Stone was back at the table when Mike Freeman called.
“Hello?”
“Hi, did she get away?”
“She just left.”
“I’m on my way to Burbank; I’ll fly to Virginia with Arrington, and have our CJ4 meet me there and take me to New York. I had my aviation department check out the hangar situation at Charlottesville,” he said.
“I was going to do that myself,” Stone replied.
“There’s a nice corporate hangar available-office, crew quarters, etc. They want half a million.”
“I’ll recommend it to her,” Stone said.
“I’ll call the crew and tell them to take the airplane there when they land. I’ll do the deal, if you like, subject to Arrington’s approval, and your people can send the check.”
“Go ahead.” Stone hung up, and Mike called back in ten minutes.
“I got it for four-fifty,” he said. “I told them to send the paperwork to Bill Eggers. I’ll show it to her when we land and get her approval.”
“You make life so easy, Mike.”
“It’s what I do. Talk to you later.” He hung up.
Stone called Arrington in the car and explained the deal to her.
“I approve,” she said.
“Just what I always like to hear a client say. Call me when you’ve actually seen it. Mike’s going to fly to Virginia with you and show you the hangar when you land. Let me know what you think.”
“Will do.”
Stone went back to the remains of his breakfast.
“So,” Dino said, “what’s next?”
“I think it’s time to take the game to Prince,” Stone said. “I’m tired of playing catch-up.”
32
Stone called Carolyn Blaine. “Are you available for lunch?”
“I don’t think we should be seen in public,” she said.
“Then come here.”
“One o’clock? I want to be sure Terry has left the office before I do.”
“That will be fine.”
Stone hung up.
“What do you want with that dame?” Dino asked.
“To get to Terry Prince; she’ll know how best to do it.”
Stone received Carolyn by the pool, and Manolo offered them a lobster salad for lunch.