Page 65 of The Secret

Stamoran’s car slammed to a halt and rocked on its springs. Reacher stepped forward and approached its left-hand rear door. For a moment he could see nothing because of the heavy tint on the glass, then the window purred down about four inches. Stamoranglared through the gap and said, “This had better be a dire national emergency, Captain.”

Reacher said, “I believe it is, sir. On the grounds that it pertains to the task force that you yourself established. I have a document that calls for your urgent review.”

Stamoran wasn’t expecting that. He didn’t like surprises. He was inclined to send the MP away with a note of reprimand to pass on to his CO. But if he was there on task force business, that could mean the killers had been identified. Or that some indication had been found that Pritchard had given up what he knew. Either way, it was ridiculously overzealous for the captain to show up in person. And either way, it wouldn’t hurt to see what he had brought.

Stamoran opened his door. He said, “Whatever you’ve got, pass it here.”

Reacher took a sheet of paper from his jacket pocket, unfolded it, and handed it over. It bore a single line of text. One call record. The one fromJohn Smithto Stamoran’s private line. The one that preceded Neilsen’s murder. Reacher kept his face completely dispassionate. Stamoran didn’t betray even a flicker of recognition.

—

Roberta shifted intoreverse and began to back out from between the blank brick buildings. She made it halfway then put her foot on the brake. She turned to look at Veronica. She could see that the penny had dropped for her, too. Veronica pulled her gun. Roberta shifted into Drive and nosed forward again, off the street.

Roberta swiveled around and said, “This eighth guy?”

Kasluga said, “What? Don’t shoot the messenger. I was just being realistic. I don’t want you to be disappointed after everything you’vebeen through. Twenty-three years is a long time. It might not be possible to find the guy you’re looking for by now.”

“Why did you sayeighth,specifically?”

“Because I can count?”

“For the extra guy to be the eighth, there would have to be seven on the regular team.”

“Obviously.”

“There were seven. Only we didn’t tell you that.”

“Yes you did.”

“We didn’t.”

“I thought you did. But anyway, you didn’t need to. I remember the team you’re talking about. I knew there were seven people on it.”

“Bullshit. You said you didn’t know who Owen Buck was. He was on that team.”

“I don’t remember all the names. Sure. But I know there were seven guys.”

“You knew there were eight guys. You know who the eighth guy is. You better tell us.”

“I do not know. How could I? You’re defying your own logic. You said only one person on the team knew who the eighth guy was. I wasn’t on the team. Ergo I don’t know.”

“Veronica?”

Veronica shook her head. “All these frantic denials don’t pass the smell test. You hit the nail on the head. She knew there were eight. She knows who the eighth is.”

Kasluga said, “How many times do I have to say it? I do not.”

Veronica said, “There’s another way of looking at this. If she really doesn’t know who the eighth guy is, then she’s no use to us. No oneknows she’s with us. No one saw us leave together. She’s trash. We should throw her in the ocean.”

“You can’t make knowledge magically appear by threatening me, you know.”

“Or here’s another idea. She’s a big-shot scientist, right? Scientists like experiments. So we could do some experiments on her. See what impact that has on her knowledge.”

“Bluster all you want but I’m not going to bite. Look, I get that you’re hurting. Losing your father and thinking he’d killed himself and hearing all the smack the knuckleheads were talking about him—that must have taken a toll. Pushed you to do crazy things. But you haven’t crossed a line yet. So let’s say no more about this eighth guy nonsense, and my promise to help you find the name you need still stands. What do you say? Deal?”

—

Charles Stamoran handedthe piece of paper back to Reacher. He said, “When I hear about a document to review, I’m expecting a hundred pages, minimum. Often two hundred. Always a bunch of jargon and buzzwords and empty verbiage that sets my teeth on edge. So in a way I applaud your brevity. But here’s some free advice. Next time you write a report, you’re going to need to use some words. Include an argument of some kind. A conclusion. A call to action. This—what is it? A prank? A joke? A little act of rebellion against your recent demotion?” Stamoran gestured toward Reacher’s car. “Now get that piece of junk out of my way before I have my driver crush it. Then return to your unit. You’re off the task force. You may well be saying goodbye to your silver bars as well as your oak leaves. I’ll be having a full and frank discussion with your CO in the very near future.”

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