The Goodbye Man
- Автор: Дивер Джеффри
- Серия: Colter Shaw #2
- Год: 2020
- Язык: английский
- Год: G. P. Putnam’s Sons
- ISBN: 978-0-525-53597-3
- Жанр: Другие детективы
Электронная книга - «The Goodbye Man». Краткое содержание книги:
Frenzy and panic too.
Better get to it.
He walked toward the stairs leading up to the stage. He disliked hurting anyone. He did, however, need to even the odds, given Hugh’s martial arts skills and the fact he was vastly outnumbered. He walked casually past Eli’s two bodyguards. Since the attention was wholly on the stage, Gray was concentrating on the drama, and Shaw thrust a fist into his gut. The man gasped, paralyzed. Shaw executed a fast wrestling takedown. The man landed flat on his back, moaning and gasping, the air blasted from his lung.
“Uhn, uhn, uhn...”
Shaw knew the feeling. It wasn’t pleasant.
In two seconds, the man’s gun was plucked from the holster and racked. It was a Glock 26, nicknamed a “Baby Glock,” for its small size. It had, though, a double-stack magazine; assuming it was fully loaded, Shaw would now have ten rounds to play with. He trained the weapon on Squat, who stared with wide eyes. Shaw motioned him to the ground and patted his hips. As Victoria had said, he was unarmed. “Ties. Now.”
He extracted zip ties.
“Him, then you. Fast.”
Squat complied.
Shaw searched and found he had no weapon.
A woman standing nearby glanced over and gasped. “What’re you doing?” Her voice was incredulous.
Shaw said matter-of-factly, “Be quiet.”
The woman, wearing a purple amulet, said, “You can’t tell me what to do.”
Shaw leaned toward her and growled, “Sit. Down. And be quiet.”
“Okay. Yessir. I will. I will.” She dropped onto the grass.
He climbed to the stage, the gun held at his side, away from the crowd. Eli and Hugh glanced at him once, briefly, then again. This time they noted the weapon. Eli’s face grew astonished — then red with rage. Hugh cocked his head, noted the bodyguards and remained motionless, waiting.
Two of the AUs standing at ground level gathered that something was wrong. They glanced to Hugh, who gestured them to stand down. He’d observed that Shaw knew weapons and appeared prepared to use them.
Shaw strode up to Eli and held out his hand for the lavalier microphone, pinned to his white tunic, and the transmittal.
The furious man pulled it off and slapped it hard into Shaw’s hand. The resulting thud was resounding.
Shaw returned to the center stage, scanned about him for threats. And saw none. Holding the mike to his mouth, Shaw said, “Listen to me! There wasn’t any poison. It was sugar.”
Murmurs from the Square rose like the sound of swelling waves.
“I replaced it myself.” Shaw looked at the inductees, staring at him frantically. “You’re fine.” He added, “And it wasn’t Steve.” His eyes took in the audience and returned to the stage. “It was your Guiding Beacon who tried to murder you.”
62
Shaw couldn’t join Victoria and Frederick because of what he had found on Eli’s computer — the last document he’d given them to read behind the dorm. It revealed that at least five people were going to die onstage during the induction session: Journeyman Marion and the four Companions picked for the Circle of Representatives.
Shaw decided he should have been more suspicious of the mysterious Building 14 — filled with gardening equipment and supplies... when there were no gardens, as Walter had told him.
He’d concluded earlier that the AUs on the porch were only there to keep an eye on the Square. However, what if his original theory was true? That they were there to protect what was inside?
What might that be?
Several pounds of rat and mice poison: arsenic trioxide.
Eli was going to take a lesson from Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple in Guyana. The leader, of course, had no intention of “advancing” to the Tomorrow. He was setting up a fall guy. His fiction was that Steve had been behind the killings of the journalist Yang and John and was trying to shift the blame to Eli, in an attempt to derail the Foundation and create a cult of his own.
Shaw, Victoria and Frederick had broken into Building 14 and swapped out the poison for sugar.
I was thinking we’ll find something in the kitchen.
Oh. That’s good...
But Shaw couldn’t just leave with Victoria and Frederick after the swap. Eli would simply find another way to set Steve up as a murderer.
Shaw had to expose the king and bring him down.
Somebody now shouted, “He’s got a gun!”
Screams. Companions started to turn.
Shaw called, “It’s all right. I’m working with the authorities.” This was somewhat true: in the sense he would be working with the authorities when they arrived. Soon, he hoped. Pretty damn soon.
Eli started to turn but Shaw said harshly, “No. Stand there.” Nodding to a place slightly before him on the stage. He wanted Eli where he could see him.
The man glanced toward the gun in Shaw’s hand and complied, glaring.
Shaw’s treatment of the Guiding Beacon generated a wave of murmuring and protest and gasps but the bulk of the Companions watched the stage, taking Shaw’s words under advisement.
“Let me tell you about Master Eli. Whose real name is David Aaron Ellis. And Apprentice Carole was right: fake names he’s used in the past are Artie Ellington, Hiram Lefkowitz, Donald Elroy. He’s a failed stockbroker and real estate developer. And now he’s a scam artist. He’s robbed you. And... he’s ordered murders.”
Gasps. And angry murmurs.
“He tried to kill these people onstage tonight and blame Steve because the police are investigating him for a murder in San Francisco.”
“Lie!” was the unearthly bellow from Eli. “Toxic!”
“That’s what the police helicopter was about. It wasn’t a plot to discredit him, and it wasn’t a mistake. Eli ordered the killing of a reporter writing about the Foundation. Did any of you know Harvey Edwards?”
The Companions, most of whom had been here for three weeks or less, wouldn’t know of the man. But two or three of the Inner Circle glanced toward one another, shadows of recognition on their faces. They’d suspected something about their noble leader.
“Eli told Edwards to kill the reporter and then advance. He committed suicide by shooting it out with the police.”
“Lies! He’s one of them.” Eli snapped his fingers and glanced again furiously at two tunicked AUs. Hugh gestured to them to remain where they were.
Some ICs began a chant, “Tox-ic, Tox-ic!”
The sound was anemic and soon petered out.
Shaw noted Samuel looking his way, his expression stunned. The Journeyman who had accompanied Shaw here, Timothy, also gaped.
“Kill him!” somebody yelled.
“Let him talk!”
Shaw pulled the sheaf of papers from his waistband. “This is from Master Eli’s computer.”
In disgust, Eli looked toward Anja, who couldn’t hold his gaze.
“Eli wrote this earlier today. After the police helicopter was here. But before the ceremony just now.”
Reading, he said, “‘Statement to the police. After the terrible poisoning at the Osiris Foundation camp this afternoon, my employees searched the room of Steve Rindle and found that he had planned to kill me and key members of the Foundation. Someone stopped me from drinking the poisoned wine. Others were not so lucky. Our medical staff wasn’t able to save them. From the documents we found it was clear he intended to steal my self-help techniques and start his own organization.’”
Steve was crying, shaking his head.
Eli raged, “Lies! I’ve been set up by the Toxics! Tox-ic, Tox-ic...”
Now, no one joined in.
Shaw continued, “‘We found files indicating Steve planned to incorporate in California. Steve also was responsible for having Harvey Edwards kill journalist Gary Yang in San Francisco. He was going to blame me for Yang’s death.’”