Dead Guilty

police.’’

Diane could see the faint figures of Neva and Mike slowly moving toward LaSalle, keeping out of the beam of his flashlight. No, she wanted to shout at them. Don’t try anything. But they were moving. Damn.

‘‘So you killed Ashlyn, Justin and Cathy?’’ Diane desperately wanted to keep his attention focused on her.

‘‘No. Everett made that little mess.’’

Without warning, he fired and Mike fell. ‘‘No!’’ yelled Diane. ‘‘Damn you!’’

Diane rushed toward him as Neva jumped for La Salle. He’d seen Neva coming, and with the force of his whole body behind it, met her head-on, knocking her flying across a large slab of sloping rock on the floor of the cave toward a black opening.

Neva started sliding. Diane switched on her headlamp as she ran for her. Neva grabbed and scratched at the rocks as she slid over the edge of . . . of what?

Neva screamed. Diane ignored LaSalle shouting for her to stop. She scrambled across the rock and looked over the edge.

Her heart lurched in her chest. Neva had fallen into a narrow slit between vertical rock walls. She was slowly sinking, becoming more tightly wedged in the gap. Below her dangling feet lay only black ness. She was hanging in the opening above a cavern so large that the light from Diane’s lamp did not penetrate it. Diane reached down and grabbed her hand.

‘‘Help me,’’ Diane yelled at LaSalle.

‘‘Leave her and get over here.’’

‘‘Hold on to the crack in the wall.’’ Diane pulled Neva’s hand toward a fissure to use as a handhold.

Neva’s eyes were wide, frightened and panicstricken. Diane pulled Neva’s other hand upward until Neva’s fingers grabbed into the fissure.

‘‘Hold on.’’

Neva’s fingers slipped out and she fell farther into the crack. Diane grabbed her wrist and pulled hard. She felt herself slowly sliding forward toward the edge. If she slipped into the opening headfirst, it would be over for all of them.

‘‘Help me, damn you! You can’t leave her like this!’’

‘‘I work for people who are going to cut me in two with a chain saw—before they kill me. Don’t tell me what I can’t do. I’m trying to survive here.’’

‘‘I have to get some rope,’’ she said to Neva. ‘‘Hold on.’’

Diane pushed back against the rock to keep from sliding.

‘‘Please don’t let me go,’’ Neva pleaded

‘‘Neva, you can do this. Hold on for just a couple of minutes while I get some rope. I’m letting go. Hold on to the rocks.’’

‘‘I’m slipping. There’s no place to hold on to.’’

‘‘I have to get some rope.’’

‘‘I am so scared. Oh, God.’’

‘‘I’m going to get you out of this.’’

She let go of Neva’s hand and scrambled off the huge slab lying on the edge of the crevice. She turned and faced LaSalle.

‘‘We’re going to get my diamonds,’’ he said.

‘‘I’m going to get her out of there.’’

‘‘You get the hell over here, or so help me God, I’m going to shoot you.’’

‘‘Okay, you win. Shoot me.’’

‘‘You stupid . . .’’ LaSalle raised his gun at her and held it there for several seconds. He wavered, then dropped it to hip level. ‘‘Dammit, go ahead, get her out.’’

‘‘I need help,’’ said Diane.

‘‘Well, you don’t have any.’’

Diane glanced at Mike lying on the cave floor. He was trying to move. There was a growing dark stain on his shirt. It looked as if the bullet hit him in his side.

MacGregor was huddled against a rock, whispering a mantra of ‘‘Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God.’’

Diane ran for her backpack.

‘‘Don’t for a second think of trying anything,’’ La Salle said.

‘‘With what? We have no weapons. Just rope and candy bars.’’

‘‘Dick,’’ she called at MacGregor. ‘‘Help Mike.’’ He didn’t move. ‘‘MacGregor!’’ That got his attention. ‘‘Mike needs help.’’

Dick MacGregor looked at her a moment, switched on his headlamp and crawled over to Mike.