“What do you think? Money. I see fortunes swindled by accountants with half my brains. Even the ones we catch serve minimal time in a country club prison. I’ve already got a little nest egg offshore, and with Parker’s millions, I’ll never worry about money again.”

She stopped, and all three women listened as a second plane engine became audible.

Lisa shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other. Her grip on the pistol tightened. “What’s going on?”

Ethel looked beyond her at the figure moving quietly in the outside shadows. “Frank, tell the lady what’s going on.”

Detective Frank Mancini stepped into the doorway, his Glock level in both his hands. “Lay the gun down, Lisa. And then turn around.”

Still facing Ethel, Lisa gritted her teeth and glared at the older woman. For a few seconds, no one moved. The sound from multiple planes circling overhead rattled the metal hut.

Then Lisa shouted, “I’m lowering my gun.” She bent her knees and eased down.

Ethel read the desperation on her face and saw her leg muscles tense as she prepared to spring from her crouch.

“No!” Ethel leapt forward as the agent launched herself toward Susan Finch, firing at Mancini at the same time. Ethel caught Lisa around the ankles, dragging her back before she could reach a potential hostage.

Lisa fired again, and the bullet nicked Ethel’s ear. Ethel clawed for the gun, turning the barrel away, using every muscle toned by her every exercise. They were eye to eye as she bent Lisa’s wrist down. Lisa pulled the trigger, and Ethel felt a punch and burn in her stomach.

The struggling ceased. Ethel rolled away. She started to stand, and then the world went dark.

Chapter 35

Ethel felt the cold concrete floor against her back. She heard ringing in her ears and garbled distant voices. Her mind cleared, and she realized she must have blacked out. Had she been shot? Did Lisa still have the gun?

She opened her eyes and saw Frank Mancini kneeling over her, his brow furrowed with concern. Susan Finch peered over his shoulder. She looked horrified.

The words became clearer. “Ethel! Ethel! Are you all right?” Mancini scanned her body head to toe.

“Lisa?” Ethel whispered.

Mancini shook his head. “She’s dead.”

Ethel looked down at her blouse. Powder burns had scorched the fabric. She understood what had happened. When Lisa’s semiautomatic fired, not only had there been blow-back but also the recoil of the slide had punched into her abdomen. Better that than the bullet coming out the other end of the pistol.

“Just got the wind knocked out of me.” She struggled to get up.

“Here. Let me help you into a chair.” Mancini rolled one of the desk chairs beside her and gently lifted her into it. “Your ear’s bleeding.”