The Stein & Candle Detective Agency, Vol. 2: Cold Wars (The Stein & Candle Detective Agency #2) Read Online Free PDF

of the speedboat, and I pulled out one of my automatics. She had Weatherby, and that gave her all the cards. I had nothing up my sleeve but a cold .45.
    We got close enough, and I could see them. Weatherby sat at the end of the boat, the Luger held to his chin. Tanya was working the motor, but her boat was wiggling its nose back and forth, rocking in the waves. I swung our boat nearby.
    “Get Weatherby,” I told Selena. “I’ll keep Tanya busy. Kill her if I have to. Don’t bother flapping your gums and telling me not to.”
    “No,” Selena said. “I understand the severity of the situation.”
    “Swell.” I gunned the motor for everything it had. The burst of speed sent us sliding alongside Tanya’s boat. I swung the pistol to reach her, but she fired first. I ducked low, hearing the shell whine over my head, and splash into the ocean behind me.
    While we exchanged gunfire, Selena crawled into Tanya’s boat, reaching out for Weatherby with a cautious hand. Tanya was glaring at me, a hellcat snarl on her fine features. She wasn’t paying any attention at all to Weatherby and Selena. The boy grabbed for his sister’s arm, his fingers inches away from her. For a few seconds, I thought everything would be okay.
    Then something massive erupted from the underside of Tanya’s boat. A gray snout broke through the wood, sending splinters flying through the air. The snout opened, revealing rows of curved teeth. It was a shark, bigger than I knew they could be, and it wasn’t alone.
    More shark fins cut through the water all around us. They started ramming the boats, rearing up to take massive chomping bites out of the air. I saw Selena and Weatherby go into the water, and struggled to find them in the white ocean. Tanya was still intent on killing me. She fired over my shoulder, and then stood up.
    “I’ll feed you to these fishes!” she cried, and took careful aim. I fired first, planting one in her shoulder and knocking her back. She looked up at me, the pistol falling from her hand and sinking in the water. Tanya slumped on the railing of her sinking motorboat.
    Then I spotted Weatherby and Selena. The Stein kids were in the water, Selena paddling swiftly towards our boat. A shark was coming up behind them, the large gray fin cutting through the water like a knife, then getting bigger as the head and jaws emerged.
    I grabbed Tanya’s arm and pulled her close. Her blood trickled into the water. That got the sharks interested. She realized what I was going to do and started to protest.
    “No!” she cried. “Morton! Come on – we had something, back in that bedroom! Please!”
    “Tell it to the sharks,” I replied, and tossed her in, right in front of the shark going after Weatherby and Selena. It opened its mouth and ploughed into her. The dark waters went scarlet. Tanya was thrashing around, the other sharks swimming in to get their fill.
    I turned away, and helped Selena and Weatherby aboard. They didn’t look behind them, too focused on swimming forward to safety. I was glad of that. I didn’t want them to see what I did. I got them aboard and then grabbed the engine, turning the boat around. A shark came after us, reaching out of the water with its mouth open. I grabbed the shotgun with one hand and fired, sending the shark back into the sea.
    Selena held tightly to Weatherby, wrapping her arms around his thin shoulders. They were both drenched to the bone, but alive and unharmed. “You guys okay?” I asked.
    “Oh yes,” Weatherby agreed, smiling at Selena. “Everything is just fine.”

    I sped back to shore. Fancy Freddy Flynn and his gang, Carla Pepperdine, a couple of cops, and a few others – including Big Joe Lono – were there waiting for us. Mrs. Pepperdine waited until I helped Selena and Weatherby into the sand and they got themselves some warm beach blankets before asking her questions.
    “Tanya’s the killer,” I said. “Though murder by tiki isn’t exactly a punishable crime.