Chapter 161: The Conman Targeting Elderly Women - Jack Tavoler

"Fraud, that's a pretty good idea."

Jack muttered as he lightly tapped his phone screen, sending the information to Justin. Then he locked his phone and handed it to the detective.

"Place me behind that suspect when you record the fingerprints. You'll see a wanted notice."

Finlay's expression remained calm as he took the phone and pocketed it. Jack then handed him a car key.

"The old Jeep in the parking lot is mine. My gun is in the glove compartment. Please keep it safe."

"Anything else?" Finlay asked.

Jack clasped his hands in front of him, indicating there was no need to cuff him behind his back. Finlay rolled his eyes and moved to cuff Jack's hands in front. Just then, the two police cars that had sped past earlier arrived at the station.

"By the way, I don't know your name," Finlay said, walking Jack towards the station.

"Jack Tavoler, but just call me Jack."

Jack used his real name. Justin had already hacked into the police station's computer system and was fabricating a fake profile for him. Anyone checking his identity through the police system would see false information, including fingerprints.

Jack slowed his pace, watching two local cops nervously escort the big guy into the station, then followed them in.

"Move faster, you jerk."

A bald cop with a shotgun shoved Reacher hard. Reacher, who had been studying the station's layout, turned his head slowly to stare at the cop, expressionless. The young cop beside them took two steps back, his hand on his holstered gun.

Standing outside, Jack raised his cuffed hands and waved with a smile, greeting Reacher.

"Sir, please come over here. I'll register you. Of course, that's not a request, it's an order, but I won't use force unless you resist."

The sweet voice of the pretty female officer interrupted the tense standoff.

Jack turned to Finlay, laughing quietly, "It seems your station isn't very united."

The officer's remark implied that the bald cop's actions were inappropriate, serving to calm Reacher down.

Finlay shrugged, "It's not my station. I'm just a detective, and I've only been here a few months."

On the other side, Reacher cooperated and walked over to the female officer. She thanked him and asked, "I'll input your information. What's your name?"

Before Reacher could speak, the bald cop threw a passport at her.

"This gorilla won't talk, but he had a passport on him. Jack Reacher, no middle name."

"Why use plastic zip ties?" the female officer asked, noticing Reacher's bound hands.

"Handcuffs were too small," the young cop replied, swallowing nervously.

The station door opened again as Jack, cuffed, was brought in by Finlay. Several officers, especially the female one, looked at them in surprise, not understanding how they had gone from cousins to a handcuffed situation.

Finlay sighed, "Ignore us. Continue."

A chubby police chief walked over, flipping through Reacher's passport. "This is a new passport. Planning to leave the country soon?"

He seemed convinced that Reacher was premeditating a crime and planning to flee.

While the female officer recorded Reacher's fingerprints, the bald cop dumped the items from Reacher's pockets onto the desk: a travel toothbrush, over $200 in cash, and a WWII French medal.

"Who carries these things around? Do you have friends or a girlfriend in town?" The chief, frustrated by Reacher's silence, was losing patience.

"What are you here for? Don't want to talk? Maybe some time in the holding cell will change your mind."

Finlay, barely containing his anger, asked, "How exactly will that change his mind?"

"By explaining his Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights and hoping he waives them voluntarily?"

The chief nodded, confused. "Yeah."

Jack almost laughed out loud. These local cops were truly incompetent. Reacher had been silent since his arrest, exercising his rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, which include due process.

Simply put, "I have the right to remain silent." As long as Reacher didn't disobey orders, the cops couldn't use their broad "discretionary powers."

Those two cops were tense purely because of Reacher's imposing physique. Jack bet that Reacher had fully complied when they arrested him in the diner, silently raising his hands.

From Finlay's perspective, Reacher was either a seasoned criminal familiar with legal procedures or a fellow officer.

"Let me handle this. Take him to the meeting room. I'll be there after I process this guy."

Following Finlay's order, the two cops escorted Reacher away. Jack, using his heightened senses, heard the bald cop mutter "Boston whore" under his breath, meaning everyone present probably heard it too.

Jack glanced at the photos of the police staff on the wall: a chief, a detective, and three officers. All five were present, seemingly split into several factions.

The chief, seeing Finlay taking over, returned to his office.

"And what's this guy's story?" the female officer asked, looking at Jack.

"Record his details first. He's wanted," Finlay said uncertainly.

Jack began acting, pressing his fingers on the fingerprint scanner while winking at the female officer.

"My cousin is a man of integrity."

The search took some time. The female officer opened a file on the computer, reading aloud, "Jack Tavoler, 22, birthplace... suspected of financial fraud."

"You're a conman targeting elderly women?"

The officer's eyes widened in disbelief. Given his looks, why not con wealthy women for money and companionship? Why target elderly women? Did he have some special fetish?

Jack was equally shocked. Justin had clearly taken advantage of the situation, retaliating because of Chris's injury.

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