Jack Reacher's Rules

“Every city has a cusp, where the good part of town turns bad.”

FINDING AN AUTO-PARTS STORE

In any city the auto-parts store is always on the same strip as the tire stores and the auto dealers and the lube shops. Which in any city is always a wide new strip near a highway cloverleaf.

FINDING THE MORGUE

Morgues are usually close to hospitals, well hidden from the public. They are often not signposted at all, or else labeled something anodyne, such as Special Services. But they’re always accessible. Meat wagons have to be able to roll in and out unobstructed.

FINDING THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Turn off the main drag—public offices are always in the back somewhere where land is cheaper—and check the side streets. Look for a shortwave antenna on the roof and a lot big enough for a handful of cruisers.

FINDING A WESTERN UNION OFFICE

Stand on a street corner and ask yourself, Is it more likely to be left or right now? Then turn left or right as appropriate, and pretty soon you are in the right neighborhood, and pretty soon you’ll find it.

If in doubt, turn left.

“The bad stuff seems to migrate. Law enforcement never really wins. It just shoves stuff around, a block here, a block there.”