Running Blind (The Visitor)

head. “No, it came up with somebody like you.”
    “Whatever, I should just walk out of here.”
    “You can’t do that. You’re in big trouble. Whatever else, they saw you beat on those guys, Reacher. FBI agents, on duty , for Christ’s sake.”
    “Those guys deserved it.”
    “Why?”
    “Because they were picking on somebody who didn’t need picking on.”
    “See? Now you’re making their case for them. A vigilante, with his own code.”
    He shrugged and looked away.
    “I’m not the right person for this,” she said again. “I don’t do criminal law. You need a better lawyer.”
    “I don’t need any lawyer,” he said.
    “Yes, Reacher, you need a lawyer. That’s for damn sure. This is for real. This is the FBI , for God’s sake.”
    He was silent for a long moment.
    “You have to take this seriously,” she said.
    “I can’t,” he said. “It’s bullshit. I didn’t kill any women.”
    “But you made yourself fit the profile. And now proving them wrong is going to be tough. Proving a negative always is. So you need a proper lawyer.”
    “They said I’m damaging your career. They said I’m not an ideal corporate husband.”
    “Well, that’s bullshit too. And even if it was true, I wouldn’t care. I’m not saying get a different lawyer for my sake. I’m saying it for yours.”
    “I don’t want any lawyer.”
    “So why did you call me?”
    He smiled. “I thought you might cheer me up.”
    She stepped into his arms and stretched up and kissed him, hard.
    “I love you, Reacher,” she said. “I really do, you know that, right? But you need a better lawyer. I don’t even understand what this is about .”
    There was a long silence. Just ventilation flutter above their heads, the faint noise of air against metal, the quiet sound of time passing. He listened to it.
    “They gave me a copy of the surveillance report,” she said.
    He nodded. “I thought they would.”
    “Why?”
    “Because it eliminates me from the investigation,” he said.
    “How?”
    “Because this is not about two women,” he said.
    “It isn’t?”
    “No, it’s about three women. Has to be.”
    “Why?”
    “Because whoever’s killing them, he’s working to a timetable. You see that? He’s on a three-week cycle. Seven weeks ago, four weeks ago, so the next one has already happened, this past week. They put me under surveillance to eliminate me from the investigation.”
    “So why did they haul you in? If you’re eliminated?”
    “I don’t know,” he said.
    “Maybe the timetable fell apart. Maybe he stopped at two.”
    “Nobody stops at two. You do more than one, you do more than two.”
    “Maybe he fell ill and took a break. Could be months before the next one.”
    He was silent.
    “Maybe he was arrested for something else,” she said. “That happens, time to time. Something unconnected, you know? He could be in jail ten years. They’ll never know it was him. You need a good lawyer, Reacher. Somebody better than me. This isn’t going to be easy.”
    "You were supposed to cheer me up, you know that?”
    “No, I was supposed to give you advice.”
    He stared at her, suddenly uncertain.
    “There’s the other thing too,” she said. “The two guys. You’re in trouble for that, whatever.”
    “They should thank me for that.”
    “Doesn’t work that way,” she said.
    He was silent.
    “This is not the Army, Reacher,” she said. “You can’t just drag a couple of guys behind the motor pool and beat some sense into them anymore. This is New York. This is civilian stuff now. They’re looking at you for something bad and you can’t just pretend they’re not.”
    “I didn’t do anything.”
    “Wrong, Reacher. You put two guys in the hospital. They watched you do it . Bad guys, for sure, but there are rules here. You broke them.”
    Then there were footsteps in the corridor outside, loud and heavy. Maybe three men, hurrying. The door opened. Deerfield stepped into the room. The two local boys crowded his shoulder. Deerfield ignored Reacher and spoke directly to Jodie.
    “Your client conference is over, Ms. Jacob,” he said.
    Deerfield led the way back to the room with the long table. The two local agents sandwiched Reacher between them and followed him. Jodie trailed the four of them through the door. She blinked in the glare of the lights. A second chair had been placed over on the far side. Deerfield stood and pointed at it, silently. Jodie glanced at him and moved around