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Ramsey nearly lost it, but he wasn’t stupid

"You called up after she was gone and got those ht?"

"Yes I had to have her back, but you ot you too, didn’t I?"

Dickerson yelled at that He pushed forward, away from Ramsey, then veered toward a wobbly wooden ladder that looked as if it should have cruot hi his foot

"Let o! She’s mine, do you hear ot I can’t survive without her What I am is far more important than what she could ever be I need her!"

Ramsey yanked as hard as he could on Dickerson’s foot as Dickerson fired Ramsey felt the heat of the bullet as it whizzed past his left ear

An instant later there was another shot It felt like a heavy blow striking his shoulder He lurched backward, nearly losing his hold on Dickerson’s foot He didn’t feel any pain, justcold This nuh his chest and down his ar it useless He couldn’t move his damned arm He heard Molly’s voice, Emma’s voice He heard so! That ot his foot free He kicked Rah him and he fell back into the water

He saw, as if froreat distance, Molly’s white face, saw her raise her sneakered foot, saw her smash her sneakered foot into Dickerson’s face just when he reached the top of the ladder The force of her kick knocked Dickerson back He scra to keep hold of the ladder, but the ancient rotting wood collapsed, each step cru into the water, crashing beside hi to find the ladder whose rungs now hung down drunkenly This time Rao Dickerson aving the gun around, yelling, water filling hisnow, and Ra It was just a od-awful pain in his shoulder, the uselessness of his ar at hiht-headed and dizzy But he didn’t let Dickerson go He only squeezed harder Dicker-son isting wildly, trying to turn the gun toward hi at his side, blood streaking down it, plastering his shirt to his flesh, hurting so badly his teeth were clenched He was squeezing now as hard as he could Why didn’t Dickerson go down? Of course it was the force of the waves that prevented it He couldn’t get enough leverage The gun waved in the air around thee to hie of the wharf to land in the water next to hiht he’d die of fear He saw her grab Dickerson’s arht

Dickerson screaun now He saw her face hite, deadening fury in her eyes, saw her raise the gun to Dickerson’s face, not a foot away fro to kill hi he ever wanted in his life was to have Molly kill another huht hit ot hi anywhere It’s all over for hie receding Dickerson heaved, shoving his elbow into Ra water suddenly backlashed, shoving against the the force of his arrabbed for the gun in Molly’s hand

There was a shot, wild, nearly straight up Molly was heaving and struggling, but he was still on her Rath to help her God, he’d been a bloody fool to save theHe heard E his name

Then there were two un When the gun went off another time, no one kneho had it, who had fired it

All any of them kneas that there was an unconsciousfrom beneath his body

Ramsey said to the two men, "It’s about tiiven up on you"

LIEUTENANT McPherson, of the MPD, a man whose face had come into focus just a couple of , Judge Hunt You’re in Monterey You’re in a hospital room The doctor and nurse just left before you woke up You’re going to ht now is I thought you’d want to know about Dickerson He’s still in surgery The docs don’t know if he’ll ht in the chest It’s just too soon to know"