Criminal Mischief

21

Stone was having breakfast when Bob Cantor called.

“Yes, Bob?”

“Sorry it’s so early, but I thought you’d want to know that Zanian’s Gulfstream is down at San Jose. They’re having to replace the auxilliary power unit.”

“Good, that will slow him down for the FBI.”

“The FBI has already raided the FBO: Zanian was not there, and neither were his pilots, and they were unable to connect the aircraft with him. They’ll sit on the airplane until Zanian shows up and tries to fly away.”

“How long before the unit can be replaced?”

“Late this afternoon eastern time.”

Stone thought for a moment. “I want to be there,” he said. “You want to go?”

“To San Jose? I’ve got no business there.”

“How about Hawaii?”

“No time. Too much work.”

“I’ll let you know how it turns out.”

Stone hung up and called his pilot, Faith. “We’re headed for San Jose, California, ASAP,” he said.

“Okay, boss.”

“We may go as far as Hawaii. Put together a long-distance crew.”

“Will do.”

“What time can we take off?”

“With luck, eleven am, if the right crew is available on short notice.”

“I’ll be there for wheels up at eleven. Let me know if there’s any delay.”

“Right.”

Stone hung up and called Dino.

“Bacchetti.”

“You want to have some fun?”

“How much fun?”

Stone explained the situation.

“That sounds like a lot of fun — and possibly profitable, too! See you at ten forty-five.”

“Bring tropical clothing.”

“I’ve got a Panama hat somewhere.” Dino hung up.

Stone showered, shaved, dressed, and packed a couple of bags. When they arrived at the airport, Stone was amused to find that Faith had assembled an all-female crew, three pilots and two flight attendants.

They set down at San Jose at midafternoon and taxied to Landmark Aviation. While Faith ordered fuel, Stone and Dino went inside and found the manager.

“How can I help you?” the man asked.

“You have a Gulfstream in your shop to change the auxiliary power unit, don’t you?” Stone asked.

“We did. It took off late this morning.”

“Didn’t you have a visit from the FBI?”

“We did, but the airplane was already gone.”

“Gone where?”

“I’m not sure where they filed for. Check with the tower.”

“How did you turn it around so fast?”

“We discovered that the unit was fine. The problem was a relay, and that was easily replaced.”

“Thank you,” Stone said. “Could you ask the tower where they filed for?”

“Sure.” The man picked up a phone, spoke to somebody, and hung up. “Acapulco, Mexico.”

“Thank you,” Stone said.

“So, we’re going to Acapulco?” Dino asked.

“Not yet,” Stone said. He found Faith signing for the fuel. “Faith, will you go up to the tower and speak to the duty officer? Our Gulfstream filed for Acapulco this morning and took off, but I want to know if they’ve changed their destination, and if so, to where.”

“Sure,” Faith said, then left the airplane.

“Why didn’t you ask the FBO manager to find out?”

“Faith is prettier,” Stone replied. “She gets information out of people who didn’t know they were going to give it to her.”

Faith was back shortly. “They changed their destination to Hilo, Hawaii.”

“File for Hilo, and let’s get out of here. When we’re an hour out, ask ATC if they changed their destination again.”

“What do you think Zanian is doing for passports?” Dino asked, as they taxied to the runway.

“You don’t need passports for Hawaii,” Stone said, “but I’m sure he took care of the passport problem a long time ago. He certainly took care of everything else.”

“Are you going to let the FBI know about this?”

“I’ve already done my duty in that regard,” Stone said. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re on their own now.”

“Did you impart that to Brio Ness personally?”

“I did. She told me she was no longer interested in speaking to me about the matter of Zanian, and I’m going to take her at her word.”

“What else did she tell you?”

“She told me that the Honolulu AOC doesn’t have enough agents to cover all the Hawaiian airports, so maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“I know a guy who might be helpful when we get there,” Dino said.

“We’ll take all the help we can get,” Stone said. “Right now, let’s get some sleep.”