Ли Чайлд - The Sentinel

‘Because I can picture the scene,’ Reacher said. ‘Her first day of kindergarten. Your wife goes to bring her home and she says, “Mommy, how come I don’t have a daddy? All the other children do.” And your wife says, “You do have a daddy, sweetheart. Only he’s in federal prison. Because he was too stupid to help himself when he had the chance.”’

‘All right.’ Thomassino closed his eyes for a moment. ‘I collected them. On my second visit. They were there the first time too but I pretended I hadn’t seen them. They were a pain in the ass to move so I was hoping one of the regular garbage crews would take them.’

‘What did you do with them?’ Sands said.

‘Put them in the truck. Then later that day I emptied the truck at the sorting plant.’

‘Let’s try that again.’

‘What? It’s the truth.’

‘I believe you put them in the truck. But they never made it to the sorting plant. What happened to them?’

‘I didn’t steal them, if that’s what you’re implying,’ Thomassino said. ‘I didn’t sell them. I didn’t pitch them on the way. Everything that was in the truck, I unloaded at the plant.’

‘But they weren’t at the plant,’ Sands said. ‘We checked. So what happened to them?’

‘I have no idea. Search my house if you don’t believe me. Talk to my wife. My friends. Check my bank account. I’ll take a lie detector test. But I didn’t steal them. I didn’t sell them. And I don’t know where they are.’

Reacher looked at Sands. She replied with the slightest shrug of her shoulders. It wasn’t the answer they wanted. It didn’t help them. But Reacher was inclined to believe it. He had questioned a lot of suspects over the years. He had a good sense of when someone was lying and Thomassino seemed sincere in what he said.

‘OK, then.’ Sands took a piece of paper and a pen from her purse. ‘I’m going to give you a number, and if you–’

‘I have a question,’ Rutherford said. ‘Sarah, at the recycling place, did anything strike you as strange?’

‘No. It was just a heap of junk.’

‘Exactly. And the old weird guy? When you asked him about itemization, he said what would be the point? Computer mouse, beige, not working . Over and over.’

‘Yes. So?’

‘What are the odds of every single electronic device discarded by people in the town being broken? Surely some things would still work, even if they were old and slow. Like the servers. There was nothing wrong with them. It’s like everything with life left in it had been syphoned off, somehow.’

Thomassino looked at the floor. His first tell.

‘Dave?’ Reacher said. ‘Anything to add?’

Thomassino didn’t answer.

‘I wonder if your daughter will get married, Dave. I bet she will. Most people do, in the end. The question is, who will walk her down the aisle? Who will be there when she has a kid of her own?’

Thomassino leaned forward and held his head in his hands. ‘It started in my second week on the job. My boss asked me to lunch. Said there were a couple of things he needed to bring me up to speed with. So I went to meet him. At a diner. Fat Freddie’s.’

‘I know the place,’ Rutherford said. ‘It’s supposed to have the best milkshakes in town.’

‘I got there first,’ Thomassino continued. ‘So I sat down and waited. I got a text from the boss. He said he was running late so I should go ahead and order. I did, and after my food came I got another text. He said he couldn’t make it after all. I finished eating and asked for my check and the waitress told me my meal was on the house. I asked why, and she said I should hang on a minute. Someone would come and explain. Then a big fat guy appeared and sat opposite me. I think he’s the owner. I thanked him, and he said it was no problem. He said I could always eat there for free. I just had to do one thing in return. Always stop in on my way to the sorting plant. And make sure my truck wasn’t locked.’

‘What did you do?’ Sands said.

‘Tried to talk my way out of it. Said my routes varied, it wouldn’t always be practical, sometimes I ran late, that kind of thing.’

‘But he wouldn’t take no for an answer.’

‘He handed me a photograph. Of my wife. Taken through a windshield. She was crossing the street outside her work. The car was real close to her. Only a couple of feet away. She’d turned towards it. I’ll never forget the look on her face. Pure terror. Like she was certain she was getting run down.’

‘Did he say anything else?’

‘He didn’t have to. The message was clear.’

‘So you always stop there on the way to the plant,’ Reacher said. ‘Can you just show up? Or do you have to call ahead? Give notice?’

‘Just show up. And stay at least thirty minutes. And always leave the truck in one particular spot.’

‘Which one?’

‘Around the back, to the side of the staff parking lot, there’s a brick outhouse. Where the dumpsters are. And where they keep the used cooking oil. There’s a patch of ground marked off in yellow. I have to leave the truck there.’

‘How many doors does the outhouse have?’

‘One. Right by where I have to park.’

‘Any windows?’

‘None.’

‘Is the door locked?’

Thomassino thought for a moment. ‘I guess. It has a padlock. A big one.’

‘So while you’re inside eating your free food someone rifles through your truck, takes everything that looks valuable, and locks it in this outhouse?’

Thomassino shrugged.

‘What?’ Reacher said. ‘Is there more to the story?’

‘I honestly don’t know. I’m in a crappy situation here. Am I really going to put my wife’s life in danger over some worn-out electronics? Stuff that people have already thrown in the trash? Which is part of a racket that even my boss is in on? No. I’m not. So I see no evil and I hear no evil. I go in. I eat. I go back out. I empty the truck at the plant. If someone helped themselves to some stuff when I wasn’t looking, I don’t know anything about it.’

‘Plausible deniability,’ Rutherford said. ‘I get it.’

‘Semi-plausible,’ Sands said.

‘Plausible or not, you went to the diner the day you picked up the servers?’ Reacher said.

Thomassino nodded.

‘And the servers were gone when you got to the plant?’

‘I guess,’ Thomassino said. ‘I mean, it’s not like we keep records. But I remember the cabinet thing. It was a pain in the ass getting it into the truck. I don’t remember getting it back out.’

‘All right,’ Reacher said. ‘One more question. The guy at the diner. The owner. Who had the picture of your wife. What’s his name?’

‘I heard someone call him Bud,’ Thomassino said. ‘But I think his real name is Budnick. Bill Budnick. There was a story about Fat Freddie’s in the paper one time and he was mentioned. About a year ago. Right after he bought the place.’

‘Good,’ Reacher said. ‘Now did this guy Budnick ever talk to you about what to do if anyone came around asking questions about him?’

‘No. Nothing like that came up. I only spoke to him that one time.’

‘So if we happen to visit Fat Freddie’s to, say, check out their reputation for milkshakes, Budnick wouldn’t be expecting us?’

‘Would I tip him off, do you mean? Look, that asshole threatened my wife. I wouldn’t piss in his mouth if his teeth were on fire. I’d love for you to pay him a visit. I’d love for you to bust him and throw his ass in jail. Just please, keep my name out of it.’

‘How could we bring your name into it?’ Reacher said. ‘We’ve never met.’

Sands hit the door button, climbed out, and beckoned Thomassino to follow her. He got halfway out of his seat then sank back down.