61 Hours

Within five minutes all was as it had been five hours earlier.
    Peterson asked, ‘So what happened here?’
    ‘Nothing at all,’ Reacher said. ‘What happened there?’
    ‘A riot. Not that we saw much of anything. They shut it down very fast.’
    ‘Because it was phoney. It was a diversion.’
    Peterson nodded. ‘But their guy never came here.’
    ‘And the big question is, why the hell not?’
    ‘Because he saw you.’
    ‘But I didn’t see him. Which begs another big question. If he’s good enough to see me without me seeing him, why didn’t he just go for it?’
    ‘I have no idea.’
    ‘I saw a woman with a big white dog.’
    ‘When?’
    ‘A little after eleven.’
    ‘Mrs Lowell. She’s a neighbour. She walks her dog every night.’
    ‘You should have told me that. I might have shot her.’
    ‘I’m sorry.’ Peterson clamped his palms tight on his nose. It must have been hurting. His skin temperature had vaulted sixty degrees in sixty seconds. Then he ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Bad thing to say, I guess, but I kind of wish the guy had come tonight. I’m not sure we can take another month of this.’
    Reacher said, ‘I don’t think you’ll have to. I think they’re fresh out of diversions.’
    ‘They can start another riot any old time they want to.’
    ‘They can’t. That’s the point. Prison riots need a critical mass. About a third of the population would riot every day of the week, given the chance. Another third never would. It’s the middle third that counts. The swing votes. Like an election. And they’re spent now. Their passion has gone. It will take a year before they’re back in the game.’
    Peterson said nothing.
    Reacher said, ‘And your biker pal can’t organize an escape fast enough. So you’re in the clear now. You’re safe.’
    ‘You think?’
    ‘You might never hear that siren again.’
    Five to one in the morning.
    Twenty-seven hours to go.
    At a quarter past one the phone in the hallway rang. Janet Salter came out of the kitchen to answer it. She passed the receiver to Peterson. Peterson listened for a second and went to find Reacher in the parlour.
    ‘It’s the woman from the 110th MP,’ he said. ‘How does she know this number?’
    ‘She has a caller ID system,’ Reacher said. ‘With coordinates. She’s probably watching this house right now, on Google Earth.’
    ‘But it’s dark.’
    ‘Don’t ask me how it works.’ He stepped out to the hallway and sat down in the chair. Picked up the receiver. Asked, ‘You got my answers for me?’
    The voice said, ‘Not yet.’
    ‘So why are you calling so late? I could have been fast asleep.’
    ‘I just wanted to tell you I got my guy.’
    ‘Was I right?’
    ‘I’m not going to answer that question. I’m not going to give you the satisfaction.’
    ‘So I was right.’
    ‘Actually, not quite. He was in the third motel north of the bus depot.’
    ‘Because the first two were close together? He had to go on to the third, for distance?’
    ‘You’re good.’
    ‘I used to do this for a living.’
    ‘I’m duly impressed.’
    ‘How was he?’
    ‘You tell me.’
    Reacher said, ‘He was awake. He had a loaded firearm and shoes on. His bag was packed and his jacket was on the back of a chair. He struggled for less than ten seconds and then he gave it up.’
    ‘You’re very good.’
    ‘Not good enough to survive the general’s head.’
    ‘I still want to hear that story.’
    ‘Then get me my answers. A fair exchange is no robbery.’
    ‘We’re close. We can see the money coming out of Congress. But we can’t see it arriving at the Department of the Army. It’s dropping out of sight somewhere along the way. We’re narrowing it down. We’ll get there.’
    ‘When?’
    ‘Give me the rest of the night. Call me at eight o’clock in the morning.’
    ‘You’re good, too.’
    ‘I try.’
    Reacher said, ‘There’s a local rumour about a scandal. Word on the street is the place was never used because its purpose was too revolting.’
    ‘On the street?’
    ‘In an old lady’s parlour, anyway.’
    ‘OK. But old ladies get revolted by all kinds of things.’
    ‘I guess.’
    ‘Anything else?’
    ‘You can search with your Google thing, right?’
    ‘That’s what it’s for.’
    ‘Check a Florida cop called Kapler for me. He left the state two years ago. I want to know why.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘I like to know things. He moved from Florida to South Dakota. Who does