Tracking Jack by Diane Capri

Author:Diane Capri
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Lee Child; Jack Reacher; Kim Otto; vigilante justice; conspiracy thriller series; financial military thriller; FBI police procedural; serial killer
Publisher: AugustBooks
Published: 2024-10-10T14:41:31+00:00

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Chapter 30

Leland, North Carolina

Theresa Lee waited until Otto and Smithers had disappeared into their rooms to make her call. She quickly discovered she had no cell signal in her room. She slipped outside and leaned against the railing with her phone pressed to her ear. The predawn air felt humid and heavy, promising another scorching July day.

When he answered, she said, “Theresa Lee. Sorry for the ungodly hour.”

“No problem. Glad you called. I was up anyway,” Senator Sansom replied. “What’s the situation?”

Lee kept her voice low. “We’re in Leland, North Carolina. We’ve got solid evidence Reacher was here two nights ago.”

Sansom seemed surprised. “What kind of evidence?”

“Eyewitnesses and CCTV footage. It was definitely Reacher,” Lee replied emphatically. “He approached a local woman asking about someone named Melissa. When her ex-boyfriend showed up and tried to manhandle her, Reacher beat the hell out of him.”

“Good for Reacher. I’ve never understood why men think they should be able to beat women into submission,” Sansom said with approval. “Any idea who this Melissa is or why Reacher is looking for her?”

“Nothing firm yet. It’s our first lead to follow up on today.”

“Good work. Keep me posted,” Sansom replied. Then he added, “I’ve got some news for you, too.”

Lee straightened. “What is it?”

“The Atlanta airport debacle is officially classified as domestic terrorism now,” he said flatly.

“Damn,” Lee muttered. “That’s a big escalation.”

“You’ve got that right. Hundreds of agents are working on it. They’re tracking Hawkins and Docherty’s actions in depth,” Sansom reported. “So far, nothing useful for our purposes has come to light.”

Lee frowned. “Why haven’t we seen any of this on the news?”

“Information’s been tightly controlled and contained. Until we have solid results, we don’t want to spook the perpetrators,” Sansom said. “We’ve got several leads, including a potential ecoterrorism angle.”

“Ecoterrorism? Docherty didn’t believe in anything like that. He was a strictly peaceful guy,” Lee replied. “How does that stuff fit?”

“Hawkins babbled the usual catch phrases about economic justice during her initial police interview. Save the planet, defend the earth, corporate greed, and so forth.” Sansom paused a moment. “The connection is not confirmed yet, but it could explain the seemingly random nature of the Hawkins and Docherty murders.”

Lee raised her eyebrows. “Is that the official word now? That Hawkins didn’t commit suicide, and Docherty didn’t die in a car crash?”

“Not officially, no. But that’s what we all believe. And it’s the angle we’re pursuing at the moment,” Sansom said quietly.

“That actually makes a disturbing amount of sense,” Lee replied. “Maybe we can get some additional resources now.”

“Not likely. All the effort is going into finding the source of Daisy Hawkins’s radicalization. We’re still on our own here,” Sansom replied.

“I’ll poke around. See if I can locate any local environmental groups or organizations,” Lee said.

“But be discreet about it. The connection is still speculative. We don’t want any wild guesses getting out there or panicked crowds during the holiday madness,” Sansom warned.

“Understood. I’ll start digging.”

“Keep this between us for now,” Sansom said. “Get some concrete evidence before you bring Otto and Smithers into the loop.

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