by Nora Kane
“You don’t look like you're trying very hard.”
Margot put more pressure on his neck. The way she had him constricted, he wouldn’t be conscious much longer.
Mal whispered, “I killed his man and he didn’t check my boot either.”
Margot didn’t know what he meant by ‘either’ but she had good idea what he kept in his boot.
“What did he say?” The Cowboy asked.
Mal was going to sleep already, so Margot said, “He said he loved me.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
Mal dropped into unconsciousness. Margot loosened her grip. She hoped The Cowboy didn’t notice.
“You’re going to have to take my word for it. He’s out.”
“He’s sleeping. I want him dead.”
Margot let go.
“I said, I want him dead.”
“He is,” Margot said as she unwrapped her legs and moved so she was on her knees, “check for yourself.”
“I can see him breathing. You should have believed me when I said I was going to shoot your sister.”
“Wait,” Margot told him as she pointed to his bloody foot. “I’ll prove it. Sleeper hold or not, I squeeze his foot he’s going to jump if he’s alive.”
“If he jumps, you still have to kill him and I’m still blowing a hole in Melanie's foot. Maybe you should choke him some more to be sure.”
“He won’t jump.”
Margot reached for his foot with her left hand while she put her hand down the boot with her right. She pinched the wound and Mal jerked awake as she drew the twenty-five caliber pistol he stashed there.
“I told you,” the cowboy said with a shrug.
Mal’s jerking around distracted him just enough so that he didn’t see she had the gun until it was pointed at him.
“Drop the gun and put your face on the floor,” Margot told him as she got to her feet.
The Cowboy kept the gun at his side, but he didn’t drop it.
“What are you going to do with that little thing? Don’t be stupid...”
Margot shot him in the chest. She fired twice, but The Cowboy was still breathing. She aimed for his head and fired twice more. One shot grazed his cheek, but the other caught him in the neck. Blood was spurting out of his split Jugular vein, but he was still trying to raise his pistol.
Margot pulled the trigger twice more. Mal’s Saturday Night Special only held five rounds, so the second pull didn’t produce any results. Shot number five hit him in the chest.
The Cowboy stumbled as the rapid blood loss caught up with him. He tried to raise his gun again. If he managed to do it this time, there was nothing Margot could do to stop him.
The Cowboy fell to the carpet before he could take aim.
Margot pried his gun out of his dead hand and ran to her sister. Mal had said he’d killed The Cowboy’s other man, but she needed to be sure.
There was no one in the other bedroom but her sister. Margot left her there and went to the front door. Two uniformed officers were standing by Melanie's car. Another two were standing by the front door, which they must have kicked in. They all looked confused.
Margot put down the gun and called out, “Wrong house!”
She went back inside and freed her sister. By the time she got her loose, the house was filled with cops, including Radcliff and Ames, who must have arrived while she was freeing Melanie.
“Are you okay?” Radcliff asked.
“I’ve been worse. Mal is in the other bedroom, he’s been shot.”
A uniformed cop poked his head in the bedroom and said, “Is Mal the guy dressed like a cowboy?”
“No, he’s the other one.”
“What other one?”
Chapter 11
A week later
Margot was sitting at her new desk when Detective Rick Radcliff came in and sat down across from her.
“I don’t think you have an appointment.”
Radcliff smiled, “Do you like meeting clients here instead of at the bar?”
“I actually haven’t met any clients yet. I’m doing some leg work for Shaw while I learn the ropes around here. Is this business or pleasure?”
“Seeing you is always a pleasure.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I was on this side of town and thought I’d drop in and take you to lunch, if you have the time.”
“I do.”
“I also thought I’d tell you Marv is up and awake.”
“Did you tell him I told you about the bodies?”
“I don’t think you have to worry about him being sore about that. After we explained how Manny tipped off Brantley and then had his boy try to delay you so he could get there, Marv wasn’t feeling much loyalty to his old M.C.”
“He talked?”
“Yeah. A lot. Hell, he was ready to talk before we even got to the part about how Manny was going to hand Mal over to The Cowboy.”
“Speaking of Mal, any word on him?”
“Still in the wind. I suppose I don’t blame him. When the body count gets that high, self-defense becomes a hard sell even if it's true. Especially if you stuff three of them into freezers and take off. You going to look for him?”
“No. What would I do if I found him? Turn him in? I’m playing it straight from now on. I’m leaving Mal out there until either you find him or he turns himself in. Makes it a lot easier not to make a bad decision.”
Radcliff nodded. “Probably the best way to go.”
“Did anybody ever find out if someone at Norco tipped the cowboy off?”
“Those guys don’t talk much, but a dude with a cartel connection made a call to the burner phone we found on The Cowboy. All he said was ‘say hi to Marquez,’ but I’m guessing it was some kind of code.”
“I noticed you still called him ‘The Cowboy.’”
“Yeah, a name has been hard to come by. The guy doesn’t seem to exist.”
“I guess as long as he stays nonexistent, it doesn’t really matter.”
“You really going to try to play it straight? Stay out of trouble?”
“Yeah.”
Radcliff smiled. Margot got the feeling he didn’t believe her.
Books by Nora Kane
1. Secrets of Woodcrest Manor
2. Wolverine Harbor Novellas Series
Book 1 - The Veil of Deceit
Book 2 - The Veil of Envy
Book 3 - The Veil of Vengeance
3. Emmy Grimm Series
Book 1 - Lured
Book 2 - Chased
Book 3 - Blindsided
4. Margot Harris Series
Book 1 - Shadow of Greed
Book 2 - Shadow of Pretense
Book 3 - Shadow of Suspicion
Book 4 - Shadow of Betrayal
Book 5 - Shadow of Misgivings
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When the Patriarch of the Woodcrest Family was found dead in the flowerbed under his bedroom window, the local police department called it suicide. His son hired Private detective Emmy wanting to uncover the real truth behind his father's death. Surrounded by so many individuals who could benefit from his death, now the responsibility is on Emmy to figure out who was responsible. When Emmy starts to talk to the heirs the Woodcrest family's secrets begin to emerge.
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