I said, “It was a bust.”
“Shit.” Sonia frowned. “What now?”
“Any chance they approached from this side and saw you?”
“No.” Sonia shook her head. “Nothing’s moved the whole time I’ve been here.”
I couldn’t see what had gone wrong. The plan should have been sound. Maybe the text should have come from the other guy’s phone. Maybe there had been special wording. Maybe the guy had been flat-out lying. Which was why I had wanted to bring him. But that hadn’t been possible, so there was no point dwelling on it. If Dendoncker’s guys wouldn’t come out on their own terms, I figured it was time to make them come out on mine.
Chapter 33
Sonia said, “It won’t work. You won’t be able to get in. You need a transponder. I know because Michael had one. He left it behind one day. It got him into hot water. There’s no lock. No keypad. The only alternative is the intercom. You have to ask someone to open the gate. You think they’ll open it for you?”
“You think I’ll wait for permission?”
* * *
—
I left Sonia to watch the back of the house and walked to the street where the giant RV was parked. Climbed into the Chevy. And headed west.
Dendoncker’s company building was on its own at the end of a straight road, just as Wallwork had described. It was a simple square shape. Steel frame. Brick infill. Flat roof. Plain. Functional. Cheap to construct. And cheap to maintain. It was like the kind you see in business parks all over the country. There was a parking lot laid out in front. It had spaces for twenty cars. None were taken, and there was no movement behind any of the windows. There was nothing to suggest the place was owned by a murderer. That it was the hub of a smuggling operation. Or that it was about to be used to distribute bombs. There was just a sign on one side of the main door saying Welcome to Pie in the Sky, Inc. and a picture of a cartoon plane on the other. It had eyes in place of cockpit windows, a broad smile beneath its nose, and it was rubbing the underneath of its bulging fuselage with one wing.
I pulled up to the gate, which was just two sliding sections of the fence that surrounded the site. Chain link, twenty feet high. The wire was a decent gauge. The metal posts supporting it were stout. They weren’t spaced too far apart. But it was only a single barrier. There was no inner layer. It would provide adequate security at best. Which was understandable. Health inspectors could show up. Clients. People could evidently look at images of it on the Internet, like Wallwork had done. If Dendoncker wanted to avoid attracting attention he couldn’t afford for the place to look like Fort Knox.
I wound down my window. Next to me there was a metal pole, painted white. Four boxes were attached to it. Two were level with my face as I sat in the car. Two were higher. They would be for truck drivers to use. Each pair was identical. First there was an intercom with a call button and a speaker behind a metal grille. Then a thing the size of a keypad, but with no buttons. Just a plain white rectangle. Presumably part of the transponder system. Nothing I needed to be concerned with.
I reached out and triggered the intercom. I didn’t expect to be let in. I didn’t expect an answer. And I didn’t need either. What I was hoping for happened right away. A camera mounted on its own pole on the other side of the fence panned around until it was pointing right at me. I stared into its lens and hit the call button an extra time.
I said, “I’m here. Come and get me.”
I made a beckoning motion to the camera to make sure the message got through. Then I reversed for ten yards and turned the car around. I doubted anything incriminating would be left lying about inside the building. Or that there would be any clues as to Dendoncker’s other locations. But over my years as an MP I learned never to rule out stupidity. And never to rule out luck. Guys who went AWOL turned up under the bed at their girlfriend’s house. Stolen equipment was stashed in the trunks of personal vehicles. Plus, I was already there. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give Dendoncker something more to worry about.
I made sure the rear of the car lined up with the center of the entrance. Selected Reverse and pushed the gas pedal to the floor. The impact tore both gates clean off their runners, but the Chevy hardly felt a thing. I could see why they had been so popular with the police. I continued across the compound. Across the two rows of parking spaces. Slowed to check I was on target. Then accelerated again and plowed into the building’s main doors.
The Chevy punched straight through. I hit the brakes and shifted into Drive. Pulled forward. Stopped. Left the car facing the exit. Got out. And listened. There was silence. It was unlikely a place like that would be wired to a police station. But not impossible. I figured I’d better work fast and keep an ear open for sirens.