Past Tense (Jack Reacher #23)(93)

Burke said nothing.

Reacher said, “I told you, it’s a back of the brain thing.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know.”

“You should go take another look.”

“Maybe.”

“Carrington is a grown up. He can take care of himself.”

“He’s completely in the dark. He knows nothing about any of this.”

“OK, the cops can take care of him. They don’t want you there anyway. The lady detective is not going to ask. Trust me.”

Reacher said nothing.

He dialed Amos’s number.

It rang four times.

She said, “Nothing yet.”

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“Rush hour is over. Downtown is quiet. We have eyes most places they need to be. And after all, the description is of someone else entirely. This is only a theory. Overall I would say I feel reasonably OK.”

“On a scale of one to ten?”

“About a four,” she said.

“Would it help if I was there?”

“Honest answer?”

“On a scale of one to ten.”

“Is there a number smaller than one?”

“One is the irreducible number.”

“Then a one,” she said.

“What about without the rules and the bullshit?”

“Still a one,” she said.

“OK, good luck,” he said. “I’m going out of cell phone range. I’ll check in when I can.”





Chapter 35


Once again the TV turned on all by itself. The tinkle, the blue screen, the smeared transition to a man’s face against a black wall. This time it was Mark. Head and shoulders. Waiting. He looked away and asked if something was working. Which evidently was, because they heard the whole exchange. Mark looked back at the camera. At them. Eye to eye. He stared. He waited. He smiled.

He said, “Guys, we promised a follow-up session, for questions and answers. Just in case something wasn’t clear, when Peter explained it earlier. So here we are.”

Patty said, “Tell us about the tags.”

“Come sit on the end of the bed again. We’ll have a full and frank discussion.”

Patty shuffled around. Shorty followed. Didn’t want to, but he did.

Mark said, “Patterns of consumption are changing. Aspirational expenditures are no longer limited to bigger and better physical objects. A bigger house, a bigger diamond, a better Monet. Now there’s a new category. People buy experiences. They buy tickets for the moon. They visit the ocean bed. Some of them pay to act out their fantasies. For once in their lives. Some of them are harmless. Some of them are sick. They gather on the internet. They find secret message boards. That’s where we advertise.”

“What message boards?” Patty said. “Who are these people?”

“You’ve met Karel,” Mark said. “The other five come from one particular web site. It has a fascinating ambiguity in its name. Very clever underground marketing. Is it describing its members, or is it describing the activity it promotes to its members? Is it a mistake, or is it a nod and a wink? It’s purely a matter of emphasis. There are no grammatical rules to help you.”

Patty said, “What’s the name of the site?”

“Bow Hunting People.”

“What?”

“Which I hope answers your question about the nature of the tag. The game places no restriction on the type of bow. Except no mechanical draw, and no crossbows, obviously. Probably they’ll use medium-length composite recurves. They’re hoping to be mobile. They learn a lot from the deer hunting world. They’ll use broadhead arrows, probably. Maybe barbed, but that will depend where you are. If they see you early, they might just track you for a spell. Then they’ll shoot to wound. They want you to last all night. They paid a lot of money.”

“You’re insane.”

“Not me,” Mark said. “I’m just catering to the grubby end of the market. Their desires are their own business.”

“You’re talking about murdering us.”

“No, I’m talking about giving you the chance to get away from here scot free. I’m your best friend right now. I’m trying to help you.”

“You can’t afford for us to walk away.”

“Now you’re just making excuses. Don’t quit before you start. It’s a big world out there. There are only six of them.”

“Do they have night vision?”

“Well, yes.”

“And quad-bikes.”

“Which mean you can hear them coming. Don’t you see? You’re not completely helpless here. Choose your direction carefully, stay alert, listen hard, try to predict from the sound which way the bikes will go, and then slip in behind them after they’re gone. It might be possible. Presumably someone will do it sooner or later. It’s only two miles by the shortest route. As you know. Straight down the track. But I would advise against. Even alongside, in the trees. Too obvious, surely. Someone would be lying in wait.”

No one answered.

Mark said, “More advice, if I may. Check your door from time to time. The clock starts ticking as soon as it unlocks. It’s your responsibility to know. No further announcements will be made. When it opens, I suggest you depart immediately. Give it your best shot. Look on the bright side. It’s a big woods. Bowhunters like to get within forty feet. Closer if they can. Shooting arrows in a forest is hard. There are always trees in the way.”