Chapter 175: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

Finley turned away awkwardly. Jack could swear he heard someone swallow secretly.

"Are our reinforcements confirmed?" Reacher quickly finished his meal and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Sort of. Hannah said she'd give me a surprise, seems like a new friend is joining us."

Jack maliciously left a large rib for last and deliberately ate it loudly near Finley, crunching the bone.

"That's enough. Watch out, he might bite you."

Reacher, surprisingly, came to the rescue of the Black detective. Jack widened his eyes innocently. How had these two suddenly gotten along so well?

"Let's get going. The sooner we deal with those guys, the sooner I can see Joey." Reacher stood up, signaling Jack to stop dawdling.

"I thought you and your brother were estranged. How long has it been since you last talked? You didn't even know what he was doing."

Jack cleaned up the table, throwing the trash into a nearby bin. The local custom here was interesting; customers cleaned up after themselves.

"Is that a problem? I used to be in the military, checking in daily and showing up on time. Now that I've left, I want to see the country my own way, without any ties." Reacher raised an eyebrow.

"That lifestyle isn't very healthy. Wandering with just a toothbrush and a few hundred bucks, no fixed place. Everyone needs a job, a goal."

Finley finally finished his dismal spinach salad and helped clean up. He even thoughtfully packed some food to take to Roscoe and the Hebberg family.

"My Western Union account gets a pension every month. Is your goal just to waste time in this remote southern town?" Reacher retorted.

Finley, at a loss for words, changed the subject. "What do we do next? Head straight to Paul Hebberg's house? Seems like no one's tailing us now."

"They're tailing us, not you. We're going to stroll around town and let them follow us. You should head back to the station. With Roscoe gone, we need an insider."

"Alright, you go burn off your energy. I'll go be Tiller's lapdog and get run in circles." Finley deflated, looking listless.

"Don't be like that. You have plenty to do," Jack consoled him.

"The body under the overpass should be identified by now. You need to visit the morgue for the details. Also, you should vet your two deputies."

"You mean Baker and Stevenson? Is that necessary?" Finley was puzzled.

"If they're both dirty cops, forget it. But if one's innocent, guess who Klein's people will target after suffering losses from us?"

"I have a feeling Little Klein killing your former chief Morrison might not have been under his father's orders. It's too high-profile, not like an old fox who's been running Margrave quietly for over a decade."

Finley nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'll try my best. I lean towards Stevenson being innocent. He seems genuinely concerned for the Hebberg family."

"Either way, be careful. We don't want to come back tomorrow and find you pinned to the wall."

Jack finished and drove back to town. After wandering around for a bit, Reacher went to a gun store and bought two boxes of .44 Magnum rounds.

As dusk fell, confirming they were being followed, they leisurely got back in the car and headed to Paul Hebberg's home.

"I think we're missing something. To find out who's dirty, we should check their bank accounts."

Looking at the luxurious villa and the Bentley Bentayga parked out front, Jack remembered Paul's wife had previously driven a Jaguar.

"Then check it out. You were right before; it's hard to say they wouldn't target innocents."

Reacher jumped out of the car and glanced at the three parked cars, one of which was the black Mercedes they'd seen before.

"So brazen, they're not even hiding anymore." Jack rang the doorbell, and Roscoe, holding a gun and looking tense, greeted them.

"Hey, you okay?" Roscoe tenderly touched Reacher's bruised cheek.

"He's fine, just got careless," Jack quipped with a joke no one else understood, then showed the takeaway bag.

"Brought you some food. Got everything packed?"

A well-preserved blonde woman walked into the living room, eyeing the newcomers.

"Are you Mr. Tower and Mr. Reacher?"

"Call me Jack. You can call him Big Jack or Reacher." Jack handed over the packed food.

"Eat quickly. Once it's dark, we need to move."

"Thank you. Paul mentioned you both, said you protected him in prison."

Charlie called out two young girls to eat but watched anxiously.

Jack signaled Roscoe to watch the kids while the three of them moved to the kitchen.

"When did Paul disappear?" Reacher asked.

"He came home yesterday, said he was meeting some people about bank matters, then left. This morning, I found he hadn't returned. His phone goes to voicemail. Then I heard about the trouble at Morrison's house and got scared."

The blonde choked up, covering her mouth to avoid alarming the children.

"We've been together since freshman year at the University of Georgia. He never stayed out all night. Not once. I know something's wrong, so I called Stevenson."

"So you knew about Paul's issues. He must have told you something, which is why you were so scared when you heard about Morrison."

Reacher's keen senses picked up something off.

Charlie looked flustered, avoiding his gaze.

Jack nudged Reacher, signaling now wasn't the time to pursue it.

"Mrs. Hebberg," he said seriously, "If I'm right, Paul is just hiding. If Klein's people made a move, they'd also take you and the kids to threaten him. That's their style."

"But you're still in danger. We plan to take you to Atlanta, where friends can protect you."

Charlie nodded tearfully. "Roscoe told me everything. As long as my kids are safe, I'll tell you everything I know."

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