Child, Lee – Without Fail

on Thursday morning.

‘I didn’t notice a difference,’ he said: ‘Looked like the same

case to me.’

The secretary nodded in agreement.

“I’hey’re identical items,’ she said. ‘Same make, same vintage.

He doesn’t like people to realize. But one is for his automobile

and the other is for the subway car.’

137

‘Why?’

‘He hates dirt. I think he’s afraid of it. Tuesdays and Thursdays,

he won’t take his subway-car briefcase into his office at

all. He leaves it out here all day and I have to bring him things

from it. If it’s been raining he leaves his shoes out here too.

Like his office was a Japanese temple.’

Neagley glanced at Reacher. Made a face.

‘It’s a harmless eccentricity,’ the secretary said. Then she

lowered her voice, as if she might be overheard all the way from

the White House. ‘And absolutely unnecessary, in my opinion.

The D.C. Metro is famous for being the cleanest subway in the

world.’

‘OK,’ Neagley said. ‘But weird.’

‘It’s harmless,’ the secretary said again.

Reacher lost interest and stepped behind her and looked at

the fire door. It had a brushed-steel push bar at waist height,

like the city construction codes no doubt required it to have. He

put his fingers on it and it clicked back with silky precision.

He pushed a little harder and it folded up against the painted

wood and the door swung back. It was a heavy fireproof item

and there were three large steel hinges carrying its weight. He

stepped through to a small square stairwell. The stairs were

concrete and newer than the stone fabric .of the building. They

ran up to the higher floors and down towards street level.

They had steel handrails. There were dim emergency lights

behind glass in wire cages. Clearly a narrow space had been

appropriated in the back of the building during the modernization

and dedicated to a full-bore fire escape system.

There was a regular knob on the back of the door that

operated the same latch as the push bar. It had a keyhole, but it

wasn’t locked. It turned easily. Makes sense, he thought. The

building was secure as a whole. There was no need for every

floor to be isolated as well. He let the door close behind him

and waited in the gloom on the stairwell for a second. Turned

the knob again and reopened the door and stepped back into

the brightness of the secretarial area, one pace. Twisted and

looked up at the surveillance camera. It was right there above

his head, set so it would pick him up some time during his

second step. He inched forward and let the door close behind

138

him. Checked the camera again. It would be seeing him by

now. And he still had more than eight feet to go before he

reached Stuyvesant’s door.

q’he cleaners put the message there,’ the secretary said.

I’here’s no other possible explanation.’

Then her phone rang and she excused herself politely and

answered it. Reacher and Neagley walked back through the

maze of corridors and found Froelich’s office. It was quiet and

dark and empty. Neagley flicked the halogen lights on and sat

down at the desk. There was no other chair, so Reacher sat on

the floor with his legs straight out and his back propped against

the side of a filing cabinet.

¢rell me about the cleaners,’ he said.

Neagley drummed a rhythm on the desk with her fingers.

The click of her nails alternated with little papery thumps from

the pads of her fingers.

¢Fhey’re all lawyered up,’ she said. ¢I’he department sent

them attorneys, one each. They’re all Mirandized, too.

Their human rights are fully protected. Wonderful, isn’t it? The

civilian world?’

rerrific. What did they say?’

‘Nothing much. They clammed up tight. Stubborn as hell. But

worried as hell, too. They’re looking at a rock and a hard place.

Obviously very frightened about revealing who told them to put

the paper there, and equally frightened about losing their jobs

and maybe going to jail. They can’t win. It wasn’t attractive.’

‘You mention Stuyvesant’s name?’

‘Loud and clear. They know his name, obviously, but I’m not

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