Chapter 8 8

Reacher found Carmen in the living room, where the lights were dim and the air was hot and stuffy.She was sitting alone at the red table, her back was completely straight, her arms were lightly placed on the wooden table, her eyes were blank, her eyes were fixed on a certain point on the wall, looking at the front where there was nothing. Twice exactly.she says.I felt cheated, twice.The first time I thought there was a year, but there was nothing; the second time was forty-eight hours, but in fact there were only twenty-four hours left. You can still leave.He said. It's not even twenty-four hours now.she says.There are only about sixteen hours left, I can still eat breakfast by myself, and he will be back by lunch time.

Sixteen hours is enough.He said.In sixteen hours you can already run a long way. Ellie fell asleep.she says.I can't wake her up, put her in the car wrapped in a quilt, and run away with the cops chasing me for the rest of my life. Li Qi didn't speak. I'm going to try to face it.she says.I decided to start over, I want to tell him everything is enough, I want to tell him that if he dares to do anything to me again, I will divorce him.No matter what the cost, no matter how long it takes. now it's right.He said. Do you believe I can do it?she asked. I believe that people can make a difference.He said.Just make up your mind.

I made up my mind.she says.Believe me, I made up my mind. After Carmen quieted down, Li Qi looked around the silent room. Why did they paint everything red?he asks. Because it is cheap.she says.In the 1950s, no one wanted anything red here, because it reminded people of the Communist Party, so red paint was cheap at the paint shop. Aren't they very rich back then?Because of oil? They were rich then, and they are still richer than you can imagine, but they are also stingy. He looked at where the fifty-year-old paint had been polished off. Obviously so.He said. Carmen nodded again, but said nothing.

Last chance, Carmen.He said.We can leave now, because no one here is going to call the police.By the time they got home, we had already reached the ends of the earth. Bobby is still there. He will stay in the stable. He will hear the sound of the car. We can remove the phone line. He'll come after us, and he can find the sheriff within two hours. We can immobilize other cars as well. He will hear it too. I could tie him up and drown him in the horse's drinking trough. She smiled wryly.But you don't want to drown Sloop. Let's make an analogy! he nodded She was silent for a moment, then pushed back her chair and stood up.

Come see Ellie.she says.She is beautiful when she is asleep. Carmen walked past him, took his hand, and led him out through the kitchen into the small hall behind.They climbed the back stairs, toward the sound of slow-running fans, and down the long, hot corridor to Ellie's room.She gently pushed the door open with her foot, and adjusted her posture so that Li Qi could see inside. There was a night light in a socket on the wall near the floor, and the soft orange light shone on the child.Ellie was lying on her back on the bed, her hands up at the sides of her head.She kicked the quilt away, and the rabbit T-shirt was pulled up, revealing a circle of chubby pink skin around her waist.Her hair was scattered on the pillow, her long black eyelashes fanned across her face, and her mouth was slightly open.

She is only six and a half years old.Carmen said softly.She needs this environment, she needs a bed of her own, I can't let her live like a fugitive. Li Qi didn't speak. Got it?she said softly. He shrugged, not really understanding.At the age of six and a half, he was living like a fugitive, in fact, from birth until yesterday, traveling from base to base, circling the globe, often without notice.I remember times when he got up to go to school, only to get in the car to the runway and land on the other side of the world thirty hours later.Then stumbling, tired and confused, into the damp bungalow, climbed into bed, and slept on the messy bed.The next day, his mother would tell him which country and continent they were in.This was when she knew it, and sometimes she didn't know it, but it didn't matter to him.Or rather, it does have an impact.

I think it's your decision.He said. She pulled Li Qi back to the corridor, and gently closed the door of Ellie's room. Now I'll show you where I hide my gun.she says.You can tell me if you feel good or not. She led the way through the hallway, the air conditioner blaring loudly.He passed a vent, and a draft of air blew over his head, but it was hot.Carmen's dress swayed from side to side with every step, and she was wearing high heels, so her legs were working so hard that Reacher could see the tendons behind her knees.Her hair fell to her shoulders, blending with the black pattern on the red fibers of her dress.Turn left, turn right again, pass through the archway, and another staircase appears, leading downstairs.

where are we going?he asks. side hall.she says.It should have been stamped by Shroud's grandfather! The stairs lead to a long narrow ground-level corridor that extends from the main building to a master bedroom.The room was the size of a cabin with a large dressing area, large bathroom, and living room.There was a sofa and two armchairs.Behind the living room is a large archway, and behind the archway is a bedroom. it's here.she says. Carmen walked directly across the living room and led him to the bedroom. Do you know what I mean now?she says.Our room was so far away from the rest of the place that no one could hear what was going on, but I had to keep my voice down anyway because he hit me harder if I screamed.

He nodded and looked around.There was a window facing east in the room, and the sound of insects outside the screened window was extremely loud.There is a king-sized bed by the window, a table at the head of the bed, and a half-person-high cabinet full of drawers at the end of the bed. It looks like a product from a hundred years ago, and the material should be oak. Texas iron tree.she says.Mesquite shrubs grow to become iron trees. You should be a teacher.He said.Because you have been explaining this, explaining that. She smiled slightly.I thought about it, when I was in college.It was a possibility in my unchosen life.

She opened the top right drawer. I changed the position of the gun.she says.I took your advice, the bedside cabinet is too low, Ellie might find it, but here she can't. He nodded again and leaned over.The drawer was about two feet wide and eighteen inches deep and contained her underpants, with the pistol on top of it.The clothes are neatly folded, soft and smooth, the fabric is sparse and full of fragrance.The mother-of-pearl plastic on the grip looks just right. You just have to say it.He said.You don't have to take me to see it. She was quiet for a moment. He's going to want to have sex with me, right?she says.

Li Qi did not answer. It's been closed for a year and a half.she says.But I intend to refuse him. Li Qi didn't speak. It's a woman's right, isn't it?she asked.Say no? of course.He said. Even if the woman is married? This is true in most places.He said. Another pause. So it's her right to say yes, right?she asked. nature.He said. Then I want to say yes to you. I didn't ask. She pauses.What if I ask you? Li Qi looked directly at her.Depends on what the reason is. because i want to.she says.I want to sleep with you. Why? Is it true?she says.Purely because I want to. anything else? She shrugged.And wanting to hurt Sloop a little more, secretly, in my heart. He didn't speak. before he got home.she says. He didn't speak. Anyway, Bobby already decided we did.she says.So why bear the stigma without enjoying the real pleasure? He didn't speak. I just want to have a little fun.she says.before the torment begins again. He didn't speak. No other intentions, she said, I don't want to rely on this to change anything.I mean, about your decision about Sloop. He nodded.This can't change anything. Carmen turned her head away.What is your answer? Li Qi looked at Carmen's figure, her face was expressionless, as if all hope had been wiped out, and the only thing left was instinct.When Li Qi first joined the army, the threat of the enemy country was still lingering. People often talked about what they would do if the enemy missiles were launched into the sky and hit us.And doing this is definitely the first place in the vote, which is much, much better than the second place.human instinct.What Carmen is showing now is instinct. She has heard the warning four minutes before the destruction, and the last signal of her brain has started to send continuously. No.He said. She was silent for a long time. At least stay with me?she asked. The kill team advanced fifty miles to Pecos in the dark.They checked in to stay at the first location first, and then left secretly after a few hours.It's the woman's preferred method, and with six pseudonyms, two overlapping motel housing records, it's absolutely reversible and thoroughly maintains their security. The three of them drove east along Interstate 10, passed the Interstate 20 interchange, and continued to Fort Sturton.Near the Balmosie National Scenic Area, the first batch of motel advertising signs appeared.These motels are far from the real attractions, so cheap and unobtrusive, without the overly ostentatious decor and room service, but just as clean and comfortable.The point is that the people who live there will look just like them, and this is the environment women want.The characteristic of a chameleon is knowing where to hide.She chose the second hotel down the road and sent the little dark man to pay for two rooms. Li Qi is in Shroud.Guriel woke up on the sofa, and the dawn of Sunday had already appeared.At the other end of the room, the bedroom window faced east, and the night insects were gone, and the sky was bright.The quilt on the bed looked damp and rolled up.Carmen was not in bed, and there was a sound of water in the bathroom, and it smelled of coffee. He got up, stretched, and went through the archway into the bedroom, where he saw Carmen's clothes on the floor.Li Qi went to the window to check the weather, there was no change, it was just as hot.He went back to the living room, and there was a sideboard in the corner, with a small coffee machine on it, and two mugs and spoons next to it, just like a hotel.The bathroom door was closed, and there was a loud flushing sound behind the door. Li Qi poured coffee and walked to the dressing area. There were two large wardrobes, parallel to each other, one on each side, but not big enough for people to walk in. Because it's just two long alcoves with sliding glass doors with mirrors on the outside. Li Qi opened the wardrobe on the left, this one belonged to Carmen.Dresses and trousers and blouses hung on a long pole, and shoes hung on a shelf.He closed the door and turned to open another one, this one Sloop's.Inside were a dozen suits, several rows of cotton trousers and jeans, many T-shirts on cedar shelves, many formal shirts stacked in plastic boxes, a row of ties, high-end belts, and a long row of dusty shoes on the floor. Looks like number eleven.Li Qi switched the coffee cup to the other hand, and opened a suit jacket to see what size it was.Forty-four inches, the person wearing it should be about 6 feet 2 or 6 feet 3 in height and weigh about 190 or 200 pounds.So Schlupp was not particularly tall, not a giant, but he was already a foot taller than his wife and twice his weight, so it wasn't a good match either. A framed photo lay face down on a stack of shirts, and Reacher turned it over, a five-by-seven color photo pressed on a cream-coloured paper pad, surrounded by a painted wooden frame through glass.There are three men in the photo, very young, probably on the verge of adulthood, about seventeen or eighteen years old.In the photo, several people stand very close, leaning against the protruding fender of the old truck. The three people look at the camera with expectant eyes. The camera seems to be set on a rock not far away, and they are waiting for the automatic The timer starts.The three of them seem to be full of youthful energy and excitement, as if life is about to unfold, with infinite possibilities.One of them is Heike.Walker, who is thinner and more muscular, has much more hair than he has now.He guessed the other two were Al.Eugene and Shroud himself.Brothers of youth.Eugene was a head shorter and fatter than Sloop, who looked like a younger Bobby. The sound of the shower head turning off came from the bathroom. Li Qi put the photo back, closed the sliding door, and walked back to the living room.After a while, the bathroom door opened and Carmen came out from a cloud of smoke.She was wrapped in two towels, one covering her body and the other wrapping her hair like a hood.Li Qi looked at her silently, not sure what to say. Good morning.Her voice broke the silence. you too.He said. She pulled back the scarf, shook her hair, and hung it wet on her shoulders. No wonder, right?she says.Good morning?This morning is not good at all. I think so!He said. He might walk out of the prison gate at this very minute. Li Qi looked at his watch, it was almost seven o'clock. about there.He said. If you want to take a shower you can go.she says.I have to go see Ellie. good. He walked into the bathroom, which was very spacious and built of marble with gold trim, much like a Las Vegas hotel.He went to the sink to brush his teeth, took off his sweaty clothes, and walked into the shower.The shower area is surrounded by gold-bronze glass, and it has a large space. There is a large shower head above the head, and there are tall shower heads facing him in every corner.Li Qi turned on the faucet and made a loud noise, and then the surrounding hot water rushed towards him like a torrent.He felt as if he was standing under Niagara Falls, and the pipes next to him began to spew hot and cold water.Li Qi couldn't think at all, so he took a shower as fast as he could, washed his hair with soap and rinsed off the foam, and then turned off all the water. He grabbed a fresh towel from the rack, dried himself as best he could in the damp bathroom, then wrapped himself in the towel and walked back to the vanity area.Carmen was buttoning a white shirt, and white trousers.Her skin was darkened by the gold jewelry she wore, and her shiny hair had begun to curl again in the heat. Really fast.she says. What a bird bathroom.He said. Chosen by Sloup.she says.I was disgusted, there was so much water, I almost drowned in the shower. She closed the closet and turned around to look at her reflection in the sliding door mirror. You look great.He said. Is it full of Mexican flavor?she says.While wearing white clothes? He didn't speak. No jeans today.she says.I'm fed up with being like the cowgirl born in Amarillo all the time. You look great.He said it again. Seven hours, she said, or six and a half.If Heck drives fast. He nodded.I'm going to find Bobby. Carmen stood on tiptoe and kissed Li Qi on the cheek.Thank you for staying with me.she says.Made me feel better. He didn't speak. Let's have breakfast together.she says.Only twenty minutes. Then she walked slowly out of the room, ready to wake her daughter. After Li Qi got dressed, he walked another way back to the house.The whole place was like a rabbit hole, walking out into a living room he hadn't seen at all, and then back into the hall with the mirror and the rifle.Li Qi opened the front door and walked outside on the porch, feeling that the temperature was already very high.The sun was still low on the horizon to his right, but objects were beginning to cast distinct shadows, making the yard look cratered and uneven. Li Qi walked to the side of the barn and entered through the gate. The high temperature and smell remained the same as before. The horses were awake and restless, but they were clean. Their drinking water had been filled and their feed had been added.Bobby slept in an empty stable with a layer of clean straw underneath. Get up, little brother.he cried. Bobby moved and sat up, still not sure where he was or why he was here.Then he remembered what happened yesterday, and his whole body began to tense and angry.His clothes were dirty, and straw was sticky all over him. Did you sleep well?Li Qi asked. They will be back soon.Barbie said.What do you think will happen next? Li Qi smiled and said: You mean, will I tell them that this forces you to sweep the stalls and sleep on the straw? You dare not speak. Of course not.Li Qi said: Are you going to tell them? Bobby didn't speak, Li Qi started to smile again. I don't think you dare!He said.So stay here until noon, and then I'll let you go back to the house and wash up for the feast. What about breakfast? There are no doors. But I am very hungry. Then go eat horse feed!It just so happens that there are bags of feed here. Li Qi walked back to the kitchen and saw the maid making coffee and heating up the pot. Pancake.she says.Can only eat this, there will be a big lunch at noon, so I have to work on this in the morning. Pancakes will do.He said. He stepped forward into the quiet living room to hear voices from above.Ellie and Carmen should be walking around, but Li Qi couldn't hear anything.He tried to draw a map of the entire house in his mind, but the configuration was too weird. It was obvious that the house was just a simple farm house at the beginning, and it would continue to be built as needed, but in fact there was no plan at all. The maid came in with a stack of plates, four in total, and four sets of knives and forks and four napkins stacked on the plates. I think you should want to eat here?she says. Li Qi nodded.But Bobby won't come, he'll stay in the stable. Why? One of the horses must have been sick. The maid put down the plates and removed one, leaving three sets of flatware. Then I have to bring him breakfast.she said angrily. I come.Li Qi said.You go about your business. He followed him back to the kitchen, where the maid scooped the first four pancakes out of the pan and put them on a plate, with a drizzle of cream and maple syrup.Li Qi wrapped a pair of knives and forks in a tissue, took the plate, and walked outside into the sun.Approaching the stall, Bobby was still sitting there in a daze. What is this for?He said. breakfast.Li Qi said.I changed my mind because you had to do something for me. Yeah, what's the matter? There will be a sumptuous lunch later to welcome Sloop home. Bobby nodded.I think so too. You have to invite me to be your guest, as if I were your brother. I have to? Of course, if you want those pancakes, or if you don't want to walk with a cane for the rest of your life. Yebabi fell silent. Includes dinner.Li Qi said.understood? Her husband is coming back, for God's sake.Barbie said.Should it be over? You jumped right to the conclusion, Bobby.I don't have much interest in Carmen, my purpose is to get close to Sloup, I have something to say to him. say what? Just do it, okay? Bobby shrugged.casual. Li Qi handed him the pancake plate, turned and walked back. Carmen sat at the table next to Ellie, whose hair was still damp from the wash and who was wearing a yellow seersucker dress. My dad is coming home today.she says.He's on his way now. Li Qi nodded.I heard about it. I thought it would be tomorrow, but it turned out to be today. Carmen stared at the wall without saying a word.The maid brought in the pancakes on a platter and distributed them, two for the kid, three for Carmen, and four for Lizzy, then put the platter away and went back to the kitchen. Can I skip school tomorrow?Allie said.May I? Carmen said nothing. Mom, can I? Carmen turned around and looked at Li Qi, as if he was talking just now, with no expression on his face.Li Qi remembered a person he knew. This person went to the ophthalmologist because of blurred vision. As a result, the doctor found a tumor on the retina and arranged for an operation the next day to dig out his eye on the spot.So this guy can only sit there, because he knows that tomorrow he will enter the hospital with two eyes, but he can only walk out with one.This kind of certainty made him completely disabled, and his anticipation and fear were far more unbearable than the equivalent disaster that happened in an instant. Mommy, can I?Ellie asked again. perhaps.Carmen said.What? Mommy, you're not even listening, are you happy too? Yes.Carmen said. Is that okay? Yes.Carmen said it again. Ellie turned her head and began to eat, as if she had been hungry for a long time, while Li Qi started to eat slowly, looking at Carmen, but she seemed to have no intention of doing anything at all. I'm off to see my pony.Allie said. She slid off her chair and ran out like a little whirlwind.Reacher heard the front door open and close, then her shoes on the porch.Li Qi finished his breakfast, and Carmen's fork was still held in the air, as if she didn't know how to use a fork, as if she was seeing these things for the first time in her life. Will you tell him?she asked. certainly.He said. I think he needs to know that it's no longer a secret. I think so too. Do you look at him when you talk to him? should be.He said. That's fine, that's it, because you have that gunslinger look, like Clay.Same as Allison.You want him to see your eyes and let him know what's going to happen next. We've talked about these things. I know.she replied. Then she walks away alone, and Reacher kills the time, which feels like waiting for an air-raid siren.He strolled out onto the porch, looked at the gate that turned in from the north on the other side of the yard, followed the road until the red fence disappeared, until the road disappeared into the ground.The air was still clean in the morning, the asphalt hadn't been miraged yet, and the road looked like a dusty strip with limestone formations westbound and power poles eastbound. He turned and sat on the rocker, the chains creaking under his weight.He was leaning sideways, facing the farm gate, with one foot up on the chair and the other on the ground.Then he did what most soldiers do when they are on call, sleep. After about an hour, Carmen woke him up.She patted Li Qi on the shoulder, Li Qi opened his eyes, and saw her standing beside her, but her clothes had been changed, now she was wearing tight jeans, a plaid shirt, and lizard leather riding boots under her feet.A matching belt, hair tied back, foundation and blue eyeshadow on her face. I have changed my mind.she says.I don't want you to tell him, not yet. Why? It might drive him crazy if he knew someone else knew. You didn't think so before. I thought again, if we started this way it would have been worse, it would have been better if I started it, at least initially. Are you sure? She nodded.Let me tell him first. when? tonight.she says.I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. He sat up and put his feet on the ground. You said before that tomorrow you would have a black nose and a bruised face.He said. So much the better.she says. Why change clothes? It's better to wear like this.she says.I don't want to irritate him. Looks like Amarillo's Cowgirl. He prefers me to dress like this. Wearing his true colors will make him unbearable? She made a face, a defeated face, he thought. Don't run away, Carmen.He said.Stand up and fight. I will.she says.Tonight, I'll tell him I can't take it anymore. He didn't speak. So let me talk to him first today, okay?she asked. He turned his head away.You have the final say. This is better. Carmen returned to the house, and Li Qi sat down looking at the road to the north, probably less than a mile away.The temperature and heat have begun to come out. Another hour later, she woke him up again. The clothes were not changed, but the make-up had been removed from his face. You think my approach is inappropriate.she says. He sat up and rubbed his face with his hands as if washing it. I think it's better to make things public.He said.Let him know that other people know about you, even if it's not me, family members can. I can't talk to them. There should be no way. Then what should I do? let me tell him. Don't say it right away, it will make the situation worse.Promise me you won't tell him right away. He nodded.This is your decision.He said.But you have to promise me one thing, okay?Tell him yourself, tonight, you must.If he's going to make a fuss, run out of the room and scream until everyone runs over to see and the whole room can hear you.Yelling that you are going to call the police, yelling for help, will make him lose face and change the situation. Do you think so? He couldn't pretend nothing happened because everyone heard it. He would deny it, he would say I was having a nightmare. But in his heart, he will know that we already know. She didn't speak. Promise me, Carmen.He said: Otherwise, I will talk to him first. She paused for a moment. OK, I promise you.she says. Li Qi sat back on the rocking chair and tried to sleep for another hour, but the clock in his heart told him that it was almost time.From the map of Texas in his impression, it should be less than seven hours' drive from Echo County, and it should be closer to six hours. Because the driver is a prosecutor, and they are also law enforcement officers, so they don't care too much about speeding tickets. .So assuming that Sloop gets out of prison on time at seven o'clock, he will be home by one o'clock in the afternoon.He figured there wouldn't be any delays, and for a minimum-security federal prison, there probably wouldn't be any cumbersome procedures, and the guards would just tick the clipboard and set him free. Li Qi felt that it was almost twelve o'clock, so he looked at his watch to confirm that the time was twelve o'clock.He saw Bobby come out of the barn, past the garage, holding his breakfast plate, blinking in the harsh sunlight, and seemed a little stiff in his walk.He crossed the yard, stepped onto the porch, went inside without a word, and shut the door behind him. At about half past twelve, Ellie came from the direction of the corral. The yellow dress was covered with mud and sand, her hair was tangled with her clothes, and her skin was flushed with heat. I was just doing the long jump.she says.I pretended to be a horse and jumped over and over obstacles as fast as I could. Come.Li Qi said. Ellie leaned against Li Qi, and Li Qi helped her dust off her body. You should take another shower.He said.Get your hair clean. Why? That way your dad will be clean when he sees you. She thought about it very intently. good.she says. Be quick! Ellie takes one look at him, then turns and runs into the house. At twelve forty-five Bobby went outside and changed into clean clothes, another pair of jeans and another T-shirt.He wore alligator riding boots with silver trim on the toe and a new red baseball cap, reversed front and back, with a badge beside it that said the 1999 Divisional Series. They lost, right?Li Qi said. who? The Texas Rangers lost to the Yankees in the 1999 division series. so? So it's okay, Bobby. Then the door opens again, and Carmen comes out with Ellie, still in the cowgirl outfit, with her face reapplied.Ellie was still wearing the yellow seersucker dress, cleaned more carefully, her hair was wet and tied into a ponytail with a ribbon.Carmen held her hand, and her steps were a little unsteady, as if her knees were weak. Li Qi stood up and waved her to sit down, and Ellie also climbed into the chair and sat beside her.No one spoke. Li Qi went to the porch railing and looked at the road. He could see the place where the wires disappeared in the haze. It was probably between five and ten miles to the north, and it was difficult to determine. He stood in the shadows of the porch, and the world before him was hot and bright.A puff of dust appeared at the end of his vision, forming a black dot in the haze, and the dust drifted eastward, as if a desert breeze just happened to blow it, pushing it to the land of the Guriel family.The puff of smoke grew bigger and bigger, and shapes gradually emerged, long strips of yellow teardrops, rising and falling, swaying from side to side as the road turned.Gradually the dust stretched a mile long, layer after layer rising and falling, until the car drove so close that Leech could see the front of the lime green Lincoln.The car climbed over the high point of the road, flashing in the haze, to where the barbed wire meets the red fence, and then began to slow down.After a long trip, the lime green Lincoln looks dusty.I slammed on the brakes as I approached the gate, the front of the car dipped as the suspension was squeezed, and then the car swerved in, and the cone of dust continued to drift south, as if it had been caught off guard by the sudden change of direction . There was a sound of dirt and gravel under the wheels, a flash of light from the windshield as it turned in, and then it was clear that there were three people in the car.Heike.Walker is in the driver's seat, Rusty.Guriel was in the back seat, and in the front passenger seat was a tall, pale man with short blond hair and a plain blue shirt.He looked up and around, with a big smile on his face, Slupe.Gurriel is home!