Page 95 of In Too Deep

Reacher said, “Watch the door,” then went to search the bodies. When he was done, Knight came to join him.

She said, “Anything?”

Reacher nodded toward one of the storage cages. “That one’s been used recently. It’s the only one that’s not locked. There’s an empty pallet. A few shreds of packing straw.”

“Someone cleaned it out.”

“I can’t find Vidic’s phone. Everything else is normal. Except for that.” He pointed at the hem of Paris’s shirt.

“They didn’t shoot each other. Not with matching head wounds like that.”

“No.”

“Kane.”

“Most likely.”

“Why is Paris’s shirt unbuttoned? Do you think he molested her? Maybe that’s how it got torn.”

“Doesn’t look like the kind of tear you get in a sexual assault.Buttons torn off? Yes. Sleeves, too. But the stitching on a hem? It’s more likely she had hidden something there. Something small. A handcuff key, maybe.”

“You think he cuffed her? There are no marks on her wrists.”

“Something else, then. Maybe the lab techs will pick up some kind of residual.”

Knight looked toward the door. “What’s taking the agents so long? Do you think they’re calling for backup?”

“Maybe. I guess we should go and make contact. Make sure they know we’re friendlies.”

—

Reacher closed therear door and stepped away from the landscaping van. He borrowed Knight’s phone and called Devine. He gave her the news. Two agents down. Two suspects down. Or three and one, given what they knew about Vidic. Plus one suspect unaccounted for and an unknown quantity of gold missing. Not the kind of news she was hoping for. Not with the PR issues she was dealing with. That was for damn sure.

Reacher hung up and handed the phone back to Knight.

She said, “You didn’t tell Devine you’d recovered the memory stick. Want to call her back?”

Reacher said, “No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. Something in my gut told me not to. Maybe I will later. We’ll see.”

“If you say so. What do you want to do now? It’ll be better if we’re not here when the circus arrives.”

What Reacher really wanted to do was head to the nearest Greyhound station or find a good spot to hitch a ride. But a nagging doubt stopped him. It had to do with the scene inside the hangar. He wasmissing something. He was sure of it. He just couldn’t put his finger on exactly what. He felt like he was looking at a print from an instant camera before it had time to develop all the way. The picture was blurry. The key objects were out of focus. That would change. He knew it. But it would take time, and it couldn’t be rushed.

Reacher said, “How about we head to that hotel you found.”

“The Courtyard? That works for me.” Knight opened her phone again and pulled up the Uber app.

—

The hotel wasa big sprawling place and the room Reacher and Knight were given was all the way at the end of a corridor on the second floor. It turned out to be more like a mini suite. Aside from the bedroom and bathroom there was a kind of living room with a couch and a TV and a fridge and a microwave.

Reacher took a seat on the couch. The air was cranked all the way up. That was a welcome relief from the damp heat outside. Knight poked around the room and then began to pace up and down, unable to stay still.

Reacher said, “You OK?”

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