Chapter 14

Vidic ran the numbers in his head, over and over. How long to get to the breakfast place. To stand in line. To place the order. For the food to come out. To pay. To drive back. And every time he came up with the same conclusion. Paris was taking far too long.

Every time he reached that conclusion his mind set out in a different direction. First, he got worried. He pictured Paris's Land Rover fishtailing into one of the switchbacks. Rolling. Her neck breaking asshe slammed against the windshield, just like Gibson's had. Then he got anxious. He imagined her speeding, or driving erratically. Getting pulled over. Giving herself away somehow and getting arrested. He ran through one possibility after another until he was left with nothing but raw fear. In that final scenario he saw her running, like Bowery must have done. But in Paris's case the consequences were different. They weren't irritating or inconvenient. They were catastrophic. Because she had a copy of the report. She could put it on the market. Undercut his price. Be more convincing when the questions started coming in about how the report had been obtained. And be more credible when it came to establishing its provenance.

A car horn honked outside the cave's entrance. Four times. One long beep. Two short. Another long. Vidic silently thanked God then set down the crate he had been carrying and said loudly, "That'll be Paris. She'll need help bringing in the food. I'll go."

Paris was standing at the side of the Land Rover when Vidic reached her. The rear door was open and she was trying to stack four cardboard carry-out boxes into a manageable pile in the footwell.

Vidic said, "What the hell happened? You were gone so long. Are you OK?"

Paris stepped closer to him and lowered her voice to a whisper. She said, "I went to the house."

"Why on earth…? What's so important? Fletcher was right. You can get new books. Soon you'll be able to get anything you want."

"I didn't go for my books. I went for my ledger."

"You didn't already have it?"

"Obviously not. Or I wouldn't have had to go back for it."

"I told you to—"

"Ivan. Is this really the time?"

Vidic was silent for a moment, then said, "So did you get it?"

"No. I didn't go inside. Fletcher was right. But not about replacing stuff. The house is being watched."

—

Reacher ordered coffee and a full stack of pancakes with bacon on the side. Knight asked for Earl Grey tea, hot, with milk. The waitress headed for the kitchen and Knight dropped a twenty on the table. She said, "In case something happens. I don't want to skip out on the bill if we have to leave in a hurry."

Reacher nodded.

Knight walked Reacher through everything she had done since the FBI passed on her father's case. She had run computer searches on all of Kane's known aliases. Posted BOLOs for him, and the truck and the motorcycle that were registered in his name. Requested an alert on his passport. Set flags for any activity on his credit cards. Initiated traces on his phone numbers and email addresses. None of those actions bore fruit so she broadened her net. Started looking at his known associates. Interviewed the ones who were in jail. And watched the guys who were still on the loose. When four of the five names at the top of that list all suddenly packed up and left town, together, and made for the same location, she figured she'd hit pay dirt. That location was the motel by the highway. Which wasn't promising, in itself. The place felt like a staging point, not a final destination. But she had to believe that Kane was close by. She could see no other reasonable explanation.

Reacher had a shorter story to tell. He began with how he had woken up handcuffed to a table and ended with details of the deal he had struck with Vidic.

Knight drummed her fingers on the table. "Am I getting this straight? If you're able to move the safe, and if Vidic is able to break into it, and he keeps his word, he's going to tell you where Kane will be at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow? What kind of deal is that?"

"Kane, Fletcher, and Paris. The other surviving members of their crew. That's the deal. Yes. But you're missing the point."

"So what is the point? The million in cash?"

"No. The point was to make sure that all four of them are still here. I could have put Vidic on ice. Easily. Fletcher too. But what about the others? I had no idea where they were. Or how many I was looking for. By the time I tracked them down at least one was bound to have heard that his buddies were MIA. Maybe both would have. Then they'd have disappeared, too. They're all as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Kane is only still in play because I made that deal."

Knight leaned back in her chair. She said, "Fair point. So what's your plan from here?"

Reacher said, "I told you. And it hasn't changed."

"So do you—"

The waitress hurried back to their table but instead of a tray of food she was carrying a cordless phone. She said, "Are you Mr. Reacher?"

"Just Reacher."

"Sorry to interrupt but the guy on the phone described you. He was very insistent that I ask."

The waitress held out the handset. Reacher took it and she discreetly walked away.

He said, "Reacher."

"This is Wallwork."

"How did you know I was here?"

Knight got out of her seat and moved next to Reacher, close enough to hear both sides of his conversation. He whispered, "My FBI guy."

Wallwork said, "I didn't know, but you weren't picking up in your room. I got the address from the number you left. Googled the place. Saw there was a diner next door. Diners have coffee. It didn't take long to figure out. Anyway, I talked to my friend and she said her nephew has been on vacation in your area recently. She hasn't spoken to him for a while—he does a lot of cave exploration and there's not much signal underground, apparently—but she did mention she's planning to come down there with the extended family for some kind of a reunion. They should arrive by dinnertime. I thought I should let you know because if they recognize you and start talking, you could be detained for quite a while."

Reacher said, "Good to know. Thanks. I don't fancy dinner but you could tell your friend there's a breakfast place in the neighborhood that does interesting specials. I'll call you back with the address. Tell her it's so popular it opens crazy early. Like, at 4:00 a.m. Which is extreme, but the dishes on offer should make it worth the effort."

Reacher ended the call and set the phone down on the table. Knight remained standing. She said, "What's with the weird code?"

Reacher said, "We could talk freely before. I was just reporting a rumor I'd heard. But now we're further down the line. He's worried about increased security. If an agent's cover was blown they'll have to worry about a leak."

"Did he mean what I think he meant? The dead guy really was an agent?"

Reacher nodded.

"Wow. I wasn't expecting that. From what you told me, I thought Vidic was bullshitting, all day long."

"I've got to admit, I'm surprised, too."

"So the cavalry is coming."

"It is. And that means leaving Kane to the Feds. Are you OK with that?"

Knight shrugged. "If I get to see him taken away in cuffs, I'll be happy. But if they blow cold again and turn their backs on him I'm not going to stand still and let him get away."

"That's fair."

"What about you? The cavalry's not due till this evening. Vidic's coming at 2:00 p.m ."

"So I go with him. Taking care of the safe won't take long."

"You think he'll stick to the deal? I can see you shoving the safe. Manhandling it around and getting it where he wants it. You'll be tired and out of breath. And he'll have a choice. Give you a million dollars or put a bullet in your head. I'm betting he'd prefer the latter. And you get that he's essentially been profiling you, right? He thinks you're a drifter. Which means no friends. No family. No bills to go unpaid if you disappear. No mail to pile up. No one to raise the alarm if you don't call or email or show up somewhere. To him you're totally disposable. You're the perfect patsy."

"I get that. But if I'm not here when Vidic shows up he'll split. If he thinks he's getting the money there's a chance he'll give up the address for the others. Then I'll put him on ice. If he tries to double-cross me, I'll make him give up the address. Either way, we get what we need."

"I don't like it. You'll be too exposed."

Reacher shrugged. "Have you got a better idea?"

"No." Knight was silent for a moment, then broke eye contact. "Say you're successful with Vidic. What happens to the money from the safe?"

"This isn't about—"

Knight put one hand on Reacher's shoulder and pointed through the window with the other. "Look. Kane's guys are leaving. They're carrying their bags. They might not be coming back. Come on. Let's see where they go. We might not need Vidic and the safe."

Reacher shook his head. "Bad idea. A single car tail on roads like these? They'll make us inside of a mile."

"I won't get close enough to get made. I don't need to. They have two cars. I hid an AirTag in both of them. That's how I tracked them all the way here."

"What's an AirTag?"

"What kind of rock do you live under? It's a location device. Originally made for people to stick on keychains and in wallets and luggage in case they got lost. Pet owners attach them to dog collars in case their furry buddies stray. And wives slip them in husbands' pockets for the same reason."

"What's the range?"

"Pretty much worldwide."

"OK. We'll see where they go. But first let's take a look in Kane's guys' rooms."