Lee CHILD - Better off Dead

“What did it say?”

“  ‘M – help! M.’ It was handwritten on the back of a card from a place called the Red Roan. It’s a café here, in town.”

“So you dropped everything and came?”

“I dropped everything. But I didn’t come here right away. Old habits die hard. First, I did some digging. I got in touch with his friends. Some contacts of my own. Tried to find out what he might have been into. Where he might have been. Everyone said they didn’t know. A few promised to ask around. Then a buddy from the Sixty-sixth told me about a guy, kind of like an agent. If you were a vet and you wanted work, and you weren’t too particular if it was legal, he could hook you up. I got in touch. Leaned on him. He admitted introducing Michael to Dendoncker. Indirectly. I pressed him some more and he admitted to placing a few guys with Dendoncker over the years. Sometimes Dendoncker just wanted anyone ex-military. Sometimes he wanted people with specialized skills. The guy recalled placing an ex-sniper who was an expert in .50 rifles. Michael got hired because he knew about land mines.”

“Sounds like Dendoncker could be smuggling weapons.”

“That was my first thought, too. So I came down. Poked around. But couldn’t find any sign of Michael or smuggling rings or other kinds of criminals. I became desperate. That’s when I got back in touch with the agent guy and asked him to hook me up with Dendoncker. I expected an argument, but he was super cooperative. Said I was doing him a favor. Dendoncker was in the market for another recruit. No particular MOS. Just had to be a woman. I was worried about what that could mean. But I figured my brother’s life was on the line. So I said, all right. Set it up.”

“And you got the job, just like that?”

“No. My background was already legit but I made up a few false references to embellish it a little. Then I had an ‘interview.’ With Dendoncker’s sidekick. A huge, creepy guy. He took me out into the desert and had me prove I could shoot and strip down a gun and drive and so on.”

“Didn’t Dendoncker connect you with Michael? You have virtually the same name.”

“No. We have different surnames. His was Curtis. Mine was, too, obviously. Then I got married. I took my husband’s name. And I kept it after he was killed. In Iraq.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

Fenton looked away. I waited until she turned back to me.

I said, “Dendoncker wanted Michael because he knew about land mines?”

“That’s what the guy told me.”

“How’s that connected to the catering business?”

“I don’t know. My best guess is Dendoncker’s some kind of procurer. He smuggles in whatever his customers want and sells it to them. He probably needs experts from time to time to evaluate the merchandise.”

“But Michael stayed on?”

Fenton nodded.

“You didn’t come in contact with him, even when you were on the inside?”

“No. I tried, but I had to be discreet. Then two days ago I saw a woman I recognized. Renée. She was working at Dendoncker’s catering business, like me. With a different partner. She had different shifts. And she’d been there longer. She knew the lay of the land better.”

“Where did you know her from?”

“I didn’t know her. I’d seen her in photos. Ones Michael had of his old unit.”

“She was at the place where the containers get loaded for the planes?”

Fenton shook her head. “No. At the Red Roan. The place Michael sent the card from. I followed her when she left. Cornered her at her hotel. She admitted Michael was in town and still working for Dendoncker. But on some special project. She swore she didn’t know what it was. Just that it involved Michael doing tests in the desert from time to time.”

“Land mines?”

“Maybe.” Fenton shrugged. “So I asked this Renée to set it up for Michael and me to meet. She refused. Said it was too dangerous. She seemed genuinely terrified. So I asked her to at least give Michael a note for me. She agreed to that.”

“What did you write?”

“I kept it simple. I said, ‘I’m here. Contact me. I’ll do whatever you need.’ And I gave him an email address. One I’d set up specially. No one else knew it.”

“This was two days ago?”

“Right. She said she might not be able to get the note to Michael right away. Then an email came this morning. I knew Michael was in trouble the moment I read it. I feared the worst. But I had to find out for certain.”

“How did you know?”

“From the way the message was addressed. I had signed my note Mickey . That’s what people who knew me as a kid call me. The email that came, which set up the rendezvous at The Tree? It was written to Mickey.”

“So? Michael obviously knew you when you were a kid.”

“You don’t understand. When we were growing up we were always playing soldiers and spies. We started doing that thing from the movies where you only use the other person’s real name if you’re in danger. The note used my real name. So either Michael was in danger, or my note got intercepted and whoever replied didn’t know our routine.”

“What happened to the woman who took the note?”

“Renée? I don’t know. I went to her room at the hotel this morning, as soon as I got the email. Some of her clothes had been taken from the closet. All her underwear was gone. So were her toiletries. I think something spooked her. After she gave Michael the note. I think she ran for her life.”

Fenton’s phone pinged and a moment later there was a knock at the door. She whispered, “Pizza.” I moved along the side of the bed where I’d be out of sight. I heard Fenton open the door and thank the delivery guy. Then she grabbed a towel from the bathroom, spread it on the bed like a tablecloth, and set down the giant square box.

We ate in silence. When we were finished I asked, “You said Dendoncker inspects the bodies. Where? At the scene? Or does he have them taken someplace?”

“He always does it at the morgue. He likes the bodies properly laid out and examined. The whole nine yards.”

“Is the ME on his payroll?”

“I don’t know. Could be, I guess.”

“That means to pull this thing off we need to clear three hurdles. To convince Dendoncker that one of us is a threat to him. To make him believe that person was killed. And to persuade the ME to cooperate. That’s a big ask.”

“I came to the same conclusion.” Fenton brushed a crumb from her chin. “I was thinking about it while we were eating. It is a big ask. But it’s not impossible. And I have a way we can do one and two, if you play the role of the dead guy.”

“How?”

“OK. First hurdle. Make Dendoncker believe you’re a threat. That’s easy. All you have to do is play the part of Mickey. Dendoncker’s already sold. He sent two guys to ambush him. Those guys didn’t come back so Dendoncker must be doubly convinced that Mickey’s a problem by now.”

I said nothing.

“Second hurdle. Make Dendoncker believe you’re dead. That’s harder, but still achievable. We do it by setting up another rendezvous with Mickey, which I will attend on Dendoncker’s behalf. Then –”

“How do we set it up?”

“The foundations are already in place. Dendoncker must have gotten his hands on my note because he used the email address on it. But he didn’t know I sent it or there would have been no need for the first rendezvous. He would have sent his guys straight after me. So, I’ll write another note. The handwriting will be the same, which will seal the deal.”

“Another note saying what?”