Neagley did the same.
‘One last thing,’ Reacher said. ‘We think these guys grew up
to be cops.’
Armstrong sat still. He started to shake his head, but then he
stopped and looked down at the desk. His face clouded, like
he was hearing a faint thirty-year-old echo.
‘Something during the beating,’ he said. ‘I only half heard it,
and I’m sure I discounted it at the time. But I think at one point
they claimed their dad was a cop. They said he could get us in
big trouble.’
Reacher said nothing.
The protection agents showed them out. They walked the
length of the canvas tent and stepped off the kerb into the
street. Turned east and got back on the sidewalk and settled in
for the trek to the subway. It was late morning and the air was
clear and cold. The neighbourhood was deserted. Nobody
was out walking. Neagley opened the envelope Stuyvesant had
given her. It contained a cheque for five thousand dollars. The
memo line was written up as professional consultation. Reacher’s
envelope contained two cheques. One was for the same five
grand fee and the other was for his audit expenses, repaid to
the exact penny.
‘We should go shopping,’ Neagley said. ‘We can’t go hunting
in Wyoming dressed like this.’
‘I don’t want you to come with me,’ Reacher said.
345
SEVENTEEN
T HEY HAD THE ARGUMENT RIGHT THERE ON THE STREET AS THEY
w,a, lked through Georgetown.,
,
Worried about my safety? Neagley asked. Because
you shouldn’t be. Nothing’s going to happen to me. I can look
after myself. And I can make my own decisions.’
‘I’m not worried about your safety,’ Reacher said.
‘What then? My performance? I’m way better than you.’
‘I know you are.’
‘So what’s your problem?’
‘Your licence. You’ve got something to lose.’
Neagley said nothing.
‘You’ve got a licence, right?’ Reacher said. ‘To be in the
business you’re in? And you’ve got an office and a job and a
home and a fixed location. I’m going to disappear after this. You
can’t do that.’
I’hink we’re going:to get caught?’
‘I can afford to take the risk. You can’t.’
“l’here’s no risk if we don’t get .caught.’
Now Reacher said nothing.
‘It’s like you told Bannon,’ she said. ‘I’m lying there lined up
346
on these guys, I’m going to get an itch in my spine. I need you
to watch my back.’
if’his isn’t your fight.’
‘Why is it yours? Because some woman your brother once
dumped got herself killed doing her job? That’s tenuous.’
Reacher said nothing.
‘OK, it’s your fight,’ Neagley said. ‘I know that. But whatever
thing you’ve got in your head that makes it your fight makes it my fight too. Because I’ve got the same thing in my head. And
even if we didn’t think the same, if I had a problem, wouldn’t
you help me out?’
‘I would if you asked.’
‘So we’re even.’
‘Except I’m not asking.’
‘Not right now. But you will be. You’re two thousand miles
from Wyoming and you don’t have a credit card to buy a plane
ticket with, and I do. You’re armed with a folding knife with a
three-inch blade and I know a guy in Denver who will give us
any weapons we want, no questions asked, and you don’t. I can
rent a car in Denver to get us the rest of the way, and you can’t.’
They walked on, twenty yards, thirty.
‘OK,’ Reacher said. ‘I’m asking.’
‘We’ll get the clothes in Denver,’ she said. ‘I know some good
places.’
They made it to Denver before t, hree in the afternoon mountain
time. The high plains lay all around them, tan and dormant. The
air was thin and bitter cold. There was no snow yet, but it was
coming. The runway ploughs were lined up and ready. The
snowdrift fences were prepared. The car rental companies had
shipped their sedans south and brought in plenty of new four
wheel-drives. Neagley signed for a GMC Yukon at the Avis
counter. They shuttled to the lot and picked it up. It was black
and shiny and looked a lot like FroeliCh’s Suburban except it