Negley drove Jack and Reacher to Franz's home again. Besides visiting, he suggested that they temporarily leave New York, a troubled city.
Franz's wife, Angela, agreed, but not until two days later. Franz's body had been transferred to the coroner's office by the CSI and would be returned soon. The funeral would be held two days later.
Bidding farewell to the poor mother and child, the three drove directly out of New York and onto the New Jersey Turnpike.
"Are you sure you don't need us to follow?" Hannah asked over the phone.
"Protect Angela and her child. If all goes well, we'll be back tomorrow." Jack glanced in the rearview mirror, confirming that a black SUV had caught up with them, before hanging up.
Besides luring their pursuer, they also planned to go to Atlantic City, where Sanchez and Orozco's offices were located.
While he was on the phone, Reacher was also on the phone, but his responses were still official-sounding replies and voicemail messages.
"The people in Dixon's office still won't reveal her whereabouts?" Negley's expression was a little strange.
"At least we know she's probably fine, but doing some undercover work. If she were on vacation, she'd have reported her whereabouts to her agency.
O'Donnell should have noticed something unusual. Although he didn't reply, he made a small change to his voicemail. I left him a message asking him to meet us in Atlantic City."
Reacher finished speaking, noticing Negley's gossipy face and glaring. "Do you have something to say?"
"Come on, we all know you and Dixon were very interested. Did you sleep together?" Negley, despite being a woman, spoke without restraint.
"Of course not." Reacher's eyes flickered. "That's inappropriate."
"Inappropriate? Inappropriate like Roscoe?" Jack, having nothing else to do, joined in the gossip.
"Who is Roscoe?" Negley asked with interest, glancing at Jack in the back seat.
"A police officer from Margrave, now the mayor's wife." Jack grinned.
"That's different, Jack." Reacher paused, not sure if he was emphasizing it to Jack or himself, before repeating, "That's different."
The car's previously gloomy atmosphere suddenly brightened. Rather than all three of them feeling depressed, it was better to build two people's happiness on the pain of one.
Negley pressed on relentlessly, "We've been together for over three years, and nothing happened between you and Dixon. How long have you been in Margrave? A month?"
"Less than a week," Jack continued his backstabbing. "The girl's still obsessed with him, and she's still single."
Of course, his words were purely subjective. Roscoe's continued singleness might be due to the mayor's busy schedule, but that didn't stop him from teasing Reacher with it.
"I told you it's different," Reacher said, almost annoyed by the two of them. "Back then, we were soldiers, and that wasn't appropriate."
"What's the problem? You two have the same rank, both majors." Negley laughed heartily. Although she and Reacher had been friends and mentors in private, they were still in the military, with a strict superior-subordinate relationship.
"I was in charge of leading the team at the time. It was highly inappropriate and unethical to do that."
This statement instead silenced the two gossipers. After a long silence, Negley shook his head and sighed, "This is truly a Reacher-style answer, old-fashioned and honest yet awe-inspiring."
Someone who was happily eating melons, inexplicably felt as if he had been shot by an arrow. He shrank his neck and looked out the window, forcibly changing the subject.
"Nigley, after Staten Island, be careful not to miss the ramp. We'll be on the Garden State Parkway next. Drive slower and don't let us lose you."
Negley didn't notice anything unusual. "Can we talk about your experiences in Margrave?"
Reacher glanced meaningfully at Jack, who remained silent in the back seat, his lips curling slightly. "This story might be a bit long, but let's start with a certain gigolo
." Jack... "
Atlantic City is the second-largest gambling city in the United States, once second only to Las Vegas. Driving from New York takes less than two hours if all goes well. Although it wasn't a weekend, there were still many buses on the road.
Many of the buses were emblazoned with the logos of various casinos. These were free shuttles, transporting tourists from New York to Atlantic City.
In good years, each visitor received free chips worth between $10 and $20 and coupons for a delicious buffet upon exiting the bus.
But that's all in the past. In recent years, due to a sluggish economy and the rise of gambling in Pennsylvania and other places, this city, once famous for its casinos and beauty pageants, has been declining, even nearing bankruptcy.
While the economy has recovered somewhat in recent years, it hasn't regained its former glory. After all, it's a small city with a population of less than 60,000, and everyone's livelihood depends on the casinos, large and small.
When the three arrived in Atlantic City, the lights were already on, and the neon lights of the casinos illuminated the city with a dazzling brilliance.
They had no interest in gambling, but the hotels and casinos here are integrated, so if they wanted to stay overnight, they had to find one along the boardwalk.
Many coastal cities in the United States have boardwalks, but Atlantic City's is arguably the most famous, stretching over 18 meters wide and nearly 10 kilometers long.
On one side of the boardwalk lies the beautiful beach and the majestic Atlantic Ocean beyond, while on the other side are casinos, luxury shops, and restaurants.
Beaches, palm trees, a giant Ferris wheel, a long boardwalk, and dazzling casinos all combined to create a city of extravagance and extravagance.
"This one should be it," Negley shrugged, standing beneath a vibrant neon sign, reading the giant letters "Neptune.
"We're staying here tonight?" Reacher frowned again.
"Does an overly comfortable bed give you nightmares? I almost forgot, you still owe me a door lock," Jack teased. "
You broke it yourself," Reacher retorted unhappily.
"That's because I was worried about you." The two of them bickered as they followed Negley past two rows of flashy slot machines.
In the center of the casino stood a large circular bar, surrounded by a circle of drinking tables, and around these tables were gaming tables. This arrangement made it easy for tired tourists to relax with a cocktail before continuing their game.
Negley's eyes darted around the area, landing on the most crowded gaming table. He smiled back at Reacher.
"Ma'am, you already have a 10 and an 8. Do you want to keep flipping?" The dealer was a middle-aged woman wearing a green casino vest, her face a color almost identical to her vest.
"Of course, and I'll double my bet." The gambler sitting opposite the dealer was a voluptuous white woman with long brown hair tied in a simple ponytail.
Although her back was turned to Jack and the other two, her face was unclear, but just the sight of her from behind was enough to evoke a lot of emotions.
(End of this chapter)