17 A Wanted Man

both close-ups of tyre marks in the mud. Apparently the same tyre, and the same mud. She went back and forth between them, once, twice, three times. She said, ‘OK, they’re identical. And they’re from the car that U-turned, correct? So what are they, left and right? Or front and rear?’
    ‘Neither,’ Reacher said.
    ‘So what are they?’
    ‘Only one is from the car that U-turned.’
    ‘What about the other one?’
    ‘That’s from your car.’

THIRTY-NINE
    SORENSON LOOKED AT the pictures again, first one, and then the other, back and forth, over and over. The same tyre, and the same mud. She said, ‘This doesn’t necessarily mean anything.’
    ‘I agree,’ Reacher said. ‘Not necessarily.’
    ‘I was never here before.’
    ‘I believe you.’
    ‘And the Bureau doesn’t have its own make of tyres. I’m sure we just buy them, like anyone else. Probably from Sears. I’m sure we look for something cheap and reliable. Something generic. Whatever’s on sale. Like everyone does. So these go on all the big sedans. There must be half a dozen different makes and models. Fleet vehicles, rentals, the big things old people drive. I bet there are a million tyres like this in the world.’
    ‘Probably more,’ Reacher said.
    ‘So what are we saying?’
    ‘We’re saying we know for sure what kind of tyres the bad guys have on their car. The same kind as yours. Which means their car is probably a big domestic sedan. It’s a start.’
    ‘That’s all?’
    ‘Anything else would be speculation.’
    ‘We’re allowed to speculate.’
    ‘Then I would say they are urban. Or at least suburban. Big sedans are rare in farm country. It’s all pick-up trucks and four wheel drives out here.’
    ‘How urban?’
    ‘From the kind of place that has taxi companies and car services. And offices and maybe an airport. The local market has to be right. I’m sure you couldn’t buy tyres like these out here, for instance. Why would anyone keep them in stock?’
    ‘So you’re not saying there’s Bureau involvement here?’
    ‘I’m sure there isn’t.’
    ‘But?’
    ‘Nothing.’
    ‘But?’
    ‘But I’m pretty much a black and white kind of a person, and I like things confirmed yes or no, beyond a reasonable doubt.’
    ‘Then no. It’s confirmed. Right now. Straight from the horse’s mouth. For absolute sure. Beyond any kind of doubt. It is completely inconceivable the Bureau was involved with this. That’s the worst kind of crazy thinking.’
    ‘OK,’ Reacher said. ‘Let’s go. Tell me if you want me to drive for a bit. I know the way.’
    Sorenson pulled a big wide U-turn of her own, and then she hit it hard and hurried north through the rain. They passed the motel doing about sixty. It looked different by day. The low bulkhead lights were off, and the siding looked paler.
    Reacher said, ‘I paid for two nights in there. And I spent about thirty seconds in the room.’
    Sorenson said, ‘Why did you pay?’
    ‘I was feeling guilty about the guy’s wall.’
    ‘Not your fault.’
    ‘That was my impression at the time.’
    ‘So you shouldn’t feel guilty. Not about him, anyway. I didn’t like him.’
    ‘Well, I’ve still got his key. It’s in my pocket. Maybe I’ll mail it back, and maybe I won’t.’
    Then they came to the first junction, and Sorenson braked late and made the left with all kinds of squealing and sliding on the slick surface. She came off the gas and got straightened out and hit it again.
    ‘Sorry,’ she said.
    Reacher said nothing. He was in no position to complain. They were still on the road. He would have been in a field.
    ‘The tyres are worn,’ she said. ‘I noticed on the way out here.’
    Reacher said nothing.
    She said, ‘Which means the bad guys’ tyres are worn too. If the pictures are identical, that is. Which is step two. We know what kind of tyres they have, and we know approximately how old they are. Maybe an older car. Maybe an older driver. Could be some old person around here, with one of those big old cars.’
    ‘I doubt it,’ Reacher said. ‘I don’t think old people really love to come out in the middle of the night to watch women burn to death. Because you realize that fire was started when they were all still there? They didn’t set a fuse. It wasn’t spontaneous combustion. They lit it and they all stood around and watched and waited until they were sure it was going well.’
    ‘OK,’ Sorenson said. ‘It wasn’t a local senior. It was