Page 80 of In Too Deep

Knight blushed.

“Well, I hate goodbyes.” Devine turned to head to the conference room.

Reacher said, “Wait. I have a question.”

Devine turned back and did her best not to frown.

Reacher said, “The document on the memory stick, that we know nothing about. Was a password needed to open it?”

Devine thought for a moment. “No. The tech guy I spoke to was surprised about that. He put it down to the document being copy-protected. Is that important?”

“I don’t know. It’s certainly sloppy. What if the memory stick got lost? If someone found it, plugged it into their computer, and gotserved up the secret report right there on their screen? Whether it could be copied would be beside the point.”

“Vidic must have been confident he wouldn’t lose it. And he didn’t care what happened after he got paid for it.”

“That’s another strange aspect. Vidic is new to this, I guess, but he was missing a step in the process. A safeguard. I’ve been involved in dozens of cases where things were getting sold that shouldn’t have been. Guns. Grenades. Documents. Plans. IDs. Booze. And whoever is in the driver’s seat invariably wants the final say.”

“In what way?”

“Imagine you’re looking to trade item A for payment B. You make the exchange, but you leave A inoperable. You don’t provide the key to work it until you’re sure B is legit. It’s weird that Vidic wouldn’t work that way. What if the backpack was empty? What if the cash was counterfeit, or marked in some way? He’d have no recourse.”

Knight said, “They already got stiffed once, by the property guys. Maybe he’s a slow learner. Not all criminals are very bright.”

Devine said, “You’re right. But it is weird. I’ll make sure to ask Vidic about it when we catch up with him.”

Reacher said, “One other thing. At the old mine. The cave, where Vidic and Paris got released. Was a second van there, full of contraband?”

“No.”

“Inside the cave, was there a safe?”

“Yes.”

“Was it intact?”

“No. It had been broken into. It had been pulled away from the wall and a panel on the back had been cut through. Apparently the equipment that was used had been stored in a toolbox mounted on a truck that was found there. A white one, full of bullet holes. I have no idea what its story is.”

“Was the safe empty?”

“Not completely. Some jewelry, I think, and a few other trinkets. They didn’t sound valuable. Some papers as well.”

“Any cash?”

“Not a penny.”

Chapter31

Reacher and Knight were silentuntil they were outside the building, on the sidewalk. Pedestrians hustled by. The streets were busy with traffic and a helicopter was coming in to land on a narrow strip next to the river.

Knight said, “I’m going to Chicago. I want to be at Midway when they catch Kane. Will you come with me?”

Her phone rang before Reacher could respond. She checked the screen. It was Wallwork. She held the phone out and said, “You really ought to get one of these. I’m not your damn assistant.”

Wallwork didn’t have time for any pleasantries that morning. His voice was a low whisper. He said, “Albatross’s handler was at the motel. That’s it. Got to go. Don’t call me back. Ever.”

Reacher said, “Thanks for the intel. Now, one more thing.”

“No. Never. We’re done. No more things.”

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