on the radio, a recording gets made and starts to circulate. Any
law enforcement department has got a stack of examples a yard
high.’
‘Including the military police?’
‘Sure. Especially with women officers.’
151
Stuyvesant shook his head.
‘No,’ he said. I’hat’s conjecture. I’m asking how you know.’ ‘I know because nothing happened today.’
‘Explain,’ Stuyvesant said for the third time.
“I’his is a smart opponent,’ Reacher said. ‘He’s bright and he’s
confident. He’s in command. But he threatened something and
he didn’t deliver.’
‘So? He failed, is all.’
‘No,’ Reacher said. ‘He didn’t even try. Because he didn’t
know he had to. Because he didn’t know his letter arrived
today.’
Silence in the room.
‘He expected it to arrive tomorrow,’ Reacher said. ‘It was
mailed on Friday. Friday to Monday is pretty fast for the U.S.
mail. It was a fluke. He banked on Friday to Tuesday.’
Nobody spoke.
‘He’s an outsider,’ Reacher said. ‘He’s got no direct connection
to the department and therefore he’s unaware his threat
showed up a day early, or he’d have delivered today for sure. Because he’s an arrogant son of a bitch, and he wouldn’t have
wanted to let himself down. Count on it. So he’s out there
somewhere, waiting to deliver on his threat tomorrow, which is
exactly when he expected he’d have to all along.’
‘Great,’ Froelich said. ‘here’s another contributor reception
tomorrow.’
Stuyvesant was quiet for a beat.
‘So what do you suggest?’ he asked.
‘We have to cancel,’ Froelich said.
‘No, I meant long-term strategy,’ Stuyvesant said. ‘And we
can’t cancel anything. We can’t just give up and say we can’t
protect our principal.’
‘You have to tough it out,’ Reacher said. ‘It’ll only be a
demonstration. Designed to torment you. My guess is it’ll
specifically avoid Armstrong altogether. It’ll penetrate some
where he has been or will be some other time.’
‘Like where?’ Froelich asked.
‘His house, maybe,’ Reacher said. ‘Either here or in
Bismarck. His office. Somewhere. It’ll be theatrical, like these
damn messages. It’ll be some spectacular thing in a place
152
Armstrong just was or is heading for next. Because right
now this whole thing is a contest, and the guy promised a
demonstration, and I think he’ll keep his word, but I’m betting
the next move will be parallel somehow. Otherwise why phrase
the message the way he did? Why talk about a demonstration?
Why not just go ahead and say Armstrong, you’re going to die
today?’
Froelich made no reply.
‘We have to identify this guy,’ Stuyvesant said. ‘What do we
know about him?’
Silence.
‘Well, we know we’re fooling ourselves again,’ Reacher said.
‘Or else still speaking in shorthand. Because it’s not a him. It’s
them. It’s a team. It always is. It’s two people.’
‘hat’s a guess,’ Stuyvesant said.
‘You wish,’ Reacher said back. ‘It’s provable.’
‘How?’
‘It bothered me way back that there was the thumbprint on
the letter along with clear evidence of latex gloves. Why would
he swing both ways? Either his prints are on file or they aren’t.
But it’s two people. The thumbprint guy has never been printed.
The gloves guy has been. It’s two people, working together.’
Stuyvesant looked very tired. It was nearly two o’clock in the
morning.
‘You don’t really need us any more,’ Neagley said. ‘This
isn’t an internal investigation now. This is out there in the
world.’
‘No,’ Stuyvesant said. ‘It’s still internal as long as there’s
something to get from the cleaners. They must have met with
these people. They must know who they are.’
Neagley shrugged. ‘You gave them lawyers. You made it very
difficult.’
-ihey had to have counsel, for God’s sake,’ Stuyvesant said.
‘They were arrested. That’s the law. It’s their Sixth Amendment
right.’
‘I guess it is,’ Neagley said. ‘So tell me, is. there a law for
when the Vice President gets killed before his inauguration?’
‘Yes, there is,’ Froelich said quietly, if’he Twentieth Amendment.
Congress chooses another one.’
153
Neagley nodded. ‘Well, I sure hope they’ve got their shortlist
ready.’
Silence in the room.
‘You should bring in the FBI,’ Reacher said.
‘I will,’ Stuyvesant replied. ‘When we’ve got names. Not
before.’
ey’ve already seen the letters.’