He released Danielle and raised his hands, palms out.

She dropped to her knees, clutching her throat and gasping for breath. I hoped she didn’t hate me too much.

Monk sagged with relief.

I wasn’t ready to relax yet. I kept the gun trained on Slade. I could hear sirens outside, drawing closer. This would all be over soon.

“Step away from her, Nick,” I said.

He did.

“Are you okay?” I asked Danielle. She staggered to her feet and nodded to me, going to Monk’s side. A more sensitive man than Monk would have tried to comfort her in some way.

“Now what?” Slade asked casually.

“We wait for the police to arrive and arrest you,” Monk said.

The sirens were louder now, maybe only a couple of blocks away.

“On what charge?” Slade said. I found his calmness unnerving. Didn’t he know that he was finished?

“Three counts of murder and one of attempted murder,” Monk said. “For starters.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Slade said. “I came here to protect Linda while she surveyed her property. This is a dangerous place to be at night.”

“You just tried to kill her,” Monk said.

“Says who?” Slade replied.

“All of us,” Monk said.

“Not her,” Slade said, tipping his head towards Wurzel. “She’s not going to press charges or back up your crazy accusations. To do that, she’d have to confess to hiring me to murder her husband and she’s not going to do that. Are you, Linda, dear?”

The truth of his words sank into her skin like needles. Mine, too.

Wurzel shook her head slowly. “You’re a bastard, Nick.”

“Maybe so, but you’re stuck with me,” Slade said.

“Until he kills you,” I said.

Wurzel knew I was right. Her face was as white as a freshly applied geisha facial. But she had no choice. She had to play along with him tonight and worry later about the danger he posed to her. She had enough money to hire a dozen bodyguards to protect her or a hit man to take Slade down.

He had to know that, too.

“I’ve had a change of heart,” Slade said. “But whether I have or not, neither one of us wants to go to prison and if we both keep our mouths shut, we never will.”

I only had to look at Monk to know that Slade was right. Monk was crestfallen, his shoulders slumped, his head lowered. This was going to be the first time that he’d been beaten by a murderer cleverer than he was.

I couldn’t bear to see Monk suffer for another second.

“You’re both going to prison tonight,” I said.

Slade shook his head as if he were deeply disappointed in me. “You haven’t been listening, Natalie.”

“Yes, I have.” I reached into my pocket with my free hand and pulled out my cell phone. “And so has my voice mail.”

That was the speed-dial number I hit when we came into the warehouse.

Slade’s cocky smile evaporated.

Monk looked at me with astonishment. “Really?”

“Really,” I said.

“And so has the nine-one-one operator,” Danielle said in a raspy voice, picking up her cell phone from the pile of bricks where she’d left it. “I kept the line open while I kicked your ass.”

Wurzel leaned against her Maybach for support and began to cry. Soon she’d be living in a cell half the size of her car and a lot less sumptuous.

Monk straightened up and nodded to himself, obviously pleased and proud of his two assistants. The case was solved. The bad guys were going to pay for their crimes. Balance had been restored.

For him, it was as close to perfect as things could ever get.

Behind us, three black-and-white police cars roared into the warehouse.

I glanced at Slade, who glared at me with such murderous intent that I was tempted to shoot him just to be safe.

“You’re fired,” he said.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

I hated to lose the Lexus, the expense account, and the health plan, but at least we were still alive.

While the police handcuffed Slade and Wurzel, and Monk was briefing Disher, I called Julie and told her to get her fanny back home and warned her that I probably wouldn’t be back until morning.

“Who’s the lucky guy?” she asked.

“Lieutenant Disher,” I said.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” she said with true horror in her voice.

“It’s not what you think. He’s going to be taking my statement,” I said. “We caught a murderer tonight.”

“Cool,” she said.

I wished her sweet dreams and hung up. I didn’t tell her that I’d nearly been killed and I never would. There are some things she doesn’t need to know.

I slipped my phone in my purse and saw that the back door of the Maybach was open. Danielle sat in the backseat of Wurzel’s car, watching me and sipping a bottle of water.

“Comfy?” I asked.

“I figure this is as close as I will ever get to a car like this, so I should take advantage of the opportunity,” she said. “And the minifridge. She’s got Godiva chocolate, grapes, and six different kinds of cheese in there.”

“You saved our lives tonight,” I said. “Thank you.”

She dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. “You returned the favor.”

“About that,” I said, hesitating. “You know that was all just talk, right? I mean, I wouldn’t have done anything to hurt you.”

“That’s not what Nick thought. I could feel his heart pounding against my back.”

“I don’t know if I would have taken the shot or not,” I said.

“I do,” Danielle said.

That gave her an edge on me. I still wasn’t sure what I would have done.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Look for a job,” she said. “Maybe one in a less dangerous line of work.”

“But you’re good at this,” I said.

“I’m not sure that I want to be,” she said. “I’m going to take some time off and think about it.”

Monk and Disher came over to us.

“Congratulations,” Disher said. “You did some amazing detective work. Monk has filled me in on everything. But I’ll still need you to come downtown and give me your official statements.”

“Can you make the charges stick?” I asked.

“The nine-one-one recording and the voice mail are as good as signed confessions,” Disher said. “Slade and Wurzel know it, too. They’re already competing to see who can roll over on the other one first in exchange for a lesser sentence.”

“When will the captain be released?” Monk asked.

“As soon as the DA can wake up a judge,” Disher said. “But in the meantime, he’s relaxing in the officers’ break room with some coffee and doughnuts.”

“So for the time being you’re still Acting Captain Disher,” I said.

“Yes, I am.” He smiled at Danielle and offered his hand. “We haven’t been introduced. As Natalie said, I’m Acting Captain Disher. But everybody calls me Bullitt.”

“They do?” Monk asked.

“Yes, they do,” Disher stated.

“I don’t,” Monk said.

“That’s because you’re out of the loop,” Disher said. “I’m in the loop. You could say the loop loops around me.”

She shook Disher’s hand. “Why do they call you that?”

He puffed out his chest a bit and hiked up his pants. “It’s obvious once you see me in action on the streets. I’m basically fearless.”

“Excuse me, Bullitt,” I said. “Where do you think Stottlemeyer will go once he’s released?”

“He’ll probably swing by the station to thank you before he goes home,” Disher said, turning back to Danielle. “After your statement, how would you like a tour of police headquarters?”

“You could start by showing her your acting captain’s office,” I said. “I’m sure she’d like that.”

“Oh my God.” Disher suddenly froze. “All my stuff is still in there.”

He spun around and ran back to his car.

“What’s his problem?” Danielle asked.

I shrugged. “You never know with Bullitt.”