Baldacci, David - Dream Town by Baldacci David

Author:Baldacci, David [Baldacci, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: None, Fiction & Literature, Hard-Boiled, Historical Mystery, Mystery & Suspense
ISBN: 9781529061871
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2022-04-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 40

AS THEY ROSE OFF THE TARMAC ARCHER gripped the armrest of his seat. He was directly behind Everett and could see out the front windscreen. The Beechcraft was surprisingly spacious, especially with only two people on board. The seats were comfortable and there was a small credenza which Everett had told him contained tumblers and a bottle of Bart Green’s favorite scotch.

As they climbed toward their cruising altitude he looked out the side window. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The last time Archer had been on a plane was during the war. It was a troop transport. The flight was fairly short, around two hours, and there were fifty other fully geared-out grunts on board with him. As the plane was descending to land, they had taken unexpected enemy fire from a couple of German fighter planes. Archer had watched as rounds had pierced the fuselage and killed four of his comrades, including one man sitting beside him. The plane had crash-landed short of the runway, killing more men. And then Archer and the other survivors had dutifully marched off and gone straight back to fighting a war.

He hadn’t liked riding in planes much after that, but this was a breeze. Even when they hit some rough air and downdrafts and the Beechcraft bumped, swayed, and jostled some, Archer just kept looking out the window thinking of other things. He eyed the thermometer set in the ceiling of the plane and saw that they were already well into frostbite territory. When the plane reached its cruising altitude of nine thousand feet and leveled out, Everett said, “You want to sit up here? Nice ride and views at a hundred seventy knots.”

Archer changed seats and looked at the instrument panel. “Never could figure out how all this mumbo-jumbo works.”

Everett laughed. “The most important things in this plane are me and this here yoke. Either one of those gets screwed up none of that stuff will save your ass.”

“So, when was the last time Lamb flew up here with Bart Green?”

“Not exactly sure, but it’ll be in the passenger log. It’s in that compartment over there.”

Archer opened it and pulled out a leather-bound book. He flipped through the pages to the most recent flights and worked backward from there.

“A month ago tomorrow,” he said. “It was her, Green, and a guy named Tony Gleason.”

“Yeah, Little Tony. He’s Mr. Green’s bodyguard.”

“So exactly how little is Tony?”

“About four inches taller than you with about a hundred extra pounds and none of it fat that I ever saw, so of course he’s called Little Tony.”

“Why does Green need a bodyguard?”

“Man’s rich. Makes you a target.”

“Ever have any problems?”

“None that I heard of, but I wouldn’t necessarily.”

“You ever talk to Lamb?” asked Archer.

“Just to say hello. She didn’t strike me as a chatty Cathy.”

“Green talk to her while you guys were up here?”

“When the boss is on board I just do my job as the flying chauffeur and try not to listen. And he mostly reads scripts and drinks his scotch.

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