approached, he could see that the gate was closed, and one side of it was covered in canvas. He opened it and walked inside.
“Hello, sailor,” a voice said from the other end of the pool. Her robe and swimsuit were on a chair. He walked around the pool, dropped his own things, and dove in, with an intense feeling of déjà vu. He swam toward her under the water, appreciating the view as he approached.
Holly grabbed him by the hair and pulled him to the surface. “Hi, there.”
“Hi, yourself.”
They enjoyed a long kiss, then more of each other.
* * *
—
They were back in their suits and robes before lunch was served at poolside.
“This is all working very well, so far,” Holly said.
“Very smoothly, indeed,” Stone agreed. “I guess you’ve learned the drill.”
“I’ve established the drill,” she replied. “I figured out what it should be and required them to conform to it. I very nearly had to send the head of the Secret Service into retirement, but Bill Wright, now his deputy, took him aside and explained things to him, and he’s been quiet ever since. By the way, in New York, the ‘drill’ includes no Secret Service at your house, unless I’m actually there, then outside and in the garage only.”
“I like it,” Stone said, and he meant it.
“I rather thought you might. I’ve placed your house here off-limits to them, too, except for one man at the front door and another at the rear. There’s a platoon available, of course, should circumstances require. And they get to see the pool only to inspect it before I use it.”
“So, nobody’s going to open the gate?”
“Nope.”
Somebody opened the gate. “That’s lunch,” Stone said. “Ah.”
The cart was wheeled around the pool, and a waiter set the table, placed the food, and opened a bottle of wine.
Stone noticed a bulge in the small of the man’s back. Looked like a nine mm.
Soon they were alone to enjoy their lobster salad. “I’m afraid dinner tonight is out of the question,” she said. “An impromptu visit from the Japanese president.”
“Ah, well.”
“I’m yours until four o’clock, though, and I’ll do my best to make up for the lost time.”
“You’ve already done that,” Stone said.
“Then I’ll start building credit for the future.”
20
Holly snuck out of the house at four in the afternoon, and he slept for a couple of hours. He had dinner off a tray in his lap and watched TV. Lara’s series came on, and he watched it for the first time. She was wonderful, he thought.
The butler had just cleared away his tray when his phone rang. “Hello?”
“It’s Eggers. I’m done here. You about ready to head east, say, tomorrow?”
“Sure. Wheels up at nine.”
“Will you be alone?”
Stone thought about that. “Undetermined,” he said. “You’ll find out when you’re aboard.”
“See you at eight-forty-five,” Bill said, then hung up. Stone thought for a moment, then he called Lara.
“What a surprise!” she said.
“When do you start shooting Peter’s film?” he asked.
“We start rehearsing, let’s see, six days from now.”
“How would you like to spend those days in New York with me?”
“What a good idea!”
“I’ll send a car for you at seven-thirty tomorrow morning,” he said, “and I’ll meet you at the Burbank airport.”
“That’s just grand.”
“Make a note: the tail number is November One, Two, Three Tango Foxtrot—N123 TF. You’ll need that at the gate for access to the ramp. Wheels up at nine. That means be aboard at eight-forty-five.”
“Got it. See you there.”
“Oh, there’ll be one other person aboard, besides the crew: my law partner, Bill Eggers. You’ll like each other.”
“Fine.”
They hung up, and Stone arranged transportation for himself and Lara. Then called Faith and gave her her marching orders. He got a very good night’s sleep.
* * *
—
They departed on time, and Eggers and Lara did most of the talking. The cockpit buzzed Stone’s intercom. “Yes?”
“Dino for you on the satphone,” Faith said.
Stone picked up the handset. “You got the time right for once,” he said.
“I’m a timely guy. You hear about Art Jacoby’s girlfriend?”
“Yes, I spoke to him yesterday.”
“Now Art has disappeared.”
“Define ‘disappeared.’”
“Nobody that I know can find him.”
“I think that was his plan, after what happened to his girl.”
“Well, he did a damn good job of it.”
“Have you looked down the hall?”
“In his office here?”
“It’s worth a try, and it’s not a long walk.”
“I’ll call you back.” They both hung up.
After a few minutes Dino called back. “Art’s in his office, appears to be working.”
“Glad to be of help,” Stone said. “Anything else I