Page 60 of Bulletproof Jack: Hunting Lee Child's Jack Reacher

In fact, Westwood had claimed to have a witness he wanted Kim to meet.

Was this woman that witness?

And witness to what, exactly?

And the skinny man lying dead in Westwood’s suite back in Niagara Falls. He seemed to know more than he should have about Westwood. Maybe Westwood had told him about Kim, too.

The skinny dude knew Kim was in Niagara, since she’d chased him all over the hillside. He could have called a whole list of contacts between the time he lost her and the time she found him in Westwood’s suite. He’d had plenty of time.

The list of those who knew Kim’s general whereabouts was way too long.

Gaspar knew she was here. Cooper or Finlay might know by this time, too. They had made no attempt to contact her, but that meant nothing. They watched her constantly. Of course they could know.

And then there was Russell, of course. She hadn’t been with him every minute. He also had a job. He could have been reporting to his bosses. Where was he, anyway?

The methodical process calmed her. Her breathing evened out. Her stomach calmed a little. The situation seemed slightly less threatening now that she’d thought things through.

She smiled. So many possible contacts in the loop. No way could this woman kill Kim and get away with it.

Small comfort. But better than she’d felt just minutes ago.

Kim didn’t lower her weapon.

“Why were you expecting me?” Kim asked, to keep the conversation going. Give Russell a chance to get here.

Keep the woman talking and not reacting for a while longer, maybe.

“We could continue talking about this in the dark, Agent Otto. Or,” she said, pausing to make sure Kim was paying attention, “We could turn on the lights. Have a civilized conversation.”

“You already know I have a gun pointed directly at you,” Kim warned.

“Right back atcha, girlfriend.” The woman gave her dry chuckle again.

Which pissed Kim off. Nothing about the situation was the least bit amusing.

But this woman sounded sure of herself. As if she were prepared to do whatever was necessary. Which she probably was.

“Killing each other will solve nothing,” Kim replied.

“Just the opposite, actually.” The woman said and paused, waiting for Kim’s consent or something.

Kim said nothing.

“Time is of the essence here, as you lawyers say. I know things that you want to know.” Her patience seemed to be wearing thin. “If I were going to shoot you, don’t you think I’d have done it already?”

Kim gave her more silence for a couple of seconds, but once again, there was really only one choice here.

“Okay. Turn the lights on. We’ll see what you’ve got,” Kim said, raising her left hand to deflect glare and thwart temporary light blindness.

“I’ve got a lamp over here. We’ll try that first. Are you ready?” she asked, as if she cared. Maybe she did.

“Yeah,” Kim replied, keeping the pistol pointed toward the voice. Just in case.

“Here it comes,” she said.

Kim closed her eyes just before she heard the flip of the switch. A wide cone of dim yellow light cast out from the far corner.

Kim blinked once and lowered her hand from her eyes and returned to her two-handed grip. Her eyes hadn’t fully adjusted. That would take about thirty minutes. But she could see well enough.

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