Contents
Chapter 26
Overview
Westwood, Reacher, and Chang call six prior blocked-caller leads tied to “Maloney.” Two numbers are dead, one reaches a conspiracy theorist in Idaho, another an elderly man in Memphis whose wife explains his harmless obsession, and a fifth is a Chicago library volunteer line. None point to a serious client or hired PI, narrowing viable leads as they turn to the final New Mexico number.
Summary
At the LA Times, Westwood dials six prior blocked-caller leads tied to “Maloney.” The first two, Louisiana and Mississippi cells, are out of service, suggesting terminated or burner phones.
The third, an Idaho cell, connects to a nervous man alleging mind-control beams from airliners. When asked to confirm a hired private detective or a 501-area-code cell, he denies both, and Westwood ends the call, marking him as a crank.
The fourth, a Memphis landline, reaches an elderly man who can’t recall any call. His wife takes over, explaining his fixation on the radioactivity of granite countertops. She says he wouldn’t hire a private detective, lacks money, and has no cell, undercutting him as a viable source.
The fifth, a Chicago 773 number, is a phone in the Lincoln Park City Library volunteer room. A young volunteer confirms many people use it and denies knowledge of a caller named McCann, leaving the source untraceable.
With four nonstarters and one shared line, the team concludes the prior leads don’t identify their serious client. Westwood proceeds to dial the last remaining number, a 505 in New Mexico.
Who Appears
- Ashley WestwoodLA Times reporter; calls six prior leads, filters out cranks and dead ends, and dials the final New Mexico number.
- Jack ReacherObserves and analyzes the calls; suggests burner-phone possibility; pushes the investigation forward.
- Michelle ChangPartners in the inquiry; urges moving on; corrects a detail about most-flown-over states.
- Idaho callerNervous man alleging mind-control beams from airliners; denies hiring a PI or using a 501 cell.
- Memphis elderly manPolite but forgetful; likely called about radioactive granite; not a credible source.
- Memphis wifeExplains husband’s granite-countertop obsession, lack of funds, and no cell; rules out a hired PI.
- Chicago library volunteerCheerful young woman; answers shared volunteer-room phone; knows nothing about McCann or the LA Times call.