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?“That I didn’t plan on. I figured if Kane or the cops had got that drive, by the time they broke the encryption, I’d be long gone. Don’t know how you did it so fast.”
?We reached the garage door. Stewart hit a red button and it began to rise.
?“So why kill Kane?”
?“Can you believe that creep tried to blackmail me?” Stewart snorted. “Recognized my name on that financial report and put two-and-two together. He wasn’t as dumb as I thought. He called me up and demanded I split the take with him or he’d go to the police.”
?“So you agreed to meet him outside Mark’s condo.”
?“I knew he was at Mark’s place ‘cause of the GPS in the pipe he had. Told him to go out the fire escape. He probably figured since I had the stroke I wasn’t much of a threat. Hypno took care of him. Snuffed the loser with a baseball bat he brought to protect himself—with gloves on, of course.”
?Hypno had regained consciousness, planted her feet on the floor, and pulled her hands free from both Sheryl and me.
?She stumbled over to John Stewart, who helped her stand straight. She was still a bit groggy and said, “Which one clocked me?”
?“The broad,” John said as he kept the gun pointed at us. “Got you good. Pretty sweet move.”
?“I’m gonna kick her freakin’ ass,” Hypno said, her lip curled in an angry sneer.
?Stewart glanced out at the street. “No time. Someone cleared the Marketplace floor.”
?“Wha’?” Hypno forced herself to focus.
?“Nobody was in there when I brought the car around. We gotta get outta here.”
?Hypno looked sullen and pointed a wobbly finger at me. “He made me lose my knife.”
?John smiled that creepy half-face smile of his. ?
??I’ll buy you a dozen. Let’s go.”
?The door was open fully and a car waited on the other side. Apparently, when Hypno headed upstairs for the 5:00 meeting, Stewart had brought a car around for a quick getaway.
?They only needed to step down from the loading dock, into the nearby vehicle, and they would be off.
?“Here,” Stewart said, and handed Hypno the pistol, which she also took in her left hand. “Cover ‘em while I start the car.”
?“The police have copies of the financial data. They will track the money down,” Sheryl notified the pair. “You’ll never get away with it!”
?Hypno glared at Sheryl and shifted the pistol toward her.
?“Actually,” I said loudly with my hands up, “I think you’ve gotten away with it very well.”
?Hypno gave a smirk at me, then carefully took a bead on Sheryl. “You two are the only ones who know the truth. Without you, we are home free—”
?She zeroed in on Sheryl, aimed the long barrel of the pistol at the middle of her chest. Sheryl’s face turned to me, and I saw genuine fear in her eyes.
?I had to do something. It was instantly clear to me. Here was a chance at happiness, another chance at love, and this psychopath was about to take it from me.
?Her finger tightened around the trigger.
?I grabbed Sheryl and pulled her behind me.
?“Mark, no,” she said.
?The grin of a barracuda appeared on Hypno’s face as a wild look was in her eyes. “I’m disappointed in you, Watkins. You know this gun. If I aim right, the bullet will go right through you and kill her anyway.”
?She shut one eye and brought her other hand to the grip, as she assumed a shooter’s stance.
