Deadly Sting (Elemental Assassin 8)

McAllister choked, coughed, and sputtered for a few seconds before he finally got his voice back. "You won't get away with this. I'm Jonah McAllister! Nobody messes with me! Nobody!"

I shook my head. "Good luck with that. If I were you, I'd start working on your obituary. I'm looking forward to reading it in the newspaper real soon. Good-bye, Jonah. "

Bria stepped forward, a pair of silverstone handcuffs in her hands. "Jonah McAllister, you're under arrest for the murder of Jillian Delancey, the attempted robbery of the Briartop museum and its visitors, and many, many other things. You have the right to remain silent . . . "

Xavier put a hand on McAllister's shoulder, holding him in place while Bria read the lawyer his rights, pulled his hands behind his back, and clinked the cuffs on his wrists. But McAllister ignored them and glared at me.

"You won't get away with this!" he hissed. "I'm the best lawyer this town has ever seen! I'll find a way to beat the charges! You know I will!"

"You're exactly right. I have no doubt that you'll find some way to wiggle out from underneath the long arm of the law," I said. "But I don't think even you can weasel away from every bad guy in town who'll be screaming for your blood. Enjoy the rest of your short, short life, Jonah. "

I turned and headed toward the front door once again.

"Blanco! You can't do this to me! Blanco! Blanco!"

I grinned and walked outside, McAllister's screams ringing in my ears like the sweetest symphony.

* * *

I ambled down the driveway, through the open gate, and across the street. I opened the door on an Aston Martin parked at the curb and slid into the passenger's seat.

"How did it go?" Finn asked. "Did he cry? Please, please, please tell me that he cried. Or at least begged for his life. "

"You should know," I replied. "You were listening. "

I reached into a pocket on my vest and pulled out the digital recorder and microphone than Finn had outfitted me with. He took the device and plugged it into his laptop.

"Of course I was listening - and watching too, thanks to that spy camera we added to your vest," he said. "But I wanted to get your eye-witness take on things. "

I rolled my eyes, but I watched as Finn checked that both the sound and the video recordings were okay and made several backup copies of them.

"I wonder if McAllister realized that you were getting him to confess for Bria," Finn said.

I shrugged. "Doesn't much matter now, since he sang his heart out. "

That had been the plan I'd worked out with Finn, my sister, and Xavier. I'd told the two cops all about my suspicions that McAllister had hired Clementine and her crew and the information that Finn had dug up on the lawyer's embezzlement. But Bria had pointed out that she couldn't use any of the information - not legally - so I'd decided to get McAllister to confess to the whole scheme for her. That's why I'd broken into his house and confronted him tonight, and it had worked like a charm. Bria got to close the museum case, and I got to feed McAllister to the wolves. Win-win and then some.

Finn looked at me. "Are you sure you don't want to change your mind? Maybe you should have just killed him after all. "

"Maybe," I said, leaning forward so I could stare past him out the driver's-side window.

Across the street, Bria perp-walked McAllister out of his fancy house and handed him off to Xavier, who stuffed the lawyer into the back of their sedan. McAllister was still screaming, although his voice was muffled at this distance.

Finn turned his head to watch the show. His grin matched the one that stretched across my face. We sat there until Bria started the sedan, and she and Xavier steered out of the driveway. Finn cranked the engine on his car and fell in line behind them. It was after one in the morning now, and the streets were quiet as we cruised over to the station.

"Well, that was certainly satisfying to watch," Finn admitted. "But I still think you should have just gone ahead and killed him. He's certainly caused you enough trouble. "

"I know. But there's still a chance McAllister could be useful. "

"Because of this mystery person Mab left everything to?" he said. "McAllister said he didn't know who it was, not even if it was a he or a she. "

"I know. And I actually think he was telling the truth about that. "

"But?"

"But if Mab actually had some family left, why weren't they here with her in Ashland?" I asked. "Why didn't they live with her? Or in some other mansion in Northtown?"

Finn shrugged. "Maybe they didn't get along. Maybe this other person hated her. I certainly wouldn't want to claim Mab Monroe as any sort of kin. Would you?"