Contents
Chapter 45
Overview
In Palo Alto, a hacker builds Michael McCann’s internet fingerprint using Social Security records and locates him on Deep Web suicide forums. He explains the Deep Web’s major sectors and details the culture and methods of assisted suicide, including scams and rare real Nembutal sources. Reacher presses to read McCann’s actual posts, steering the investigation toward McCann’s intent and contacts.
Summary
Reacher, Chang, and Westwood visit a Palo Alto hacker, who summons cars and brings them to his minimalist home office. He uses Peter McCann’s details to retrieve both Peter’s and Michael McCann’s Social Security numbers, then derives Michael’s unique internet fingerprint from additional databases.
With his custom Tor-based tool, Bathyscaphe, the hacker searches the Deep Web using the fingerprint rather than Michael’s name. In twenty-six seconds, he locates Michael’s activity, having narrowed the field to likely forums based on behavioral clues.
The hacker explains the Deep Web’s “three-legged stool”: criminal marketplaces, extreme pornography, and suicide communities. He says Michael appears in the third, framed by anhedonia and a desire for a definitive end often pursued with a “suicide partner.”
He describes the boards’ obsession with method: statistics on firearms, hanging, trains, arson, vehicle impacts, cyanide, and the quest for “swift and painless.” He outlines why traditional methods (carbon monoxide, old sedatives) no longer work or are restricted, prompting risky workarounds like hibachi grills and inert-gas asphyxiation.
He details scams selling fake Nembutal and the rare, real supply diverted from veterinary euthanasia. The discussion positions Michael’s likely mindset and resources within these ecosystems, while highlighting the danger and exploitation pervasive on such forums.
Reacher then asks to see precisely where Michael posted and what he wrote, aiming to learn his intentions and identify any partner or handler.
Who Appears
- Jack ReacherLeads the inquiry; observes the hacker’s process and insists on reading Michael McCann’s actual posts.
- Michelle ChangProvides Peter McCann’s address; assists the hacker with identifiers and questions methods and forum content.
- WestwoodAccompanies the team; prompts discussion about what the suicide boards discuss.
- Palo Alto hackerBuilds Michael’s internet fingerprint, uses Bathyscaphe to find him on suicide boards, and explains Deep Web culture and methods.
- Michael McCannMissing man; located via his Deep Web activity on suicide forums, indicating intent and possible partner search.
- Peter McCannProvides the linkage for Social Security lookup that leads to Michael’s identifiers.