‘Drop your weapon,’ shouted Gleason.

The man hesitated.

‘I said, drop it!’

He threw his gun towards the ground.

‘Do you have any more weapons?’

The man shook his head.

‘Okay, come down here. And – slowly.’

As Kate watched him walk down the steps towards the beach she was certain that, the last time she had seen him, he had been wearing his uniform. Had he been off-duty, simply driving by with his window open, when he had heard the sound of firing and had chosen to investigate? If so, he surely must have asked for some kind of back-up.

‘Where’s your partner?’ asked Gleason.

‘Sorry?’

‘Your partner. Where is he?’

‘I’m – I’m off-duty,’ said the man, slightly covering his mouth with his hand.

‘What’s wrong with your voice?’

‘Nothing.’

‘What’s your name?’

‘Urm –‘

‘Who the fuck are you?’ he shouted, quickly lifting the gun away from Kate and pointing it at the direction of the cop.

‘Do I know you? I know your voice. Tell me your name.’

‘I’m no-one.’

Gleason, possessed by a sudden rage, ran towards him, almost as if he wanted to get up close so he could have a better view of his face.

‘It was you, you fucker,’ he said. ‘I know who you are now. You’re the one who –‘

Something moved in the periphery of her vision. She turned her head towards the terrace. It was Josh.

‘Stop!’ he shouted. He had his gun aimed directly at Gleason’s head. But he knew if only he got a little closer he would have a better chance of hitting him. He moved quickly down the steps, trying to keep his gun trained on Gleason. Kate was covered in blood. There was a dead woman on the beach.

‘I’ve got you covered,’ said Josh. ‘Now, drop the weapon.’

Josh fired off a shot by his feet, spraying sand into the air. Gleason let the gun drop.

‘This is just great,’ said Gleason, beginning to laugh.

‘On your knees,’ said Josh. ‘Drop to your fuckin’ knees.’

‘You don’t get it, do you?’ said Gleason. ‘You just don’t get it?’

‘What you’ve got to say you can say to your lawyer,’ said Josh, moving quickly towards him and picking up his gun. He threw the gun over to Peterson.

‘You know and I know I’m never gonna have a lawyer,’ said Gleason, pressing his hand over his throat. ‘I’m not gonna end up like my dad. Humiliated. Imprisoned. Waiting to die.’ He turned to look at Kate, his eyes full of hatred. ‘You robbed him of his freedom. How could you do that?’

‘Because he was an evil fucker who got his kicks from murdering young women,’ said Peterson, pointing the gun at him. ‘That’s why.’

Gleason looked at Peterson.

‘You know there’s not much difference between you and me?’ said Gleason.

‘You’re talking bullshit,’ said Peterson.

‘Detective Harper. Did you happen to wonder how I got these?’ he said, holding up his two bandaged fingers. ‘It was a little present from your friend here.’

‘Stop playing games, Gleason,’ said Peterson.

Kate suddenly remembered where she had seen him before. He was the cop who had interviewed her, here at the beach house, soon after she had discovered the baby floating in the sea. The one who had been in the car with Josh when she had taken that call from Cynthia Ross.

‘Not only that, he told me some other interesting things as well, didn’t you? Like how you killed Garrison, that wife beater, and some guy who got his kicks from obscene photos of little girls. And who was that other one? A drug dealer who - ’

‘Shut up!’

‘Thinks of himself as some kind of avenging angel put on earth to do God’s work or some shit like that.’

Peterson tightened his grip on the gun.

‘Sad thing is, nobody told him God is long dead. Only gods around now are folk like my dad. Now he really had the power to -’

A moment later Peterson had his gun pressed next to Gleason’s temple.

‘Say another word and you’re dead,’ he said.

‘Peterson, let’s just calm down here,’ said Josh. Suddenly it all made sense. ‘Step away. I’ve got Gleason covered.’

Peterson did not move.

‘I said step away. Lower your gun.’

Nothing.

‘Peterson, I’m ordering you to drop your weapon.’

Kate watched as Peterson shifted his gaze from Gleason to Harper.

‘It’s true what he said,’ said Peterson. ‘But I was only doing my job.’

‘What?’ said Kate.

‘I’ve been making a difference. A real difference. Not just arresting people, placing them in prison or some institution and waiting for them to come out and do it all over again. And everyone knows you’re more likely to die on death row from natural causes than lethal injection. When I started in the force I thought I could help. But I soon realised conventional law and order had – well, let’s just say it had its flaws.’

‘Peterson, this is the last time I’m going to ask you,’ said Harper. ‘Drop – the – gun.’

Peterson shook his head. ‘I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir. I’ve got a job to finish.’

‘I know how frustrated you must have felt,’ said Kate, trying to defuse the situation. ‘But we must let - ’

She looked over at Josh. She realised then that she had made her decision. She would go back to him. But then, just as Josh glanced towards her to meet her gaze, Gleason made a sudden lunge at Peterson. Josh trained his gun on them both, shifting between the two. If he could only disable them somehow. A leg. A hand.

He moved towards them, trying to concentrate on his target. He fired, hitting Peterson in the right arm. A scream tore through the air.

‘No!’ said Peterson, falling to the ground.

Gleason kicked Peterson in the face, and wrenched the gun from his hand. With a swift motion Gleason turned towards Harper. Whoever fired first Kate didn’t know, but both men seemed consumed in the explosion. They stood looking at one another for a couple of seconds, their eyes locked in some kind of strange ritual. Kate’s gaze moved from one to the other, searching for signs of injury. Then Gleason began to crumple.