Free Jack and Joe: Hunt for Jack Reacher Series (The Hunt for Jack Reacher Series Book 6) by Diane Capri Page A

destroyed everything beyond repair. The tables and chairs had been mismatched when they found their way to the bar at least three decades ago. They were chipped, broken, covered with the scars of a tough business. The stage was a shoddy affair, too.
    I walked across the concrete floor, sticky with spilled booze, congealing blood, and other bodily fluids I didn’t want to dwell upon. To be sure, I checked for a pulse on all six bodies, the four soldiers, the dancer, and the gunman. As expected. Nothing.
    From the back of the room, where I stood near the gunman’s body still slumped against the wall, I looked up to see Major Anthony Clifton walk through the door. A local cop was with him.
    Clifton moved right past Alvin and Junior without stopping, heading toward the soldiers. He knelt to check carotid pulses with the same results I’d confirmed.
    The local cop approached me. He was about sixty and fit, like a runner who lifted weights, too. A little under six-feet, maybe one-sixty or so. He wore the uniform well. Even the wide-brimmed hat suited him.
    “Sheriff,” I nodded and held out my badge. A quick look was all he required. Most law enforcement officers know an FBI badge when they see one. “Special Agent Kim Otto.”
    “Randy Taylor.” He looked down at the dead gunman. “What happened here?”
    “Alvin says this guy wanted that woman and when she refused, he started shooting.” My adrenaline levels had been falling to normal since the shooting stopped and I realized all of a sudden how freaking wet and cold I was, even in the hot room. My whole body was shaking. I had to clamp my teeth to still the chattering.
    Taylor kept scanning, completing his own professional appraisal, presumably. “That seem like the truth to you?”
    “I was asleep in my room across the road when the shots woke me up. I called 911 and Major Clifton. By the time I got here, everything was almost over.”
    “You fire your weapon?” Taylor asked. “If you did, we’ll need to take it.”
    “No chance to.” I shook my head and handed over my weapon so he could confirm and didn’t argue. We both knew the rules. “The shooting was over by the time I came inside.”
    “We’ll want to talk to you for more details.” He seemed to see me for the first time. My wet clothes, chattering teeth, and blue skin. He checked my weapon and gave it back.
    Clifton walked up. “We’ll have plenty to do tonight, Randy. She’ll freeze to death if she doesn’t get a hot shower and warmer clothes. You’re at the Grand Lodge across the street, aren’t you?”
    I nodded.
    “Check in with me before you leave town, Agent Otto?” It was a request. He had no authority over me.
    I nodded again through my chattering teeth and turned to leave. Clifton bowed his head closer to me. “I’ll report to the locals and call you in an hour.”
    Processing the crime scene would take a while, and processing the carnage would take weeks. There would be plenty of time for me to answer questions and ask a few of my own. Starting with what had happened between Jack Reacher and Alvin way back when. But the feud was old. My questions could wait. Assuming I didn’t freeze to death first.
    “Works for me.” I holstered my gun and made my way out of the bar, navigated its frozen parking lot, the glazed highway, and the hotel’s parking lot, sleet lacing me every step of the way. By the time I trudged through the lobby and up the stairs and stepped into a steaming hot shower, my entire body was colder than a frozen turkey.

CHAPTER 12

    Ninety minutes later, when Major Clifton arrived with two huge Styrofoam cups of hot black coffee from the truck stop, I could have kissed him with gratitude. It was late and we were both exhausted but keyed up, too. The hot shower had reheated my body, but he was still wet and cold. I sat on the bed and he paced the room trying to warm up.
    “What’s going on out there now?”
    I knew most of the answer. While I’d waited for