Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 12

would have been a real mess, he thought. Normally, he would run the engine for five minutes on the ground before stopping it, to cool the turbochargers, but he yanked back on the mixture control and cut his engine. The prop wound down and came to a halt. The Cessna prop was still turning, but the twins weren’t going anywhere; there is no reverse on a piston airplane.
    â€œCut your engine, Cessna,” Stone said into the radio. The twins sat, staring at him, no more than twelve feet away. “Listen to me, boys,” he said. “There’s still a way out of this.”
    â€œSure,” a voice said back. “Just get out of our way.”
    â€œThe money is gone. It’s not in the account.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?”
    â€œThere is no million two in the Singapore bank; we tranferred it back to the original account. The only money you have is what’s in your pocket.”
    There was a long silence.
    â€œWhich of you is driving?” Stone asked.
    â€œEben.”
    â€œIt’s not as bad as you think,” Stone said. “If you listen to me, you can still walk.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Eben asked.
    â€œThere’s a way out of this, if you’ll just listen.”
    â€œStart talking.”
    â€œI’m not your lawyer; I want to emphasize that. But, you can still walk on an insanity plea.”
    â€œWe’re not insane.”
    â€œWhen they question you, tell them you hear voices, and the voices told you to do what you did.”
    â€œNobody’s going to buy that.”
    â€œThey will, if you agree on a story and stick to it. There’ll be a psychiatric examination, but if you stick to your story, you’ll get through it. You’ll do a couple of years in a mental hospital, and then you’ll walk.” He could see the two boys talking, arguing. Still the Cessna’s prop spun.
    â€œOpen the rear door, Dino,” Stone said. “Do it slowly, and if they run, go after them, but remember, they’re probably armed.”
    â€œRight,” Dino said.
    Stone could hear the Cessna engine get louder as Dino opened the door.
    â€œWill you represent us, Stone?” Enos asked.
    â€œI can’t do that; any judge would remove me for a conflict of interest. I’m Dick’s heir. But I’ll get you the best defense lawyer in the country.”
    â€œIf you don’t get out and move your airplane, we’re going to start shooting,” Eben said.
    Stone could see Enos talking, gesturing, while Eben looked stonily ahead.
    â€œCome on, boys,” Stone said. “This will work, believe me.”
    They argued some more, and then the Cessna’s prop wound down and was still. The twins sat, slumped in their seats, looking defeated.
    Stone turned and looked over his shoulder. “Before you get out of the airplane, you all heard me tell them I’m not their lawyer, right?”
    â€œRight,” everybody said.
    Holly spoke up. “We all heard you tell them to act like they’re crazy, too.”
    â€œRight,” Stone said. “And don’t forget that when you testify. Now, let’s go get them. Me first.”
    â€œNo,” said Sergeant Young. “ Me, first.”

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    T HE FOLLOWING DAY they sat around the living room at the house, their luggage piled at the door, waiting for Sergeant Young to call from Augusta. It was three in the afternoon.
    â€œLance,” Stone said. “It’s a good thing they’re sending an airplane for you, because we’d never get off the ground with all this stuff.” He had refueled at Rockland before returning to the island.
    Seth came into the room. “You folks ready to go?”
    â€œNot until we hear from Sergeant Young,” Stone said.
    As if on cue, the phone rang. Stone pressed the speaker button. “Hello?”
    â€œIt’s Tom Young.”
    â€œYes, Tom. We’re all here. What’s going on?”
    â€œFirst of all, Caleb Stone’s wife is dead.”
    â€œWhat? How?”
    â€œSleeping pills. We’re not sure if it was intentional. When my people arrived at her house, they found her. She had apparently been drinking all night, and in her condition, if she had taken even a couple of pills, that might have done it.”
    â€œWhat about the boys? Have they said anything?”
    â€œThey did their ‘we hear voices’ routine, then, gradually, they told