Yelling ‘Gah!’ he reeled back and fired blindly. She felt the hot gases of the explosion on her neck, then Connor’s terrified roar of ‘Tilly!’ that penetrated even the sudden deafness caused by the shot as he launched himself at the staggering Wilmot. Both men crashed to the floor just as the door opened and Sophie appeared, wild-eyed and pyjama-clad, holding a roaring chainsaw in both hands.

Wilmot’s gun had skidded across the floor. Tilly gingerly picked it up, looked helplessly around, then ran outside and hurled it into the blackness under the house. When she returned, Sophie had switched off the chainsaw and Connor, with a red splodge on one cheekbone, had rolled Wilmot onto his front and was fixing the man’s own handcuffs to his wrist. That done, he surged to his feet and went to her.

‘Are you okay? God, when he fired I thought—’

‘It’s okay. I’m okay.’ She rested her head against him, feeling the wild clamour of his heart match her own racing pulse. ‘I felt the heat on my neck but the bullet missed me.’

‘Thank Christ!’ He kissed her, the stubble on his cheek rough against her face as he leant there for a moment, smoothing her hair with trembling hands. ‘What on earth did you do to him?’

‘Pepper.’ She gave a little giggle, on the edge of hysteria. ‘It was on the counter. Sophie never puts stuff away.’ She turned to her cousin. ‘You were brilliant! How did you think of a chainsaw?’

Sophie grinned sheepishly. ‘It’s true I’m not tidy like you. I was working with it, lopping the shade tree branches where they overhang the roof, and when I was done I left it out the back. I woke up and remembered it and thought I’d better get it in out of the dew. I was going to put it on the verandah for now. Then I saw what was going down . . . So I tried for a distraction. It was all I could think of at the time. Lucky it started first pull.’

‘It worked a treat,’ Connor said. ‘Gave us our chance, so thank you.’

‘Isn’t he one of the coppers that came to ask you about Gerry, Tilly?’

She nodded. ‘Yes. He’s a crook, and a murderer. He killed the other one tonight, the sergeant. He—’

At this point Thomas Leary appeared in bare feet and rumpled sweats. Obviously confused, his eyes widened as they fell on Wilmot, writhing ineffectually on the floor. ‘What was that infernal racket?’ he demanded. ‘I thought a plane was coming down on the roof. And did I hear a gunshot? What’s going on? Is he a policeman?’

‘Well spotted,’ Connor said. ‘If you’re feeling charitable, you might like to wash the pepper from his eyes? Tilly threw it at him while he was trying to kill us.’