‘Of course I believe you,’ I soothed. ‘I know you.’
Too late. ‘Nah.’
He glared before reaching behind him to the counter top. A second later, a gun was in his hands. It was identical to the one he’d foisted upon Stubman – maybe you got two for the price of one in the illegal arms trade.
‘Sorry, detective.’ He raised the muzzle. ‘I’m going to need a little time to get my story straight and make sure everyone believes me. At least you won’t be permanently dead, so it’s not like I’m really hurting you. Twelve hours while you resurrect will be enough time to make sure everyone hears what I want them to hear. It’ll give me time to produce the evidence that’ll keep me in the clear.’
He looked at me earnestly, as if he still thought we could be friends. ‘It’s not personal. It’s really not.’
I didn’t panic. ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you.’ I shoved my hand into my pocket and yanked out Buffy’s voice recorder, which had been there since she’d given it to me days before. A tiny red light was blinking on it. ‘I’ve recorded our conversation and this little thing is connected to the internet. By now your confession is secure in the cloud, ready for everyone to hear. You just confessed to the world, Max. Those police you called in aren’t coming for me, they’re coming for you.’
As if on cue, blue flashing lights appeared through the kitchen window. Max’s nostrils flared; for the first time since this shitty business had begun, he wasn’t in control – and he knew it. He hadn’t planned for this and he didn’t know how to react.
Max only had one course of action left, and his hand tensed. As my phoenix skills kicked in, I threw myself to the left. The gun fired, shattering the glass-fronted oven that I’d been standing in front of.
The police outside obviously heard the shot because there were loud shouts followed by a thump on the door. They’d be inside in seconds. There was no time for Max to explain away what he’d done, no time to wipe clean the gun or plant evidence on me. He whirled around, threw open his back door and ran – but he was still armed and he was still dangerous.
Avoiding the shards of glass around me, I picked myself up from the floor. There was another loud thud as the police tried to break down the front door, but I didn’t have time to wait for them.
I sprinted outside after Max. It was dark and, despite my brief reconnaissance, the area was unfamiliar. If I’d been wholly human, he’d have had the advantage, but I was the phoenix. The one-and-only phoenix. And I was going to bring him down.
I leapt over the low garden hedge, twisting my head left and then right just in time to glimpse Max’s back as he disappeared around a distant corner. He moved fast for a middle-aged human and I wondered if he’d been preparing for this.
I thundered after him, splashing in dirty puddles and soaking my trousers. I reached the same corner and wheeled around. Shit. Now where was he? I frowned at the silent street until I caught a faint quiver from a bush less than twenty metres away. He’d decided to hide. That wouldn’t help him.
I smiled grimly and focused on the trembling leaves. A second later, before I could take more than two steps towards them, a loud voice boomed, ‘Police! Stop! Put your hands behind your head!’
For fuck’s sake. Not now. Some enterprising officer had taken it upon himself to leave his colleagues to deal with the carnage in Max’s house while he investigated the streets nearby. It was a smart move on his part, but it didn’t help me in the slightest.
I knew better than to resist. I came to a stuttering halt and lifted my hands. ‘I’m DC Emma Bellamy,’ I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible. ‘I’m in pursuit of a suspect who I believe is hiding in bushes just over there. He’s armed.’ I started to turn my head to look at the officer.
He barked out an order. ‘Don’t move!’
I pulled a face but did as he commanded. Instead of turning to look at him, I trained my eyes on the clump of bushes. This was only a minor setback; Max wouldn’t get away.
‘You’ve been suspended, DC Bellamy,’ the officer said. ‘There’s already a warrant out for your arrest.’
My stomach dropped. Damn it – the DNA results must have come through earlier than expected. ‘I’m not resisting arrest,’ I protested. ‘But I am telling you that there is a man with a gun in those bushes just twenty metres away. He’s already tried to shoot me once. You need to call in an armed response unit.’
The officer reached for my hands, snapped metal handcuffs around my wrists and patted me down. Immediately, he located Buffy’s voice recorder. ‘What’s this?’
‘It’s a recording device. The man with the gun is called Max Vargman. He is hiding in those bushes that I keep telling you about. I recorded his confession to several murders on that device.’ I struggled to keep the impatience out of my voice.
There was a crackle from the officer’s radio. He muttered into it, ‘Suspect in custody. Potential shooter still at large. Request immediate back-up to—’
There was an ear-piercing crack as Max fired his gun again. This time he didn’t miss. The bullet smacked into my shoulder with such force that I fell back against the officer and both of us dropped to the ground. A moment later, I felt excruciating pain.
‘Shot fired! Shot fired!’ the officer underneath me screeched into his radio.
I writhed in agony, struggling to clear my head, to think clearly. ‘Fuck!’ I screamed. ‘Fuck!’
My swearing screech worked, because my curse somehow acknowledged the pain and allowed me to deal with it. Blinking away involuntary tears, I clenched my jaw and threw myself upwards, using the momentum to get back to my feet.
Max was there in front of me, an oddly serene expression on his face, the gun pointed at my head. ‘Shoot her,’ he said in a flat voice. ‘Shoot him.’ He nodded. ‘Get hold of the voice recorder and her body. Hold her corpse to ransom in return for any uploaded recordings that incriminate me. Horvath will come through.’
His brow furrowed. ‘But I’ll still be in trouble. I’ll still be arrested even without the recording.’
I stared at him, confused, then I realised he was talking to himself. He was working through the problems facing him until he found the right solution.
