“Yes. I did. I sent that email,” Matthew Taylor heard Charles Vance’s voice come from the other side of the line. 

He frowned in frustration. Brett Lawyer looked relieved, and he was annoyed. 

“Huh… Well…” He clicked his tongue. “Can you look me in the eye and say that? Are you saying it under duress? Hmm?”

“I must tell you, I am disgusted by that impertinence, but fine.”

The video call function was now activated on Vance’s side of the call as well. The room was in darkness. It was the smiling face of Charles Vance with his characteristically styled hair which greeted him. 

He gave a slightly nervous laugh. “Yes, I sent it, and I can explain it.”

“Oh?”

“It was Xander who gave me the tip. He said he was indebted to you for clearing him of any charges, so he wanted to warn you.”

“You keep looking to your right. Is he there with you?”

“Yes. He’s here. I thought he was you because he came in the dark and I couldn’t really tell. And said he was you!” Vance moved towards the light switch and turned it on. His electric chandelier lit up.

The screen of the phone shook wildly, like it had been passed to another person. “Hey.” It was the dusty orange face of a middle-aged man. Zachary Xander. “Sorry about the mixup. I just thought I had to say I was you. I came here to warn Mr Vance about The Hawk coming for another hit. If I said I was me, how would he trust me, right?”

Taylor raised his eyebrow sceptically. He pulled the pistol away from Brett Lawyer’s head and paced around the room. “So you’re turning your back on your gang?”

“No. It’s just that I don’t know what The Hangman is planning now. I don’t think either of you should die.”

“Should die? Never knew The Hangman brought you up to be so moralistic.”

“Yeah, well. It wouldn’t be useful to 1564 if you died. When he sent The Hawk and I to your police station? He wanted to send them without me. I followed along to make sure you could get away in time. And you saved me, man. You and Mr Vance saved me. So I just had to…”

“I see…” Taylor nodded slowly, remembering the events. He grinned in a self-satisfied manner.

The scene from the phone on the other side shook wildly again. It was Vance speaking now. “Hey, this is not a very convenient time to be speaking. Someone is still out to get me. Probably The Hawk. You know how well this guy can kill, right?! He kills like nothing else!”

Taylor flinched at this mention, recalling the bloody battle that had broken out at the gang’s base. He gritted his teeth. 

“A little help here would be good! And you could capture The Hawk to ask him what the hell is going on! From what you both have said, The Hangman is definitely up to something.”

Three more shots were fired. More glass shattered. The scene in the phone rocked chaotically.

“Besides! Besides!” Vance continued, “You’ve already saved me once. I hope you remember how you were rewarded. Save me a second time? You have no idea how handsomely you will be paid. Alright?” Another shot rang through.

Taylor’s angered expression turned into a grin. “Just stay there, Mr Vance,” he commanded with a laugh, as though amused by the predicament of the politician. “As long as you are there, I believe The Hawk will continue to station himself there. I’ll go now. Then, I’ll catch him when I’m there.” He ended the call.

He strolled towards Walter Lawyer’s body in the coffin and looked through the transparent lid. “Ah, man, you really got pretty messed up, huh?” He laughed under his breath.

Taking his wallet out of his pocket, he slapped a pile of hundred dollar notes on the top of the lid. “Mrs Lawyer, in case I was wrong, just take this as an apology. But only if I was wrong, alright?”

He pointed the gun at Brett Lawyer and took a few steps towards her. “Goodbye, for now. If you’re lying about not sending the email, I’ll come back. So be good and don’t move around. Don’t even think of calling the police—oh, what am I saying? Even if you call, you can be sure that I’ll be the one to pick it up on the other side. You can never get away with this.” 

He walked out of the flat with an air of cheerfulness. He was ready to hunt The Hawk.

*

Brett Lawyer watched in complete stillness as Taylor closed the door with eerie quietness. As soon as he was gone, she inched herself towards her phone, which had been left on the couch next to her husband’s coffin. She considered that just moments ago, there was a chance that she could have died right next to him. She could have died.

Whatever the Black Balsam team had just done, she could not comprehend. But she needed to call them as quickly as possible. Yet there was not much progress to be made. She could not get close to the phone. She wobbled on the chair, trying to get it to tip over.

The door creaked. 

She froze on the spot. 

Matthew Taylor ambled in again. 

“I probably shouldn’t leave your phone with you. You know, I’m going to seize it as important case evidence.” He turned sharply to the laptop on the table. “And that too.”

He picked them up, smiled another cold smile and left.

She stared at the ceiling, with no thoughts left in her head.