like the appropriate thing to do.
‘When did it show up?’ he asked.
qhree days after the first one came in the mail,’ Froelich
said.
‘Aimed at you,’ Neagley said. ‘Rather than Armstrong himself.
Why? To make sure you take the first one seriously?’
‘We were already taking it seriously,’ Froelich said.
‘When does Armstrong leave Camp David?’ Reacher asked.
qhey’ll have dinner there tonight,’ Froelich said. ‘Probably
shoot the breeze for a spell. They’ll fly back after midnight, I
guess.’
‘Who’s your boss?’
‘Guy called Stuyvesant,’ Froelich said. ‘Like the cigarette.’
‘You tell him about the last five days?’
Froelich shook her head. ‘I decided not to.’
‘Wise,’ Reacher said. ‘Exactly what do you want us to do?’
Froelich was quiet for a spell.
‘I don’t really know,’ she said. ‘I’ve asked myself that for six
days, ever since I decided to find you. I asked myself, in a
situation like this, what do I really want? And you know what? I
really want to talk to somebody. Specifically, I really want to talk
to Joe. Because there are complexities here, aren’t there? You
can see that, right? And Joe would find a way through them. He
was smart like that.’
‘You want me to be Joe?’ Reacher said.
‘No, I want Joe to be still alive.’
Reacher nodded. ‘You and me both. But he ain’t.’
76
So maybe you could be the next best thing.’
Then she was quiet again.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. qhat didn’t come out very well.’
I’ell me about the Neanderthals,’ Reacher said. ‘In your
office.’
She nodded. ¢I’hat was my first thought too.’
‘It’s a definite possibility,’ he said. ‘Some guy gets all jealous
and resentful, lays all this stuff on you and hopes you’ll crack up
and look stupid.’
‘My first thought,’ she said again.
‘Any likely candidates in particular?’
She shrugged. ‘On the surface, none of them. Below the
surface, any of them. There are six guys on my old pay grade
who got passed over when I got the promotion. Each one of
them has got friends and allies and supporters in the grades
below. Like networks inside networks. Could be anybody.’
‘Gut feeling?’
She shook her head. ‘I can’t come up with a favourite. And all
their prints are on file. Condition of employment for us too. And
this period between the election and the inauguration is very
busy. We’re stretched. Nobody’s had time for a weekend in
Vegas.’
‘Didn’t have to be a weekend. Could have been in and out in a single day.’
Froelich said nothing.
‘What about discipline problems?’ Reacher asked. ‘Anybody
resent the way you’re leading the team? You had to yell at
anybody yet? Anybody underperforming?’
She shook her head. ‘I’ve changed a few things. Spoken to a
couple of people. But I’ve been tactful. And the thumbprint
doesn’t match anybody anyway, whether I’ve spoken to them or
not. So I think it’s a genuine threat from out there in the world.’
The too,’ Neagley said. ‘But there’s some insider involvement,
right? Like, who else could wander around your building and
leave something on your boss’s desk?’
Froelich nodded. ‘I need you to come see the office,’ she said.
‘Will you do that?’
‘ They rode the short distance in the government Suburban.
Reacher sprawled in the back and Neagley rode with Froelich
in the front. The night air was damp, suspended somewhere
between drizzle and evening mist. The roads were glossy with
water and orange light. The tyres hissed and the windshield
wipers thumped back and forth. Reacher glimpsed the White
House railings and the front of the Treasury Building before
Froelich turned a corner and drove into a narrow alley and
headed for a garage entrance straight ahead. There was a steep
ramp and a guard in a glass booth and a bright wash of white
light. There were low ceilings and thick concrete pillars. She
parked the Suburban on the end of a row of six identical
models. There were Lincoln Town Cars here and there, and
Cadillacs of various vintages and sizes with awkward rebuilt
frames around the windows where bulletproof glass had been
installed. Every vehicle was black and shiny and the whole