Spencerville

"I don't understand."

"It's real simple. I have to be in Ohio. No aircraft are flying out of Washington. We are driving to Ohio."

Stewart glanced at Keith, then at his radio and telephone, then said, "Mr. Adair didn't... he said to..."

"Mr. Adair is not on top of the situation, but he will be when I can speak to him."

Stewart stayed silent. In his many years as a government driver, Keith knew, Stewart had learned to do what he was told, regardless of how inconvenient or bizarre it may have seemed to him. Still, Keith thought he should say a few words to the man. Keith said, "You can call your wife and explain."

"Yes, sir. Maybe I should speak to Mr. Adair first. I don't know if I'm authorized..."

"Stewart, I just had a chat this morning with the secretary of defense and the president of the United States. Would you like me to call either of them now and get authorization?"

"No, sir."

"I'll speak to Mr. Adair in due time. You pay attention to the road. I'll dial your wife. What's the number?"

Stewart gave him the number, and Keith dialed. It took him several tries to get through because of the weather, but finally a female voice came on the line, and Keith said, "Hello, Mrs...."

Keith looked at Stewart, who said, "Arkell."

"Mrs. Arkell, this is General Landry of the National Security Council, and I'm afraid I've imposed on your husband to work a little overtime tonight... Yes, ma'am. Let me put him on." Keith handed the phone to Stewart, who took it without enthusiasm.

Stewart listened for a full minute, then got a few words in. "No, I don't know how late..."

Keith said, "Figure this time tomorrow night, to be safe."

"Yes, dear, I..."

Keith watched the rain out of the side window.

Stewart said to his wife, "I'll call you later," and hung up, grumbling something.

Keith said, "Everything okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"Here's Route 7. We take this to I-81, northbound."

"Yes, sir."

"Take it slow. We'll try to make up the time later, when we get out of this weather."

"Yes, sir. I can't go over the speed limit. That's the rules."

"Good rules. Long day?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'll drive later."

"It's not allowed, General."

"Colonel. Sometimes I say general. For the ladies."

Stewart smiled for the first time.

As they traveled slowly west on Route 7, the phone rang, and Keith took it. "Hello, Charlie."

"You're still in the car?"

"No, I'm running alongside."

"Stewart found you okay?"

"Yes, I'm in the car now. That's where you called me."

"You should have been in the Four Seasons by now. Where are you?"

"Still in the car."

"Where in the fucking car?"

"Route 7."

"Why? What's wrong with the Dulles road?"

"Nothing, as far as I know."

There was a silence, and Keith could hear music and talking in the background. Charlie asked, "Where are you headed, Keith?"

"You know where I'm headed."

"Jesus Christ, man, you can't hijack a government car and driver..."

"Why not? I've hijacked other governments' cars and drivers. Why not my own?"

Charlie took a deep breath and asked, "Is Stewart with you?"

"He is. We took care of his wife, you take care of the authorization. I'll try to get back tomorrow night. Enjoy your party or dinner or whatever. Thanks, bye..."

"Wait. Listen, can't you just call her and tell her you'll be flying out of D.C. tomorrow?"

"No. I have a morning rendezvous."

"Tell her to fly here in the morning."

"We're eloping together."

"You're being difficult, Keith."

"I'm being difficult? You shanghaied me to Washington. You knew about the hurricane."

"No, I didn't. Well, it was supposed to blow out to sea. Look, why can't she just fly..."

"Charlie, you met her husband. This is a bad guy. She'd like me to be there when she breaks loose. Also, I've got things I have to get from my house. Okay?"

"Okay. No use arguing with a man who's following his dick. You going to make it?"

Keith looked at the dashboard clock. It was twelve-ten A.M. He said, "Close."

"Good luck, buddy. Tell Stewart I owe him one. Call tomorrow."

"Will do." He hung up and told Stewart, "Mr. Adair owes you a big favor."

"He owes me lots of them."

"Me, too."

They drove another half hour and picked up I-81 north. Keith said, "Pay attention to the route. You're coming back alone."

"Yes, sir."

Keith settled back in his seat. "So, what did you think of the Orioles this year?"

"Not much. The only way they'll get to the Series is if they buy tickets."

"You follow college football?"

"Sure."

"The Buckeyes look great again."

"They sure do."

They drove and talked sports. The rain tapered off as they moved away from the hurricane activity, and Stewart agreed to do ten miles an hour over the limit after they crossed into Maryland.

At Hagerstown, Keith told him to pick up I-70 westbound. It was a good road, almost devoid of traffic at that hour, but it wound through the Appalachian Mountains, and Stewart, who had been an aggressive urban driver, became very timid.

Keith asked him to pull over at a rest stop, where Stewart made a quick trip to the John and returned to find Keith behind the wheel. "Sir, you're not authorized to drive this car."

"Except in an emergency, which is you nodding off behind the wheel. Lie down in the back, Stewart, and get some rest, or I'll leave you here."

"Yes, sir." Stewart got into the rear and lay down on the wide seat.

Keith continued on. Within fifteen minutes, he heard snores coming from the rear. He played the radio at a low volume and listened to country music from a Wheeling, West Virginia, station. There was a funny song about a divorced guy who sang, "She got the gold mine, I got the shaft," that Keith found a welcome break from all the heartache-and-misery songs.

South of Pittsburgh, on I-70, Keith stopped for fuel. It was four-twenty A.M., and Columbus was about five more hours, he knew, then another two hours on secondary and country roads to Spencerville and about an hour to Chatham. He wasn't going to make his ten A.M. appointment in Chatham County, or the two-fifteen flight out of Toledo. But he should be close enough to go ahead with the plan in some modified form.

At seven A.M., still a few hours out of Columbus, Keith tried to dial Chatham County information to get Terry's number, but he had no luck getting the car phone to connect. He pulled over at a rest stop and went to a pay phone. Stewart woke up, got out, and stretched.

Keith got the area code operator and asked for the number of Terry or Lawrence Ingram in Chatham County. A recording gave him the number, and he used his credit card to make the call.

A female voice answered, "Hello?"

"Terry?"

"Yes?"

"This is Keith Landry."

"Oh, my God! Oh..."

"Is everything all right there?"

"Yes. Where are you? Are you coming? What time is it?"

"Terry, listen to me. I'm on the road, east of Columbus. I'm going to be late. I won't be there until... sometime early afternoon. Okay? I have to go to my place first. You got all that?"

"Yes... Annie will be here at ten. What should I tell her?"

Keith took a deep breath. Clearly, not everyone in the Prentis family was sharp. "Tell her what I just said."

"Oh. Okay. Keith, I'm so excited for both of you. You don't know how unhappy she's been. This is wonderful, like a dream, I can't believe this is happening."

Keith let her go on for a while, then interrupted. "Terry, do not call her. Listen, I think her phone may be tapped. Your call may wind up at police headquarters. Understand?"

"Yes... but she'll be coming here at ten..."

"Fine. Tell her in person. Have lunch. I'll be there as soon as I can. We'll catch a later flight. Okay?"

"Yes, I'll tell her. What time?.."