"Kill you and disappear."David's voice was calm again, decided."I have money saved.Contacts south of the border.I can be gone by tomorrow, start over somewhere else.Without you to push the investigation, without your testimony connecting the dots, the case goes cold.Polacca is good, but she doesn't have your instincts.She won't figure it out."
"You're wrong."
"Maybe.But I'd rather take my chances running than spend the rest of my life in prison while my daughter's secret is dissected in open court."
Kari heard movement—fast, sudden.He was coming at her from the left, from behind the vehicle.She swung her weapon in that direction but couldn't see him clearly enough for a clean shot.
Then something hit her from the right—not David, but something he'd thrown.A heavy toolbox, maybe, or a piece of equipment.It struck her shoulder, knocking her off balance.Her weapon swung wild as she staggered, trying to recover.
David was on her then.He grabbed for her weapon, trying to wrench it from her grip.She held on, twisting away, but he had leverage and momentum.They grappled in the darkness, both fighting for control of the gun.
Kari drove her knee up, aiming for his midsection.Felt it connect, heard him grunt.His grip loosened for a second.She tried to pull away, to create distance, but he recovered faster than she'd expected.His hand caught her wrist, strong and desperate.
They crashed into the workbench, tools scattering.Something sharp cut across Kari's forearm.David's breathing was harsh and labored, but he didn't let go.His other hand was reaching for something on the bench—that wrench from earlier, maybe, or something worse.
Kari made a decision.She stopped fighting for distance and instead moved closer, inside his reach.Used her free hand to grab his face, pressing her thumb into the burned area on his cheek where Emma's tea must have scalded him.
David screamed, a raw sound of pain and fury.His grip on her wrist loosened.Kari wrenched her weapon arm free and brought the butt of the gun down hard on his temple.
He went down, hitting the concrete floor with a heavy thud.Kari backed away immediately, breathing hard, her weapon trained on his prone form.For a moment, he didn't move, and she thought he might be unconscious.
Then he stirred, groaning.Tried to push himself up.
"Don't," Kari said, her voice hard.She was breathing heavily, her heart hammering."Don't move.Put your hands on the floor where I can see them."
David complied slowly, his movements pained.He rolled onto his back, hands visible.Blood trickled from where she'd struck him, dark against his skin.
"It's over," Kari said.
"No."David's voice was thick, slurred."Not over.Can't be over.My daughter..."
"Your daughter will have to live with the truth about what you did.Just like you'll have to live with it in prison."
She pulled out her phone with her free hand, keeping her weapon trained on him.Dialed Polacca's number.It rang once.
"Kari?Where are you?Martin's clear—his story checked out.Where did you go?"
"David's house.His garage.I need backup now, and an ambulance.I have the suspect in custody, but he's injured."
"David?What—I'm on my way.Five minutes."
Kari ended the call and looked down at David, who was still on the floor, his breathing ragged and wet-sounding.His inhaler had fallen during the struggle, lay somewhere in the darkness beyond reach.
"Please," David said."I can't… can't breathe."
Kari studied him, wondering if Patricia and Robert had begged him for mercy, for help.She imagined ignoring him, or perhaps finding the inhaler only to stomp on it and see his reaction.
But she couldn't do that, couldn't be that person.She wasn't like David.
Keeping one eye on David in case he was exaggerating his symptoms as a ruse, Kari searched for the inhaler.It didn't take long to find it.She scooped it up, then handed it to David.
He took a puff, held it, then settled back, relaxing."Thank you," he murmured.
She said nothing, just stood vigil over him, waiting.
In the distance, sirens grew louder, drawing closer.Help was coming.The law was coming.The machinery of justice that David had tried so hard to avoid was finally, inevitably, arriving.
Kari looked down at the man who'd killed to protect a secret, who'd staged deaths at sacred sites while lecturing her about respect for tradition.He'd called himself a father protecting his daughter.But Patricia and Robert had been someone's children, too.Emma had a family who loved her.Jake had people who cared about him.
