Small Wars Read Online Free

supervise. The JAGs got us access.”
    “I believe we’re already getting all of Fort Smith’s paperwork.”
    “I think we need to be proactive.”
    “In what way?”
    “In whatever way works. It had to be random, but it can’t have been. There’s a whole span of assumptions right there, and at least one of them can’t be true. We’ll have to figure it out sooner or later. Because the State Police will ask. Also sooner or later. That’s for damn sure.”
    “OK. We’ll do what we can. Plus the autopsy will be happening.”
    —
    Two hours later the autopsy reported exactly what everyone expected. Otherwise healthy. The fatal shot was probably the first, into the chest. Hard to be sure, for both pathologist and perpetrator, hence the two follow-ups. The vertical triangle. Chest, chest, head. Job done.
    All three bullets had been recovered inside the Porsche. They were badly mangled, but they were almost certainly nine-millimeter Parabellum. The entry wound in the forehead was exactly nine millimeters wide. The angle was plausible, for a tall man firing downward into a stationary car. Which matched the earlier photographs. The big feet had walked close, then shuffled around, possibly during a moment of conversation, and then they had stepped back and braced. For the moment of truth. Recoil off the nine wasn’t terrible, but a sound footing was always a good idea. Range about eight feet, Reacher guessed. Ideal. Chest, chest, head. Hard to miss, at eight feet. No brass in the photographs. The guy had picked up his shell cases. And driven away, in the decoy vehicle.
    A skilled worker.
    An execution.
    Neagley said, “The career gossip sounds fairly normal, for a pointy-head. She was a classroom superstar at West Point. A decent physical soldier, but mostly a geek. Therefore always destined for the back rooms. Smooth acceleration all the way. Really blossomed in War Plans. It suited her somehow. She became her own person. She loosened up a little. Even started spending some of her money. Maybe she felt awkward before. That was when she first got the fancy uniforms.”
    Reacher said, “Do we know anything about the money yet? As in, where it originally came from?”
    “You think this is a financial crime?”
    “Who knows, with rich people? They’re different from you and me.”
    “I’ve got a call in, to the family. Difficult today, obviously. With her being dead, and so on. There are protocols involved and procedures to follow. We’ll probably end up talking to the family lawyer. But that’s fine. These things can be complicated. We’ll need him anyway.”
    “Anything useful from the State Police?”
    “They’re looking for a tall guy with big feet. Not necessarily active-duty military. Their minds are open. They acknowledge they have a lot of veterans. Plus a lot of kids who have seen every execution style in history on cable TV. And who have guns. And vehicles.”
    “Motive?”
    “They say robbery. Casting a net and seeing what showed up. Like fishing on a lazy afternoon.”
    “On a road to nowhere?”
    “They say people take that road sometimes. She took it that day, obviously.”
    “Low probability.”
    “But a quiet and undisturbed location.”
    “They didn’t steal anything.”
    “They panicked and ran.”
    “Does the State Police really believe any of that?”
    “No. It’s a polite hypothetical. They’re bending over backward to be fair, because JAG is right there at their elbows. But I hear deep down they’re sure it’s a soldier. They’re assuming romantic, because they haven’t been told exactly how pointy her head was.”
    “Could it be romantic?”
    “There’s no evidence of boyfriends past or present. Or girlfriends.”
    “The woman with no enemies. She wins, no one loses. Extra spending. It’s all good. Except it isn’t. One of those facts is wrong. Which one is it?”
    “You said it was random, Reacher. It was a road to nowhere. You just told me that.”
    “What was