"On the ground!" I say, gun barrel pressing up under his chin. "Get on the goddamned ground or--"
"You'll shoot?" Wallace says. "You haven't yet, Casey."
"Because I hadn't figured out which of you bastards is guilty. Now I have." I push the gun barrel in harder. "Do you notice which one I let escape? And which is at the end of my gun?"
"You're wrong. You--"
His whole body convulses so fast I'm sure it's a trick. I'm about to pull the trigger when I see Diana beside him, holding the knife, blood dripping from the blade. Wallace's mouth works. Then he topples.
I kick Wallace as he falls, and then I'm on him. He lies facedown on the ground, my gun to his head. Blood gushes from his side.
"I stabbed him," Diana says, and she's clutching the weapon in both hands. "I took the knife, and I stabbed him. He--"
"Get down," I say.
I look around, but there have been no more shots.
Brady is gone, and the sniper has stopped shooting.
That is no coincidence.
"It's your shooter, isn't it?" I say to Wallace. "You put someone out here to kill him. You paid the council to let you bring in an assassin."
Wallace gives a ragged chuckle. "You have seen too many movies, my dear. And Oliver was wrong. You're a lousy detective. You picked the wrong--"
"No, I did not. The minute that gun fired, you grabbed Diana to shield you. You stabbed--"
I look over sharply to see she's got her jacket off and is wrapping it around her arm.
"He sliced me good," she says. "You're going to need to give me a few stitches. I'm fine, though. Not that he gave a damn."
She's right. I saw Wallace's face when he pulled her to shield him. When he stabbed her. When he tried to stab me.
Backed into a corner, we cannot conceal our true selves. I saw his, and I still don't know exactly what we're dealing with here, but Gregory Wallace is not an innocent man.
I bind and gag him. Then I leave him where he lies, while Diana takes me to Anders.
59
When we arrive, Anders is conscious and struggling to get free from an old hemp rope tying him to a tree. His wrists are bloodied, and as much as I want to carefully tend to his injuries and Diana's, Kenny's situation is a much graver concern.
Our path takes us past Wallace. Diana offers to stay with him. I don't actually give a damn if anyone stays--he's not escaping those ties and if the cougar finds him and thinks he's a fine dinner, I'm okay with that. But I leave Diana behind, armed with a knife and a whistle.
When we set out again, Anders says, "Rough day?"
I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. I think I do a little of both, and he puts his arm around my shoulders as we walk.
"Kenny was alive and stable when you left him," he says after I explain. "I'm not going to lie and say he'll be fine, but he was alive and he was stable. Also . . ." He glances over. "What happened to him wasn't your fault."
"He only came out here to clear his name."
"No, he comes out here all the time as a member of the militia. Odds are just as good that he could have been shot by this psycho sniper while just doing his job. You don't really feel guilty about him being out here. You feel guilty for thinking he was Brady's accomplice."
I nod.
"Lesson one in Rockton?" he says. "Trust no one. Except Eric. Well, trust him to not be a killer or a killer's accomplice. I know he has secrets, but I'm sure you already know those."
I glance over.