Hit List

40

Dinner was good, and what came after was even better. “I’ve wanted to do that,” he said, “since I first got a look at your cleavage.”

“It’s better without the bra, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yes.” He looked at his watch.

“Oh, do you have to be somewhere?”

“Not right now, but I have to be on an airplane at mid-morning.”

“An airplane to where?”

“Home, to New York. Here’s a thought: Why don’t you come with me and stay for a while?”

“You’re not joking, are you?”

He pulled her hand down. “Does this feel like I’m joking?”

“One moment, please.” She reached for the bedside phone and dialed a number. “Hi, Rex,” she said. “Do you think you can hold down the fort for a week or so? I’ve got the time coming, and I got a nice invitation. You’re a prince. You can explain it to the administrator in the morning. Good night.” She hung up.

“You’re on,” she said, “and you certainly feel that way.”

They had an encore.

The following morning, she packed, and Stone called Dino and asked him to throw his stuff into his bag.

“The Eagles are coming with us,” Dino said.

“Great!”

Stone and Jenna showered together, and she made breakfast, then he drove them to the airport.

“How little is your airplane?” Jenna asked.

“Not too little. You’ll be comfortable. Oh, Dino, who you saw at the hospital, will be with us, and the Eagles.”

“Susannah Eagle?”

“And Ed.”

“I know about them, but we’ve not met. I’m a huge fan of Susannah’s work.”

“Be sure and tell her that.”

They were buzzed through the gate at the airport; his friends were boarding. Stone turned over the rental car to the lineman and introduced Jenna to the Eagles, and they got aboard. The door was closed, and an engine started turning.

“This is not very little,” Jenna said, looking around. “I guess I was thinking of a plane with one engine.”

“Those are in my past,” Stone said. He adjusted the seating so that they and the Eagles were facing each other, while Dino sat across the aisle.

“What sort of airplane is this?” Jenna asked.

“It’s called a Gulfstream 500,” Stone replied.

“Will it fly us to New York nonstop?”

“It will fly us to London or Paris nonstop — or would, if we had taken on full fuel, but that would just have added a lot of weight for a flight to New York — or rather, Teterboro, New Jersey, which is the general aviation airport for New York.”

“My goodness.”

The airplane turned onto the runway without stopping, and shortly they were climbing out and turning east.

“How long a flight?”

“About three hours, depending on the winds.”

“How high will we fly?”

“Fifty-one thousand feet, which pilots call flight level five one zero.”

“Are we staying at your apartment?”

“At my house,” Stone replied

After that, Jenna fell into conversation with Susannah, and she was lost to him. Dino was on the satphone, and Ed was reading an aviation magazine article about the G-500. Finally, Dino hung up, and Stone moved across the aisle, facing him.

“Dino,” Stone said, “you look terrible; are you feeling all right?”

“No,” Dino replied. “I’m not. I’ve just learned that there’s a leak in my department, somebody fairly high up, I think.”

“Do you know who?”

“Not yet, but I’m going to find out.” Dino took a deep breath. “I may as well tell you this now: Frances Bowers and her nurse are dead.”

“Oh, no, no,” Stone managed to say. “What happened?”

“Somebody tased and cuffed the two cops on duty, then took a knife to the two women.”

“And you think somebody in your department leaked the location.”

“That’s about the size of it. Also, they didn’t kill the cops, so whoever the leak was apparently made that a condition. Not even the worst guy in the department would have gone along with killing two cops.”

“Does the DA know?”

“I just spoke to him. He said we have no case, now. Everything depended on Frances’s testimony. I wish we had recorded her.”

“I did,” Stone said. He turned on his iPhone, found the conversation, and handed it to Dino.

Dino listened. “Can you send this to me and the DA?”

Stone e-mailed the files.

“I feel better now,” Dino said. “But you shouldn’t.”

“I guess not,” Stone said. “Don’t mention this to the Eagles or to Jenna; it will spoil their trip.”

“Okay.”

Stone called Joan.

“Yes, boss?”

“We’re on the way home, landing in about three hours. Send Fred, and let Mike Freeman know that we need manpower again. I want four people on the house, day and night.”

“I’ll let Mike know.”

“Oh, the Eagles are coming with us, and so is a woman named Jenna Post.”

“I take it we’ll need only one guest room prepared?”

“Good guess. Listen, you watch yourself, you hear?”

“Are we in trouble again?”

“Yep. I have a feeling I’m next on the hit list.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“See you later.” He hung up and turned to Dino. “I’m going to have to tell Jenna and the Eagles,” he said.

“Okay by me.”

“I’ve ordered people from Strategic Services, but I could use a patrol car outside the house.”

“Done,” Dino said, and picked up the satphone.

Stone moved back across the aisle. “I have to tell you all something,” he said.

Everyone started paying attention.

“Our witness against the hit-list murderer was killed this morning, which means the guy beat us back to New York. I’ve ordered round-the-clock security at the house, and Dino is going to have a patrol car outside. If anybody wants to go back to Santa Fe, the airplane can turn around right now and take you home.”

Nobody said anything. Finally, Ed spoke. “Loan us a couple of handguns. I’d love a shot at this guy.”

“Done,” Stone said. “Jenna, how do you feel about this?”

“I don’t want to go back to Santa Fe, if this guy is my neighbor,” she said. “I think I’d feel safer with you. And the Eagles.”