“That’s not good,” I said.
“On the contrary, it was very peaceful. He was very ill, as I’m sure you know, so this is a relief. He was very happy last night, you should know. As happy as I’ve seen him in years. He worked well into the early morning on your proposal, so I have it here for you. He instructed me that should there be any problems, as I noted before, all contracts remain enforced, so your brother, Nate, is still at risk here, so you should know.”
“What about Brent?”
“Yes, he has been provided for provided he does as Mr. McGregor wishes.”
“Which is?”
“Mr. Grayson will be delivered a copy of Mr. McGregor’s conditions.”
“When?”
“He left your mother’s home approximately five minutes ago-would that be correct?”
I looked over my shoulder and down the street. Nothing stirred. There were no men with cameras hidden in the bushes. Which meant I probably didn’t realize Sugar was bugged. If I had to guess, it would be his earrings. It’s where I would have put a bug.
“Correct,” I said.
“A messenger will be arriving shortly. Within the next ten minutes if you’d like to remain outside. Please do not kill him. He is literally the messenger and not an emissary of any kind. Mr. McGregor specifically wanted you to know this.”
“Great,” I said. “This information he left. It’s about the wind technology, is that correct?”
“That’s my understanding, yes. He was very thorough, you should know. He worked on it until he passed. It will certainly be enough to force Mr. Drubich into complicity provided it is brought to him by a believable source.”
“Big Lumpy was to serve that purpose,” I said.
“Yes, sir, I understand that,” Monty said. “I’m afraid, as I said before, that he’s expired and thus will not be able to play that role.”
“Henry Grayson,” I said.
“Yes?”
“Any information I should know regarding him?”
“Yes, well, I might add that Mr. McGregor was disappointed in you in that regard, but understood your position.”
“What position was that?”
“The position you took in lying to him about his whereabouts. Nevertheless, Mr. Grayson is still missing. Mr. McGregor would like you to know you won that bet.”
I’d had a feeling I hadn’t fooled him. But what I had done was convince him that Henry was crazy. If that hadn’t been the case, he wouldn’t have let me parade that lie in front of him. Even in death, he was exerting control.
“Do you have a body?” I said.
“The body has been removed,” he said.
“By whom?”
“The coroner. That’s who usually does that sort of thing, correct?”
“I just didn’t know if maybe Big Lumpy’s body was privy to government secrecy or anything. You’ll excuse me for presuming he was important.”
“He was important,” he said. I thought I caught a waver in Monty the Manservant’s voice, which made me feel bad. Big Lumpy was, after all, his friend. Or his employer. Or his… something. It really wasn’t all that defined what their relationship was and wasn’t made easier by the fact that they both wore those absurd white outfits, like they were about to star in a Wham! video.
Apologizing would show weakness, so I just pressed on. “Do you happen to have a death certificate?”
“One has not been issued yet. You’ll need to wait two days. The state of Florida is filled with dead people this time of year.”
“Then I need proof of death in some other fashion,” I said. “Otherwise I have no reason to believe you, apart from your very fine diction and that nice car you drive.”
“Would you like to come over and sniff his room?”
“That was a joke, Monty?”
“That was a joke, Mr. Westen. But I’m sure you can call the coroner’s office and they will confirm receipt of his body.”
“Is there going to be a funeral?”
“He was a man just like any other,” he said. “He has his wishes and they are that he will be buried in Massachusetts. If you’d like, I can see if we can get you a special pass to leave Miami to attend.”
Smart. But I wondered how smart.
“Monty,” I said. “That’s your real name? Because I’ve never known an Asian person named Monty.”
“No, not really.”
“What’s your real name?”
“Steven.”
“Steven,” I said, “why don’t you go on home? Get on with your life. You don’t work for Big Lumpy anymore. He’s dead. So you can stop with the formality of things. No one is going to hurt you, okay? You can just head on back to whatever life you thought you wanted to lead. I’m sure you’ve been provided for, right?”
There was silence on the other end of the line.
“Really,” I said. “Feel free. I’ll come and pick up the documentation you have for me and then fly free.”
Silence.
“Or do what you want. It’s your choice. You just don’t need to wait around for your orders anymore.”
“Mr. Westen,” he replied, “do you think everyone is you?”
“You’ve been briefed, apparently.”
“Apparently,” he said. “The messenger who arrives will have your information as well. When the money is made available to you from Mr. Drubich, you will contact me and your brother will be safe and all will be fine in the world.”
“And who is going to let the government know that Yuri has top-secret documents?”
“Do you think I am really a manservant?”
“I guess I did,” I said. “But I’m going to guess now that you’re some kind of super assassin and also some kind of genius-would that be correct?”
“I think Mr. McGregor overestimated you,” he said.
“Wouldn’t be the first,” I said. “Are you the eyelid guy or was that someone else, just so I know who I’m actually dealing with here.”
“My contact information will be enclosed with the documents you will be receiving. Call me when you are ready to transfer the money.”
“And what do I call you? Monty? Steven? Agent Zero?”
“Agent Zero sounds fine,” he said and hung up.
I scrolled through the phone to see if the call had come from any specific number, but it came up blocked, naturally. I’d need to confirm that Big Lumpy was dead, but my sense was that he wouldn’t go to such lengths just to complicate things.
“That didn’t sound like a great conversation,” Sam said.
“Big Lumpy is dead,” I said.
“I got that,” Sam said. I filled him in on the rest of the information Monty/Steven/Agent Zero gave me and let him digest it all. “Anything else?” he asked finally.
“I think Sugar is bugged,” I said.
“We need to give him a full pelvic?”
“I hope not,” I said. “I’m going to guess it’s either in his earrings or his watch.”
“His watch is the size of a hubcap,” Sam said.
“That’s where we’ll look first, then. Save the pelvic for later, in case he resists.”
Sam nodded. It was nice outside. A pleasant breeze. The palm trees were free of rats. The sky wasn’t
