“That’s a nice thought, but as a board member, I wouldn’t want you to spend all that money when you already have two airplanes.”

Mike laughed. “All right, I’ll take your advice.” They chatted for a moment, then said good-bye.

Joan buzzed him. “Peter’s on line two,” she said.

“Peter?”

“Yes, Dad. I got your message. There’s a police car outside right now.”

“Good. Get in it and come home.”

“Can I drop Hattie off on the way?”

“Sure, that’s fine.”

“I’ll be home in half an hour or so.”

Stone hung up feeling relieved.

Chapter 61

61

At half past four Peter came into Stone’s office, shucking off his coat. “Anything new about Rutledge?”

“No,” Stone replied. “Don’t be too worried about this.”

“Dad, if you’re not too worried, what am I doing traveling in a police car? I’ll never hear the end of this at school.”

“Well, from tomorrow, you’ll be traveling in the Bentley, and you’ll get still more guff about that, I’m sure. Two of Mike Freeman’s men will be riding with you. And yes, you can pick up Hattie on the way to school and take her home after that.”

“Thanks, Dad. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Stone walked over to the leather sofa and sat down. “Take a pew and tell me about it.”

Peter fished in his bag and came up with a bundle of DVDs, secured with a rubber band. “My movie is finished; the titles and Hattie’s score are in. It’s called Autumn Kill.”

“Intriguing title,” Stone said.

“That’s what I was going for. I’ve thought about this a lot, and I don’t want to wait a year or two to try and get it released. I want to do it now.”

Stone shook his head. “Peter, I’ve already explained why I think you should wait.”

“I know, and I’ve considered your points very carefully. The thing is, I’ll be at Yale by the time the film is in theaters, and that will give me some insulation. Also, I can just decline to talk about it. I’m concerned that if I wait, some other similar film might come along that could lessen its chances for success.”

“You mean with a similar plot?”

“I mean something as simple as another film that takes place at a prep school. I have something original, and I don’t want to have it look like a copycat because some other filmmaker does something that looks like it.”

Stone thought about it and thought that, chances were, Peter was as right as he. “All right, but I think you have to offer it to Centurion first.”

“That makes perfect sense to me.”