Hannah transferred the lid to her left hand and the gun barrel dropped an inch or so as Judith leaned over to look at the mark. This was it. Hannah knew she’d never have a better chance. She grabbed the teapot with her right hand and threw the steaming tea directly at Judith’s face. Judith reacted by jumping back and Hannah tackled her before she could catch her balance. The gun went flying out of Judith’s hand, and Hannah knocked her to the floor as hard as she could, grinding her down into the nap of the expensive Aubusson carpet.

Judith flailed out with long manicured nails, but she was no match for Hannah’s adrenaline rush. It also helped that Hannah outweighed her by a good thirty pounds. In no time at all, she had flipped Judith over on her stomach, twisted her hands behind her back, and bound them firmly with the Hermès silk scarf that Judith had been wearing around her neck.

Hannah’s hands were shaking as she picked up the gun and trained it on the back of Judith’s head. “One move and you’re dead. You got that, Judith?”

There was no reply from the quaking socialite on the floor, but Hannah hadn’t expected one. She marched to the phone, intending to tell the secretary at the sheriff’s station to get Bill on the line, when the very brother-in-law that she was about to call rushed into the room.

“I’ll take over now, Hannah.” Bill sounded proud of her, but Hannah was a bit too rattled to react. “You can give me the gun.”

Hannah shook her head. She wasn’t about to take any chances with the woman who’d almost killed her. “Cuff her first, Bill. She’s tricky and that silk scarf might not hold.”

“Okay.” Bill started to grin as he walked over to Judith and slipped on the cuffs. “She killed Max and Ron?”

“That’s right. Read her her rights, Bill. I sure don’t want this case dismissed on a technicality.”

For a moment Hannah thought she’d blown it, because Bill gave her one of those “Just who do you think you are?” looks. But he must have decided to cut her some slack because he proceeded to read Judith her rights.

“How did you know I was here?” Hannah asked when Bill had finished with the legalities.

“I got your message about the rental car folder and I drove out to DelRay to talk to Del. He said he hadn’t seen you and I figured that you must be here. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner, but it looks like you handled it just fine. Maybe I can take a few lessons from you.”

“Whatever,” Hannah said modestly. She wasn’t about to admit that she’d been saved by a combination of serendipity, fortuity, and blind dumb luck.

The next few minutes seemed to fly by in a rush. Backup arrived to take Judith into custody, Bill took Hannah’s statement in the Woodleys’ massive kitchen, and Judith’s sitting room was roped off with yellow crime-scene tape. Hannah warned Bill to tell the deputies to be careful with the tea set; it actually was a priceless antique. Then Bill walked her out into the crisp night air she’d never thought she’d enjoy again.