Aiden was at the man's door in a flash.
"Reacher?" The blue eyes appeared.
"You came back!" He hummed happily. "Hello!"
Aiden's heart pounded. Here was the Reacher Tremaine found so important. But, who was he and why did Tremaine care?
Aiden's mind took a leap, connected the dots.
"Reacher," he said, "are you a Guardian?"
The man was giggling, his head bobbing behind the grate. "You know me! I'm so pleased."
Aiden sighed. A Guardian. But insane. Not good.
"He wants me to make one." Reacher's voice dropped to a whisper that could have been heard at the end of the hall. His rank breath wafted toward Aiden through the small window. "But I said no, I can't, I don't remember!"
Aiden's heart lifted.
"But you do remember, don't you?"
A blue eye winked. Then, he shook his head. "Yes? No? He brings me the wrong stones." Reacher faded, attention wandering. "Never the right ones, always the wrong."