Page 42 of Exit Strategy
The footsteps began to move. They clattered up the next flight of stairs, climbing steadily. There was silence for a minute. Two minutes. Four. Then the footsteps started again. They were coming back down. Going more slowly now. It sounded like a third set had joined them. These ones were lagging a little. They seemed stiff. Reluctant. All three got to the second-floor corridor. They approached the outer door to Dr Martin’s suite. Gilmour closed his eyes again. He held his breath. But the footsteps didn’t stop. They didn’t pause. They kept on moving, traveling along the corridor and down the lower set of stairs, growing quieter, more distant, until they finally passed out of earshot.
Gilmour whispered, ‘How did you know?’ Then he opened his eyes. ‘You did know? You weren’t guessing? Because—’
Reacher shook his head and pointed at the phone. Gilmour pulled up Patten’s number and called her back. She answered almost immediately and said, ‘Where’d you go? Wait. Something’s happening. They’re bringing someone out. It’s not Reacher. It must be … Hold on, who is this? How did you get this phone?’
Gilmour said, ‘Sabrina, it’s okay. It’s me.’
‘Oh. Right. Yeah, I can see now. It’s some other guy they’re bringing out. He’s got cuffs on. I think he’s crying. Is he the killer?’
Gilmour said, ‘We don’t know who he is. No oneconnected to Dr Martin. You sit tight. Let us know when the cops get clear and we’ll come right out.’
There was a short pause, then Patten said in a quieter voice, ‘Is it awful in there?’
‘I’ve been to better places.’
‘The doctor’s really dead?’
‘She won’t be billing any more hours, that’s for sure.’
‘Did you find anything?’
‘We’ll fill you in when we get to the car.’
Gilmour lowered the phone and turned to Reacher. ‘So how did you know? I’d have run right into those cops if you hadn’t stopped me.’
Reacher said, ‘Think about it. No one found the body and called it in, or the police would have been here before us. The doctor’s not been dead long enough for anyone to report her missing. So if the police had been coming to her office, it would be because the killer had made the call. For some kind of tactical advantage, or after a crisis of conscience. Either way, he wouldn’t have said,I did it an hour ago and now I’m somewhere safe.He’d have just hinted at the crime and given the location. I’ve responded to a hundred anonymous calls. That’s how it always goes. The officers who came would have assumed the killer could still be on the premises. They’d have been alert, weapons drawn, with both sides of the building covered. But these guys? Their guns were in their holsters. I could see from the window. They were relaxed. They were serving a two-bit warrant or something like that. They probably knew the guy they were looking for. Knew he wasn’t dangerous. They weren’t expecting any trouble.’
‘I guess. I wish I’d known. I nearly had a heart attack.’
Patten’s voice came through the speaker stronger this time. ‘The coast is clear. They’ve gone. Both cars.’
Gilmour said, ‘Thanks. On our way.’ Then he hung up, turned back to the file cabinets, and opened the drawer containing theGs.
Reacher said, ‘What are you doing now?’
‘Checking my file.’
‘There’s no time.’
‘Come on. I can’t be this close and not see what she said about me.’ Gilmour pulled out a folder. It was thin. Its cover was stiff. It hadn’t had time to fade or pick up any marks or creases like the other ones they’d seen. He opened it, leafed through the pages, then turned to Reacher and said, ‘The bitch. Get this – she wrote that I was unstable. Paranoid. Prime for manipulation. It’s unbelievable. I knew she was no use as a shrink.’ He dropped the file back in its place and pointed at the frames on the wall. ‘I bet those diplomas aren’t even real. I bet she bought them on the internet. She was a total charlatan.’
Gilmour closed the drawer, stepped to his right, and opened another one.
Reacher said, ‘What are you doing now?’
Gilmour didn’t answer. He selected a folder and started to pull it free.
Reacher saw which drawer Gilmour had opened –P –and said, ‘Stop.’ The hard edge was back in his voice.
Gilmour’s hand froze. He said, ‘Come on. Sabrina won’t know. What harm can it do to take a peek?’
‘Put it back.’
‘Don’t you want to know what’s up with her? It must be something juicy. She’s acting so secretive. And if she’s vulnerable in some way, she could be a threat. In which case we ought to know.’
‘Drop the file. Close the drawer. Step away.’
Gilmour was still for a moment, then he caught the expression on Reacher’s face. He let go of the file, nudged the drawer into place with his hip, and started to slink toward the door. He muttered, ‘Who made you her guardian angel? You only just met her.’
