Running Blind

He drained his cup, and looked at her over the rim. A steady, neutral gaze. “The ethics bothering you here?” she asked.

“Are there ethics involved?” he asked back.

Then her face changed. A hint of embarrassment crept into it. A hint of softening. She nodded. “I know, it used to bother me too. I couldn’t believe it, when I got out of the Academy. But the Bureau knows what it’s doing. I learned that, pretty quick. It’s a practical thing. It’s about the greatest good for the greatest number. We need cooperation, we ask for it first, but you better believe we make damn sure we get it.”

Reacher said nothing.

“It’s a policy I believe in, now,” Lamarr said. “But I want you to know using your girlfriend as a threat wasn’t my idea.”

Reacher said nothing.

“That was Blake,” she said. “I’m not about to criticize him for it, but I wouldn’t have gone down that road myself.”

“Why not?”

“Because we don’t need more women in danger here.”

“So why did you let him do it?”

“Let him? He’s my boss. And this is law enforcement. Emphasis on the enforcement. But I need you to know it wouldn’t have been my way. Because we need to be able to work together.”

“Is this an apology?”

She said nothing.

“Is it? Finally?”

She made a face. “Close as you’ll get from me, I guess.”

Reacher shrugged. “OK, whatever.”

“Friends now?” she said.

“We’ll never be friends,” Reacher said. “You can forget about that.”

“You don’t like me,” she said.

“You want me to be honest with you?”

She shrugged. “Not really, I guess. I just want you to help me out.”

“I’ll be a go-between,” he said. “That’s what I agreed to. But you need to tell me what you want.”

She nodded. “Special Forces sound promising to me. First thing you’ll do is check them out.”

He looked away, and clenched his teeth to keep himself from smiling.

THEY SPENT A whole hour at the rest stop. Toward the end of it Lamarr started to relax. Then she seemed reluctant to get back on the road.

“You want me to drive?” Reacher asked.

“It’s a Bureau car,” she said. “You’re not permitted.”

But the question jogged her back on track. She gathered her purse and stood up from the table. Reacher took the trash to the receptacle and joined her at the door. They walked back to the Buick in silence. She fired it up and eased it out of the slot and merged onto the highway.

The hum of the motor came back, and the faint noise from the road and the muted rush of the air, and within a minute it was like they had never stopped at all. Lamarr was in the same position, upright and tense behind the wheel, and Reacher was sprawled on her right, watching the view flash by.

“Tell me about your sister,” he said.

“My stepsister.”

“Whatever, tell me about her.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “You want me to help, I need background. Like where did she serve, what happened to her, stuff like that.”

“She’s a rich girl who wanted adventure.”

“So she joined the Army?”

“She believed the advertisements. You seen those, in magazines? They make it look tough and glamorous. ”

“Is she tough?”

Lamarr nodded. “She’s very physical, you know? She loves all that stuff, rock climbing, biking, skiing, hiking, windsurfing. She thought the Army was going to be all rappelling down cliffs with a knife between your teeth.”

“And it wasn’t?”

“You know damn well it wasn’t. Not back then, not for a woman. They put her in a transport battalion, made her drive a truck.”

“Why didn’t she quit, if she’s rich?”

“Because she’s not a quitter. She did great in basic training. She was pushing for something better.”

“And?”

“She saw some jerk of a colonel five times, trying to make some progress. He suggested if she was naked throughout the sixth interview, that might help.”

“And?”

“She busted him. Whereupon they gave her the transfer she wanted. Infantry close-support unit, about as near the action as a woman was going to get.”

“But?”

“You know how it works, right? Rumors? No smoke without fire? The assumption was she had screwed the guy, you know, even though she had busted him and he was canned, which made it completely illogical. In the end, she couldn’t stand the whispers, and she did finally quit.”

“So what’s she doing now?”

“Nothing. She’s feeling a little sorry for herself.”

“You close to her?”

She paused.

“Not very, to be honest,” she said. “Not as close as I’d maybe want to be.”

“You like her?”

Lamarr made a face. “What’s not to like? She’s very likable. She’s a great person, actually. But I made mistakes, right from the start. Handled it all wrong. I was young, my dad was dead, we were real poor, this rich guy fell in love with my mother and finished up adopting me. I was full of resentment that I was being rescued, I guess. So I figured it didn’t mean I had to fall in love with her. She’s only my stepsister, I said to myself.”

“You never got past it?”

She shook her head. “Not totally. My fault, I admit it. My mother died early, which left me feeling a little isolated and awkward. I didn’t handle it well. So now my stepsister is basically just a nice woman I know. Like a close acquaintance. I guess we both feel that way. But we get along OK, what we see of each other.”

He nodded. “If they’re rich, are you rich too?”

She glanced sideways. Smiled. The crossed teeth flashed, briefly.

“Why?” she said. “You like rich women? Or maybe you think rich women shouldn’t hold down jobs? Or any women?”

“Just making conversation.”

She smiled again. “I’m richer than you’d think. My stepfather has lots of money. And he’s very fair with us, even though I’m not really his daughter and she is.”

“Lucky you.”

She paused.

“And we’re going to be a lot richer soon,” she said. “Unfortunately. He’s real sick. He’s been fighting cancer for two years. Tough old guy, but now he’s going to die. So there’s a big inheritance coming our way.”

“I’m sorry he’s sick,” Reacher said.

She nodded. “Yes, so am I. It’s sad.”

There was silence. Just the hum of the miles passing under the wheels.

“Did you warn your sister?” Reacher asked.