“Herbie says Stephanie can arrange it. I’m sure I would be one of his smaller clients.”

“I think it’s a good idea. I’ve had returns of between eight and twelve percent annually, which is good. It’s not the sort of thing that Bernie Madoff paid, but then his company was a Ponzi scheme, and Jack’s is not.”

“I was a little confused about the story that some of their funds—apparently a billion dollars or so—were somehow inadvertently . . . transferred to some of their foreign accounts. They called it a computer glitch.”

“I don’t understand that stuff,” Adele said. “I only understand that I had a letter from Jack saying that my funds were secure and that I can withdraw any part of my capital anytime I wish.”

“Do you know if many people have taken him up on that offer?”

“I’ve heard there are some, but since nobody lost any money, most of his clients are standing pat.”

“Thanks for your advice,” Stone said.

They landed at Teterboro and drove back into New York. Stone dropped Adele at her apartment building, then drove home. In addition to the morning mail there was a fax of several pages from Mike Freeman, which was the agreement with Lance Cabot. To his surprise, it included all the items Stone had suggested. He called Mike.

“Good morning, Stone,” Freeman said. “Are you back?”

“I’m at my desk, and I’ve read the agreement with Lance that you faxed me.”

“What do you think?”

“I think it looks good,” Stone said. “Lock it in your safe.”

“We’re going to close on the sale of Strategic Air Services in a few days, but our in-house legal department can handle that. Tell me, how would you like to fly to Iraq and back on the C-17?”

“That’s quite an invitation. How long would we be gone?”

“It will be a quick turnaround, so probably a couple of days. It will be an experience that not a lot of civilians have, and the airplane is more comfortable than you might imagine.”

“When would this happen?”

“Perhaps as early as this weekend, perhaps a few days later.”

“Let me think about it,” Stone said. “Ask me again when you know your departure date.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

“Mike, what are you doing about your funds that are with Jack Gunn?”

“We’re leaving them with him, and we’re also investing the proceeds of the sale of the aircraft charter business.”

“So you feel comfortable with Gunn’s accountants’ statement about the audit?”

“Our CFO was comfortable with it, so that’s okay with me. Finance is not my strongest suit.”

“I’m thinking of putting the proceeds of the sale of my airplane with Gunn.”

“Why not?” Freeman said. “I’ll call you when we have a launch date for Iraq.”

“Okay,” Stone said, and hung up. He thought for a little while, and then he picked up the phone to call Herbie Fisher. Then he hung up. Herbie was knocking at his door, as he often did, unannounced.