Choppy Water

9

Colonel Wade Sykes, U.S. Army (Ret.), sat at his desk in a book-lined, walnut-paneled study of a comfortable stone house near McLean, Virginia, working on an op-ed piece for the Washington Stalwart, which came close to being a paper version of Fox News, except that there was no unslanted news reporting printed in this newspaper. He wrote for them and other publications under the pseudonym Watchman. The cell phone in his shirt pocket hummed.

“Yes?”

“Are you encrypted?”

“Always, on this line.”

“Would you care for some fresh venison?”

“Good God, don’t tell me you’ve been hunting!”

“Quite by accident. We were walking the area, looking for the house, when a buck popped up, and Harold got him from the hip. Pure instinct.”

“I hope it didn’t wake anybody up.”

“Nobody to hear it, and at that hour the wind was howling.”

“Are there no people out there?”

“Apparently, it’s nearly all snowbirds,” Rudy said. “Last night there were lights in only one house, some distance away. We saw a car drive away very early, as if it had a long commute.”

“You’re sure they’re not on that road?”

“We drove all the way to the point and found nothing but three or four houses, boarded up for the winter. It’s a dead end, so we couldn’t have missed anybody coming or going.”

“As long as you’re certain they’re not there.”

“I am.”

“There’s been nothing on TV or in the papers — not even the Maine papers — about the incident on Islesboro.”

“Then they must be keeping it quiet.”

“I expect so.”

“You know, our next stop could be to go right back to Islesboro. Last place they’d look for us.”

“They’ve got a caretaker and his wife listed for the property, and you didn’t shoot them. Also, there’s the busybody storekeeper who runs the jungle telegraph on the island. There’s also a guy named Rawls, ex-Agency, who practically shoots at anybody he sees. Did you check the local airports?”

“Both Rockland and Bar Harbor are dead quiet; not worth stationing a man at either of them.”

“Then you might as well make a move.”

“All right. What are your orders?”

“Come back to base, and we’ll regroup.”

“Right. Shall I bring the venison?”

“Why not?”

“We’ll be there by nightfall.” Rudy hung up, and Sykes went back to his piece, which put a little meat on the bones of a conspiracy theory he’d dreamed up.

By mid-morning the skies had cleared on Mount Desert Island, and Stone got a call from Faith.

“Hi, there. Where are you?”

“We just landed at Bar Harbor, and the airplane is being towed to the hangar now.”

“Make yourself at home in the apartment in the hangar,” Stone said. “I’ll let you know when we have a plan.”

“Right.”

“You know where to find groceries?”

“Yep.”

“Then don’t starve.” Stone hung up and turned to Bill Wright. They were in a little sitting room off the kitchen. “Zelda has moved offshore, and the airplane is now at Bar Harbor, ready to do our bidding.”

Holly came in with a cup of tea and sat down. “This is a lovely spot, but at this time of the year, depression creeps in.”

“Would you prefer a sunnier, warmer spot?”

“Yes, please. What’s on offer?”

“Well, there’s L.A.”

“Too many reporters,” Bill said.

“I have a house at the Arrington Hotel, which is quite secluded.”

“You’ve got a house on Key West, too,” Holly said.

“Fewer people to deal with,” Bill said, “and we’ve got the naval air base, so getting in and out unnoticed wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Holly,” Stone said. “How much longer are you planning to remain invisible?”

“Well, I guess it can’t go on forever,” she said. “Where’s your nice, big yacht?”

“In a shed built to hold it, about fifty miles from here.”

“Oh, well.”

“So it’s Key West, then?” Bill asked.

Holly nodded.

“How long a flight?”

“Four hours, give or take,” Stone said.

“I’ll buy into that, if we can take off, say, an hour after dark,” Bill said.

“Done,” Stone replied. “I’ll alert the housekeeper and the cook.”

“I’ll need their names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers — and those of anyone else who is likely to come into the house.”

“There’s a caretaker, too. I’ll get you all that.”

“Then what time shall we leave the house?”

“As soon as it’s dark. There’s a big moon tonight, so we might be able to get back to the main road without headlights,” Stone said.

“I like the sound of that.”

“In fact, when the moon’s up, we might be able to taxi and take off without lights. The GPS will keep us on the center lines from hangar to takeoff.”

“You’re thinking the way I think, Stone. All okay with you, ma’am?”

“With you two around I don’t have to think at all,” she said.

Stone consulted the map Bill had given him. “Bill, exactly where are we on this map?”

Bill started a finger at Somesville and ran it along their route, then tapped on a spot.

“This is Broad Cove Cottage, right?”

“Right.”

“But it’s not on Broad Cove Road?”

“Nope. The name is a reference to the cove. Broad Cove Road is half a mile farther south.”

“And where was the butchered deer found?”

“Right about here,” Bill said, pointing to a spot. “Wait, I think I see your point. It was found about here, close to Broad Cove Road.”

“Right. Perhaps these people were given the name of the house and assumed that Broad Cove Cottage was on Broad Cove Road?”

“It’s a good thing they’re not geniuses,” Holly said.

As the moon rose, Stone entered the gate code at the Bar Harbor Airport, and the three-car motorcade drove through. The hangar doors were open, and the tow was pulling the Gulfstream onto the ramp. When the tow had departed they got out of the SUVs and the agents began loading luggage, while the passengers, plus Bill and Claire, boarded and made themselves comfortable.

Stone went forward to the cockpit. “Is it bright enough to taxi and take off without lights?” he asked Faith, who was in the left seat, running checklists.

She looked out the windows. “Sure,” she said.

“Don’t file ahead of time,” he said. “Do it after takeoff, with Boston Center, instead of Bangor Approach.”

“I guess they won’t arrest me for that,” she said.

“I’ll see that they don’t,” Bill said. “We’re plugged into those guys.”

“Just grand,” Stone said. “When you’re ready.”