Never Underestimate - A Jack Reacher Novel

Preface

The sunlight streamed in through the open skylight, revealing the young woman sitting at the piano bench in a room that was mostly filled with a dusky darkness. Her head was bent in a state of dejection, the hands on the keys were shaking from an unknown emotion. When the sound of a door closing was heard, she leaped up in fear. A man walked in, his unshaven face causing shivers to roll down her spine. "Now, Mandie, isn't it about time for us to leave the country before your mother worries about you?" His voice grated against her ears, making it painful to reply.

"I'm not going with you!" She took a step back, while he took one forward. "Not there, not anywhere. Leave me alone!" A scream broke the air as he slapped her across the face.

"You will do what I want or I'll put you six feet under," he whispered in her ear, pressing her into his body. "If I don't get that money within a week, it'll be all over with you and your little friend. What's his name? Ryan? Bryan?"

"Roy," she managed to say. "His name is Roy Heller, now please let me go." He was about to reply when the sound of footsteps on the stairs stopped him.

"Stay here, don't make a sound," he said. "If I even hear a noise, there'll be hell to pay!" With that he turned and left her in a sobbing heap on the floor. Two shots were fired making her rise to her feet with difficulty. She crept down the stairs to find her tormentor dead on the landing, a red circle of blood growing on his back. Amanda clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a squeal. Then a sharp blow on the back of her head caused her to loose conciousness.

When she awoke, the room was flooded with an unnatural white light. Men burst into the house, pointed 9mms everywhere. She was pulled to her feet, the gun which she did not remember grabbed fell from her hand. Then everything went with a blur, the police station and questionings were nothing to her. Amanda was recalled to herself by a meeting with her boyfriend. "Roy, I didn't do this. There were men who came and killed him."

"I believe you," Roy's face was full of concern. "But this doesn't look good to the cops. You were holding the gun, lying beside him. There are fingerprints. No one else saw those men."

"Roy, I need you to get Jack Reacher for me," she said, her voice trembling with emotion and fatigue.

"Who the hell is Jack Reacher?" Roy asked in shock.

"He's a friend of Helen Rodin's," she said, pulling her jacket more tightly around her. "He helped her solve a case when the man was framed. James Barr. There's a chance he might help me. If you can find him."

"I'd do anything for you, angel," Roy said, wishing the glass wasn't between them so that he could pull her into his arms to comfort her. "Where do I find him?"

"I don't know. Helen said he's a drifter, impossible to find. But he's my only chance. Roy, if you love me and want to see me out of here...get Jack Reacher!