Child, Lee – Without Fail

phone shut. There was panic in her eyes.

‘What?’ Reacher asked.

‘We got another one,’ she said. ff’en minutes ago. And it’s

worse.’

110

SIX

I

T WAS WAITING FOR THEM IN THE CENTRE OF THE LONG TABLE IN THE conference room. A small crowd of people had gathered

around it. The halogen spots in the ceiling lit it perfectly.

There was a brown nine-by-twelve envelope with a metal

closure and a torn flap. And a single sheet of white letter-size

paper. On it were printed ten words: The day upon which

Armstrong will die is fast approaching. The message was split

into two lines, exactly centred between the margins and set

slightly above the middle of the paper. There was nothing else

visible. People stared at it in silence. The guy in the suit from

the reception desk pushed backward through the crowd and

spoke to Froelich.

‘I handled the envelope,’ he said. ‘I didn’t touch the letter.

Just spilled it out.’

‘How did it arrive?’ she asked.

I’he garage guard took a bathroom break. Came back

and found it on the ledge inside his booth. He brought it

straight up to me. So I guess his prints are .on the envelope tOO.’

‘When, exactly?’

‘Half-hour ago.’

111

‘How does the garage guard work his breaks?’ Reacher

asked.

The room went quiet. People turned towards the new voice.

The desk guy started in with a fierce who-the-hell-are-you look.

But then he saw Froelich’s face and shrugged and answered

obediently.

‘He locks the barrier down,’ he said. qhat’s how. Runs to the

bathroom, runs back. Maybe two or three times a shift. He’s

down there eight hours at a stretch.’

Froelich nodded. ‘Nobody’s blaming him. Anybody call a

forensic team yet?’

‘We waited for you.’

‘OK, leave it on the table, nobody touch it, and seal this room

tight.’

‘Is there a camera in the garage?’ Reacher asked.

‘Yes, there is.’

‘So get Nendick to bring us tonight’s tape, right now.’

Neagley craned over the table. ‘Rather florid wording, don’t

you think? And “fast” definitely takes the prediction defence

away, I would say. Turns the whole thing into an overt threat.’

Froelich nodded. ‘You got that right,’ she said slowly. ‘If this

is somebody’s idea of a game or a joke, it just turned very

serious very suddenly.’

She said it loud and clear and Reacher caught her purpose

fast enough to watch the faces in the room. There was

absolutely no reaction on any of them. Froelich checked her

watch.

‘Armstrong’s in the air,’ she said. ‘On his way home.’

Then she was quiet for a beat.

‘Call out an extra team,’ she said. ‘Half to Andrews, half to

Armstrong’s house. And put an extra vehicle in the convoy. And

take an indirect route back.’

There was a split second of hesitation and then people started

moving with the practised efficiency of an elite team readying

itself for action. Reacher watched them carefully, and he liked

what he saw. Then he and Neagley followed Froelich back to

her office. She called an FBI number and asked for a forensics

team, urgent. Listened to the reply and hung up.

‘Not that there’s much doubt about what they’ll find,’ she

112

said, to nobody in particular. Then Nendick knocked and came

in, carrying two video tapes.

Fwo cameras,’ he said. ‘One is inside the booth, high up,

looking down and sideways, supposed to ID individual drivers

in their cars. The other is outside, looking straight up the alley,

supposed to pick up approaching vehicles.’

He put both cassettes on the desk and went back out.

Froelich picked up the first tape and scooted her chair over to

her television set. Put the tape in and pressed play. It was the

sideways view from inside the booth. The angle was high, but it

was about right to catch a driver framed in a car window. She

wound back thirty-five minutes. Pressed play again. The guard

was shown sitting on his stool with the back of his left shoulder

in shot. Doing nothing. She fast-wound forward until he stood

up. He touched a couple of buttons and disappeared. Nothing

happened for thirty seconds. Then an arm snaked into view

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