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"You’re a raving lunatic," Haggerty said But he suddenly jerked around, as if he’d been struck from behind Nikki felt herself miraculously freed

Brent didn’t wait He didn’t use his own gun With a flying leap, he went for Haggerty’s knees

The ainst hiround, screa…

Nikki didn’t see the ghosts of Toht She was in Brent’s arms too quickly

But she heard the screaht flooded the darkness, and the bayou country came to brilliant and vivid life as cops swar, his voice rising, shrill with pain, even as he appeared to struggle with hian to confess

Nikki was confused… then shocked

In the end, she still didn’t know exactly what had happened She only knew that she was being led from the swamp

And that she ith Brent

And that she was alive

The following evening, she let Brent explain to the others

They weren’tat Madaain Of course, it wouldn’t be Madame D’Orso’s anymore anyway

She had been in on the conspiracy Her café had been adealers, too

"I’ in the curve of Nathan’s ar?"

Brent shook his head "Madao-between, and a source of news and inforether, and helped find the little guys who sold on the streets Like those who got killed last night," he added

"So… " Patricia pressed

"I still don’t kno you knew that Haggerty, not Massey, was guilty," Nikki told him "You found a body when you stumbled on Julian--"

"No thanks to you," Julianhis eyes

"Julian, you weren’t in the trunk with ht… "

"They hadyou did I wasn’t out When I heard the arguing going on by the road, I ran"

"Explain to ," Mitch said "I’m still confused"

"I knew I should have stayed with the shrimpers," Max moaned

Brent smiled ruefully "I should have seen it all before Hell, someone should have seen it But Robert Greenwood--that’s the real naerty--played it with raw nerve He had been the hench time He was the one who made Tom Garfield and then killed him--with a little help from Madame D’Orso She had seen Tom in the café a few too etting closer and closer to the truth She hit hiht before he stuht after, stu in the streets"

"Then Greenwood killed Andy… but why?" Max demanded

"I can explain that" It en Massey who spoke, co up behind them where they sat at Sarah’s, a different café on a different street "Garfield had so, and Robert Greenwood knew it But it wasn’t on the body And they couldn’t find it at Madame’s It had to be on either Nikki or Andy"

"So why Andy and not Nikki?" Mitch asked

Brent took over again "Robert Greenwood knew everything about the group, since Mada on He knew Andy had been a junkie, because he knew he could make her OD and it would look believable So he started with her He knew once Toents working the case, but he also relied on the fact that there’s often poor coned to liaison with the New Orleans police He found out ith little difficulty--lots of cops ca his body deep in the bayou Once he’d rid hient, he turned himself into the man It wasn’t hard for hi a chaerty were the saht contacts--and counted on the fact that most ID pictures suck," Massey said He shook his head "We should have known Our boss would get calls fro that they hadn’t heard fro, and that he needed the others to back off Eventually, if he’d played it long enough, he would have been caught But he didn’t intend to play it that long"