The Malibu came to a final halt less than three feet from the Cessna, with both propellers still turning. If Stone had run head-on into the other airplane, there would have been a real mess, he thought. Normally, he would run the engine for five minutes on the ground before stopping it, to cool the turbochargers, but he yanked back on the mixture control and cut his engine. The prop wound down and came to a halt. The Cessna prop was still turning, but the twins weren’t going anywhere; there is no reverse on a piston airplane.

“Cut your engine, Cessna,” Stone said into the radio. The twins sat, staring at him, no more than twelve feet away. “Listen to me, boys,” he said. “There’s still a way out of this.”

“Sure,” a voice said back. “Just get out of our way.”

“The money is gone. It’s not in the account.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There is no million two in the Singapore bank; we tranferred it back to the original account. The only money you have is what’s in your pocket.”

There was a long silence.

“Which of you is driving?” Stone asked.

“Eben.”

“It’s not as bad as you think,” Stone said. “If you listen to me, you can still walk.”

“What are you talking about?” Eben asked.

“There’s a way out of this, if you’ll just listen.”

“Start talking.”

“I’m not your lawyer; I want to emphasize that. But, you can still walk on an insanity plea.”

“We’re not insane.”

“When they question you, tell them you hear voices, and the voices told you to do what you did.”

“Nobody’s going to buy that.”

“They will, if you agree on a story and stick to it. There’ll be a psychiatric examination, but if you stick to your story, you’ll get through it. You’ll do a couple of years in a mental hospital, and then you’ll walk.” He could see the two boys talking, arguing. Still the Cessna’s prop spun.

“Open the rear door, Dino,” Stone said. “Do it slowly, and if they run, go after them, but remember, they’re probably armed.”

“Right,” Dino said.

Stone could hear the Cessna engine get louder as Dino opened the door.

“Will you represent us, Stone?” Enos asked.

“I can’t do that; any judge would remove me for a conflict of interest. I’m Dick’s heir. But I’ll get you the best defense lawyer in the country.”

“If you don’t get out and move your airplane, we’re going to start shooting,” Eben said.

Stone could see Enos talking, gesturing, while Eben looked stonily ahead.

“Come on, boys,” Stone said. “This will work, believe me.”

They argued some more, and then the Cessna’s prop wound down and was still. The twins sat, slumped in their seats, looking defeated.