“What’s going on at St. John’s?”

“Unidentified people and vehicles on the ground. At Gander, stay in the airplane. You’ll get a quick turnaround, and the fuel will be billed to us, later to you. At Teterboro, you’ll taxi straight to the hangar. Stay aboard while you’re towed in. Your car and driver will be inside.”

“Whatever you say.”

Stone called air traffic control on his high-frequency radio and was cleared Direct Gander. Skies were still sunny at Gander, with its one, very long runway. A fuel truck was waiting. When the tanks were full, the fueler secured the caps and whirled a finger in the air for startup. Stone started the engines and got an immediate clearance to Teterboro from the tower. They were the only thing moving on the field, and five minutes later they were in the air.

—

At Teterboro, Stone followed Mike’s instructions. Immediately after shutdown, the tractor towed them into the hangar, and the big door closed behind them. Bob went nuts when he saw Fred Flicker, who was waiting for them with all doors open. Luggage was loaded, Bob was emptied, and they were off for Manhattan. Once home, Fred drove into the garage, and they unloaded after the door was closed.

The sun was still up when they fell into bed.

—

The following morning Joan called while they were having breakfast in bed.

“How’s the jet lag?” she asked.

“So far, so good.”

“We had a visit from the phone company yesterday,” she said. “Guy with a foreign accent said he needed to get into our main box to fix a problem in the neighborhood.”

“How did you react to that?”

“I put my hand in my desk drawer and told him to bring me an authorization from his supervisor. We didn’t see him again. I had Bob Cantor check out everything, and we’re okay. How long are you staying?”

Stone thought about it. “We’re leaving in an hour,” he said, and hung up. “That okay with you?” he asked Gala, and she nodded. It was okay with Bob, too.

—

At ten AM they lifted off for Santa Fe, and soon they were at flight level 400 and headed direct to their destination. It was a longer flight than Stone would have wished, with a big headwind, but they had the fuel for a nonstop flight, and with the two-hour favorable time change, they were landing in Santa Fe by early afternoon.

“Oh, my beautiful house!” Gala cried, looking around the immaculate place. “Marlene has cleaned so beautifully!”

Bob ran aimlessly around until he had located his dish, then demanded food and drink. Happily full, he went to his bed and fell sound asleep.