Page 30 of In Too Deep

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 coffeeand 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 4:00a.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 boundto 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 letyou know because if they recognize you and start talking, you could be detained for quite a while.”

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