Blind Overlook (Book 3 of the Jay Leicester Mysteries Series) by JC Simmons Page B

clean salt air. "If we come up dry finding where Rinaldi was
staying on the mainland. He may have gotten over. It could be where the money
and the Kent collection are located."
    "Yeah,”
Chamberlain said, cracking his window a few inches. "If you want to
believe Anastasio didn't perpetrate some elaborate scheme to whack a disloyal
mole. Let's wait and see what the Boss of Bosses has to say."
    Knox County
Regional Airport, Rockland, Maine, is a small airport by today's standards. It
has two runways; one, four thousand five hundred feet in length; the other,
four thousand feet. Long enough to accommodate aircraft up to and including
medium-sized turboprops and jets.
    There are two
fixed base operators on the field. We had no way of knowing where Anastasio's
plane would park. There were no transit aircraft at either business. It was
five minutes until ten o'clock. We waited.
    Chamberlain spotted
it first.
    "There,” he
said, pointing into the blue sky. "Over the water tower."
    "Pretty
good eyesight for an old man,” I said, laughing, still trying to locate the
aircraft.
    Finally I did
catch the sun glint off of metal. A small speck in the sky emerged into an
aircraft. We watched as it intercepted the electronic landing system, which
would guide it to within two hundred feet above, and on the centerline, of the
runway.
    The sleek jet
descended gracefully, blue smoke erupting from the tires as the main landing
gear took the full weight of the aircraft. It rolled out slowly to the end of
the runway, taxied back towards the fixed-base operation where we were
standing. Several local pilots came out to watch, the jet obviously an unusual
sight at the small airport.
    "I'll say
one thing for Don Gino, J.L. The man rides in style."
    "Nice
looking plane,” Chamberlain said, unimpressed.
    I was impressed.
The aircraft was the Gulfstream GIV, a twenty-five million-dollar investment by
today's money. This airplane was familiar to me. Back during the years I made
my living flying, I watched with great interest the development of the
Gulfstream GIV. It was a plush, roomy, fast, long-range aircraft. Yes, Mr.
Anastasio traveled first class.
    The GIV pulled
into the parking area. As the engines spooled down, the airstair door opened. A
man descended the steps and headed for where Chamberlain and I stood. As he
approached, I noticed he was dressed in a three-piece pinstripe, red tie, and
wing tips. A young, good-looking corporate type. Not the usual, tough bodyguard
facade you see in the movies.
    He stood for a
moment, looking at us. Then, staring directly at me, he said, "Mr.
Leicester, Mr. Anastasio will not be deplaning. He would like to meet with you
aboard the aircraft." He looked at J.L. "Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Anastasio
asked that you wait here while he speaks with Mr. Leicester."
    Chamberlain gave
him a stern look. "I have no intentions of talking with Mr. Anastasio,
young man. I just want him to know I'm here."
    "I understand,
sir,” he said, unperturbed, and motioned toward the aircraft. "Mr.
Leicester, will you follow me."
    It wasn't a
request.
    As we walked
across the tarmac, I wondered how this man could possibly know who we were.
Anastasio must be a lot more thorough than I imagined.
    One must see the
inside of a GIV to appreciate it. Most of these aircraft are outfitted to the
specifications of the individual owner. I had seen the factory demonstrator
back in eighty-seven. I did not think it possible to improve on that layout. I
was wrong.
    The plane's
interior had eight individual seats, all with their own small television.
Behind a divider was a three-place couch with a boardroom type conference
table. A small, auxiliary turbine engine hummed softly in the background. It
provided power to run all the electronics and environmental systems while the
aircraft was on the ground with the main engines shut down. Keep the boss comfortable,
is the key phrase.
    Glancing into
the cockpit upon entering the cabin, I saw that the crew sat,