TWO DAYS LATER, Stone stood on the tarmac and watched the Centurion Studios’ Gulfstream IV land at Rockland Airport. Peter was the first down the airplane’s stairs, at a run. He was six now and taller than when Stone had last seen him the year before. His mother followed, carrying her overnight case, and the two pilots then dealt with the luggage.
There were hugs, then Stone loaded their luggage into his airplane. “Peter, I think we’ll let you be copilot today, and your mother can be the passenger.”
The boy was delighted. Soon Stone had them buckled in and was running through his checklist, giving Peter a running commentary.
“I hope this isn’t going to be like my last ride with you,” the boy said.
Stone laughed. On their last ride Stone had been at the controls of a helicopter, a machine he hadn’t known how to fly, had made a very rough landing, and they were both lucky to be alive. “I think you’ll find this a smoother trip; shorter, too.”
They lifted off and turned out over Penobscot Bay. “There’s our island,” Stone said, pointing. “Can you see it, Arrington?”
Arrington could hear and speak from the rear through her headset. “Yes, it’s beautiful.”
“There’s our landing strip,” Stone said to Peter.
“It looks a lot shorter than the one we just landed on,” Peter said.
“It is, but my airplane is a lot smaller than the Centurion jet, so it can use shorter strips.” Stone lined up for the runway, announced his intentions over the radio and looked for traffic. A moment later they were on the runway and braking. Dino sat in the station wagon, waiting for them.
They stopped at the Dark Harbor Shop for the papers and an ice cream cone for Peter, then continued to the house.
“It’s lovely, Stone,” Arrington said. “How did you find it?”
“I’ll tell you the story later,” Stone said. He took them into the house and got them settled. Peter ran out to the dock to have a look at the boats, and Arrington relaxed in the study.
“So, tell me why you bought a house in Maine,” she said.
Stone sat down beside her. “It belonged to my first cousin, Dick Stone, who died recently and left me the house. Well, the use of the house for my lifetime and that of my heirs.”
“How old a man was Dick?”
“My age.”
“Heart attack?”
“Not exactly.”
“Stone, I’m beginning to get the feeling that I’m not going to like the rest of this story.”
“Dick and his wife and daughter were murdered a couple of weeks ago.”
“Not in this house, I hope.”
“Dick was at his desk, over there; his wife and daughter were in Dino’s room.”
“Who murdered them, and why?”
“Dick was CIA; the murders seem to be related to his work.”
“Seem to be related to his work?”
“There’s evidence to suggest that and no evidence to suggest otherwise.”
“Am I going to find his wife’s clothes in my closet?”
“All their personal effects have been removed. It’s my house now.”
“Why is Dino sleeping upstairs instead of in the guesthouse?” Arrington didn’t miss much.
“There’s no security system in the guesthouse.”
“And why do we need a security system on this tiny island?”
“It’s only a precaution. Another man, this one a retired CIA officer, was killed in a fashion similar to the way Dick was killed a couple of days ago.”
“Has anyone tried to kill you yet?”
“No, and there isn’t the slightest reason to suppose that anyone might.”
“Stone, every time I see you somebody is trying to kill you or trying to kill me.”
“Those incidents were not my fault.”
“No, it’s never your fault; it just seems to happen to you.”
“I have that history, but I believe we’re all quite safe here.”
“How good is the security system?”
“It was designed and installed by the CIA. By the way, don’t go downstairs at night before I disable the system. There are motion detectors downstairs.”
“I’m relieved to hear it.”
Peter came running back into the house.
“Peter, don’t run indoors,” his mother said.
“I’m sorry. The boats are neat, Stone. Can we go out in one of them?”
“Sure, we can. Which one would you like to go out in?”
“The sailboat.”
“All right, we’ll go out after lunch.” Stone glanced at Arrington. “I think there’s a life jacket just your size on board, Peter.”
Arrington nodded approvingly.
AFTER LUNCH IT TOOK an hour for Stone to get familiar enough with the yacht to be comfortable, and to get the engine started and check the chart for deep water and hazards to navigation, before they were skimming smoothly over small waves in a good breeze, with Peter steering the boat from Stone’s lap. Dino stretched out in the cockpit and went to sleep, a beer still clutched in his hand, while Arrington sat quietly next to Stone and Peter, taking in the scenery.
Stone felt eighteen again, except that his son was along for the ride. He and Arrington had had an affair years before, when she had chosen to marry Vance Calder, the movie star, not knowing that she was already carrying Stone’s child. It had taken a long time for her to admit to Stone, if not to herself, that Peter was his son.
Stone wondered if Peter would ever know. He saw a small island coming up and showed the boy how to tack the boat. He hoped to show him a lot more while they were here.
As Peter was turning the boat and Dino was hauling in on the jib sheet, a motorboat appeared from nowhere, dousing them with spray and making their ride bumpier.
Dino laughed. “I think you’ve just had sand kicked in your face, Stone.”
Stone watched the boat disappear toward the yacht club. The two occupants were Caleb Stone’s twin sons.
THAT NIGHT, after Peter was sound asleep in his room, Stone lay in bed and watched Arrington undress. Her body had changed little with childbirth, and she obviously took very good care of herself. She switched off the bedside lamp and got into bed, snuggling close to him.
“This is why you wanted me here, isn’t it?” she asked, flicking his ear with her tongue. “You were just randy.”
“I’m always randy when you’re around,” Stone said, kissing her and cupping a breast in his hand. “But that’s not the only reason I invited you.”
“We can discuss the other reasons in the morning,” she said, taking him in her hand and kneading gently.
Stone responded instantly. He rolled on top of her, and she guided him in.
“It’s not the only reason for me, either,” she said, her hips rising to meet him. “But I love it all the same.”