12
When they were back in their berth at the Key West Yacht Club, Stone phoned his friend and Viv’s boss, Michael Freeman, at Strategic Services, the world’s second-largest security company.
“How are things in Key West?” Mike asked.
“Not the most fun I ever had,” Stone replied, then told him what had happened.
“How can I help?”
“Meg Harmon—you know about her?”
“I do.”
“She has a demonstration of her new self-driving car at the Casa Marina Hotel here, for the benefit of the Steele Group board. She’s going to need some personal protection, given what happened.”
“Is Viv there?”
“Right here.”
“Put her on, and we’ll work it out.”
Viv sat down with the phone and had a brief conversation with Mike, then ended the call and handed the phone back to Stone. “We’ll have a team of six at the Casa Marina by nine tomorrow morning,” she said, “loaded for bear.”
“That’s a relief to know.”
“I didn’t think we would need security at your house.”
“Quite right. I don’t think this Bellini guy knows about the house.”
Jack Spottswood ambled over from his boat and was given a drink. Stone didn’t tell him about the shooter.
“Your funds arrived and were distributed to Betty,” Jack said. “She’s a much-relieved woman, and she thanks you.”
“My pleasure. It’s a wonderful boat, but then I already knew that, because it’s my second one. You should come visit when I’m in England, Jack—you’d like it.”
“You’re in London?”
“No, on the South Coast, near Beaulieu and the Solent.”
“Pretty country.”
They were hailed from ashore, and Harry Kaufelt and his partner, Moe, came aboard. Jack listened intently while Stone related the events at Fort Jefferson.
“You didn’t mention that,” Jack said.
“I didn’t want you to be concerned.”
“The Coast Guard were ready for the return of the shooter,” Harry said, “but the boat never showed up.”
“They probably went somewhere up the Keys,” Jack said. “There’s a hundred and fifty miles of shoreline up there to hide them.”
“Exactly right,” Harry said. “If we had a better description of the boat, we might have a better chance of finding it. The three outboards are the only distinguishing feature we have, and there are lots of those on the water.”
“Don’t forget the damaged radome,” Dino said. “I put a bullet in that.”
Harry got on his phone and issued instructions to spread the word to electronics dealers in the Keys. He hung up. “How much longer are you staying?” he asked Stone.
“Anxious to get rid of us, Harry?” Stone asked.
“Not in the least. I just want to know how much longer I need to worry about you.”
“I expect we’ll wing our way north the day after tomorrow,” Stone replied. “Ms. Harmon has some business to conduct tomorrow afternoon, then we’ll be free to go. And don’t worry, I’ve arranged security at the Casa Marina for her meeting.”
“Is this the thing with the driverless car?”
“That’s right.”
“We were warned that one would be in the neighborhood and not to arrest the driver, since there won’t be one.”
“That’s good advice,” Stone said.
The cops left, and Jack Spottswood finished his drink and left, too.
When they got home, Anna had left a big pot of beef stew on the stove, so they didn’t have to make dinner.
THE BOARD of directors of the Steele Group stood at the front of the Casa Marina Hotel and waited for something to happen. Men in suits with bulges under their jackets stood quietly by, also waiting for something terrible to happen.
“All right, gentlemen,” Meg said, taking out her iPhone. “We’ve just finished a good dinner, and now we need our car.” She opened an app and tapped a few keys. From around a corner, a bright red car with no driver in sight appeared, turned into the hotel’s block, then stopped and flawlessly backed into a parallel parking spot. Two more cars, green and yellow, followed, then the three vehicles drove up to the front door of the hotel, stopped, and all their doors opened. “Ms. Harmon,” a voice said from inside the lead vehicle, “your cars are here for your party.” The board members got into the vehicles, and Stone rode in the lead car with Meg, who sat in what would ordinarily be the driver’s seat. “Where to, Ms. Harmon?” the car asked.
“Key West International Airport,” she said. “The departure set-down.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the car said, and the little caravan set off, negotiating turns, stopping at stop signs and traffic signals, avoiding careless tourists crossing the road in front of them, and giving bicycles and scooters a wide berth. At the airport, the cars pulled up to where departing passengers would be set down. “You are at your destination,” the car said. “Would you like me to call someone to help with your luggage?”
“No thank you,” Meg replied. “We’ve decided not to leave, but to go back to the Casa Marina instead.”
“Would you like a sightseeing tour on your way?”
“Why not?” she replied.
The cars set off again, while the car radio broadcast a continuous guided tour of the town, giving the riders a history, pointing out landmarks, and making a few jokes. Presently, they were driven back to the hotel, where the passengers got out, and the cars drove away. Meg got a big round of applause from the board.
“That’s very impressive, Meg,” Arthur Steele said for the group. “Do the vehicles always operate so flawlessly?”
“They certainly do,” Meg said. “We’re now ready to proceed from beta testing to fleet trials for the Department of Transportation and the State of California. We’ve also assigned vehicles to about two dozen officials for their daily commutes and normal uses.”
“A smart move,” Arthur said.
“Well,” Meg replied, “it will be much better than waiting for them to read the written reports from their testing staff. There’s nothing like a hands-off experience to sell a new idea.”
That got a big laugh from the board, and everybody went inside for a cocktail party, joining selected investors of both the Steele Group and Harmony Software.
“That was spectacular,” Stone said to Meg, as they followed the group.
“It kind of was, wasn’t it?” Meg replied with a big smile.
“Tell me,” Stone said, “what would have happened if one or more of the cars was involved in an accident?”
“First of all, no accident would have occurred that could be blamed on the cars, only other, driver-operated vehicles, and our cars are very good at anticipating errors by drivers of other cars. But if an accident had somehow happened, the cars would have collaborated with each other on an assessment of the injuries and damage, taking only a few seconds, then the police and ambulances, if necessary, would have been automatically notified. By the time they arrived, the cars would have printed out a completed standard-form accident report for the police and the insurance company, and the passengers would have been on their way again in record time.”
“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”
“We better have,” Meg replied.