Orchid Blues (Holly Barker 2)

The pilot started the engines and, after a couple of minutes, taxied to the runway. A moment later, they were in the air, flying down the coast.

"Has Ham used the scrambled cell phone again?" Holly asked.

"No, not a word from him."

"Harry, why did you tell me to bring my sexiest dress?"

"There's someone I want you to meet. It's a surprise."

"Harry, I'm not interested in matchmaking. It's too soon."

"It's not that, Holly, it's work. I'll explain later."

Peck drove the jeep out to the landing strip,

where John's airplane had already been towed out of the hangar. They began loading luggage aboard, and Ham tried to work his way into a position where he could grab the cell phone from under the dash.

"The Barrett's rifle is in the large suitcase," John said. "We've broken it down."

"Good," Ham said.

"Climb aboard. I want you in the copilot's seat, next to me."

Ham moved toward the airplane. When everyone was well away from the jeep, he stopped and felt his pockets. "I think I dropped my pen in the jeep," he said. "I'll just be a minute."

"Take your time," John replied. "I've got to do a preflight, anyway." He removed a fuel cap from the airplane and began walking around the fuselage.

Ham walked quickly toward the jeep, pretending to look for the pen. He looked back at the airplane: Peck was already on board, and John was on the opposite side. Quickly, he leaned into the driver's-side footwell, yanked the duct tape off and, with his back to the airplane, got the phone and the three batteries into a pocket. He wadded and dropped the tape, retrieved a pen from his inside pocket and walked back to the airplane, the pen in his hand.

"Find it?" Peck asked as he got aboard.

Ham held up the pen for him to see. He made his way forward, slipped into the copilot's seat and buckled in.

John slid in beside him. "Everything's in good order," he said. "You and I will talk when we're in the air and I've gotten my clearance."

He started the engine, worked his way through a checklist, then taxied to the end of the grass strip. He did a quick runup, then put in some flaps, adjusted the trim and slowly pushed the throttle up to full power. After a brief check of the instruments, he released the brakes and the airplane began to roll.

More than halfway down the strip, John pulled back on the yoke and they were airborne, flying into the setting sun. He retracted the landing gear and the flaps, then turned to the east. The moon was rising, waning now, but still big.

Ham put on a headset that was hanging on the yoke in front of him. "Beautiful night," he said.

John held up a hand for silence. "Miami Center," he said, pressing a button on the yoke. "November one, two, three, tango foxtrot is off of Vero Beach, IFR to Miami Opa-Locka. Do you have a clearance for me?"

"This is Miami Center. You're in luck tonight. You're cleared direct Opa-Locka."

"Thank you, Center, direct Opa-Locka." He turned to Ham. "That's never happened before," he said. "Usually, my routing is more complicated."

"That will make the trip quicker, then?"

"By a few minutes." He leveled at six thousand feet and announced his altitude to Center. After a few minutes to lean the engine, he turned on the autopilot, sat back and turned to Ham, opening a zippered envelope and extracting an envelope. He handed it to Ham. "This is your identity," he said.

Ham opened the envelope and emptied the contents into his lap. He found a wallet, a passport and an airline ticket. Inside the wallet was a driver's license, some credit cards, a social security card and some photographs of a plump woman and some children.

"You're Owen Sanford," John said, "and the ticket and the stamps in the passport say you've just landed in Miami on a flight that lands about now, that originated in Cairo."

"So, if I'm arrested, it'll look like there's a Middle Eastern connection?"

"Right, but don't worry, you're not going to be arrested."