Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 12

phone.
    â€œHello?”
    â€œHam?”
    â€œYep.”
    â€œIt’s Stone Barrington.”
    Ham’s voice brightened. “Hey, Stone, how are you?”
    â€œNot so good.”
    He became wary. “What’s happened?”
    â€œIt’s Holly; she’s disappeared.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, ‘disappeared’?”
    â€œFirst of all, Holly and I are on an island in Maine called Islesboro. There have been some kidnappings and murders here; some of them were women.”
    â€œAnybody who tried to kidnap Holly would have his hands full,” Ham said.
    â€œI know that,” Stone agreed. “Nevertheless, she went out jogging yesterday at this time, and she hasn’t been seen since. A search of the whole island is under way, but she hasn’t been found yet.”
    â€œWhat’s the name of the island again?”
    â€œIslesboro; it’s in Penobscot Bay.”
    â€œHang on a minute.” Ham left the phone, and Stone could hear him talking to a woman, probably Ginny, his girlfriend. “Stone, I’ve got an atlas here. I see Penobscot Bay.”
    â€œIt’s a long, narrow island off Camden.”
    â€œGot it. Does it have an airport?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œHere’s Ginny, tell her about it.”
    Ginny picked up an extension. “Hello, Stone?”
    â€œYes, Ginny. Nice to hear your voice.”
    â€œTell me about the airport.”
    â€œIt’s a paved strip, twenty-four-hundred feet long; the runways are one and one niner. The identifier is five seven bravo, and the unicom frequency is 122.9.”
    Ham spoke up. “We’re on our way, Stone. We’ll call you from our fuel stop and give you an ETA. Can you meet us?”
    â€œWait a minute, Ham,” Stone said. “The strip is unlighted, and there’s no way you can get here before dark in…what are you flying?”
    â€œA Bonanza B-36TC,” Ginny replied. “We just bought it.”
    â€œIt’s a good twelve hundred nautical miles, so you’re at least six or seven hours away; even with a tailwind by the time you’re airborne it will be midafternoon.”
    â€œWe’re coming,” Ham said.
    â€œI want you to come, Ham, but please, at least spend the night at your fuel stop. There are trees at the southern end of the runway and a house at the other end. It’s a short strip, and you do not want to land there at night.”
    â€œHe’s right, Ham,” Ginny said. “We’ll take off this afternoon, spend the night along the way and take off again early tomorrow morning. We’ll be there around midmorning.”
    â€œAll right,” Ham said, resignedly.
    â€œCall me when you take off tomorrow morning, give me your ETA and I’ll meet you at the strip.”
    â€œOkay,” Ginny said. She gave him her cell phone number. “Call us if there’s any news. I’ll get the message at the fuel stop.”
    â€œAll right,” Stone said, “and I’ll have a bed for you here.”
    Ham spoke up again. “Stone, where’s Daisy?”
    â€œHolly left her in a kennel in New York.”
    â€œGood-bye,” Ham said, and hung up.
    Stone hung up. Now he was going to have a distraught father on his hands, not that Ham was the sort to show his distress.
    The phone rang. “Hello?”
    â€œStone, it’s Lance. I’m sorry to take so long to get back to you, but I’ve had something of an emergency here. I tried to call Holly on her cell phone, but I was sent straight to voice mail. What’s happened?”
    Stone told him, as briefly as possible.
    â€œWhat’s being done?”
    â€œThe state cops have organized a search party, and they’re walking every inch of land and searching every house on the island.”
    â€œGood. I may be able to help with that.”
    â€œI think they’ve got it covered, Lance.”
    â€œI have other ways of covering it. I can’t get there before tomorrow morning, though. Will you meet me at the airport?”
    â€œOf course. What time?”
    â€œLet’s aim for eleven o’clock. I’ll call you if there’s any change in my ETA.”
    â€œLance, a favor. Will you bring Dino with you?”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œAnd bring sidearms.”
    â€œOf course. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
    â€œOne other thing: Bring Daisy.”
    â€œShe’s not