them in a cloud. Peterson said nothing more. Holland stalked back to his unmarked car and used the radio and came back a long minute later and said, ‘I just called for two ambulances.’
He was looking straight at Reacher.
Reacher didn’t respond.
Holland asked, ‘You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?’
Reacher said, ‘Because I slipped.’
‘What?’
‘On the ice.’
‘That’s your story? You slipped and just kind of blundered into them?’
‘No, I slipped when I was hitting the big guy. It softened the blow. If I hadn’t slipped you wouldn’t be calling for two ambulances. You’d be calling for one ambulance and one coroner’s wagon.’
Holland looked away.
Peterson said, ‘Go wait in the car.’
The lawyer went to bed at a quarter to eleven. His children had preceded him by two hours and his wife was still in the kitchen. He put his shoes on a rack and his tie in a drawer and his suit on a hanger. He tossed his shirt and his socks and his underwear in the laundry hamper. He put on his pyjamas and took a leak and brushed his teeth and climbed under the covers and stared at the ceiling. He could still hear the laugh in his head, from the phone call just before he spun out on the highway. A bark, a yelp, full of excitement. Full of anticipation. Full of glee. Eliminate the witness , he had recited, and the man on the phone had laughed with happiness.
Reacher got back in Peterson’s car and closed the door. His face was numb with cold. He angled the heater vents up and turned the fan to maximum. He waited. Five minutes later the ambulances showed up, with flashing lights pulsing bright red and blue against the snow. They hauled the two guys away. They were still out cold. Concussions, and probably some minor maxillary damage. No big deal. Three days in bed and a cautious week’s convalescence would fix them up good as new. Plus painkillers.
Reacher waited in the car. Thirty feet ahead of him through the clear frigid air he could see Holland and Peterson talking. They were standing close together, half turned away, speaking low. Judging by the way they never glanced back, Reacher guessed they were talking about him.
Chief Holland was asking: ‘Could he be the guy?’
Peterson was saying, ‘If he’s the guy, he just put two of his presumptive allies in the hospital. Which would be strange.’
‘Maybe that was a decoy. Maybe they staged it. Or maybe one of them was about to say something compromising. So he had to shut them up.’
‘He was protecting you, chief.’
‘At first he was.’
‘And then it was self-defence.’
‘How sure are you he’s not the guy?’
‘One hundred per cent. It’s just not feasible. It’s a million-to-one chance he’s here at all.’
‘No way he could have caused the bus to crash right there?’
‘Not without running up the aisle and physically attacking the driver. And no one said he did. Not the driver, not the passengers.’
‘OK,’ Holland said. ‘So could the driver be the guy? Did he crash on purpose?’
‘Hell of a risk.’
‘Not necessarily. Let’s say he knows the road because he’s driven it before, summer and winter. He knows where it ices up. So he throws the bus into a deliberate skid.’
‘A car was coming right at him.’
‘So he says now.’
‘But he could have been injured. He could have killed people. He could have ended up in the hospital or in jail for manslaughter, not walking around.’
‘Maybe not. Those modern vehicles have all kinds of electronic systems. Traction control, antilock brakes, stuff like that. All he did was fishtail around a little and drive off the shoulder. No big deal. And then we welcomed him with open arms, like the Good Samaritan.’
Peterson said, ‘I could talk to Reacher tonight. He was a witness on the bus. I could talk to him and get a better picture.’
Holland said, ‘He’s a psychopath. I want him gone.’
‘The roads are closed.’
‘Then I want him
He was looking straight at Reacher.
Reacher didn’t respond.
Holland asked, ‘You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?’
Reacher said, ‘Because I slipped.’
‘What?’
‘On the ice.’
‘That’s your story? You slipped and just kind of blundered into them?’
‘No, I slipped when I was hitting the big guy. It softened the blow. If I hadn’t slipped you wouldn’t be calling for two ambulances. You’d be calling for one ambulance and one coroner’s wagon.’
Holland looked away.
Peterson said, ‘Go wait in the car.’
The lawyer went to bed at a quarter to eleven. His children had preceded him by two hours and his wife was still in the kitchen. He put his shoes on a rack and his tie in a drawer and his suit on a hanger. He tossed his shirt and his socks and his underwear in the laundry hamper. He put on his pyjamas and took a leak and brushed his teeth and climbed under the covers and stared at the ceiling. He could still hear the laugh in his head, from the phone call just before he spun out on the highway. A bark, a yelp, full of excitement. Full of anticipation. Full of glee. Eliminate the witness , he had recited, and the man on the phone had laughed with happiness.
Reacher got back in Peterson’s car and closed the door. His face was numb with cold. He angled the heater vents up and turned the fan to maximum. He waited. Five minutes later the ambulances showed up, with flashing lights pulsing bright red and blue against the snow. They hauled the two guys away. They were still out cold. Concussions, and probably some minor maxillary damage. No big deal. Three days in bed and a cautious week’s convalescence would fix them up good as new. Plus painkillers.
Reacher waited in the car. Thirty feet ahead of him through the clear frigid air he could see Holland and Peterson talking. They were standing close together, half turned away, speaking low. Judging by the way they never glanced back, Reacher guessed they were talking about him.
Chief Holland was asking: ‘Could he be the guy?’
Peterson was saying, ‘If he’s the guy, he just put two of his presumptive allies in the hospital. Which would be strange.’
‘Maybe that was a decoy. Maybe they staged it. Or maybe one of them was about to say something compromising. So he had to shut them up.’
‘He was protecting you, chief.’
‘At first he was.’
‘And then it was self-defence.’
‘How sure are you he’s not the guy?’
‘One hundred per cent. It’s just not feasible. It’s a million-to-one chance he’s here at all.’
‘No way he could have caused the bus to crash right there?’
‘Not without running up the aisle and physically attacking the driver. And no one said he did. Not the driver, not the passengers.’
‘OK,’ Holland said. ‘So could the driver be the guy? Did he crash on purpose?’
‘Hell of a risk.’
‘Not necessarily. Let’s say he knows the road because he’s driven it before, summer and winter. He knows where it ices up. So he throws the bus into a deliberate skid.’
‘A car was coming right at him.’
‘So he says now.’
‘But he could have been injured. He could have killed people. He could have ended up in the hospital or in jail for manslaughter, not walking around.’
‘Maybe not. Those modern vehicles have all kinds of electronic systems. Traction control, antilock brakes, stuff like that. All he did was fishtail around a little and drive off the shoulder. No big deal. And then we welcomed him with open arms, like the Good Samaritan.’
Peterson said, ‘I could talk to Reacher tonight. He was a witness on the bus. I could talk to him and get a better picture.’
Holland said, ‘He’s a psychopath. I want him gone.’
‘The roads are closed.’
‘Then I want him
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