“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
44
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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, Readier. 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 Readier 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 the end of the table and sat down with Reacher. He squeezed her hand under the cover of the shiny mahogany slab.
The two local boys took up station against the walls. Reacher stared forward through the glare. The same lineup was ranged against him. Poulton, Lamarr, Blake, Deerfield, and then Cozo, sitting isolated between two empty chairs. Now there was a squat black audio recorder on the table. Deerfield leaned forward and pressed a red button. He announced the date and the time and the place. He identified the nine occupants of the room. He placed his hands in front of him.
“This is Alan Deerfield speaking to the suspect Jack Reacher,” he said. “You are now under arrest on the following two counts.”
He paused.
“One, for aggravated assault and robbery,” he said. “Against two persons yet to be definitively identified.”
James Cozo leaned forward. “Two, for aiding and abetting a criminal organization engaged in the practice of extortion.”
Deerfield smiled. “You are not obliged to say anything. If you do say anything, it will be recorded and may be used as evidence against you in a court of law. You aie entitled to be represented by an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you by the state of New York.”
He leaned forward to the recording machine and pressed the stop button. “So did I get it right? Seeing as how you’re the big expert on Miranda?”
fuMUft*