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Dan froze. The Reaper held a shiny metal scythe that looked as if it had been honed to a razor-sharp point.
“I mean it. Drop the phone. Now.”
Ben complied.
“We meet again,” Dan said.
He couldn’t see the Reaper’s smile. But he felt it.
“I knew Herwig wasn’t the Reaper,” he explained. “Among other reasons, I’ve fought with both of you. You’re smaller but stronger. The costume makes you appear much more frightening than you would be otherwise.”
Ben wiped his hands on his slacks. “Was that you back at the gas station during the snowstorm?”
The Reaper’s metallic voice replied. “Just an emissary. Obviously.”
“Why obviously?”
“Because if it had been me, you’d be dead.”
“And back in Roswell. You killed that poor guy?”
“Another emissary.”
Ben took another step forward, hands raised in a demonstration of harmlessness. “Look, there’s no need for more violence. We know Herwig took the violin. Did you put him up to it?”
“Does that seem like something I would do?”
“Depends on who you are. Take that mask off and ask me again.”
“I’m not here to confess. I’m here to kill you.”
“You can explain what this is all about first. Since we won’t have a chance to tell anyone.”
“You mean you haven’t solved the whole case? You tracked down Professor Dumbass. I thought you were some kind of super-sleuth.”
“No,” Ben replied. “Just humble attorneys.”
“Who solve crimes.”
“I’ve been lucky once or twice.”
“Till you got to me?”
Ben smirked. “Oh hell no. I figured you out days ago.”
Dan’s head whipped around. When did this happen? And why did he never mention it? Had he been holding back? Or was this a gigantic bluff?
“Bold move, Mr. Kincaid. I’m impressed. Even if you’re lying.”
“I’m not lying. But I had to prioritize the hearing. Saving David Donovan. By the way, I’ve already called the police. You need to make tracks.”
“I don’t think you have,” the Reaper replied “Because you’re nervous. I can see it. Your neck is tight. You keep shifting your weight so I can’t see that your knees are unsteady. You wouldn’t feel that way if you knew the cavalry was coming.”
“Maybe I’m faking. Putting on a show to keep you off guard.”
More laughter, which coming through the voice disguiser, was seriously creepy. “I like you, Kincaid. You’ve got some flint in you. But you still have to die.” The Reaper aimed the scythe at Ben’s head.
“Seriously? You’re going to decapitate me? Both of us? And then what? Pin it on the professor?”
Herwig remained handcuffed but broke his silence. “Don't be an idiot. I’ve seen too much. He’s going to kill me, too.”
The Reaper turned. “At least one man understands what’s happening.”
When the Reaper pivoted, Dan ran like a linebacker, pushing the cloaked figure against the wall. The Reaper brought around the scythe. Dan was too close to be impaled, but the blade scraped inside his jacket.
“Damn!” That hurt. Especially since it was near his earlier gunshot wound. Dan slammed the Reaper against the wall.
The Reaper shoved back hard, but this time, Dan had the advantage. They struggled like two boxers in the ring with their arms locked around one another so neither could take a swing.
Dan headbutted him, bouncing the Reaper’s skull off a metal door frame. While he was momentarily stunned, Dan grabbed his wrist with both hands and twisted the skin.
The Reaper cried out. The scythe clattered to the floor.
Out the corner of his eye, Dan saw Ben retrieving his phone.
“Get the scythe!” he barked.
Ben tried, but the next moment the Reaper roared back with a vengeance. He shoved Dan into Ben, knocking both men to the floor. The Reaper kicked Dan in the gut for good measure.
Dan tried to clear his head. Ben was stuck beneath him.
The Reaper took the gun from Dan’s coat.
“You two gents are definitely making this challenging.” The Reaper laughed again, the same cheerless, terrifying chuckle. “But this has gone on too long. Say your prayers. Or maybe lawyers don’t believe in God? That would explain so much.”
Ben pushed up on his arms. “Who’s the kidney for?”
The Reaper seemed to hesitate. “What?”
“I know about the list. My friend Jones found it. This has all been about kidneys, right?”
No reply from the Reaper.
“That was a Top Five list of potential kidney recipients in line for the next organ that comes available. Those lists are constantly shuffled and reprioritized according to patients’ changing conditions, age, situation.” Keep talking, Ben, he thought. Keep the Reaper distracted. “Right now, all organ procurement in the US is controlled by the United Network for Organ Sharing, but they’ve been heavily criticized for mismanagement and inadequate funding. They don’t even have a modern computer system. Meanwhile, there are over 104,000 people waiting for an organ. That can take years, plus there are huge disparities based upon race and location, and although 47,000 transplants happen each year, seventeen people die every day while waiting.”
The gun wavered but the Reaper did not fire. “What’s your point?”
“Someone wasn’t going to get a kidney in time. So you decided to eliminate everyone who might conceivably get one before the person you wanted to get one.” He paused. “Who’s the kidney for?”
Dan barely understood what Ben was talking about, but he kept his mouth shut and let it roll. Ben was keeping them alive.
The Reaper sounded smirky. “That would be telling.”
“What do you have to fear? You’re going to kill us anyway.”
“I get it. You want me to monologue.”
“No, I just...”
“You want me to start babbling egomaniacally about my evil plan until finally your stronger friend figures out a way to take me down. Guess what? I’m not stupid.”
“I know that. I can admire a clever person who brings off a complex plan, even when they’re on the wrong side of the law. How did you get the list?”
The Reaper hesitated a moment and then, apparently seeing no harm in it, spoke. “Hired someone to hack the website.”
Dan pushed up on his arms. The Reaper whipped his gun around and pointed toward his head.
“I’m getting very tired of this conversation. You two boys have about one more minute left to live. Maybe you should spend those brief moments praying for forgiveness. I don’t feel like talking anymore.”
But Ben continued to press. “It’s for you, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“The kidney. It’s for you. That’s why you’ve done all this. You’ve probably done something that disqualifies you. Criminal record. Medical complications. Drug addiction. Something that decreases your likelihood to survive. Something that made you unlikely to get a kidney the usual way. So you tried to buy one. And when that wasn’t working fast enough, you decided to steal one.”
The Reaper head seemed to twitch.
“But think ahead for a moment. What’s going to happen when Donovan’s lawyers disappear? Won’t there be an investigation?”
“Maybe of the murders. Not the kidney.”
“Are you sure? Perhaps law enforcement is smarter than you realize.”
“That has not been my experience.”
“I believe most cops are persistent, dogged—but fair.”
“That’s because you’re a rich white boy.”
“Eventually they will figure it out. And that’s when you go down.”
“You’ll go down first.” Dan started toward him, but the Reaper stopped him with a twist of the gun. “Time’s up, boys.”