Chapter 20

I LOVE MY PLANE!

Just thought I would let you know...

The G650 is fast, quiet, sexy, big enough for a party of one – which happened to be the current size of my family, beautiful AND MINE!

When we bought the G5 and the seven-thirty-seven, I did not react with anywhere near the joy that I got from boarding and flying to Florida in my G650. Gotta' love that Arab sheik, somewhere, who just had to have something better. He made my day.

The pilots, however, had the personality of a snail darter. Their idea of conversation started with, "Please fasten your seatbelt," and ended with, "We will be on the ground shortly."

That's it. All of it.

Made me wonder if the Judge provided these guys and not the dealer. It was something to seriously consider, until I remembered that Catherine said that they had one of their crews moving the plane to DC for me.

The rear bedroom is just fine, and the king bed was fitted at an angle to make it easier to walk around, so it didn't make the sleeping area feel like the inside of a little travel trailer. It felt just fine, and I caught a catnap on the way down, which truly shocked me, with it being such a short flight. I forgot to order the FBO to cater the galley, so I did without snacks and drinks, but we live and learn, and that was a minor distraction.

My phone rang in flight, which surprised me, because until then I didn't know the new jet was equipped for in flight communication. I should have realized that anyone buying a G650 would automatically expect in flight service phone, Internet, and television, but we live and learn.

It was Constance. "What's this I hear about you moving out of the Kirby carriage house?" She was not so much annoyed, as she was puzzled.

"Remember, I told you this morning I was buying a house in Florida on Marathon Key. I think it must have gone right over your head that I'd be moving out of the carriage house, too. Right now, I'm headed down for the closing on the house. In fact, you've called me on the plane. Isn't that cool?"

Constance realized that she had been distracted earlier. And reading between the lines of the conversation that ensued, I could tell that Constance continued to be secretly pleased to get back to her life and routines, without the added pressures of dealing with my every little need. Even though I went to great lengths to avoid being a burden, she was burdened because her boss and his boss demanded that she take personal responsibility for every little thing in my life. This way, I gave her a get-out-of-jail-free-card. I chose to leave, buy a house far away, and take responsibility for myself.

I couldn't see how the White House could hold her responsible when I made it so plain and clear.

Two things surprised me when the pilots taxied up to the FBO at Marathon Airport. Well, technically, one pleased me and the other puzzled me: Colleen looking positively edible and Catherine looking worried.

I decided to take them in reverse order.

I waved to Colleen, blew her a kiss, and motioned that I would be with her momentarily, and went straight to Catherine. Hey," I said. "You look worried. What's up?"

Colleen edged nearer, and I looked pointedly at Catherine for my cue. She looked at Colleen and waved her over. "Hi, Mrs. Fleming, I am Catherine, and I work for someone you know very well. Judge Jones sends his regards." She was so smooth; I was surprised at how easily she made Colleen feel welcome and relevant.

"You flew down to attend Kevin's closing, I understand, but I'm afraid there will be no closing today." She looked directly at me and said, "We can't go to your closing, because there is no house to close on. It burned early this morning, with four – as yet – unidentified people inside. The M.E. has hinted that those four people were treated very roughly before fire and were probably already dead.

"What we don't know is who they are; why they were killed inside that particular house; who was behind it; and what that means as far as Kevin's safety. It is quite possible that it was a crime of convenience. We can hope that the people responsible chose the house because it was empty, in which case, no harm – no foul. But, if the intent was to dissuade Kevin or send him a more devious message, then things are not at all as we suspected. There could be a security breach or just some other agenda involving Kevin. In either case, serious alternative action would be necessary."

She would have continued but Colleen interrupted. "Who are you, and why are you protecting Kevin Townsend?"

Catherine took a deep breath, smiled at Colleen like she suddenly understood something, and said, "Hi Colleen. We spoke yesterday, and I work for Judge Hiram Jones. I believe you know him quite well. Kevin has agreed to ... consult with us on a matter of national security. With your previous work with the Judge, and as Kevin's attorney, I am quite certain you have both the security clearance needed to know all the facts, so let's go find ourselves a quiet, safe place to talk and do just that."

I looked around while they got to know each other and realized we were surrounded with agents. They were scattered around the airport in fuel trucks, tugs, service vehicles, and pickups. What they all had in common was that they tended to like to talk to their wrists, which was a dead giveaway.

To my surprise, we re-boarded the G650, and Catherine gave the pilots orders to fly us to Fort Myers – Charlotte County Airport, where she arranged for transportation to somewhere both quiet and safe. As quickly as the doors closed, the engines started, and we were out of there.

The flight was truly wonderful – again. Colleen made all the appropriate noises about the wonderful new jet, and Catherine seemed to take it all in with aplomb. Though we were reserved, Colleen and I were happy to be together, and it was impossible to keep Catherine in the dark. Colleen just said, "When Kevin called us to help him with the Fornier problem, my father and I just loved him at first sight. Even my mother liked him, and she only saw Kevin for few moments. If he keeps being so sweet, I swear we're going to take him home and adopt him."