CHAPTER TEN

Security guards arrived on the scene, called for backup, secured all three hoodies, and assumed control. Minutes later, flashing lights from first responder vehicles lined up along 4th Street like a holiday parade.

Once the muggers were in custody, the tuxedoed man and older woman placed in an ambulance bound for the nearest hospital, Gaspar slipped into the shadows searching for Susan Duffy. But he found only damp November air, as Kim had known he would.

Gaspar returned, dipped his head to ask quietly, making the effort to return them to normalcy. “Now what, Boss Dragon Lady?”

“Like Duffy suggested, Zorro, we’ll start where Reacher left off.”

Still staring at the empty space where Duffy had been, Gaspar asked, “Which would be where, Susie Wong?”

Agent Otto turned toward Pennsylvania Avenue, smiled and replied, “We’re building a file, Chico, not reading one. Think about it. Only one choice. U.S. Army buddies before March 1997.”

THE END