Better off Dead

Chapter 40

The truth was I had no interest in hearing Dendoncker’s terms. None at all. But I had negative interest in getting shot by his stooge. And I didn’t like seeing Fenton trussed up and held at knifepoint. I didn’t like that at all.

“Lose the rope,” I said. “Lose the knife. Then you can say your piece. Beyond that, I’m making no promises.”

Dendoncker wanted to talk in what he called his office. Getting there involved going through the double doors, along the glass corridor, and through the doors at the far end. The guy in the dark suit unlocked them. He held his keys up to a white square attached to the frame. I guess he had a transponder hooked onto his keyring. Probably like the one Mansour had when I searched him at the morgue, but I was too far away to be certain.

The guy didn’t go through. He stood to the side and Dendoncker stepped past him and pushed the right-hand door open. He went first. I followed, with the guy in the pale suit behind me. He was close, but not so close I could easily grab him. Or the Uzi. We stepped into another corridor. This one ran at ninety degrees. It stretched away, left and right, running the whole width of this half of the building. There was an exit door at each end. Their handles were missing. I guess they had to be. To allow for the steel plates that covered them on the exterior. One side of the corridor was floor-to-ceiling glass, facing the dining hall. There was a wall on the other side. It was plain white, with four doors. Two to the left of the junction with the glass corridor. And two to the right. Each door had a window. The glass was laced with steel wires and covered on the other side with newspaper. It was turning yellow with age. All the text I could see was in Spanish.

Dendoncker led the way to the right. Behind me I heard footsteps peeling off in the opposite direction. I looked over my shoulder and saw Mansour with his hand wrapped around Fenton’s elbow, guiding her away. It made her arm look like a tiny stick. She was moving freely enough, though. There was no sign that they’d hurt her. Which was fortunate. For them.

Dendoncker ignored the first door he came to. He stopped outside the next one. Worked the lock with a regular key. Went in and hit the light switch. Six pairs of fluorescent tubes flickered into life on the ceiling. There was a walled-off section to the right. It was square. There were two doors, marked Niños and Niñas. There was a wide window and another door straight ahead. Both were boarded up on the outside. There was a chalkboard on the left-hand wall. It had been wiped clean. The place had been a classroom. That was clear. I could trace where the kids’ desks had been from the scuff marks on the floor. They had been arranged in a horseshoe, with the open end in front of the chalkboard. It looked like there had been five pairs on each of the other sides.

The teacher’s desk had survived. It was set at an angle in the far-left corner. A dining chair was next to it with metal legs and an orange plastic seat. There was another half dozen of the same kind of chairs in a circle in the center of the room. A beaten-up leather couch by the wall on the right. A low bookcase at its side. It was full of textbooks. About physics. A couple of French novels were lying on top. On the other side there was an army cot. It had a metal frame, painted olive green. There was a pillow in a white cotton pillowcase. Just one. A white sheet, pulled tight. And a footlocker on the floor. There was no natural light. No fresh air. It wasn’t much of a place to work or sleep.

Dendoncker headed to the right. “Against the wall. Feet apart. I’m sure this won’t be the first time you’ve done this.”

“One minute.” I made it through the door to the boys’ bathroom before the guy in the pale suit could stop me.

Inside there were two stalls. Two urinals. Two basins. And two hand dryers. Everything was small and chipped worn, but it was clean. Nothing offered many options for concealing things. I had two guns and a knife. I wasn’t too concerned if they got taken. I could easily replace them. I was more worried about the phone. I had called Wallwork from it. And Sonia. I didn’t want Dendoncker trying those numbers.

I thought about breaking the phone and flushing it away but I didn’t know if the water pressure would be up to the job. If it wasn’t I would just be drawing attention to the fact I had something to hide. So I reconsidered. All the phones I had taken from Dendoncker’s guys were blank. He was used to that kind of discipline. So he wouldn’t see anything unusual in it. I hoped. I made sure the phone was set to silent. Worked my way through the menu until I found the option to delete all call records. Put the phone away. Waved my hand under the dryer to trigger its motor. Then went back out into the classroom.

Dendoncker was standing between the pair of doors. He was fidgeting like a five-year-old. I turned and rested my hands on the wall and stood still while he searched me. He did a competent job. A little slow, but thorough. When he was done he handed me back my passport and my cash, but he kept my toothbrush and the other things.

“Come.” Dendoncker headed to the ring of dining chairs. “Sit.”

I strolled across and took the seat opposite him.

Dendoncker didn’t speak. He just sat and stared at me. His knees were pressed together. His hands were resting on his thighs. His head was tipped to one side. He looked like an inmate at a senior center, waiting for an encounter group to get started and curious to find out all about the new arrival. But if he thought his silence would fill me with the urge to share, he had picked the wrong guy.

Dendoncker gave up after two minutes. He ran the remaining finger and thumb on his right hand through his wispy hair and wet his lips with his tongue. “So. To business. But first, a question. Who do you work for, Mr. Reacher?”

“No one.”

“OK. So you’re freelance. Who hired you?”

“No one.”

“Someone did. And I know who it was. You can say his name. You won’t be breaking any confidences. Just confirming what I already know.”

“No one hired me.”

Dendoncker looked me straight in the eye. “Nader Khalil. Yes? You can nod your head. You don’t have to say a word.”

“Never heard of the guy.”

Dendoncker didn’t respond for a moment. His face was blank. I couldn’t tell if he was relieved or disappointed.

“All right.” Dendoncker shook his head. “Let’s get back on track. My proposition. It’s very simple. Easy to carry out. No one gets hurt. You and your friend walk away scot-free the moment it’s done. How does that sound?”

I said nothing.

“All the job involves is driving. And a little lifting. Easy for a guy your size. It’ll only take three days. I’ll give you the route to follow and pay for your meals and a hotel for both nights. Nice places. Then when you reach the destination you’ll drop off an item. Just one. See? Nothing could be easier. I take it you agree.”

“I do not.”

“Maybe I wasn’t clear about the alternative?” Dendoncker nodded toward the guy with the Uzi. “There’s a lot of desert around here. A lot of scavengers. They’d never find the bodies. Yours. Or your friend’s.”

“My answer’s still no. I’m not your delivery boy. And it’s better for two lives to be lost than fifty.”

“I don’t follow.” Dendoncker pretended to look confused. “How would fifty lives be lost?”

“The item you want me to deliver. I know what it is.”

Wrinkles furrowed Dendoncker’s forehead. “The item is harmless. I give you my word.”

I said nothing.

“I don’t know what you heard, but if you think the item is dangerous you’ve been given bad information.” Dendoncker stood up. “Come. See for yourself.”