Chapter 4

The guy with the angular head turned and ducked back out through the door, then reappeared a moment later when he realized that Reacher wasn't following. He threw up his arms in an exaggerated shrug and said, "Why aren't you moving? Don't you get it? We need to leave."

Reacher stayed where he was. He tucked the gun in his waistband, took his things back from the guy, then said, "What is this place?"

"That's your question? Right now? Are you crazy? You should be asking, What's the quickest way out of here? And, Please, Ivan, can you save my ass again? Can you give me a ride to someplace where I won't get thrown in jail?"

"Ivan?"

"Ivan Vidic. My name. Now come on. Move it."

"I'm not going anywhere. Nor are you."

"How hard did you hit your head? The police are coming."

"Let them come. I've done nothing wrong."

"How do you know? You can't remember anything. And have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? Do you think the police will look at you and assume you're some kind of choirboy?"

Reacher said nothing.

Vidic closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "OK. I get it. You wake up in a strange place. You don't know how you got here. You want answers. I can give them to you but this is—"

"I know how I got here," Reacher said. "Someone brought me. Darren Fletcher. I doubt he was working alone. So I want to know who else is involved. I want to know what is going on here."

"How do you know about Fletcher?"

"We met."

"You did? When? Where?"

"Just now. In there." Reacher gestured toward the door he had emerged from.

"He let you out of the cuffs?" Vidic strode across to the door and peered into the room on the other side. "Why would he—" Vidic spotted Fletcher's inert body lying slumped on the floor. He turned and backed away. "Wait. Did you kill him? Is he dead?"

Reacher shrugged. "He was breathing when I left him."

"OK. That's good. I guess. Did you guys talk at all? Before you beat on him?"

"No. That's why I'm asking you. Who else is involved? I want names. I want locations."

Vidic took a deep breath. "Look, now I really get it. You're pissed. You want payback. More payback, I guess, now that I've seen what you did to Fletcher. I respect that. But let me ask you something. How much does your lawyer get paid?"

"I don't have a lawyer."

"That's what I figured. But Fletcher? And his buddies? They do have lawyers. Ones who get paid five hundred an hour. Maybe more. Which means that if you're still here when the police show up and you all get thrown in the cells, Fletcher and the others will be on the street again before the public defender has even found out he has a new client. Then they'll disappear. You'll never catch up with them. If you stay here it'll be like you're choosing to let them get away. But if you come with me I'll help you. I'll tell you everything. The only thing I need you to do is come with me. Now."

Reacher figured Vidic had a point. He'd gotten tangled up with the police in the past. More than once. Nothing had ever stuck, but getting cut loose always took time. More than it should. And wasting time was not going to help him get what he wanted. So he said, "Fine. Just do me one favor."

"What?"

"Drop the Good Samaritan act."

"I don't follow."

"You're not trying to help me. You're trying to save your own ass."

—

Reacher followed Vidic into a kind of entrance hall. It was a large space. Octagonal, with a tiled floor; leaded windows either side of a heavy, studded oak front door; a crystal chandelier; wood panels on the walls; a bunch of oil paintings of outdoor scenes; and a staircase that divided three-quarters of the way up and branched off in two separate directions. Reacher expected Vidic to make for the obvious exit but when they reached the foot of the stairs he peeled away and headed for a smaller, plain door on the far side. He was moving fast and he placed his feet carefully to avoid making a noise. Reacher was slower and less discreet.

"Hey!" Vidic spun around. His voice was a low hiss. "Quiet!"

Reacher said, "Why?"

"So no one will hear us." Vidic spoke slowly and stressed each word, like he was dealing with a child.

"No one, like who?"

"Well, for one, if Fletcher's here, you can bet Kane won't be far away."

"Who's Kane?"

"Fletcher's buddy. His right-hand man. Acts like his bodyguard. A psychotic Neanderthal scumbag, essentially. Not someone you want to cross paths with."

"Sounds like exactly who I want to cross paths with." Reacher raised his voice. "Kane? Can you hear me? Get your ass down here."

Vidic stretched up and tried to put his hand over Reacher's mouth. "What the hell are you doing?"

Reacher pushed Vidic away. "Saving time." He raised his voice another notch. "Kane? This guy says you're a scumbag. Is that true? I kind of think it is."

Vidic sank down until he was sitting on the third step and covered his head with his hands. "Will you stop? You're going to get us both killed."

"Kane!"

There was still no reaction. No angry voice. No heavy steps approaching from some other part of the building.

Reacher turned to Vidic and said, "Seems like you're wrong. This Kane guy isn't here. So where else could he be?"

Vidic straightened up. "Why do you care? This isn't your mess to clean up. I'm giving you a way out. Why won't you take it?"

"Because I have a rule."

"A rule? What are you talking about?"

"People leave me alone, I leave them alone."

"And if they don't?"

"I don't."

"You know that bringing you here, this whole thing, it was Fletcher's idea, right? I didn't know what he was going to do. I was just trying to save your life. I thought that wreck you were trapped in was going up in flames."

"Kane. Where is he? And everyone else who's tied up in this."

"You're never letting this go, are you?"

"Now you get it."

"OK. Give me a moment. I need to think." Vidic's focus shifted to some distant, imaginary horizon and his eyes darted from side to side for a few seconds like a chess player planning his next moves. Then his gaze snapped back to Reacher's face and he said, "Come with me. I have an idea."