Part 29 (2/2)

Monteith nodded.

”And Mr. Illiyitch is missing now, right?”

”You didn't find him?” Color appeared in Monteith's cheeks. ”I thought the police were going to look for him. He had to be in those woods.”

”Near the Hunting Club?” Romey asked.

”Surrounding the Hunting Club.” Nyquist finally understood why Romey wanted him here, and why she wanted him to go lightly. Monteith felt aggrieved-a professional who hadn't been treated like one-and he was more likely to share information with peers than he was with authority figures.

”Yes,” Monteith said. ”I must have arrived on the scene after you left,” Nyquist said. ”I coordinated the search for Mr. Illiyitch.”

”And you didn't find him?”

Nyquist shook his head. ”We didn't find him. I wasn't even sure if the second person in that forest was another guard for a while. The Hunting Club didn't know, and we couldn't find any representatives from Whitford.”

Monteith's mouth thinned. He might have heard that last comment as disapproval.

So before Monteith could say anything, Nyquist added, ”I had a hunch that was standard procedure. Most security organizations run their own investigations when something goes wrong.”

”Exactly,” Monteith said, sounding relieved. He glanced at Romey as if looking for her approval. ”I have strict instructions for what to do when there's a problem. I call off the team. Then I have to report to the team coordinator, and then we decide how to handle everything.”

”So you called off the team,” Romey said. ”And spoke to the coordinator.”

Monteith ran a hand over his skull. He glanced at his palm, seeming surprised that it was covered with sweat. ”My coordinator on this one was Roshdi Whitford.”

”That seems unusual,” Romey said. Nyquist let her take the Whitford questions. He'd bring it back to Bowles in a minute.

”It is,” Monteith said. ”But Ms. Bowles was so high profile and her handlers were paying a lot, so Mr. Whitford wanted to oversee the case himself.”

Romey looked at Nyquist to see if he wanted to pursue the handlers question. He didn't, not yet. ”You went to the office to find him,” Romey said.

”No, I tried to contact him on his links, but they were off. I sent ahead to the office, but his a.s.sistant said he hadn't arrived yet and I should go to his house. So I did.”

Monteith looked nervously from Romey to Nyquist, then back to Romey.

”You found the body,” she said.

Monteith nodded. ”I went in. It's protocol. Some of us have the house codes.”

Nyquist raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything. That sounded like a major security breach to him, especially for someone as paranoid as Whitford had seemed.

”What happened when you went in?” Romey asked.

”I went to the main room. I could smell the blood before I saw it. I . . .” Monteith's voice faded. ”We're not supposed to go to the police. Sometimes our clients are being protected from police forces from other countries. You understand.”

Nyquist felt his own face flush. He did understand. Sometimes Whitford Security was protecting a Disappeared. Then the company couldn't go to the police.

But he didn't like it. Romey saw that. She said, ”We do understand. You had your orders. And in this case, they were to go to a lawyer?”

”No,” Monteith said. ”We went to the client if the client was different from the person being protected, which in this case it was. I had the name of the lawyer who hired us. Turns out she did so in the name of someone else.”

”Who is?” Romey asked. Monteith licked his lips. ”I shouldn't say.” ”Remember the promise I made,” Romey said. ”This is important.”

Monteith sighed. ”I probably don't have a job anymore, anyway,” he said, and for the first time, Nyquist felt some sympathy for him. He probably didn't have a job. And after this, he probably wouldn't be able to get a job in security. Even if the police didn't say a word about the interview, the fact that he had lost a subject under his protection would probably count against him in any future job interview.

Monteith was looking at Romey. ”The man was named . . . Flint,” he said. ”Miles Flint?” Nyquist asked, feeling stunned. ”Yeah, I think so. Weird blond guy.” ”You met him,” Romey said.

”He's the one who told me to come to you. Or he approved it. The lawyer had already called the police.” Monteith didn't sound too happy about the arrangement.

”Do you know why Flint had hired you to take care of Bowles?” Nyquist asked.

”You mean besides to keep her alive?” Monteith's answer bordered on sarcasm.

”Yes,” Romey said in that gentle tone. She gave Nyquist a warning glance. Apparently she had worked hard at softening Monteith and didn't want Nyquist to ruin it.

”No,” Monteith said. ”But we did know that once some stories ran, she would be an even bigger target. I tried to talk her out of the Hunting Club. It doesn't like outside security agencies. It thinks it's the best. But it really screwed us. We had a team inside, a team with her, and I was on the street. But someone still got her.”

”And Mr. Lamfier,” Nyquist said.

”And probably Mr. Illiyitch,” Monteith said sadly. ”He's probably somewhere nearby.” ”We're searching the entire area near the Hunting Club now,” Nyquist lied. ”Tell me abut Mr. Illiyitch,” Romey said. ”You said Lamfier was new to your team. Was Illiyitch?” ”a.s.signed that morning. But he'd been with the company for a while. Everyone liked him.” ”Did you?” Nyquist asked. Monteith looked away. ”It's all right, Mr. Monteith,” Romey said. Monteith nodded. He looked at Nyquist. ”Illiyitch broke the rules sometimes. He gossiped.” ”Talked to people he shouldn't have?” Romey asked.

”Not clients or anything. Just people in other parts of the company. We're not supposed to socialize, but he did. I think he was sleeping with some of the women.”

”Not just one?” Romey sounded surprised.

Monteith shook his head. ”I saw him with at least three. He-I don't know-I asked him to be put on a different team. But he'd been pus.h.i.+ng for the a.s.signment and he'd been moving up in the company, so I got overruled.”

”By whom?” Nyquist asked. ”The memo came from Mr. Whitford. But it seemed odd to me. I tried to ask Mr. Whitford about it, but our appointment wasn't until tomorrow.”

Nyquist's gaze met Romey's. She raised her eyebrows, giving him some kind of signal. ”I'm so sorry about this, Mr. Monteith,” she said. ”I'm getting an urgent message on my links. Detective Nyquist and I have to go look at some evidence, but we'll be back shortly. Can we bring you anything?” Monteith shook his head. Then he sighed.

Nyquist stood, wanting out of the room. He opened the door, and Romey walked through it. Once it was closed, she said, ”I interviewed a lot of people. All the information in Whitford Security is segregated. No one person can have more than one piece of information. But it seems that this Illiyitch was talking to everyone. He could be your killer.”

”Our killer,” Nyquist said. ”Especially if Whitford decided to talk to him before Monteith did.” Romey nodded. ”This would have taken a lot of planning.”

”It seems more like opportunity. He got himself a.s.signed to Bowles's detail and looked for the moment. Lamfier was new to the detail as well. If they were in it together, it would explain how Bowles died so quickly.”

”Quickly? What do you mean?” Romey asked.

”It only takes a few seconds to walk through that forest around the Hunting Club. But if Lamfier grabbed Bowles and then Illiyitch shot her, she would have died in those few seconds and no one would have been there to help her.”

”Then Illiyitch murdered Lamfier to keep him quiet.”

”Or to avoid paying him,” Nyquist said. ”It's all supposition right now,” Romey said. ”But it's good supposition.” ”Only this Illiyitch guy is missing.” Nyquist smiled. ”But not for long.” ”How do you plan to catch him? He had to know we'd be looking.”

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