Page 24

Stone and Dino were waiting on the plane when Jack climbed on board, looking tired and ashen.

“Stone, I can’t thank you enough for this,” Jack said as he dropped into a seat.

“No thanks necessary. Besides, you’ve gone above and beyond for me, if you recall.”

Jack had been instrumental in helping Stone avoid becoming the victim of a mob assassin.

“Have you heard anything new?” Dino asked.

“I only know Hillary went into surgery about an hour ago.”

The flight attendant walked up to Jack’s seat with a glass of whiskey.

“Mr. Barrington mentioned you might want this.”

“Mr. Barrington is correct,” Jack said, accepting the glass and taking a healthy gulp.

“Shall I inform the cockpit that we’re ready to depart?” the flight attendant asked Stone.

“Please,” Stone said.

She headed up front to relay the message.

Forty-five minutes later, they were flying westbound at forty thousand feet when the flight attendant brought the satellite phone to Stone.

“For you, Mr. Barrington.”

Stone took it.

“Hello?”

“It’s Joan. I wanted to give you an update.”

“Please.”

“Hillary Coulter’s in surgery, but we’ve been told her injuries aren’t life threatening.”

“That’s excellent. And Sara?”

“Banged up but nothing too serious.”

“Thanks, Joan. Let me know if anything changes.”

“Will do.”

When he hung up, Dino asked, “News?”

“Sounds like Hillary’s the worst off, but both of them should be fine.” He started to rise so he could tell Jack.

“Don’t bother,” Dino said.

He nodded his chin toward Jack’s seat.

Stone leaned into the aisle and saw that Jack’s head was lolled back, his eyes closed, and his mouth open.

“The Jack Daniels did the trick,” Dino said.

“That and an adrenaline crash.”

The flight attendant returned and took the phone back from Stone.

“May I get either of you anything?”

“I’m fine,” Stone said.

“Mr. Bacchetti?”

Dino glanced at Jack.

“I’ll have what he had.”

Fred picked up Stone, Dino, and Jack at Teterboro and drove them straight to Mount Sinai Hospital.

Stone was surprised to see Ash waiting for them as they entered the lobby.

“Mr. Coulter, I’m Ashton Williamson,” Ash said to Jack when they reached him.

“I work with Mr. Barrington. If you will follow me.”

He led them into a waiting elevator.

When they exited again, he guided them to one of the patient rooms.

Inside, Hillary lay on a bed, unconscious and surrounded by monitors.

Sitting on a chair next to her was Sara.

She was wearing a neck brace and had an arm in a sling.

Jack entered, rushed to the bed, and wrapped his hand around his wife’s, worry etched on his brow.

“Oh, Hillary, I should have been here. I’m so sorry.”

Sara started to stand, but stopped before she was halfway up, wincing.

Ash was instantly at her side, wrapping an arm around her and helping her to ease back down.

“You need to be careful. Remember, the doctor said no sudden movements.”

“Sorry,” she said.

“I forgot for a moment.”

Jack seemed to notice her for the first time.

“Sara, why aren’t you in your room?”

“My room?” she asked, confused.

“I think he means hospital room,” Ash said.

“She doesn’t have one, Mr. Coulter. She was released a few hours ago.”

Jack studied his niece.

“She doesn’t look like she should have been released.”

“Really, Uncle Jack, I’m okay,” Sara said.

“I swear. It’s just a few bruises and a sprained wrist, that’s all.”

“Then why the brace around your neck?”

“It’s only a precaution. The doctor said if my neck isn’t stiff in the morning, I don’t need to use it anymore.”

“Well, then you should have gone home to rest.”

“I told her the same thing,” Ash said.

“But she wanted to wait until you arrived. I did make her promise that she’d go after the two of you talked, however.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle,” Sara said.

“This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been driving.”

“You were driving? What about Mitch?” Jack asked.

Mitch was the Coulters’ driver.

“Aunt Hillary gave him the day off. I was the one who suggested we go out for dinner and said I could drive. I don’t know how it happened. One moment everything was fine, then the next…” Her eyes teared up.

“It’s okay,” Jack said.

“I’m sure you did everything you could.”

“Mr. Coulter,” Ash said.

“I thought you would want to know the doctor said Mrs. Coulter’s surgery went well, and that she should make a full recovery.”

“Thank God. Do you know what her injuries are?”

“Yes, sir. The worst is her left leg. It was broken in three places, that was the reason for the surgery. She also dislocated her shoulder and has a concussion. They think the concussion could be mild but won’t know until after she wakes up. Like I said, though, a full recovery is expected.”

“Thank you…I’m sorry, I know you said your name, but…”

“It’s Ash, and no worries. You have much more important things on your mind.”

“Thank you, Ash.”

A nurse walked in and pulled up short upon seeing everyone.

“No more than two visitors at a time.”

“We were just leaving,” Stone said.

She looked at him as if she didn’t believe him, then went to the bed to check Hillary’s vitals.

“Jack, we’ll be off,” Stone said.

“Sara, you should come with us,” Ash said.

She looked at her uncle, unsure.

“Ash is right,” Jack said.

“Go get some rest. And for heaven’s sake, don’t worry. I don’t blame you for anything.”

Before she could contradict him, Ash put his arm back around her and said, “Let me help you up.”

Once she was standing, Ash pulled out a business card and handed it to Jack.

“If you need anything at all, Mr. Coulter, please call me, and I’ll take care of it for you.”

“Thank you, Ash,” Jack said.

“The best thing you can do for me right now is see Sara home.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

He and Sara headed to the door.

“You can also call me, if you feel so inclined,” Stone said to Jack.

“Thanks, Stone. For everything. I will not forget this.”

Stone and Dino followed Ash and Sara out.

When they reached the elevators, Dino said to Sara, “Do you feel up to answering a few questions about what happened?”

“I think so.”

“How about we go to the cafeteria?” Stone suggested.

“I don’t know about any of you, but I could use a coffee.”

Several minutes later, they were settled at a table, coffees in front of each of them.

“Where would you like me to start?” Sara asked.

“I always find the beginning to be the best place,” Dino said.

She took a moment to gather her thoughts, then said, “Like I told Uncle Jack, Mitch had the day off, and we wanted to go out for dinner. I’ve driven Aunt Hillary around before, so it wasn’t a big deal to do so again.”

“Did the accident happen before or after dinner?”

“After. Aunt Hillary got us in at Monkey Bar. I’d never been there before, so I was really excited.”

“Nice choice,” Stone said.

“It was even better than I expected.”

“After you finished eating, did you head home?” Dino asked.

“Or were you headed somewhere else?”

“Home. We were maybe ten minutes away when something popped under the car, and suddenly both pedals stopped working.”

“Both gas and brakes?”

She nodded.

“Did the car slow?”

“Quite the opposite. It was like the accelerator was pressed to the floor.”

“Could you steer?”

“At first, but all I was doing was trying not to run into anyone.”

“What do you mean ‘at first’?”

“It couldn’t have been more than half a minute later when we heard another pop and the car jerked to the left. The next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance.”

Ash said, “When the detectives came here to interview her, they told us the car rolled at least twice down the middle of the road before coming to rest on its roof.”

“Because the car hit something?” Stone asked.

Ash shook his head.

“According to witnesses, there were no other cars involved.”

Sara put her face in her hands.

“See. It is all my fault.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Stone said.

“It sounds to me like you experienced multiple mechanical failures that were out of your control.”

“Even so, if I’d been a better driver, we wouldn’t have crashed.”

“Given that you lost the ability to control the vehicle, even if you were the reigning Formula One champion, you wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”

“I agree with Stone,” Dino agreed.

“Did you tell the detectives everything you told us?”

“I think so. I was still kind of loopy from the pain meds.”

“I was there,” Ash said.

“She told them the same.”

“I’ll check with the crime techs,” Dino said.

“If there was anything funky going on, they’ll find it.”

“May I take her home now?” Ash asked.

Dino nodded.

“That’s it from me for the moment.”

“Get some rest,” Stone said to Sara.

“And don’t worry about any of this.”

“I’ll try,” she said.

After Ash helped her to her feet, Stone said, “Ash?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for jumping in on this. You’ve done a stellar job.”

“I was happy to do it.”

After Ash and Sara were gone, Dino said, “I think your new associate has it bad.”

“You noticed it, too?”

“Hard to miss when he barely took his eyes off her. And I’m pretty sure she’s not adverse to his attention.”

“Hmm. Maybe I need to do a background check on him.”

“For Sara?”

“No, for me. Sara has a track record for picking terrible men. If Ash falls into that group, I’d rather know sooner than later.”

“You are a true romantic.”