Page 78 of To Die For

He closed his eyes and went over everything that had happened in the last hour. It was like doing battlefield reenactments in the Army to see what had gone right and, more important, what had gone to hell.

Something was off. He could feel it. Now he just had to locate it.

Two minutes went by, then five, then five more.

On the next click of his mental clock, Devine opened his eyes.

The best way was usually the most direct and simplest. This heldtrue in pretty much any task or mission, because simple meant there were fewer opportunities to screw it up. From meal recipes to building anything to running for your life.

So the woman could have simply walked out the main floor exit once she had decoyed Devine to the second-floor elevator area. Her clever plan had worked and she would have plenty of time for a leisurely stroll to anywhere she wanted.

So why waste time going up the escalator after him, and then exiting out a door, and while doing so, making enough noise for Devine to notice?

He followed her exit route once more, looking for something he might have missed before. In the alleyway he stared at the open door into the space being renovated, through which he had gone earlier, as had, presumably, the woman.

Up and down the alley he saw tradesmen entrances and several large Dumpsters. All the doors were closed, no doubt for security purposes.

So why hadn’t she closed this door? It would have taken all of a second. And if she had, there would have been no way for Devine to know where she had gone. Then it struck him.

She wanted me to go in there. Which means there’s something she wants me to find.

So Devine went to find it.

CHAPTER

35

HIS GUN AT THE READYbecause this could be a trap, he moved slowly along the dusty interior hall, again checking everything along the way. He came out into the main front area and started going foot by foot, corner to corner.

He stopped at the second corner, halting in front of a rolling easel set against the wall, and on which were written the rules of the workplace along with tasks assigned to a list of workers. Based on the list of duties set out, Bill, Dave, Mark, and Wanda were going to be really busy tomorrow, thought Devine. Then he noticed that the easel was the sort that was two-sided and was designed to be flipped to reveal the opposite side.

He pulled it away from the wall and did so. Devine stepped back and read what had been written on the other side in block letters using a blue Sharpie.

Memo to TD: If you’re reading this you’re a bit cleverer than I gave you credit for, so, well done. FYI, please erase so none of the construction workers arriving tomorrow will be unduly distressed, curious, or looking to post this on social media for their fifteen minutes of fame.

This is far bigger than DG and his problem. Or the girl and her problems. Or you and your mission. Or me and what I came here to do. The men who you met last night are ones I recognize. Not them particularly, but how they handle things. By the way, congratulations on surviving, with a big assist from yours truly. After they cleaned up the mess Ifollowed the SUV to a remote property miles away. A bird was waiting to whisk twobodiesaway. Yes, they did not survive your counterattack. It was a pretty special bird. I’ve seen one before. I’ve even ridden in one. There are only two agencies in this country that use them. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which ones. This is something more than 3D chess, so watch your back. I don’t want you to die. Yet. I want to be there when that happens. You know why.

Devine looked at the name at the bottom.

The Girl on the Train

P.S. You’re welcome.

Devine took a picture of the writing with his phone and then erased all of it.

He walked outside and ordered up a ride to the hotel where Saxby and Odom were staying.

On the way he phoned Campbell. When he got to the part about the girl on the train and what she’d written, he heard Campbell bark, “Son of a bitch.”

Devine could understand why. “The mole is still there, sir,” he said. “Dawn Schuman was a red herring.”

“To let us think we’d ferreted out the real spy,” said Campbell.

“Which probably means you’re never going to find her body.”

“And it also means she was innocent,” noted Campbell.

“And someone else there is as guilty as hell.”

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