Page 114 of The Dead Come to Stay

“Don’t touch me!”Jo picked up the nearest glass award.For your humanitarian efforts.

“Don’t you throw that,” he said. Then turned to the Geordie. “Come get her.”

The Geordie stayed put. “Die it yerself.”

“For fuck’s sake—can’tanyof you see that I’m trying to putit right? It’s Foley who did this. He’s the only reason you’re evenhere.”

“Foleyisdead,” Jo said, and pitched the bauble at his chest. Too heavy, it didn’t go far enough but crashed to the floor instead. Behind her, Lina began to wail.

“You stupidcunt,” Burnhope hissed, but Jo had picked up the next one.

Shaped like a football, she lobbed it like one. It went wide, splintered the decking and cracked in half, but Burnhope had sense to retreat. He’d made it as far as Lina, who was prostrate and still howling with grief.

“Stop it! I saidstop!” he demanded, lifting Lina to her feet. She clung to his lapels.

“Why? Why is he dead?” She was wrenching at his clothing with claw-curled fingers, still half sinking to the floor. Burnhope grappled her around the waist and lifted her off the floor.

“I can’t deal with this now,” he barked at the Geordie. “Take her, for fuck’s sake—take one of them or I swear to Christ you’ll not see a pound out of this.” He’d shoved Lina into the man’s arms. The Geordie, to his credit, hung on loosely; Lina herself went suddenly silent and watchful half-clasped to his side.

“Now you,” Burnhope said, spinning around. He didn’t look cordial anymore. He looked panicked and angry. “You will sit down andshut up.”

Jo had never sat down and shut up. Not once in her long memory. And recent events had taught her that submission was deadly, and being utterly terror-feral had its benefits. She’d picked up an oddly shaped award, straight on one side, the other like molten glass.It was damn heavy, but she held it aloft.

“So you can leave me in a ditch, too?” Jo shouted. She wasn’t tall, but the platform gave her both height and leverage. She stood above and raised the heavy trophy over her head. Four feet and she’d strike him. She could do it. Below her, Burnhope froze.

“Don’t,”he said, voice a ragged whisper. “You’ll—you’ll kill someone.”

Jo’s arms were shaking, the heavy base trembling above her. Itcouldkill someone. She’d never seen the body; she’d never even seen thevictim. MacAdams said his skull had been crushed in by something heavy and irregular.

“My God. This—thisis how you killed Foley?” she whispered.

“You!”shouted Lina.

“Look out!”shouted the Geordie.

And Jo let go of the murder weapon. It fell corner down, turning to one side and punching a hole in the platform floor. Burnhope had turned around to face Lina, who was now suddenly charging at him, her small frame carried forward by the force of her final exclamation. Jo barely had time to register the knife she carried before Burnhope crumpled to the floor.

***

“Boss!” Green panted as they reached the eleventh floor. “Backup is coming, but we don’t know if these people arearmed!”

True. And yet. MacAdams pulled out the disabled gun; he’d tucked the empty gun into his waistband, where it was chafing a hole in his back. “They don’t know thatwearen’t.

“Fine. Then give me the gun,” Green said.

“What?”

“I’m cleared for firearms and you’re not,” she said, taking it from him. “Even unloaded, you aren’t supposed to be waving one around.”

“You’re not on the tactical unit anymore,” he whispered back. She gave him a severe look that somehow managed simultaneously to be motherly.

“I’m sure mychiefwill stand by me if I’m cited. Come on.” Green pushed open the stairwell door, arms at right angles, gun barrel pointed skyward. The stairs had exited to an adjacenthallway with a single door into Burnhope’s office—the only one they’d encountered so far that wasn’t made of glass. Green tested the handle. It wasn’t locked.

“On three,” she whispered.One. Two...

***

They burst into a room of chaos, broken glass... and blood.