“Lucky you.”
She paused.
“And we’re going to be a lot richer soon,” she said. “Unfortunately. He’s real sick. He’s been fighting cancer for two years. Tough old guy, but now he’s going to die. So there’s a big inheritance coming our way.”
“I’m sorry he’s sick,” Reacher said.
She nodded. “Yes, so am I. It’s sad.”
There was silence. Just the hum of the miles passing under the wheels.
“Did you warn your sister?” Reacher asked.
“My stepsister.”
He glanced at her. “Why do you always emphasize she’s your stepsister?”
She shrugged at the wheel. “Because Blake will pull me off if he thinks I’m too involved. And I don’t want that to happen.”
“You don’t?”
“Of course I don’t. Somebody close to you is in trouble, you want to take care of it yourself, right?”
Reacher looked away.
“You better believe it,” he said.
She was quiet for a beat.
“And the family thing is very awkward for me,” she said. “All those mistakes came home to haunt me. When my mother died, they could have cut me off, but they just didn’t. They still both treat me exactly right, all the way, very loving, very generous, very fair and equal, and the more they do, the more I feel really guilty for calling myself a Cinderella at the beginning.”
Reacher said nothing.
“You think I’m being irrational again,” she said.
He said nothing. She drove on, eyes fixed on the windshield.
“Cinderella,” she said. “Although you’d probably call me the ugly sister.”
He made no reply to that. Just watched the road.
“Whatever, did you warn her?” he asked again.
She glanced sideways at him and he saw her haul herself back to the present.
“Yes, of course I warned her,” she said. “Soon as Cooke made the pattern clear, I’ve called her over and over again. She should be safe enough. She spends
ifu/t/U/M (fiiin
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