Page 27 of Bulletproof Jack: Hunting Lee Child's Jack Reacher

Passport. Which meant he’d left the country.

He’d said he wasn’t far from Detroit. Which had to mean Canada. Perhaps Montreal. Or Toronto.

Why had he mentioned theLA Times? Was this man recently featured in the media?

“Okay. I’ll let you know as soon as I make arrangements,” she replied.

“That’ll give me time to finish up,” he said. “Let me talk to Lucas.”

Kim’s breath caught. Now was not the time to tell him Lucas was dead. If he knew, he might disappear again. She might never find him a second time.

She said the first thing that popped into her head. “He’s in the shower.”

“Ask Lucas to call me when he’s done. See you soon,” he said and disconnected.

Kim punched the disconnect button and glanced at Russell. Half a moment later, a text message from Gaspar pinged.

“We’ve located the guy.” She read the text aloud. “Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Confirmed.”

“Sounds like Reacher’s involved now, too,” Russell replied. “Good to know.”

“Yeah,” Kim said.

Reacher said you were thorough. Lucas knows where to find me. The witness is here. Have Lucas call me. See you soon.

So many unknowns in those short sentences. Lucas, whoever he was, had been sent to talk to her last night, not kill her.

Sent by Reacher. Why?

The attempt to find her had caused someone to kill Lucas. Had he known he was putting his life on the line?

What was going on here?

“Reacher’s involved. Now we know. You need to get Cooper on the line?” Russell asked.

She shook her head slowly. “Not yet.”

“Okay, but we have to get there somehow.” Russell nodded. “I can call Finlay for a jet. It’ll take a while to organize. And I’ll have to explain some things. That okay with you?”

“Not yet.” Keeping Finlay in the loop wasn’t necessary now. If she accepted help like that from him, she’d be obligated to explain things she didn’t want to share. Another text pinged from Gaspar.

She read the text aloud for Russell’s benefit. “The caller’s name is Ashley Westwood. Senior technology reporter.LA Times. Checked into the Clark Hotel in Niagara Falls last night.”

“Still no clue who Lucas is, though?” Russell asked.

“I thought it might spook him if I started asking him questions Lucas could easily answer if he weren’t dead.” Kim shrugged. “We’ll break the news once we find Westwood. Then he can tell us more about Lucas. And whatever the hell is going on here.”

“What’s the connection to Reacher?” Russell asked.

Kim considered a few possible angles before she shrugged again. “I don’t know. But I’d like to find out before Cooper does.”

She called Gaspar.

When he picked up, he said, “Way ahead of you, Suzie Wong. Nothing in Reacher’s army records ties him to Westwood. Westwood never served in any branch of the military.”

“So whatever the connection between them, it’s more recent and probably not related to Reacher’s military service,” Kim said slowly.

“Fastest thing to do is to ask Westwood. Get a few more details. Maybe I can find a link to Reacher along with a way to locate him now,” Gaspar replied. “But I need a place to start unraveling the bird’s nest.”

---