Stone Barrington 27 - Doing Hard Time

keys at the ready.
    •   •   •
    The main elevator was still at the penthouse level, and Vlad pressed the G button, gambling that there was a car involved in the woman’s escape plan. The elevator started down.
    Betsy got the car started and backed hurriedly out of her parking space, narrowly missing a concrete column in the process. She got the thing into gear and drove as quickly as she could through the garage and up to the street, turning toward the boulevard.
    •   •   •
    Vlad ran out of the elevator and began searching the garage for the woman. She couldn’t have gotten away this quickly; she must be in her car, somewhere in this space.
    •   •   •
    Peter Barrington yelled, “Cut,” and the red light over the soundstage door went out. Teddy ran outside, got a signal on his phone, and tried Betsy again.
    •   •   •
    As she turned onto Bundy, toward the airport, Betsy heard her phone ringing in her handbag. She managed to get it out without wrecking the car. “Billy?”
    “Get out of the apartment now,” Teddy said. “Don’t take anything, just get out.”
    “I am out,” Betsy said.
    “The toilet seat was left up by someone else.”
    “That evil little man got into the apartment,” she said. “I barely made it to the service elevator.”
    “Is anyone following you?”
    “I don’t believe so. I think I made it out of the garage before he could get downstairs.”
    “Make a few turns, and watch your rearview mirror. If he’s following you, he’ll be a couple of cars back. If you spot him, find a policeman. If you don’t, continue to the airport, and call me the minute you get inside the hangar. I’m on my way.”
    •   •   •
    Vlad got to his car and started it, but he didn’t know what she was driving. He searched the boulevard for a woman driving erratically, but saw nothing.
    •   •   •
    Betsy pulled into the hangar, and called Teddy.
    “Where are you?”
    “In the hangar. Nobody followed me, I’m sure of it. I waited within sight of the gate, and nobody came through for five minutes. You go back to work.”
    “Is Tim in his office?”
    “Yes, he’s at his desk.”
    “He has a gun. Tell him that if anyone follows you into the hangar, to shoot him and quickly.”
    “All right.” She hung up, got out of the car, went to the hangar door, and looked around, then she closed the hangar door. Tim looked up from his computer and waved. She waved back. She wasn’t about to tell him to shoot anybody.

Teddy spent the day watching the shooting, helping when he could, and when they were done, rode back to the bungalow with Peter in his golf cart.
    “Have you got a couple of hours after work for some flying?” Peter asked.
    “Sure,” Teddy said. “I should be through here by five-thirty, and I can meet you at the hangar by six.”
    “I have to interview a woman for a job at five, but that shouldn’t take long.”
    “What sort of job?” Teddy asked.
    “We’re learning that Ruth Pearl can’t handle everything alone,” Peter said. “We’re getting a lot of invitations to industry functions and requests for interviews, and we need somebody to handle those, plus make personal arrangements—travel reservations, et cetera.”
    “You met my wife, Betsy, at the hangar,” Teddy said. “She used to be a VIP concierge at a Las Vegas hotel. Would you interview her for the job?”
    “Sure. Her background sounds good for us.”
    They arrived at the bungalow and found Stone Barrington on the front porch in a rocking chair. “Good morning,” he said. “I thought I might buy you lunch, Peter, if you’ve got the time.”
    “Sure, Dad. Give me a few minutes to return some calls, and we’ll go over to the commissary.”
    “Will you come with us, Billy?” Stone asked.
    “Of course,” Teddy replied. He knew why Stone wanted him there—to watch Peter’s back.
    “Sit with me while Peter makes his calls,” Stone said.
    Teddy took a rocking chair.
    “What’s new with Majorov and his assassin?” Stone asked.
    “He managed to find out where my wife and I are living and paid a visit this morning. She got out just in time.”
    “Is there any way you can take a more offensive tack?” Stone asked.
    “Only if I catch them outside the Bel-Air. That’s a very tightly secured place—not as tight as The Arrington, but tight.”
    “I see.”
    “For the moment I think the best use of my time is to cover Peter,” Teddy said.