Essay Questions

Why was Jack Reacher arrested for the murder?

At the beginning of the book, Reacher is arrested for the murder because, essentially, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. After being on a Greyhound bus for a fair amount of time, Reacher exits the bus in Margrave, Georgia. He leaves the bus at an unplanned stop and comes across the site of a murder. He examines said murder and goes on his way. However, someone sees him at the murder site and turns him into the police.

How did the counterfeiting ring obtain paper to continue counterfeiting?

Although Jack Reacher's brother Joe made it hard for counterfeiters to obtain paper to continue their operation, the counterfeiting ring in Margrave still obtain paper for counterfeiting by using Hubble to obtain $1 bills, bleaching them in Venezuela, and printing $100 bill artwork on the bleached $1 bills. This was a complicated enterprise that involved a lot of moving parts.

What is Picard's motivation for taking part in the counterfeiting ring?

Quite simply, Picard's motivation in taking part in the counterfeiting ring is for his own personal gain. Because of his participation, he would be in line to make a tremendous amount of money. He has deep ties to Margrave (and to Finaly, his friend who went to Margrave) and felt like he could be a valuable asset to the operation.