“That was spectacular,” Stone said to Meg, as they followed the group.
“It kind of was, wasn’t it?” Meg replied with a big smile.
“Tell me,” Stone said, “what would have happened if one or more of the cars was involved in an accident?”
“First of all, no accident would have occurred that could be blamed on the cars, only other, driver-operated vehicles, and our cars are very good at anticipating errors by drivers of other cars. But if an accident had somehow happened, the cars would have collaborated with each other on an assessment of the injuries and damage, taking only a few seconds, then the police and ambulances, if necessary, would have been automatically notified. By the time they arrived, the cars would have printed out a completed standard-form accident report for the police and the insurance company, and the passengers would have been on their way again in record time.”
“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”
“We better have,” Meg replied.
13
The following morning Stone called Joan and let her know they were returning to New York a little early.
“Everything all right?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you want Fred to meet you?”
“Good idea. I’ll be bringing a guest, and we’d be crowded in Dino’s car.”
“I’ll let Helene know, too. Dining in tonight?”
“I expect so, just the two of us, in my study.”
“You should know that when you arrive you’ll find an unexpected guest waiting for you.”
“Who’s that?”
“You’ll see,” Joan replied, then hung up.
Stone wondered if that person could be of the female persuasion. He would not be comfortable with such a presence on this occasion. He nearly called Joan back and told her to clear the decks, but decided, instead, to rely on her discretion.
* * *
—
THEY ARRIVED at the Key West airport and left the car in the lot for George to pick up, then walked out to the airplane. Stone unlocked the baggage compartments and began loading luggage.
“You didn’t tell me you had your own airplane,” Meg said. “I was expecting an airliner.”
“What’s money for?” Stone asked.
“I don’t see any pilots.”
“There’s just one, and you’re looking at him.”
She appeared a little uncomfortable.
“Are you concerned about my piloting skills?” Stone asked her.
“Not at all, except maybe when I’m aboard that,” she said, pointing at the Citation.
“If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll be happy to put you on an airline, but it will be close to bedtime before you arrive, since you’d probably have to make a couple of stops to change airplanes.”
Viv stepped in. “Meg, we’ve flown with Stone many times, and believe me, you will be in good hands. You and I can talk on the way about your security arrangements in New York.”
Reluctantly, Meg climbed aboard the airplane and took a seat with Viv in the passenger compartment, while Stone conducted a preflight inspection. Dino took the copilot’s seat; he didn’t fly himself, but he liked to complain about Stone’s flying.
They were first in line for takeoff, and a minute later they were climbing in a northerly direction, before joining Stone’s filed flight plan. Within half an hour they were at flight level 400, or forty thousand feet. Stone adjusted the heating for comfort and let the autopilot do the rest, then turned on some classical music in the hope of soothing Meg. The air was smooth up high, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight.
“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