The Sentinel (Jack Reacher #25)(39)

The guy was suddenly on his feet. He was as tall as Reacher. As wide as Reacher. Maybe faster than Reacher. ‘You want to hurt Mr Rutherford? Try it. See what happens.’

Reacher paused. Investigations go with the numbers. If the guy wasn’t motivated by money, then what? Blackmail was next in line, statistically, but Reacher couldn’t see it. And principle is the rarest thing of all.

‘Outstanding.’ Reacher held out his hand. ‘I knew you’d pass. But we can’t be too careful. Not when Mr Rutherford’s safety is at stake. I’m glad you’re on the team.’

‘We’re on a team?’

‘Of course. Keeping Mr Rutherford safe. You heard he got attacked on the street yesterday?’

The guy nodded.

‘I was the one who saved him,’ Reacher said.

‘That was you?’ The guy shook Reacher’s hand. ‘Thank you. I like Mr Rutherford. He’s always nice to the building staff. Not like some of the assholes who live here. I could tell you some stories …’

‘I bet you could,’ Reacher said. ‘But after yesterday we have to be extra careful. There might be a leak. That’s why they sent me here. To see if anyone changed sides.’

‘Not me.’

‘Clearly. What about the other doormen? Can we trust them?’

‘I think so. The day guys, anyway. The others I don’t know so well. But Mr Rutherford doesn’t go out much at night anyway. Unless he’s working. Then he’s out all night, sometimes, if he’s upgrading the systems or whatever those computer guys do.’

‘OK, good.’ Reacher leaned forward and gestured for the guy to move in closer. ‘Now here’s the thing. I’m going to level with you. We think whoever tried to hurt Mr Rutherford yesterday is going to try again today. I’m here to stop them, but I need your help. I need you to do two things. Are you with me?’

‘What two things?’

‘First, show me how I can see the pictures from the garage security cameras. Then I need to take your place for a while.’

‘You can watch the cameras on here,’ the guy said. He pressed the space bar on the computer keyboard and the screen lit up. It was divided into nine rectangles. The one at the top left showed the street outside the garage entrance. Each of the others gave a different view of the inside in clear, crisp colour. ‘It records so I don’t have to watch all the time, but I do when I’m bored.’

‘Sounds good,’ Reacher said. ‘Now, is there a closet anywhere?’

‘Sure.’ The guy pointed to a door disguised amongst the panels to the side of the booth. ‘Right there. Why?’

‘This is the part where I really need you to trust me.’ Reacher set the bag from the truck stop down on the countertop. ‘I need to make it look like I overpowered you, in case anything goes wrong. We need to safeguard your cover. I need you to lie low in there for a while and I have to warn you, it could be a couple of hours. I don’t know exactly what kind of schedule these guys are on. And I have to make it look convincing. These are animals we’re dealing with here. So I’m going to use a little tape. Just a bit around your wrists. And your ankles. I better put a piece over your mouth, too. I’m sorry. I know it’s not pleasant. But it’s the only way to keep Mr Rutherford safe.’

Speranski was poring over a large-scale map, thinking about parking and power supplies for his next project, when his secure phone rang.

‘Two things,’ the voice at the other end of the line said. ‘First, the team found your man. Trussed up with his own handcuffs at the place he was supposed to deliver the drifter. He’s no longer on the payroll, as requested.’

Speranski didn’t reply.

‘Second, Rutherford has been located.’

‘Where?’ Speranski said.

‘At his building.’

‘Damn. If he’s holed up again he could be in there for weeks.’

‘No. He’s leaving this afternoon. Going back to the airport. In his own car. Because he’s taking something with him.’

‘This is via the doorman?’

‘Correct. The poor sap thinks he’s helping to keep Rutherford safe.’

‘Where’s the drifter?’

‘Unknown.’

‘Where’s Rutherford’s car?’

‘In the building’s garage. We have the make, model, and licence plate.’

‘I know the garage for that building. It’s underground. Enclosed. I don’t like it.’

‘Ambush?’

‘That’s what I’m thinking.’

‘Struck me that way too.’

‘Tell the team to be extra careful. We can’t afford another spectacle.’

Reacher sat in the doorman’s chair for forty minutes, then his eye was drawn to the monitor. To the rectangle at the top left. The one fed by the camera above the garage door. The image was slightly fish-eyed to give a wide field of view, but a black Suburban was still an unmistakable vehicle. It pulled to the side of the street ten yards short of the entrance, close enough for Reacher to make out the blond splashes of the driver’s and the passenger’s hair. A blue Toyota passed it and pulled up in front of the garage. A mark in the demerit column, Reacher thought. Time had no doubt been tight but they still should have replaced their vehicles.