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Stone looked through the window and saw an aluminum briefcase on the rear floor. “He could get four guns in there.”
“And a silencer or two as well,” Dino said.
“Hey, you guys,” DePoo said, “are you cops?”
“He is,” Stone said, jerking a thumb at Dino, “and I used to be, but we’re going to need some local tale
nt for this. Dino, will you call Tommy and tell him we think we’ve got a lock on his shooter.” Stone tried the airplane door, but it was locked. “I don’t suppose you’ve got a Cessna passkey?”
DePoo shook his head. “No, and I’m not in the habit of breaking into customers’ airplanes.”
“I understand,” Stone said. “Let’s wait for the local cops.”
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THE Y HUN G AR O U ND the hangar looking at airplanes for the half hour it took Tommy to get there.
“What’s up?” he asked.
Stone crooked a finger. “This way.” He led Tommy to the corner of the hangar and the bright red Cessna. “The guy who flew this in yesterday carried a shotgun or rifle case and gave a name different from the registered owner of the airplane. Also, if you’ll cast your eye toward the rear floor, there’s an aluminum case commonly used to carry handguns.”
“Okay,” Tommy said, “now what?”
“I don’t know. I just thought you might like to get a search warrant.”
“On what evidence?” Tommy asked. “The guy hasn’t done anything illegal.”
“Maybe he stole the airplane, since it isn’t registered in his name, which he gave as Ted Larson, of Fort Lauderdale. The registered owner is one Frank G. Harmon, of Sarasota.”
“Maybe he borrowed it or rented it.”
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“This airplane has had a ton of money spent on it; it’s not the kind of thing an owner would lend to a friend, let alone rent out.”
“Come on, Stone, how many times have you stood in front of a judge and been told to take a hike? I don’t like to do that around here, because I get the same judge or two every time I go for a warrant, and I want to protect my reputation for having real evidence.”
“Tommy, you’ve got an assassin in your town.”
“Yeah, and if I arrest him, I want to get a conviction, not get the case thrown out for an illegal search.”
“He’s scheduled to leave at ten this morning,” Stone said. “You want to stick around and see what he has to say for himself?”
“Sure, I’ll do that.”
“You fellows want some coffee?” Paul DePoo asked.
“Sure, why not?”
“Tell you what,” Paul said, “I won’t pull his airplane out of the hangar; that’ll delay him for half an hour while we move the two others blocking him.”
They all walked back into the air-conditioned building and got coffee.