Page 193 of King’s Ransom

‘I called Modern Alchemical Solutions and they did.’

I nodded slowly.

‘You know, Merritt,’ I said, ‘I hate to say it, but you’re not a better detective than I am.’

‘What?’ he said, stiffening.

‘You cheated. You needed the answers beforehand. I didn’t.’

‘I could’ve solved—’

‘No, you couldn’t. All that this has shown is that you aren’t the best and never were—’

Whack. And there it was.

He punched me in the face.

Whack. Again, in the gut.

I doubled over, wheezing, dropped to my knees.

Vasha chuckled softly.

Garrett stood over me. ‘Seriously, pal, this is not the time to be a smart-ass.’

Kneeling at his feet, I groaned, my eyes level with his worn cowboy boots.

Then I did it.

Quick as a whip, I reached out and yanked up the left cuff of his jeans and snatched the Bowie hunting knife from the sheath hidden in his left boot, the one I’d seen him use on the side of the building to cut Cassandra’s flex-cuffs.

‘What the—!’ Garrett shouted as I flung the knife side-handed . . .

. . . at Vasha.

It lodged deep in her throat and she fell, her eyes wide with shock, gurgling, a horrific amount of blood spraying from her neck.

Then I threw myself into Garrett and our final fight began.

I crashed into Garrett and pushed his gun hand away . . .

. . . just as he jammed down on the trigger.

A flurry of gunshots boomed in the tight confines of the elevator, hitting the walls and hitting Vasha as well.

Her dying body convulsed as at least eight bullets slammed into it and pretty soon she was fully dead.

Vasha slumped against the back wall of the elevator and then slid to the floor, landing on her butt so that it looked like she was sitting, but her open eyes were devoid of life.

Then Garrett’s pistol went dry and all we had were our fists.

‘You little four-eyed fuck!’ (129) Merritt Garrett yelled as we struggled.

He threw me clear of him and suddenly I saw that we actually did have more than our fists.

He dived for Vasha’s CZ 75 pistol, lying on the floor beside her.

I was too far away to stop him.