Hiding From Death (A Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery #6) by K.J. Emrick Page A

on a plan to change that.”
                  “Oh, yeah?  You should tell me about…  Shh,” he raised a hand up, motioning for her to be silent.
                  Darcy felt a chill go up her spine at the same time that Jon went very still.  Someone was coming.  Someone with bad intentions.
                  They heard the door slam open downstairs and Izzy cried out.  Then the voice of the dark man, shouting.  “It’s just you and me now.  You tell me where he hid the money or you’ll never see your daughter again!”
                  Jon was already halfway down the stairs.  Darcy followed him to the wall separating the living room from the kitchen.  He motioned for her to stay back, then crouched down to give himself leverage, and jumped out at Adolphos.
                  Darcy heard the scuffle start and when she came around after Jon, he was on the floor with the intruder, struggling to get the gun away from him.  Izzy had backed away into the corner by the sink.  Adolphos’ face was scrunched up and the cords in his neck stood out as he wrestled with Jon.  Both men were tall and strong but Darcy could see that Adolphos had the size advantage.  She had to help.
                  Picking up the teakettle from the stove she carefully circled the two men until she had an opening, fully aware of where the gun was being pointed the whole time.  When she saw her chance she smashed the kettle down as hard as she could on Adolphos’ head.  It was a heavy green metal thing, and it made a hollow thunk against the man’s skull.
                  The strike dazed Adolphos long enough for Jon to wrestle the gun away from him and toss it aside.
                  “You’re coming down to the station,” Jon said, panting as he pinned Adolphos down on his stomach, handcuffing him behind his back.  “We all need to have a long talk.”
                  Darcy went to Izzy and held her, feeling the way she trembled.  “It’s all right, we got him.”
                  “Thanks to your assist,” Jon said to Darcy.  “Maybe they should issue us teakettles instead of pistols.”
    ***
                  Grace and the uniformed officers drove Adolphos into town to the police station.  It had been a long couple of days, and Darcy was glad to see they were close to finding an end to it all.  She and Izzy watched through the two-way glass of the interview room as Jon sat down across from Adolphos, hit man for The Hand.
                  Dressed in black pants and a nice black silk shirt, Adolphos was every bit as scary as his photograph.  The crescent scar under his left eye was puckered in a ruddy face that glared daggers at Jon.  His hands were still cuffed, and the cuffs were chained to a ring on his side of the metal interview table.
                  Jon tapped a pen against the yellow pages of his notebook.  He was recording the entire interview, but Darcy knew that he liked to make his own notes as well.  Through the speakers, she and Izzy could hear every word that was said.  “You’ve been advised of your right to remain silent, remember,” Jon told Adolphos.
                  “I know my rights better than you do,” the man sneered.  “No doubt you’ve seen my rap sheet.  I’ve been arrested on any number of crimes.  Each time, I walked.  I’ll walk this time, too.”
                  Jon raised an eyebrow.  “What makes you so sure of that?  You’ve attacked Isabelle McIntosh twice now in my jurisdiction.  We know you’re working for a group that calls themselves The Hand.  We know you’re after money that was stolen from the group by Isabelle’s husband, Charles McIntosh, also known as Chip.”
                  “You know a lot for a dumb cop.”  Adolphos shifted in his chair, somehow managing to look