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“It’s okay,” I said, pulling her close to me. “It’s okay. It’s all over now.” I looked up at Vale. “Right?”

Vale licked his lip, staring first at the body, then up at me. “Sure. Yeah. Right.”

I turned Sara away from the operating room table. I led her into the waiting room, out of sight of Mr. Steadhill. She sank wordlessly into a chair.

“Stay here,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”

Her pale face stared up at me. All of her strength seemed to have left her. Her arms hung loosely at her side.

“You’re going to be okay,” I said. “I’ll just be a minute.”

I left her sitting there and went back to the operating room. Vale had taken a pair of pliers and was yanking a molar from the mouth of Mr. Steadhill. He put the bloody tooth in a ziploc and tucked it away in his back pocket.

“Thanks for the proof,” he said. “Next time make it a little cleaner, okay?”

“Yeah. Are we done here?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said. I walked him out of the operating room and to the door.

“I can’t believe she killed him,” Vale said. He shivered. “Just a swipe of the blade, and—”

“I can believe it,” I said. “You goaded her. A civvy. She thought she was going to die.”

“Yeah, well, like you said, it’s all over now.”

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” I said. “Would you really have killed her, though?”

“An innocent girl? You know me, Rien. I’m a sucker for pretty faces.”

“Sure,” I said. I didn’t know if I believed him. Good as I was at telling faces, Vale was a pro at concealing his thoughts.

“I would have killed you for sure, though,” he said. “Don’t lie to me again.”

“Don’t send me the wrong person and I won’t lie to you.”

“Okay. Yeah. I’ll let you know once we have the other body,” Vale said.

“I don’t care. Just let me know once you have another client for me. If we’re still working together.”

“We’re still working together. Rien?”

“Yes?”

Vale shook his head, putting his gun away in his jacket.

“You have fucked up taste in women.”

“Trust me,” I said. “I’m as surprised as you are.”

Sara

I sat in shock in the waiting room. There was a body in the room next door. I’d killed him. I’d killed Mr. Steadhill. Bile rose in my throat and I turned my face away from the door.

“Sara?”

I jumped in fright, but it was only Rien at the doorway.

“Will you give me a second?” he asked. “I’m going to clean up, okay?”

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