Then they walked south through the plaza. The sun was warm. A kid threw a ball against a building, and hit the rebound with a stick. The same kid they had seen before. They stopped by the motel office, where Westwood booked a whole bunch of rooms. For himself, and his photographers, and all kinds of assistants and interns. The new help at the desk was a teenage girl. Maybe ready for college. She was fast and efficient. She was cheerful and bright.
Reacher asked her, “Why is this town called Mother’s Rest?”
She said, “I’m not supposed to tell you.”
“Why?”
“The farmers don’t like it. They’ve done their best to bury it.”
“I won’t tell them you told me.”
“It’s a corruption of the old Arapaho Indian name. One word, but it sounds like two. It means the place where bad things grow.”
Westwood gave Chang the key to his rental car, and said goodbye. Reacher walked with her to the diner, where the red Ford was parked.
She said, “You were headed for Chicago.”
He said, “Yes, I was.”
“You wanted to get there before the weather turned cold.”
“Always a good idea, with Chicago.”
“You could take the seven o’clock train. Eat lunch in the diner. Sleep all afternoon in the sun. In a lawn chair. I saw you, the very first day.”
“You saw me?”
“I was walking by.”
“I told you. I was in the army. I can sleep anywhere.”
“Are you going to follow up with a doctor?”
“Maybe.”
“I’m driving to Oklahoma City. I’ll drop the car at the airport. I guess Westwood’s interns will bring him another. I can fly home from there.”
He said nothing.
She said, “You OK?”
He said, “We were just in Chicago. Maybe I should go someplace else.”
She smiled. “Go visit Milwaukee. All thirty-six blocks.”
He paused a beat.
She said, “You OK?”
“Will you come with me?”
“To Milwaukee?”
“Just a couple of days. Like a vacation. We earned one. We could do what people do.”
She was quiet for a long moment, five or six seconds, right to the edge of discomfort, and then she said, “I don’t want to answer that question here. Not in Mother’s Rest. Get in the car.”
He did, and she did, and she started the engine. She put the lever in gear, and turned the wheel, and they drove away from the diner, and the dry goods store, to the old wagon train trail, where they turned left and headed west, with the road running straight on ahead of them through the wheat, forever, until it disappeared in the golden haze on the far horizon, at that point as narrow as a needle.
Acknowledgments
TK
About the Author
LEE CHILD is the author of twenty New York Times bestselling Jack Reacher thrillers, with ten having reached the #1 position. All have been optioned for major motion pictures; the first of which, Jack Reacher, was based on One Shot. Foreign rights to the Reacher series have sold in almost a hundred territories. A native of England and a former television director, Child lives in New York City.
leechild.com
Facebook.com/LeeChildOfficial
@LeeChildReacher
To inquire about booking Lee Child for a speaking engagement, please contact the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau at speakers@penguinrandomhouse.com.
Table of Contents
eBook Information
By Lee Child
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Acknowledgments
About the Author