Third Kill: An absolutely unputdownable and gripping action thriller (Grant Fletcher Series Book 3) by John Ryder

Author:John Ryder [Ryder, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800192850
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2021-04-27T16:00:00+00:00

39

Fletcher watched the footage of the Mantis both leaving the van and returning to it several times over. He was looking at her gait, the posture she adopted and the way that her body language spoke of relaxed athleticism. His aim in rerunning the footage was to gain as much of an understanding of her as he could. He wanted to know if she favored one hand over the other. If she had a tic that might make her recognizable.

It was the sixth run-through that confirmed his suspicions. “The Mantis didn’t come back for the van. Someone else did.”

“What?” The surprise in Quadrado’s tone was thicker than an elephant sandwich. “There’s three of them? Show me why you think that.”

“Watch this.” Fletcher cued the Mantis arriving and set the footage running. “See how when she’s just out of the van, the top of her head is level with the roof? Now look at her feet as she gets the parcel from the back, they’re aligned in parallel. Think about that parcel. It’s large enough to hold a bag and a change of clothes. Maybe a wig and different shoes. A pair of low heels would be my guess, as they’d alter her height after she’d changed.”

“Okay. I take your point. But why do you think someone else came for the van? Why not just leave it where it was?”

“Because the van is a decoy. It’s what we’re meant to focus on.” Fletcher jumped the footage forward until it showed the delivery driver returning and walking down the alleyway. “Now, pay close attention to the driver’s feet and their height.”

Quadrado said nothing until the van was moving and Fletcher had paused the footage. “When she was opening the van door, she seemed to be shorter by an inch or two. Could she have been slumping her shoulders?”

“I thought that too, thought it was maybe relief at a successful hit, but I took another look.” Fletcher rewound the footage enough to rerun the point they were discussing and paused it as the Mantis was opening the van’s door. “See? She’s got her back straight, just as she had when she arrived.”

“You’re right, she does. And when she is standing still, her toes are pointed inwards. That’s not a stance you adopt by accident. It’s a habit that’s as ingrained as how you brush your teeth. Damnit, Fletcher, she’s got at least two people helping her out.”

“Yep. The van will disappear off the radar somewhere. It’ll be tracked until it’s in a place where there are no cameras and then the driver will change the license plate, remove the decals and bring it on back. Either that or leave it burned out for the FBI to find.”

Quadrado washed a hand over her face. “Let me get this straight in my head in terms of a timeline of events. The spotter arrives, then the Mantis. The Mantis goes in, kills who she needs to kill and then finds somewhere for a rapid change. She messages the spotter and the fake driver.

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