"Captain, I'm going to ask you once more. Did you arrange for Charles Whitmore and his guests to use this aircraft?"
Richard's expression became hard.
"I don't appreciate being interrogated."
"Then give me a clear answer."
He stared.
Naomi waited.
Finally, he said, "There was a possibility of a repositioning movement."
She nodded slowly.
"With paying passengers?"
Richard didn't respond.
She continued.
"Passengers who aren't listed on the approved manifest?"
He looked toward the cockpit.
"I need to speak with the chief pilot."
Naomi nodded.
"That's appropriate."
Then she stepped aside.
"You should do that now."
Richard seemed surprised.
He had expected another argument.
Perhaps an angry demand.
Instead, Naomi had given him the opportunity to speak directly with the people responsible for assessing his conduct.
For a moment, he looked relieved.
Then he realized what that meant.
The chief pilot would ask about the schedule.
The passengers.
The authorization.
The financial arrangements.
And the flight movements that had already appeared in the audit.
Questions Richard had spent months avoiding.
He reached for his phone.
His hands were trembling.
Outside the aircraft, Charles Whitmore's black luxury SUV approached the private terminal.
He sat in the rear beside a woman in an elegant cream suit.
Two other business guests followed in a second vehicle.
Charles was in an excellent mood.
He had spent the morning telling his companions that he'd arranged a particularly impressive aircraft for their trip.
A beautiful long-range business jet.
Private terminal.
Exceptional service.
No crowds.
No commercial schedules.
He spoke as though the airplane were part of his personal fleet.
One of the investors had been impressed.
"Your aircraft?"
Charles smiled.
"Access to excellent assets is more valuable than owning every one of them."
The statement sounded clever.
He had used it before.
But this time, the access he was discussing wasn't legitimately his.
His arrangements with Richard had never been approved by the aircraft owner.
And the flight he expected to board had been entered into the operator's systems using misleading information.
When Charles's vehicle reached the terminal, a ground representative approached.
"Mr. Whitmore?"
Charles lowered his window.
"Yes?"
"There's been a change concerning the aircraft."
His smile disappeared.