Chapter 35

CHAPTER 35

H IS GUN AT THE READY because this could be a trap, he moved slowly along the dusty interior hall, again checking everything along the way. He came out into the main front area and started going foot by foot, corner to corner.

He stopped at the second corner, halting in front of a rolling easel set against the wall, and on which were written the rules of the workplace along with tasks assigned to a list of workers. Based on the list of duties set out, Bill, Dave, Mark, and Wanda were going to be really busy tomorrow, thought Devine. Then he noticed that the easel was the sort that was two-sided and was designed to be flipped to reveal the opposite side.

He pulled it away from the wall and did so. Devine stepped back and read what had been written on the other side in block letters using a blue Sharpie.

Memo to TD: If you’re reading this you’re a bit cleverer than I gave you credit for, so, well done. FYI, please erase so none of the construction workers arriving tomorrow will be unduly distressed, curious, or looking to post this on social media for their fifteen minutes of fame.

This is far bigger than DG and his problem. Or the girl and her problems. Or you and your mission. Or me and what I came here to do. The men who you met last night are ones I recognize. Not them particularly, but how they handle things. By the way, congratulations on surviving, with a big assist from yours truly. After they cleaned up the mess I followed the SUV to a remote property miles away. A bird was waiting to whisk two bodies away. Yes, they did not survive your counterattack. It was a pretty special bird. I’ve seen one before. I’ve even ridden in one. There are only two agencies in this country that use them. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which ones. This is something more than 3D chess, so watch your back. I don’t want you to die. Yet. I want to be there when that happens. You know why.

Devine looked at the name at the bottom.

The Girl on the Train

P.S. You’re welcome.

Devine took a picture of the writing with his phone and then erased all of it.

He walked outside and ordered up a ride to the hotel where Saxby and Odom were staying.

On the way he phoned Campbell. When he got to the part about the girl on the train and what she’d written, he heard Campbell bark, “Son of a bitch.”

Devine could understand why. “The mole is still there, sir,” he said. “Dawn Schuman was a red herring.”

“To let us think we’d ferreted out the real spy,” said Campbell.

“Which probably means you’re never going to find her body.”

“And it also means she was innocent,” noted Campbell.

“And someone else there is as guilty as hell.”

“But, Devine, why would she have divulged all that to you? By doing that she as good as told us the mole is still around.”

“Because she doesn’t need the mole anymore, sir.”

“So she saved your butt just so she can kill you herself? The lady must hold a grudge.”

“I think it’s only partly that.”

“And the rest?”

“She had a mission. She failed. She’s the sort who will push through every wall, run over anyone she has to, endure all the shit in the world to make it right and complete the mission.”

“Reminds me of you actually.”

“And she has principles. She could have let me die in those woods, and later claimed credit for it.”

“A killer with a sense of honor. And her warning to you? Why?”

“I will take the woman at her word. She says this is bigger than Glass, bigger than my mission. The chopper she mentioned, ring any bells?”

“I have to make inquiries. Very, very discreet ones.”

Devine quickly noted that there was suddenly a level of apprehension in the other man’s voice that he had never noticed before.

“She must have gone to that building while Betsy and I were in the bookstore, and wrote out the message. Then she came back, let me make her, and then did what she did. I don’t think she even went back into that building when I was chasing her. I think she hid behind one of the Dumpsters in the alley and let the open door suck me in. Then she goes on her merry way.”

“Pretty good plan to execute on the fly,” noted Campbell.

“She said something more than 3D chess?” noted Devine.

“There aren’t many things more complex than chess, 3D or otherwise. However, the world you and I operate in is one of them.”

“How can someone like Danny Glass be caught up in geopolitics ?”

“I don’t know. And we as yet can’t take what she’s said as true. It hasn’t been corroborated.”

“How do we corroborate it?” asked Devine.

“When you think of an answer, let me know, and I’ll do the same. Until then, watch yourself, and let me get back to work. And you likewise.”

He clicked off as Devine got out of the cab in front of the hotel.