Child, Lee – Without Fail

thirteenth.

‘How sure are you?’ Stuyvesant asked.

Nothing on the twelfth sheet.

‘I’m sure,’ Reacher said. ¢I’hat was the guy, and the guy was a

cop. He had a badge and he looked like a cop. He looked as

much like a cop as Bannon.’

Nothing on the eleventh sheet. Or the tenth.

‘I don’t look like a cop,’ Bannon said.

Nothing on the ninth sheet.

‘You look exactly like a cop,’ Reacher said. ‘You’ve got a cop

coat, cop pants, cop shoes. You’ve got a cop face.’

Nothing on the eighth sheet.

‘He acted like a cop,’ Reacher said.

Nothing on the seventh sheet.

‘He smelled like a cop,’ Reacher said.

Nothing on the sixth sheet. Nothing on the fifth sheet.

‘What did he say to you?’ Stuyvesant asked.

Nothing on the fourth sheet.

‘He asked me if the church was secure,’ Reacher said. ‘I

294

asked him what was going on. He said some kind of big

commotion. Then he yelled at me for leaving the church door

open. Just like a cop would talk.’

Nothing on the third sheet. Or the second. He picked up the

first sheet and knew instantly that the guy wasn’t on it. He

dropped the paper and shook his head.

‘OK, now for the bad news,’ Bannon said. ‘Bismarck PD had

nobody there in plain clothes. Nobody at all. It was considered a

ceremonial occasion. They were all in full uniform. All forty-two

of them. Especially the brass. The captain and the lieutenant

were in full dress uniform. White gloves and all.’

i’he guy was a Bismarck cop,’ Reacher said.

‘No,’ Bannon said. ‘he guy was not a Bismarck cop. At best

he was a guy impersonating a Bismarck cop.’

Reacher said nothing.

‘But he was obviously making a pretty good stab at it,’

Bannon said. ‘He convinced you, for instance. Clearly he had

the look, and the mannerisms.’

Nobody spoke.

‘So nothing’s changed, I’m afraid,’ Bannon said. ‘We’re still

looking at recent Secret Service ex-employees. Because who

better to impersonate a provincial cop than some other law

enforcement veteran who just worked his whole career alongside

provincial cops at events exactly like that one?’

295

FIFTEEN

T

HE STAFFER FROM THE OFFICE OF PROTECTION RESEARCH WAS waiting when Reacher and Neagley and Stuyvesant got

back to the Treasury Building. He was standing in the

reception area wearing a knitted sweater and blue pants, like he

had run straight in from the family dinner table. He was about

Reacher’s age and looked like a university professor except for

his eyes. They were wise and wary, like he had seen a few

things, and heard about plenty more. His name was Swain.

Stuyvesant introduced him all round and disappeared. Swain

led Reacher and Neagley through corridors they hadn’t used

before to an area that clearly doubled as a library and a lecture

room. It had a dozen chairs set facing a podium and was lined

on three walls with bookshelves. The fourth wall had a row

of hutches with computers on desks. A printer next to each

computer.

‘I heard what the FBI’s saying,’ Swain said.

‘You believe it?’ Reacher asked.

Swain just shrugged.

‘Yes or no?’ Reacher asked.

‘I guess it’s not impossible,’ Swain said. ‘But there’s no reason

to believe it’s likely. Just as likely that it’s ex-FBI agents. Or

296

current FBI agents. As an agency we’re better than they are.

Maybe they’re trying to bring us down.’

q’hink we should look in that direction?’

‘You’re Joe Reacher’s brother, aren’t you?’

Reacher nodded.

‘I worked with him,’ Swain said. ‘Way back.’

‘And?’

‘He used to encourage random observations.’

‘So do I,’ Reacher said. ‘You got any?’

‘My job is strictly academic,’ Swain said. ‘You understand?

I’m purely a researcher. A scholar, really. I’m here to analyse.’

‘And?’

qhis situation feels different from anything else I’ve seen. The hatred is very visible. Assassinations fall into two groups,

ideological or functional. A functional assassination is where

you need to get rid of a guy for some specific political or

economic reason. An ideological assassination is where you

murder a guy because you hate him, basically. There have been

plenty of attempts along those lines, over the years. I can’t tell

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