Chapter 23

STAR – The Valley - DAY 16 - Tuesday

Today is going to be another busy one, but I am lying in bed thinking of Willie; there was something special about that nice old man.

But I have to get up and moving. This Ferdie Felton character (what a name for an important company Vice President.) is due to arrive at 0900. I hope Jennie gets back in time. But I shouldn't have worried, as Dewey's G-5 landed at 0830 with her and Bill on board.

The first thing I did after getting into my office, however, was to call Jack McCrum. No, there was no change with "Wullie", he told me, but after he passes on, the two of us need to urgently get together. Why should we have to do that?

My two training managers dropped in soon after. The word was out that we had good instructors, and that lessons started on time due to our clear air; they told me that applications were starting to flood in. They had been helping Roy Bean make some financial forecasts using his new computer software. These showed that we would soon need more instructors; ten wasn't going to be enough, and we'd also need more fixed-wing aircraft by the weekend. They asked if I could borrow a pair of 172s from The Junction. I promised to talk to Kurt.

Gunter then called. He'd had a call from Switzerland a few minutes before. That Texan oilman was definitely interested, and wanted to know if he could fly up with his grandson to visit with me tomorrow afternoon. Well, why not, this could be interesting, so I said yes. Before he hung up, Gunter said that he'd heard rumors about a really neat twin that CS&S was supposed to be testing in Tampa. He asked if I knew anything about it.

That was interesting, so I called Wes. I felt guilty that I hadn't done this before, but my days in Lutz seemed like another life now.

He was excited to hear from me, and promptly proceeded to tell me all about what he had been doing and all his latest ideas. He'll never change. When I could get a word in, I asked him about the twin that looked so like the Italian Avanti that I have in my sales inventory here

The twin had passed all its certifications, Wes told me, but there hadn't been a great deal of commercial interest so far since people seemed to be assuming that it would be prohibitively noisy like that Italian job. He asked if I could take a couple, with luxury interiors, and try them out with my Reno customers. He had designed it as a Beech King Air replacement, so what about it?

I liked that idea, so I told him to talk to Chuck and Steve. Nice one, Wes.

As I picked up some maintenance reports Georgie wanted me to look at, I thought that I should mention the idea to Kurt too. The same idea would surely work well in Vegas.

Jennie came in looking pleased. She just heard from Pete Harris, who had given her the trucking figures to use for the Emery's bid. She said it looked neat and Roy was rubbing his hands together in anticipation of an acceptance. Well, it was a good idea, I reckoned.

Mr. Felton arrived well before nine, just after Jennie had left my office. Nice car, I thought; an Escalade. I wouldn't mind one of those for myself; I'll keep dreaming on.

Jennie had arranged for our nicest Lear 60XR to be ready for us, so we went straight over to it. Betty had called yesterday with the news that we were cleared to operate our Lears with a single pilot. As I climbed into the left seat, I invited "call me Ferdie" to take the right seat and asked him to help by reading the checklists. He liked that, but we were interrupted more that once because he kept pausing to watch four of the Trelawney Gulfstreams landing in succession and pulling on to the apron to line up beside us. Good stage management, I thought. Ferdie was impressed alright.

Our flight to The Junction took a quick 50 minutes, and I was kept busy answering questions about S&S, Quality Wear, and CS&S. He'd certainly done his homework, and I was glad that I could give him a first hand account of the Magic Islands, as well as answer all his other questions.

We were first told to hold when we passed Vegas, but we were given immediate clearance when I identified myself as a CS&S aircraft.

When we pulled off the main runway to taxi over to the tower, I understood why. There were two Honor Guards drawn up in front of the flying school buildings, one composed of airmen, the other of paratroopers. I was glad my landing was a good one.

Ferdie was fascinated to see all the military activity, but he didn't miss the fifteen Airbuses, parked on the western end of the runway. He helped with the checklists once again, and I wasn't finished when Jennie let the steps down and brought Kurt's new hire, Jesse Harcourt, into the cockpit to introduce him to us. He apologized for Kurt not being there to meet us himself. He was part of the reception party welcoming the Commander of the Air Mobility Command; a Four-Star General called Jackson Goodyear, but he would join us as soon as he could.

Jesse explained that he was a new hire and had only joined CS&S yesterday, but he would do his best to answer all of our questions until Kurt joined us. He took us behind the tower where three of the big S&S RVs had been lined up. They were the special Hollywood film star model; so not surprisingly, Ferdie was even more impressed. I had to explain to all three of my companions how that branch of S&S had developed.

As we climbed into the left hand RV, Jesse explained that the General commanding the 82^nd Airborne Division had taken over their conference room.

Jennie started by making a presentation of my combined road/air concept, involving collecting the containers at the Oakland seaport, transporting them directly to Spring Field, and loading them on our aircraft for transportation to Cincinnati. As I had thought, there was a marked and favorable cost differential when transshipment at Oakland International Airport was eliminated.

Ferdie was immediately on to this.

"You aren't using this method with our -600 flight tomorrow, are you," he asked?

Jennie shook her head.

"If I asked you to use these figures to give me a quote for two weekly round-trip flights to Cincinnati, can you maintain that schedule at these prices?"

Jennie looked at me for support.

"Yes, we can," I firmly replied. "We can use either our 737-300Fs or two -600s like the one we've got for tomorrow, backed up by our -700Cs."

Ferdie thought for a minute,

"Fine, please let me have a firm proposal for a six week trial period, and I'll approve it," he said, before turning to Jesse. "I understand you can quote me for a similar service from Spring Field using one of those new Airbus A330-200Fs?"

Jesse was well briefed.

"Yes," he replied, without hesitation. "We can start on Monday, but I'd need a contingency clause to cover us in case the leasing company changes our contractual terms."

"That's reasonable, we would agree to that."

Ferdie didn't hesitate this time.

"Please quote me for three weekly, A330 round-trip flights starting on Tuesday. I'll approve that too."

Jesse was speechless, but he was saved by Kurt entering the RV accompanied by an Air Force NCO with so many stripes on his sleeve, that you could hardly see the cloth beneath.

After I introduced Kurt to both Ferdie and Jennie, whom he'd not met before, he introduced his companion as Air Mobility Command Chief Master Sergeant Cal Noble, an old colleague of Kurt's, who was visiting here with the General. He hoped that we wouldn't mind if Cal sat in on the meeting.

After I had brought them up to date on the results of our negotiations so far, Ferdie took the floor again.

"I've been told to put my cards on the table," he began. "We have some very large Japanese customers in Cincinnati, all of whom import parts from Japan. There is Toyota Cars; two large electrical companies, Sumitomo and Mitsubishi; and there are others, although those three are far and away the largest. In addition, there are companies in Oakland that make auto parts and electrical assemblies, so that in addition to the imports through the seaport, there is a considerable two-way trade. The heavy stuff goes by road, of course, but the majority, both in volume and value, goes by air. I'm pleased to say that we handle a great deal of this.

"It's no secret that we at Emery's have been seriously looking at the idea of forming our own freight airline. However, our Board of Directors has recently decided that the economy isn't right for that type of investment at the moment, and our President has been looking for an alternative. He was pleased when he heard that CS&S had moved into The Valley, and he will be even more pleased when he sees the quotes you are going to give me.

"I think I can say that you may expect an invitation to quote on a long term contract providing for two daily round-trip flights using your -300Fs as I prefer that option because of the extra container capacity, and four similar A330 freighter flights each week too. We are serious about wanting CS&S to join our operation; in fact, I suspect that my President has had it in mind for some time. If this proves successful for a period of, let's say, five months, you can expect the contract to be expanded to cover additional destinations, in addition to the volumes and frequencies being increased."

Kurt kept a straight face, but clearly expected me to respond.

"Yes, that's good. We can do that," I replied, "Do you want to work with Jennie here on the 737 flights and Jesse for the Airbuses?"

But before Ferdie could reply, Jesse stepped in.

"I'd prefer it if all contacts were made through Jennie," he stated. "You are her customer, after all, but I'll help all I can, of course."

Kurt nodded his agreement, and I was pleased with the way our trip had worked out so nicely.

Jennie served us all coffee as we relaxed.

"I think that you're due to meet Mac and the two MPs this afternoon." Kurt said, turning to me. "I'm short of aircraft today, so can you take them back with you in your Lear? If they could stay the night, I have a charter to Reno tomorrow and the aircraft can pick them up just before lunch."

"Yes, that's fine with me," I told him. "I've got two other things I want to talk to you about as well."

The others were all talking together, and the Sergeant was fascinated by Jennie's story of the Hollywood RVs, so I continued.

"Actually, it's one request and a lead. The two flying instructors you let me poach are doing so well that I need another couple of 172s for this weekend; can I please borrow some?"

"Yes, of course," Kurt readily agreed, "What's the other thing?"

"I'm sure you have a requirement for some of the neat luxury B200s that do so well in Florida? Well, Wes, the CS&S aircraft designer, now has a fully certificated twin that outperforms all the opposition. He designed it as a King Air replacement, and I'm going to request six of them initially, and will probably want more. I suggest that you arrange for one to be brought over here so that you can evaluate it."

Kurt's face lit up as he shook my hand.

"That's good," he exclaimed, "But before I forget, General Goodyear wants to meet with you before you leave. I don't know what it's about, but with Chuck and Steve in Hawaii, you're the senior CS&S person here on the West Coast."

Yes, I suppose I am, I thought. It wouldn't hurt to spend a little more time here. I can let Jesse show Ferdie around some of the Airbuses. That would be a neat piece of public relations. I suggested this to Kurt and he immediately arranged it.

I found myself talking with Cal Noble, while the others discussed what they wanted to do. He told me about his long and interesting life in the Air Force, and I figured that he must be close to retirement by now. He was really interested in CS&S and all the activities at The Junction, and asked about our other locations.

I accompanied him and Kurt while they went to see how the General's visit was going. He was talking to as many of the C-17 crews as he could, congratulating them all on an impressive operation, which I gathered had been completed much quicker than expected.

When the General realized who I was, he took Kurt and I to one side and talked to us both for about 20 minutes. He was clearly impressed with CS&S' rapid expansion in the West Coast area. Kurt gave me a surprising amount of the credit for this, saying that he was just a new hire. He and the General clearly knew each other well, but it was to me that he addressed his final remarks.

"Cal Noble is a really good man, as Kurt here knows," he told me. "He's due for retirement in three months after being recalled twice to do difficult jobs. I brought him with me today because I wanted you both to meet him. CS&S has been hiring a lot of vets recently, so can you please see if you can find a slot for Cal as well? I've taken the liberty (he doesn't know this, by the way) of sending a copy of his resume to your HR people in Florida. I'd personally appreciate it if you would consider him carefully."

Well, that was unexpected.

"Thank you on behalf of our owners, Chuck Johnson and Steve Sharp," I told him. "They will be pleased to hear of your confidence in CS&S. As you're aware, Cal's training and background are quite different from those of the other ex-military personnel we've been hiring, but I'll talk to my bosses. They both believe in using all the talent that comes to their attention whenever possible. This is certainly one of the reasons for our success."

The General was relaxed enough to give me a great smile, and Kurt was clearly happy. They both knew that we'd find a spot for Cal if we could. I was sure that he'd be an asset anywhere.

When I got back to Spring Field, I sent a short e-mail to both Steve and Chuck, telling them about the General's approach, and explaining what I'd said. I copied it to Bruce Rogerson in Lutz, suggesting that he showed it to his opposite numbers in both S&S and Quality Wear.

As we were now free to return home, I rounded everyone up. That included Jesse Harcourt, whom Jennie wanted to take back to The Valley to talk to Roy Bean. Tiny had apparently sent instructions that the two of them were to get together as soon as possible.

I told Mac to fly the aircraft, while I got to know the two MPs in the back. Ferdie wanted to join him in the right seat, so I agreed. It meant that we could freely discuss things.

Once airborne, Jennie plugged her laptop into the communications console, and after filling in the raw data for Jesse's Airbus quote for Emery's, she checked in with the big Cray. You could feel the two charter specialists' excitement as the figures came in.

"It's going to put a great package together," Jesse looked over his shoulder to tell me. Then he gasped as the Cray was adding more projections. First, it outlined the Emery's airline proposal, (I wondered where all that information came from). It next started showing projections of their probable plans for the future, showing totals, and possible areas where CS&S could contribute. The figures were awesome.

I told them to send the whole thing to both Tiny and Henry Sharp. This was becoming a major proposal, and the two CFOs needed to be aware of the possibilities right away.

When we landed, we first said goodbye to an obviously happy Ferdie, and gave him our promise that he would get his quotes tomorrow. Roy urgently needed to talk to Pete.

I then luckily found our new Dutch security leader talking to Georgie. After introducing him to the two MPs, I told him to show Mac and the two of them around and bring them out to the mansion for supper. Georgie said it was ribs tonight; goody.

My first job was to get hold of Gunter to tell him that I needed the other 737-600. Tomorrow's aircraft had just arrived and I carried out a quick inspection with Young Billie. It looked good.

Gunter answered my call, but had to put me on hold until he could go outside the hangar. He said that it was too noisy inside. He was excited by the Texans coming up to visit with me tomorrow, and asked if he could be present. Why not, I told him.

"Do you want to lease or buy these two freighters," he next asked.

Silly question; he should have said that he'd get me the figures so I can make a sound decision. I told him this, but politely did so. He's good with aircraft, and can wheel and deal with the best of them, but is he a good businessman? Hmm, wish I could talk to Willie about this. Maybe Jack McCrum can tell me?

"But I'm forgetting the most exciting thing," Gunter continued, without hardly drawing a breath. "There's a gem of a bargain coming up down south. A man there takes vacationers and locals for rides in an old English pre-war biplane. It's a De Havilland DH-89 Dragon-Rapide. My dad took me down and I had my first flight it that very aircraft. It only has room for one pilot and eight passengers, but it's a real thrill to go up in. Anyway, the owner landed it rather heavily yesterday and damaged the landing gear. Unfortunately, he's done it before and now his insurance has been cancelled. He needs to get rid of it, so can we please buy it? It would make a brilliant attraction for your air museum."

This time he had to pause for breath. Well, why not? It seemed like a good idea to me.

"How much does he want for it?" I asked.

"The thing is, I think I can do a deal. There's a Cherokee over on the other side of the field here whose owner has a heart murmur and he's been grounded by his doctor. I hear the Rapide man wants something like that. You know Pete Harris? His chief mechanic has a friend with a flatbed that's perfect for this sort of job; it's the same truck Young Billie used to go get the Pastor's aircraft a couple of weeks ago. Can I use him again? We'll need to send our own mechanics though; it's quite a job to take the wires off that hold the bi-plane's wings together, and those will have to come off before it can be moved."

"See what you can do," I told him.

It was nearly 1700 when the call that I have been dreading came. Jack McCrum obviously didn't believe in gently breaking bad news, or maybe he thought that since we were all expecting it, the news would come as a relief.

"Weel, old Wullie's gawn," he announced, in the broadest accent I ever heard him use. "Aah needs to see ya, Lass. Cawn't do a thing withoot yersell."

"Oh," I replied, without really thinking, "Why's that?"

He must have pulled himself together, because from then on, he was quite intelligible.

"Because you're the Executor, and main Legatee," he told me.

ME? What the HELL.

"Yes," he continued, "Wullie just finished re-making his will a couple of days before he went in the hospital. He knew that he wouldn't be coming out again, you see, and he wanted to leave his estate in the most capable hands he could find, so he told me. Don't worry, there's no family to challenge yea, and it's all quite legal and properly witnessed. You're an heiress, my Gurl. Yes, a considerable heiress.

"Now, can yea please see me tonight?"

"Yes, of course," I absently answered. "Come out to Lacy Mansion for supper; we can talk after we've eaten. I know you need fattening up, so get here just before 1900."

"Good."

That was it.

I was sitting there staring at the ceiling, when Georgie came in with some papers.

"Willie's dead," I told her, "I suppose we should let everyone know?"

"Leave it to me," she replied, and was gone as silently as she had entered.

There was quite a crowd having beverages on the terrace before supper this evening. So many that I found I was supposed to sit at the head of the long table in the formal dining room for our rib dinner. The breakfast room we normally used was much too small.

Fran was entertaining two of the contractors at a table over on the left hand side, beside a large stone tub of pretty scarlet flowers.

Mac and the two MPs were sitting with our Dutchman and his three colleagues. Where were the dog handlers, I asked? I was told that they had eaten earlier and were now doing a perimeter patrol.

There was an older man sitting with them, wearing the uniform of a Sheriff's Deputy with Captain's gold bars. He was introduced as Capt. Beesley, commanding the Contra Costa County Patrol Station in Lafayette. He was quite effusive and assured me that Sheriff Burns had been working closely with both the FBI and the Veterans Administration, and wanted to meet with me early next week to assure me of his and his officers' total cooperation. He apparently was at a conference in LA this week; otherwise our meeting would have been earlier. Chuck had clearly made a strong impression, and I was glad to be able to escape when Jack McCrum showed up.

To my surprise, he gave me a gentle hug, and as Senor V (as we all called him) was waiting to serve supper, we all trooped in to the beautiful large dining room. As I enjoyed my salad, I wondered if there'd be enough ribs to go around. I shouldn't have worried. They were followed by a superb Baked Alaska. Why have I never had this really delightful dessert before?

Jack and I managed to slip away to the library with our coffee, and I sat looking about at all the leather bound books in their glass cases around the walls, while Jack brought a great big pile of documents in from his vehicle.

First. he had me sign some papers which he said gave him authority to act on my behalf. He had tentatively arranged a date at a local crematorium for Friday at 1000. There would be no viewing and no mourners other than the two of us. This was on Willie's specific instructions.

"You don't need to worry about the Federal estate taxes," he explained. "Wullie set up a special trust fund long ago to take care of all that stuff. I'll look after all the filings for you. To ensure that his heir could properly control all the businesses without any interruption, Wullie had me set up holding companies some years ago, both here in California and over in Nevada. You were appointed President of both companies last Thursday.

"These are the files covering the matters that I think you need to look at first, but there's nothing that won't keep for a couple of days.