Better off Dead

Chapter 56

Dendoncker was standing still, staring at the body. His face was pale and completely expressionless. Fenton was covering him with the Uzi. I moved in close and felt his jacket pocket. He had a tiny revolver. Another NAA-22S. I took it and slipped it into my waistband.

“I offered Mansour the chance to walk out of here,” I said. “Now I’m going to offer you the same. With one condition.”

“Which is?”

“You tell me the truth.”

Dendoncker wet his lips with his tongue. “What do you want to know?”

“How did you get hold of a transponder with Nader Khalil’s fingerprint on it?”

“I didn’t. Michael and Khalil, they tricked me. They were working together, but I didn’t know. I bought Michael’s story about a protest with smoke. I had no idea there was anything more going on.”

Fenton raised the Uzi. “Shall I shoot him?”

Dendoncker lifted his arms like they could shield him from her bullets. I grabbed his wrist and dragged him around to the other side of the climbing bars. I forced him onto his knees. Held the back of his head. And pushed his face to within an inch of Mansour’s.

I said, “Think carefully. Is this how you want to go?”

“I bought the fingerprint.” Dendoncker squirmed away from the body. “It took years. And lots of money. But finally I found someone who was ready to betray Khalil.”

I let Dendoncker stand up. “How did you get your hands on it?”

“I used one of the women who worked for my catering company. I sent her to Beirut with the money. She brought the fingerprint back. It was fixed in sticky tape. Lifted from a drinking glass. It was easy to transfer it onto the transponder.”

“When was this?”

“A few weeks ago.” Dendoncker pointed at Fenton. “It’s why I hired her. I actually had to send two women. One stayed behind in Beirut. She was part of the price.”

“Did she know in advance? The one who stayed.”

“Of course not. Neither did the one who returned. She thought there’d been an accident.”

“What happened to the other women? You had six on your crew, from what I heard. Five, excluding Fenton.”

“One was plotting with Michael. She ran away. Two are coming with me. The other two are going to…retire.”

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. It was Fenton. Heading for the exit. As planned.

I said, “You used the fingerprint to frame Khalil. He was never actually involved.”

Dendoncker nodded.

“He was trying to kill you. There was some kind of feud going on.”

Dendoncker nodded again.

“Which is why you always checked the bodies of anyone who came after you. You’re not just paranoid.”

“He sent others to kill me many times. I hoped one day he’d try in person. And fail. Then I would be free.”

“What was the feud about?”

Dendoncker wet his lips. “Khalil’s father blamed me for his other son’s death. Khalil carried it on when his father died.”

“Khalil’s brother was killed. He was driving a truck bomb.”

“His father and I, we were rivals. I was young. Ambitious. Looking for a shortcut to the top of our group. He stood in my way. I thought if he lost his son it would break his spirit. He would fade away. I could fill the void.” Dendoncker shrugged. “I was wrong. It only made him stronger. Harder.”

“You made his son drive the bomb?”

“Not made. Led him to the decision.”

“Not a distinction his father was impressed by, I guess.”

Dendoncker shook his head.

“So you saw the opportunity to get Khalil off your back. That’s what this is all about?”

“Correct. It was the only way I could buy my freedom.”

“The way I see it, you planned on three steps. First you had Michael make you a bomb. A dud. It was left where it would be found. It had a GPS chip so you could confirm it wound up at TEDAC. It also had a transponder. You knew the components would be studied. The details recorded. The pieces stored.”

Dendoncker nodded.

“Step two involved the city destroyer. It was supposed to arrive at TEDAC and get triggered by the transponder from Michael’s bomb.”

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. That told me Fenton had found what she was looking for in Dendoncker’s SUV.

Dendoncker nodded again.

“One question. How do you get your hands on a city destroyer?”

Dendoncker shrugged. “Same way you get anything. Money.”

“So the city destroyer detonates. Takes TEDAC with it. Then step three. The smoke bomb is found. It has the same technology inside it. Plus Khalil’s fingerprint.”

“That’s the way it was supposed to happen.”

“But the first transponder didn’t trigger the city destroyer.”

“No. It should have done. I have no idea why it failed.”

I smiled. I was tempted to tell him that the transponder didn’t fail. That it didn’t have the chance to. Because Fenton had destroyed it weeks ago. But I resisted. I needed to keep him focused. He had some big questions coming up. So instead I said, “Then why try to stop the smoke bomb? Why not make sure it went to TEDAC so its transponder could finish the job?”

“The smoke bomb had the same transponder. It would have triggered the truck bomb. That’s true. But I didn’t want to risk wasting the fingerprint.”

“Wasting it?”

“Right. It was damn expensive. Two million dollars and a fair employee. It might have survived. But a blast that size? It could easily have been destroyed. And think of the scene. A hundred thousand pieces of evidence are already there. The fingerprint could have survived then got mixed up with the rest. And got lost.”

“OK. Tell me what you did after the demonstration I watched. What you added to the smoke bomb before you put it in the truck for me to drive.”

“I added nothing. Why would I?”

“Because you didn’t want the fingerprint to be wasted. The T in TEDAC stands for terrorist. Not protester. Not attention seeker. Those agents are specialists. They don’t get out of bed for a pretty puff of smoke. So unless you spiced the bomb up a little it would have gone to a local field office, at best. Maybe just the police department. Where it would have sat on a shelf in the evidence room, gathering dust until long after you’re dead.”

“I disagree. TEDAC would have taken it. Because of all the press coverage. I didn’t add a thing.”

“You didn’t smear the outside of the shells with VX?”

“Where would I get VX from?”

“You didn’t pour VX into the shells?”

Fenton came back inside. She stayed near the exit door. She peeled off a pair of latex surgeon’s gloves and jammed them into her pocket.

Dendoncker said, “VX is a weapon of mass destruction. I wouldn’t touch it.”

“And the third smoke bomb. The last one left in your workshop. You didn’t fill it with VX?”

“I don’t even know where it is.” Dendoncker pointed at Mansour. “He disposed of it. He didn’t say where or how.”

“You didn’t add anything to either bomb. You don’t know where the third bomb is. That’s the story you’re going with?”

“It’s not a story.”

I waited a moment to give him one last chance to come clean. He didn’t take it. So I said, “OK. I choose to believe you.”

“Then I can go?”

“In a minute. There’s still one thing I don’t understand. You want to blow someplace up and let Khalil take the fall. But why does that place have to be TEDAC? There are plenty of softer targets out there.”

Dendoncker was silent for a moment. “I thought, if I hit part of the FBI they’d take it personally. Leave no stone unturned. Make sure the fingerprint was found and –”

“No.” I shook my head. “Here’s what I think. You learned that there was some evidence against you at TEDAC. Something that hadn’t come to light yet. But that would. Soon. Then you were offered Khalil’s fingerprint. And you saw your chance. Two birds, one bomb.”

Dendoncker didn’t reply.

“I know what that evidence is. I’ve joined the dots. But I need to hear you admit it. And I want you to apologize. Do those two things, then you can walk.”

Dendoncker stayed silent.

I pointed at Mansour’s body. “Do those two things, or that’s how you’ll leave this world. Your choice.”

Dendoncker took a deep breath. “OK. The Beirut barracks bomb. I didn’t build it. But I taught the guys who did. They used parts I touched.”

“You were an instructor? That’s how you were in a position to pick the driver?”

“Correct. And it’s why I recognized your name when we first met at the morgue. You won the Purple Heart that day. I read about it afterward.”

“OK. And?”

“And I’m sorry. I apologize. To everyone who got hurt. For everyone who got killed.”

I looked at Fenton. She nodded.

“OK.” I stepped back. “You’re free to go.”

Dendoncker was frozen to the spot. His eyes were darting around wildly, looking for a trap. He stayed still for twenty seconds. Then he started toward the door. First walking, then scuttling as fast as he could go. He kept moving until he reached the Cadillac. He jumped in. Fired it up. And steered for the gate.

I pulled out my phone. There was a message saying I’d missed a call. I’d never seen the number before. But I knew exactly who it was from. Or rather, what it was from. Thanks to Fenton’s fishing expedition.

I hit the button to call the number back.

Fenton said, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Why wouldn’t I? If Dendoncker’s telling the truth, he’ll be OK.”

“He lied about not knowing where the third bomb is. I doubt he’s telling the truth about the VX.”

“Then that’s his problem. I’m still giving him more of a chance than he gave 241 Marines in Beirut that day.”

Dendoncker’s Cadillac stopped at the inner gate. My phone showed that my call had been answered. The gate started to crawl to the side. The gap grew wide enough to drive through. The Cadillac stayed still. The gate opened the rest of the way. The Cadillac didn’t move. Then its brake lights went out. It rolled forward. Barely above walking pace. Its horn blared. It trundled on. Slewed slightly to the left. And ran into a fence post.

Its horn continued to blare.

Fenton said, “Want to check? To be sure? Confirm he added VX to the smoke?”

I shook my head. “No chance. That car’s not airtight. Dendoncker’s right where he deserves to be. And I have no intention of joining him.”