Page 52 of In Too Deep

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Reacher hadn’t expectedto find much in the cave but he couldn’t leave without confirming what was there. The years had taught him to never take shortcuts. To turn over every rock. So he checked out the safe. Inspected the ratty old furniture. Poked through the boxes of weird metals that had been left behind. Sifted through the trash. Checked the floor and the walls for hidden compartments. Searched for concealed exits. And in the end Paris’s claims had been basically borne out. The place had been stripped. Nothing of value was left. Itwas essentially abandoned. But Reacher didn’t feel like he’d wasted his time. Two things had become clear. Fletcher and his guys were smart operators, to have found and used a place like that. And the effort it took to keep them off the street would definitely be worthwhile.

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Reacher decided notto sit behind Paris while she drove. She seemed sold on the need to get to Vidic as quickly as possible. He collected Vidic’s phone from Kane’s truck and climbed into the Land Rover’s passenger seat. Paris fired up the engine and stamped on the gas. The big SUV pitched and wallowed around the bends between the spoil piles. Reacher thought it felt more like a boat than a car. Then it rattled over the blacktop and bounced and swayed through the potholes until they reached the wider sections of road. Progress was calmer after that. Not exactly poised, but there was less danger of being shaken to death.

Paris found the Russians’ house and pulled straight through the open gate. She stopped alongside Knight’s Toyota. Reacher was happy to see it. Paris switched off the engine and jumped out. She rushed to the keypad and entered the code. She pulled open the front door and scampered inside. Reacher followed. He caught the door before it swung all the way closed. Stepped into the hallway and called to Knight to let her know they’d arrived. Then he figured he’d catch up with Paris, presumably in the bedroom Vidic was in, and offer her a choice. Conscious or unconscious. Because she was getting tied up, either way.

Reacher made it to the bottom of the stairs, then stopped. Something was bothering him. Knight hadn’t answered. She hadn’t come out to greet him or check who had arrived. A picture formed in his head. He saw her standing over Kane’s body. His corpse. A knife inher hand, or a gun. Too immersed in the situation to react. He hurried to the kitchen. Knocked on the door in case she was in some kind of rapture. Pushed it open. Went inside. And saw only Kane. Tied up, on the floor, just as he’d left him. He checked for a pulse, to be sure. There was no doubt. Kane was still alive, and Knight wasn’t anywhere near him.

Reacher stepped back into the hallway at the same time Paris came running down the stairs. He moved to block her path to the front door but she didn’t seem to notice. She dodged into the kitchen. Came back out. Made for the dining room. The living room. Then she spotted Reacher and marched right up to him. She said, “What kind of bullshit stunt is this? Is Ivan in on it? It was his idea, right? He thought it would be funny to scare the daylights out of me. Well, it’s not funny. Not one little bit. Where is he? Tell me. Right now. I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.”

Reacher held up his hands. He said, “Slow down. What stunt? Vidic is upstairs. First bedroom on the right. It wasn’t exactly an accident, but he did get knocked out. You get the gist.”

“He’s not there. That room’s empty. I found Fletcher. I found Kane. No one else.”

Reacher paused. “You didn’t come across a woman? Same height as you? Same kind of age? Brown hair, tied back?”

“No. Where’s Ivan?”

Reacher said, “Go upstairs. Now. I need to see that room.”

Chapter23

Pieces of wood were stillscattered around from the crates that had been broken in the scuffle. The jade Buddha was still sitting there, half on the floor. But Vidic was gone. The patch of floor where Reacher had left him was bare. There was no doubt about that. Reacher stayed still for a minute. He cast his eyes over every square inch of ground. Over the intact crates. Over the wrecked ones. Then he turned to Paris.

Paris was smiling. More than that. She was grinning. She looked triumphant. She said, “I bet you feel pretty stupid now.”

Reacher said, “Stupid, no. Worried, yes.”

“Worried because you’re going to get fired? Because you screwed up. Big-time. You failed. Admit it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Fletcher was right. Gibson wasn’t the agent. You are. You wormed your way in. Got Ivan to trust you. Showed up at the raid. Thought you’d caught everyone. But I wasn’t here. You had to come and find me. And while you were gone, Ivan escaped. You’ll nevercatch him again. Your career is toast. There’s only one way out of this that I can see. Give me one of those planks. I’ll knock you out. You can say Ivan did it. You’ll still look pretty incompetent, obviously. But if you’re injured, they may take pity on you. Send you to Alaska or make you spend the rest of your career doing cavity searches on drug mules. Face it. You’re not getting out of this without some kind of stink on you.”

Reacher looked at her and shook his head. He said, “Wow. You’re actually crazy.”

“Ivan escaped. He’s smarter than you. And you just can’t admit it. OK, that’s your funeral.” Paris turned and made for the door.

Reacher said, “I’m not an agent. Vidic didn’t escape. And if you don’t help me, you’ll never see him again.”

Paris stopped, turned back, and said, “He didn’t escape?” She made a show of looking around the room. “Where is he, then?”

“That’s what I’m worried about. You see any plasticuffs anywhere? The remains of any?”

Paris glanced at the floor. “No. So?”

“He couldn’t escape without removing the cuffs. You think he hopped out of here? So where are they? No one cuts their cuffs off and then throws them in the trash. They drop them and run. That’s Human Nature 101.”

“So, what, then? He got rescued?”

Reacher shook his head. “Think again.”

“That has to be it. Someone rescued him.”

“Who?”

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