “I guess there are no bridges out on U.S. One, even if it is closed for repairs.”
“Look,” Viv said, pointing at a burning streetlight. “Actual power.”
“I guess they’re restoring it by sectors,” Stone said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky soon. I don’t want to burn our propane supply dry.”
Duval Street, the tourist mecca, with its lack of large trees, looked pretty much untouched, but still closed. “I wonder how long it will be before the first cruise ship docks?” Stone asked.
They made their way out to the Key West Yacht Club and found Indian Summer pretty much untouched, her mooring lines holding, except for a lot of trash on her decks. They cleared away as much as they could without a working hose.
Tragically, the 60-foot motor yacht a few berths down from Stone’s had sunk at her moorings and would have to be refloated. Inside the clubhouse, the employees were mopping floors and getting the place back into shape. Somebody said they’d be open for dinner the following evening.
Cal and Stacy Waters were working on their boat, which seemed in good shape, except for the inevitable litter on deck.
“We went out to the airport,” Stone said to Cal, “and everything seems pretty much intact, except the big hangar by the FBO.”
“Yeah, somebody screwed up with securing the door,” Cal said. “My hangar is just fine, and so’s my airplane. If you need to make a call or two, I’ve got a satphone aboard.”
“Thanks, I used the one on my airplane.”
They got back to the house and were pleased to find the lights on and the generator not running. Stone checked the propane level. “We had less than a day of generator time left,” he said.
The phones were a different matter: no cell, no landline.
George stopped in to say that he had seen a couple of cell-company trucks in town, so maybe they’d be able to make calls soon. He and Anna had cleaned up the courtyard and the floors in the house, and Anna was thawing steaks for dinner. She had been to her own house and had found it in good shape.
* * *
—
THAT EVENING, during dinner, Stone was startled when his cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“It’s Ernie, at the airport,” the lineman said.
“Cell seems to be up and running,” Stone replied.
“Well, yours and mine are, but there are a lot of neighborhoods still down. I thought I’d try to reach you to say that the fuel truck is back, and it’s at the fuel farm, being tanked as we speak. I’ll top you off first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Ernie. Any news on when the airport will open?”
“Not so good, there; they’re going to open up tomorrow morning, but only for search and rescue aircraft—plus some Coast Guard. Nobody else will be able to take off or land for another two or three days.”
Stone thanked him and hung up. “Looks like another two or three days before anybody who’s not search and rescue, or some other official aircraft, will be able to take off or land.”
“We’ve got a few gallons of gas in the car,” Dino said. “We could drive to Miami Airport.”
“No, U.S. One is still closed, and I doubt if the south Florida airports are open yet.”
“A forced vacation,” Dino said, “and we can’t even lie on the beach, because of all the crap piled up there.”
“You can lie by the pool,” Stone said. “George has skimmed it, and the pumps and filters are running, so you can even have a swim. TV is working, and my library is at your disposal, such as it is.”
They watched a couple of movies on the big screen in the bar and turned in.
* * *
—
THE FOLLOWING MORNING after breakfast, Holly picked up her cell phone. “It’s fully charged and I’ve got four dots,” she said. She went to her favorites list, pressed a number, and put it on speaker, so she wouldn’t have to repeat herself.
“Mr. Meriwether’s office,” a woman said.
“Hi, Sally, it’s Holly Barker. Is he available?”
“Of course,” the woman said. “I’ll put you through.”