I had made a critical miscalculation in my assessment of the players in this tale. I had incorrectly assumed that Malik was some kind of heartless, unfeeling sociopath, but that was wrong. He had loved ones, including his mother who I could see now he'd never harm. But above all that, he had something to lose.

          His limp form still lay on the ground where he'd fallen; lifeless but hopefully not dead. A couple shallow drops of blood dotted his temple, but not enough to immediately concern me—not with Robert staring around wildly like a cornered animal. Manny had been instructed to stay out of sight until Robert confessed, but honestly nothing would stop him from barreling out from nowhere if Robert tried anything.

          That was at least a little comforting.

           The other comfort was the taser stashed comfortably in my lower, right pocket. Best case scenario, I wouldn't need it or Manny. But from the wild look in Robert's eyes, he had no intention of letting me or Malik walk out of here. My fingers twitched over the taser. I took in my surroundings: A world outside darkening more by the second, a newspaper rack by the door, the teapot on the floor, the barstool I had been sitting at... Any one of these objects could become a weapon. Though from the way he was looking I couldn't rule out him being enraged enough to try and strangle me with his bare hands.

         "So, what now?" I goaded. "You kill me and Malik? And then? Disposing of me is easy—I'm a petite little thing—but Malik is huge. How are you going to get his body out of here undetected?"

          "Shut up!"

          "This thing is really spiraling, isn't it?" It was dangerous to provoke him but I had to keep him talking or all of this was for nothing. "It started out easy. Scam Margie Scott out of her shares of a rapidly growing company. That's not even technically a crime. But then you're bribing judges and now you're committing murder."

          "I didn't have a choice!"

         "Oh? You couldn't not kill a dying woman? You couldn't not bribe that judge? How convenient!"

          "She was dying! You don't face consequences when you're dead." He took another step toward me. "But what about me? It was her idea to begin with. Then on her death bed she wants to come clean? So I have to deal with the fallout by myself?"

           I stepped back. A futile effort as there was only about four feet until I hit the wall. "You're not innocent here."

         "No adult is innocent. You're in business, you know." He pointed an accusatory finger at me. "You know what it takes to get a business off the ground. You know you'd do anything to protect this place."

         "I wouldn't kill." Not over money. Not over things.

         "You would if everything you'd worked for was on the line."

          "You don't know me."

          "I can see it in your eyes. The hunger. The drive. You'd do anything."

          "I guess you'd know."

         "How's this for a counteroffer? Ten million for silence, and you help me dispose of Malik."

         "I don't think so."

          He shook his head. "Then I guess I have no choice."

          I cut through his train of thought to get back to murdering Diana instead of thoughts of murdering me. "What I don't understand is how y'all messed up such an easy scam."

         He took one more small step forward. "It was such a simple plan. She was so out of it she'd never even notice. Corrine pushed in just enough morphine to keep her loose. I drew up the new will. And Malik talked to her—tried to coax her to sign."

          I followed his train of thought and filled in the gaps. "But then she started rambling about your shady back door deals. Including the judges."

          He nodded and took a pitying glance towards where Malik lay sprawled. "Corrine wasn't paying attention--she didn't care...but Malik. He's smart. I could see it on his face. If she said anymore, he could work it out."

         "So, you killed her."

          "I didn't go there that night for that, I swear." He released a burdened sigh and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "I let myself in to find her records. I knew she kept them in her office, but I couldn't find them."

          I turned slightly so my right leg was closer to him and held my breath. This was the moment I had been waiting for.

          "On the way out, I stopped by to see if they were in her room." He looked at me for reassurance. Why do murderers always want to be reassured that deep down they're good people? "She was awake. She knew who I was, she knew what I was after."

          "She knew what you did."

          He nodded. "She knew what we did. And that...and that she'd tell. About the will, the judges, all of it. She wanted to die with a clear conscience. But what we did was a federal crime! They'd lock me away for life! What was I supposed to do?"

          "She was your friend."

          "She was already dying. My life is far from over."

          "So you decided to kill her."

          "It was a mercy!"

         I scoffed. "Is that what you tell yourself?"

         "It's the truth. Who wants to live that way?" A look of disgust settled across his face. "It was so easy. I shot her a little morphine first so she wouldn't fight it, then pushed the air in the line. It only took twenty minutes or so and then she was gone."

          "And you booked it out of there and let them think she died of natural causes."

          "It was less cruel that way."

          "Sure. And if they suspected unnatural causes they'd blame Corrine for malpractice first. How humane."

          "Malik would have gotten her the best lawyer."

          Something tells me he doesn't give a crap about that. "We can still go to the police. Malik's probably not dead. You haven't gone too far yet"

          "I told you I'm not going to the police," he said quietly. "And you aren't either."

         The shift from dialog to violence was rapid. There was a lick of his lips and a twitch of his eyebrow, then he was coming at me in a blind, desperate rage.

          I jammed my hand down into the tight fold of my pocket and gripped the taser so hard I worried I'd set it off. I didn't though. It slid free of my pants. My finger found the trigger. I pointed it forward and braced myself.

          Time seemed to slow. My heart drummed an up tempo in my ears.

          Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum...

          He came closer. His hands reached out; the fingers bent like talons going for the kill. Maybe he would choke me or maybe he would start swinging, but one thing was clear, he intended to shut me up for good.

           Manny's voice echoed through my ears; 'Don't taser yourself.'

          My finger found the trigger but paused. Robert was close enough that I could feel the air around me disturbing. He would grab me before I could push that button. If we were making skin to skin contact when those 30,000 volts entered his body, would I feel them to?

          Dying is terrible and all, but I don't want to end the day pissing myself.

          No, that didn't matter either way. I had to defend myself.

          Robert gripped me by my shoulders, his nails digging into my skin. All hesitation left my body. I pulled the trigger.

          The prongs shot forward and penetrated his chest. It all happened so fast. Robert's body shot rod straight. He released me and tumbled downward. On the floor he writhed in pain before settling in the fetal position. I dropped the taser, jumped over him, and ran to where Malik was still lying comatose. He had a pulse, thank God.

          "Evie, you okay?" Manny asked, slightly out of breath from sprinting from the back to the front in what must have been record time.

           I looked up to see he'd pulled Robert up by the scruff of his neck. "Yeah."

          He smiled, then turned back to Robert and all trace of normal human Manny was gone. Now he was all cop. His voice took on an authoritative bass. "Alright, asshole. You're going to jail for a long time."

          "For this?" Robert chuckled as Manny slipped his handcuffs around his wrists. "First offence. Upstanding member of society. Assault and battery. Won't even get six months, if anything. I'd guess anger management and community service."

          I stood and sauntered over to where Manny had him face down. "Actually, he was talking about the bribery and murder."

          "She's dead and buried. You can't prove it."

          I crouched down and smiled a wicked little grin. "I can, because you confessed."

          "No one would believe you."

          "They don't have to." I went ahead and pulled my cell from my pocket and hit the stop button on the recording feature. Then I went ahead and rewound a bit of the file and let him hear himself talk. "You see. You confessed. And look up there."

          I pointed toward the camera over the door. "Cameras. So, they'll see where you attacked me and Malik. You're done."

          "How did you—"

          "I used the phone. The recorder was just the decoy. I figured you'd be more chatty if you thought you had the upper hand—and you were. You just talked and talked and talked."

          "I can't believe—"

          "Believe it. You were never going to win. The moment you stepped in here it was over."

          Robert's sense of security plummeted. His body caved in as the weight of the situation settled. I stood and turned to go dump the audio file on a flash drive before the cops showed up.

          "I have to know." Robert called before I was even five feet away. "I was so careful."

          I turned back and stared down at him. "She woke up. I mean, before that night. She knew what you were doing so she got a lifeline to her children. And then they called me."

          He sneered, then lowered his head again. "You're a hell of a detective."

          "And you're a terrible murderer. Don't quit your day job."

*******************

          The police took no time at all to show up. Manny and I stood outside on the sidewalk, watching the cops write their reports while the strobe lights painted the front street an eerie blue and red. Robert was locked in the back of a police car, and Malik was on his way to the hospital.

          He had woken up shortly before the cops arrived. I had gotten him a stool and some tea and watched him rub at the knot at the back of his head.

         "What the hell happened?"

          "Robert assaulted you. Then tried to do the same to me."

          "Why would he—"

          "Because he killed your mother and was going to kill us too."

          As he looked me in my eyes, his denial turned to acceptance. "So she really was murdered?"

          "Yeah." I nodded and leaned my suddenly tired body against the counter. "I thought it was you for the longest time."

          He frowned at my words, deeply offended. "I loved her. Even when she was...awful."

          "I see that now."

          "Why?"

         I paused and chose my words carefully. It was probably rough to hear about her final moments. "She was going to tell. She was going to tell about the bribery and God knows what other corruption going on at that place."

         He nodded solemnly. "This could be the end for Dupont. There'll be litigations for years."

         "Yeah, that sucks. Their curl cream is bomb."

          "I didn't mean for this to happen." His tone had been uncharacteristically earnest, like all the pomp and importance had flew out of him with Robert's hit. He'd seemed so much less intimidating in those last few moments.

          "I know."

          "I just wanted what was owed to me after so long. Owed to me, and Corrine, and Aunt Margie."

          I didn't know how sincere that was. The road to hell, after all, was paved with good intentions. What I did know was that he was a son left to flounder in pain for untold years. Never getting his due for keeping the family together, just like he never got his due for all he did for Dupont.

          That was the price for mixing business and family. Everything came down to the bottom line. Everyone has to do their part whether they like it or not.

          "You did good back there." Manny grabbed my hand and gave it a little squeeze.

          I brushed imaginary dirt off my shoulder. "Didn't even tase myself."

         "I saw you. You did great. You didn't panic. You had your feet firmly planted. You waited until he attacked you to defend yourself."

          There wasn't just pride shining from his eyes. Even in the darkness of the early evening, even under the harsh strobe of police light I could see it. He loved me.

          "When did you know?" I asked after a small silence.

          He picked up my meaning right away. "A few weeks back. We went to the mechanic."

          I felt my face scrunch up into a comical pout. "Well, this sounds like the start to a romantic story."

          "It is to me," he laughed. "It was March. We were going to hang out, but then the battery died in my truck, so I called you."

          I remembered that day. Pretty ordinary if you asked me. "Yeah, yeah. And you were like, 'let's raincheck'."

          "And you said 'a battery replacement doesn't take long, I'll go with you'."

          I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Was that your, 'You had me at hello', moment?"

          "Sort of. At the mechanic, I remember sitting in the waiting room and you made this great joke—I can't remember it, but I laughed so hard!"

          "I'm always making jokes!" For some reason, that was funny enough to make us both start laughing.

          "Yeah, but I remember being annoyed that morning because I'd had plans with you and then suddenly, I had this chore I had to take care of." His laughter stopped and he glanced at me with a look of fondness. "But then, we were sitting there in that lobby and I wasn't annoyed at all. I was happy. Because I was with you. It was you."

          "I don't know if I've had that feeling yet."

          "I know. And it's okay." He draped his arm across my shoulder and pulled me in close. "You're scared. So am I. I've never felt like this about anyone before."

          "So, what now?"

          "I want to take you camping."

          I pushed back from him so he could see the incredulous look I was giving him. "...I—I'm not following your thought process, here."

          "I never want to take anyone camping with me."

          "But..."

          "Yeah?"

          I sighed. "That's where the bears live."

          He bust out laughing so hard a couple of the cops turned to look. "We wouldn't be near bears." he said with a smile. "I have to take you now! You'd tell some great jokes about salmon and trees and shit! It'd be a blast."

          "So, basically, you love me because I'm funny."

           "And smart, and compassionate, and...somehow overdramatic but also really down to Earth."

          "I'll think about it" I said after a time. "But in exchange, I want to go to a live musical."

          "...Ehhh...okay."

          I jumped up, excited at the prospect. "I want to see Dreamgirls or The Phantom of the Opera!"

          He smiled. "Whatever you want."

          A uniformed cop with a baby face walked up to us. "Are you the owner?" he said to me.

          "Yes."

          "We have a few questions about what happened here."

          I stood up straight. "Of course."

          "Start at the beginning, please."

          "Well, it all started with this ugly necklace."