Woods, Stuart - Stone Barrington 60 - Criminal Mischief by Woods Stuart

Author:Woods, Stuart [Woods, Stuart]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-12-28T00:00:00+00:00

32

Stone’s cell phone rang. “Yes?” he said, wearily.

“It’s Margot.”

“Well, hi there. You awake?”

“Yes. Are you at the airport?”

“Yes, and all your luggage is here. Unfortunately, the FBI has, sort of, borrowed my airplane to look for Zanian.”

“Well, he should be easy to find now.”

“Why is that?”

“Because he just called me and asked if I was coming with him.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I asked him if he had transferred my two and a half million to my account. I called the bank manager, and he wasn’t in yet, so I left a message.”

“Did you tell Zanian that?”

“Yes. I told him I’d get back to him as soon as the bank opens.”

“And how did he take that?”

“He said they were refueling, and he would wait until he had full tanks.”

“Did he say where he was refueling?”

“Yes, at the airport.”

“Which airport?”

“I just assumed he was at the Honolulu airport, if he’s waiting for me.”

Stone thought about that. “I’ll call you back.” He hung up and turned to Faith. “What sort of paint job does Zanian’s airplane have?”

“I’ve never seen it until now, but most G-500s seem to have the standard Gulfstream paint design. If somebody wants a corporate logo or something, they have it done in a graphics shop and glued on over the original paint.”

Stone called the satphone on his airplane and a man answered.

“Yes?”

“Special Agent Ness, please. Do you know how to connect me to the cockpit?”

“Sure. Hang on.”

“Special Agent Ness,” she said.

“Did you just land at Honolulu?” he asked.

“We were going to, but the weather turned foul, and we couldn’t get down. We’re in a holding pattern.”

Stone looked out the window; it was still raining heavily. “Zanian landed at Honolulu fifteen minutes ago.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’m at the airport, and I saw him land. I thought it was you, in my airplane. The paint jobs are similar.”

“Holy shit! Keep him there until the weather clears. The forecast said it would be less than an hour.”

“How am I supposed to do that? Handcuff the airplane to the fuel truck? You should have your office call the tower and ground him.”

“I don’t know if we have the authority.”

“The tower is federal. You’re federal. What’s the problem?”

“Okay, I’ll get started on the red tape.”

“Just get your director out of bed and have him make the call. That should impress an air traffic controller. Even better, have him call the head of the FAA!”

“Sit tight,” she said.

Stone hung up and looked at the anemometer over the FBO’s counter: it was gusting forty knots.

“What did Ness say?” Dino asked.

“She said to sit tight.”

“That’s helpful.”

“Yeah, the FBI is always so very helpful.”

“Didn’t you read the tail number on that airplane when it landed?”

“In this visibility?”

“How did he land in this visibility?”

“Auto-land,” Stone said. “It will fly the airplane right down to the runway and to a full stop.”

“Then why doesn’t Ness’s pilot use that to land your airplane?”

“The original owner didn’t want to pay for auto-land. I’ve ordered the equipment, but it will be months before it can be built and installed.

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