�This part of the story I don�t know. Don came back to look after the last part of the stash, and found the room tossed, and the kid was in there with his throat cut. The warehouse was blazing, and he could see the guy cooking in there. He freaked and called me, figuring he was next in line.�

�What did you do?�

�Well, I agreed he was probably right. So, we decided to make like he jumped protection and took off. He reached out to Jill, got hold of some running money, and found an item on the premises that he could use for a phony identification. The idea was to leave a nice, clear trail.�

Diane held her thumb to her wrist to see if she could detect any pulse. She was absolutely certain her heart had stopped beating, and that her own career was coming to a screeching halt with Denby�s next breath. She got up to pour herself another cup of coffee. Anything to keep her hands from shaking uncontrollably. She knew that loading up on more caffeine wasn�t going to help, but it was her only option at the moment.

�Go on,� Bob said, intrigued.

�So, he gets this � pendant � that his ex-wife�s partner would be sure to recognize, and pockets it when Jill isn�t looking.�

Diane ventured a breath or two at this news. She couldn�t take her eyes off Denby, and he couldn�t look up at her.

�The partner is�� Bob asked.

�Me. That would be me,� Diane said.

Denby looked up at her, surprised to hear her speaking, almost surprised she was still in the room. His face was very tense as he struggled with the horror of this event.

�Anyway,� Denby continued, �we take the crispy critter from the burned warehouse, wrap him in a rug remnant we find nearby, and arrange to dump him in the alley where he was found. Don removed his hands, feet and head and bagged them with some rocks, and into the river they went. Then Don puts the pendant in a pocket on the guy.�

Diane was glad she hadn�t eaten breakfast that morning. Even though she had seen some horrible crime scenes in her career, this gruesome narrative was making her queasy. She got up and went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. She handed it to Bob. He looked up at her and smiled warmly, mouthing �Thank you� silently so as not to disturb Harry�s recollection. She tried to smile back, but the best she could do under the circumstances was grimace.