Page 67 of In Too Deep

Vidic said, “All that is true. But he’s a useful oaf. We would be heading to jail without him.”

“Fair point. But telling him about the report? Cutting him in? I’d rather set the money on fire than give any of it to him.”

“Don’t worry, he won’t see a cent. We’re going to use him one more time. Then we’ll dispose of him.”

“How?”

“I have a plan. Similar to what we were going to do with Reacher.”

“OK. And what are we going to use him for?”

“We have a problem. Those maniacs who snatched me from theRussians’ house? They grabbed a woman at the same time because they thought she was you. They already had Bowery. He was really messed up. He also thought this woman was you. He started blabbing about the report. How it’s worth a fortune so he promised it to the guys in return for his life.”

“So this woman knows about it?”

“She does.”

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know for sure, but she’s working with Reacher. Which means very soon, the FBI will find out about the report, too.”

Paris turned and started toward the van.

Vidic said, “Stop. There’s no point. Bowery didn’t make it. He slipped away half an hour ago.”

“On his own? Or did you help him?”

Vidic didn’t answer.

Paris said, “You knew he was dead and you didn’t say anything?”

“We were locked in the back of a van. If you’d known there was a corpse in there with us, what would you have done?”

Paris was silent for a moment. “I can’t believe this is happening. We’re so close. We can’t fail now.”

“We won’t. I have a plan. A framework, anyway. I need to think. The time. The route. The location. They all have to dovetail perfectly. There’s no room for error. And I need the answers quickly. This has to be done tomorrow.”

—

Reacher and Knightwaited for the guys to reappear. They watched them scuttle to the parking lot and jump into a beat-up old Chevy Camaro. Its motor was reluctant to start. It eventually caught, rough and raw, but it kept going long enough to get them out of sight.

Knight nodded toward the office. She said, “I’m going to get thatroom. It’s kind of late. Do you want to stay? Try for a ride in the morning?”

Reacher said, “Sure.”

“Good. I’ll take care of it. But we’re getting two rooms, OK?”

Reacher nodded. He watched her disappear through the door, then something else caught his eye. A triangle of light suddenly appeared in room2’s window. A corner of the drape had been pulled back. It fell back into place and the window went dark again. Reacher figured a motel guest must have been disturbed by the noise. Not a problem in itself. But there was always the risk a nervous person might call the police.

Reacher stepped across to the door and knocked.

There was no response.

He knocked again and said, “Hey. I know you’re in there. I just want to talk. No need to open the door all the way. Use the chain. Open it just a crack.”

There was still no response.

Reacher knocked again. “Come on. I can do this all night. Can you?”

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