Moment of Truth

1

After completing the preparation of the crime scene, Mort drove Cord home. They rode in silence: Cord needed to think about what he had done. The motorcycle rumbled softly along the empty road. It was about midnight. Hmm, the day had been a hard one, and who knew what kind of epic awaited further…

"Will you come up?" asked Cord, getting out of the sidecar.

"No, it's late already," Mort declined. "I have to go."

Cord's pager suddenly sounded.

"Wait," Cord checked it. "Damn."

"What's wrong?"

"Did you tell anyone about what we were going to do?"

"Only Fiddler…"

"Damn, Mort! Do you think Fiddler could have told Dia?"

"I asked him to be silent…"

"As I asked you, but that didn't seem to stop you. Dia wrote: 'I'm expecting you and Mort for dinner'."

"For dinner? But—"

"It seems," sighed Cord, "a serious conversation awaits us."

***

As soon as they entered the apartment, an alarmed Dia ran out of the kitchen into the hallway:

"Cord, is it true?"

"That I killed Force? Yes, of course," Cord replied in an absolutely calm tone.

The girl opened her mouth as if wanting to say something else, but only looked at her husband in shock.

"Force was the second if you're interested," Cord continued. "If we count the murders I was about to tell you about, then there are zero. But since somebody could not keep his mouth shut… I think you want to know everything?"

Dia was dumbfounded. Without blinking, she continued to look at her most beloved person, the father of her child, and could not believe her ears. She looked into his eyes and saw in them the calmness of a monster capable of the cold-blooded murder of his own friend.

But she found the strength to get out of the stupor and said:

"Yes!"

***

"Hello!" Cord offered Fiddler a handshake.

Fiddler looked at his friend fearfully:

"You… won't hate me?"

"For what?" shrugged Cord. "Secrets always come out. Coming up here, I realized what a service you and Mort had done for me. It is unlikely that my family life would have been happy, considering what kind of pressure would have hung over me. And now everything will either end or continue in a new way."

They sat around the table, clockwise: Dia, Fiddler, Mort, and Cord. The husband found himself opposite his wife, who was thoughtfully stirring a cup of tea, which Mort had brought along with the teapot. He had wanted to at least do something instead of burning with shame. After all, he was the only friend who knew more about Cord's actions than the others.

The moment of truth had arrived.

"The only thing…" Cord began, "I will answer all your questions and explain everything, but in order not to ruin the agenda, try not to interrupt. The story will be long, and after you hear it, there is hardly a chance that you will be able to treat me as before. Especially you, Dia. After all, you were the primary cause of all these deaths. You—and my selfishness."

2

"I think you all know about my love for Dia and how happy I became after meeting her. I have already said that thanks to her, and in fact, to you too, I began to feel like a normal person. Not a loner or some kind of outcast, as before, but a full-fledged member of society. I didn't want to lose such a life.

"The second point: I could not easily put Familiar away either in July or in September because of procedural delays. I am not sure if he was the Villain and committed the series of murders last year, but there is no doubt that he killed the prostitute and the bum. No question there.

"Third: my friend and partner Force turned out to be a mole who leaked information about the investigation to the journalist Pink Flaminga, who was killed about three weeks ago.

"Keep that in mind because these are key moments in the story. They subsequently led to this disaster.

"So, in October, after the murder of Madam, I kind of got away from the search for the Villain. The reason was Dia: we moved in together, and I enjoyed our way of life. Returning from the Department, I continued the investigation, and at one point, I realized I didn't want to work like that anymore. I wanted to spend more time with you, Dia. Therefore, I laid off the work and began doing only I had to. This did not affect efficiency; I performed all my necessary functions during working hours. But because I stopped thinking about the Villain's case around the clock, no more unusual solutions and ideas came to mind. I began to work as an ordinary employee. I reassured myself that the capture of the murderer did not depend on me alone.

"However, after the killing of the bum, one thought came to my mind. On the day when you and I were at the theater, I had visited Familiar (my old friend who killed the first victim and with whom the story essentially began) and tried to provoke him into doing something stupid. The plan worked. During our vacation, he was watching me and then came after me in the toilet and threatened me with a pistol, thereby setting himself up: if a shot had been fired, he would have gone to prison and answer for everything, and in the case, it didn't he would have to flee the city as soon as possible. I told him, 'If you don't disappear before the end of the year, you are toast.' I gave him time because that day I was going to propose to you. The situation was complicated a little because Mort entered the toilet and witnessed the scene when Familiar was pointing a gun at me. By the way, it was that weapon that led me to him later."

***

"Wait, Cord," Dia asked seriously. "You planned to propose to me, but at the same time were provoking this criminal to act against yourself?"

Cord nodded.

"I decided on the proposal at the beginning of October. At the same time, by the way, I also began secretly taking piano lessons after work. Not really lessons, but rather practice—to restore my skills. I wanted to surprise you."

"Hmm," Dia nodded but said nothing more.

"The provocation of Familiar was pure improvisation. And yes, I didn't know what the result would be. But you know, 'If you are afraid of wolves, don't go into the forest'. My profession, in principle, is based on the idea that everything can go to hell at any moment, so you need to be ready for this. I decided that both the proposal and the wedding would happen when they were due to happen and that I would postpone nothing because of some murderers."

"You want to say that you knew I would answer 'Yes'?"

"Of course. If people who are so suitable to each other answer this question 'No' then nothing in this world could be predicted at all."

"Hmm."

"But after New Year's, you were planning to charge Familiar, right?" the long-silent Fiddler found his voice. "You told me and Sky that we would have to take a risk and act as witnesses."

"Yeah," Cord nodded. "I wanted to convene the Commission, and this, as you know, is such a body that… In general, it meets in the case of obstruction of justice by higher officials. Still, having called forth the Commission, I would actually be carrying out a small coup in our office—the leadership would change because Chief was complicit in murder—and Familiar would be sent to prison. The internal investigations and the what-how-why would begin, my partner Force, who leaked the information, would probably also be exposed, and in general, there would be a great fuss for at least three months. During all of that time, I would work late and hardly see Dia. All of this would happen during the holidays when we were all happy. So I decided to wait for the New Year."

"And start a new life on Monday," Fiddler smiled.

"Like that."

"But then you were shot at in early January," Dia said, "that, as I understand it, is the next part of the story?"

"Not really…"

3

"Before talking about how I killed Familiar, you need to keep in mind one more detail: Force broke up with the journalist on New Year's Eve. This information will come in handy later, but I will tell you now to not confuse the chronology.

"And one more thing: the reason for their separation was me. Force found out about Flaminga's past and decided she wanted to set me up. Dia, do you remember her articles? If I am not mistaken, in one of them, she indirectly accused me of either unprofessionalism or the fact that I am the Villain. Force, obviously, had seen these texts too and decided that Flaminga was using him to screw me, that is, his best friend.

"She had a motive: I jailed her for pedophilia. More importantly, there was nothing really creepy going on: she, being a schoolteacher, was screwing fifteen-year-old boys through mutual consent. The only unusual thing was her addiction to sadomasochism. I figured it out quickly because I saw everyone doing the same thing at Familiar's parties, which, guess where they took place? That's right, where I killed him.

"Okay, enough side stories. Let's get to the point.

"On the eighth of January, somebody tried to shoot me. I immediately guessed who it was. First, because as a child, Familiar went hunting with his father, and therefore he was on good terms with a rifle; second, he had already threatened me with a weapon once, so logically he had simply moved into a more active phase. However, it wasn't until I climbed to the roof, to his position, and found the butt of a Patrician cigarette that I was fully convinced that the shooter had been Familiar. Of all the people who wished me dead, only Familiar smoked such cigarettes. Then a sequence of actions to take came into my head—actions which I immediately began to implement.

"First, I made a show of being hysterical. I started to beat the roof with my fists with all my strength. Since I had decided to waste Familiar, and this would lead to a potential fight, I needed to bruise my knuckles so that the next day there would be no questions about why Cord's hands were injured. I also required witnesses to catch me in the process of beating the roof, and so it happened. Force and two police officers saw the performance I put on and then played their part in my acquittal.

"I pretended to be in a state of distress and not thinking clearly. I told them I needed to get drunk and took a taxi to the Wolfpack. I found Mort there and told him about my plans and intentions. Tusk caught us talking. Do you remember him, Dia? It's the bartender, the owner of the establishment, and also the leader of the gang. Yes, and if you were not aware, these guys are criminals. In short, I said exactly one thing to Tusk: 'I'm going to deal with the Villain. Will you cover for me?' He nodded almost instantly.

"I asked Mort for his motorcycle, and he grumbled a little but still gave it to me. The restoration had not yet been completed, and the bike roared terribly. At that time, there was an old direct-flow muffler still on it, and the new quiet one had just been ordered by Mort. But the bike itself was on the move, and that's what I needed.

"Oh, I have completely forgotten to say why I decided Familiar was at the summer house. At the Tranquil Village, he aimed at me with his father's award pistol. I knew Chief keeps the weapon at his summer house because his wife is a pacifist and tolerates nothing more dangerous at home than a kitchen knife.

"So to put it plainly, I went there hunting adrenaline and excitement. And then it hit me: what, in fact, am I going to fight Familiar with? He's armed, and I have nothing but rage.

"As I was approaching the entrance to the summer house village, I remembered that there was a checkpoint and a gate. I almost decided to turn around, but nevertheless changed my mind and drove to the desired location. It was dark at the checkpoint, the gates were open, and in one house the lights were on. I had thought that in winter the summer cottages were simply not guarded, and Familiar would be the only one residing there.

"I was wrong. Someone—and I have no idea who—killed the guards. The investigation boiled down to the fact that it was Familiar, but it seems to me that there were not only two people in the house that night. Although… Okay, that's not the point.

"Since the fences at the sites are pretty high, I could drive almost right up to Familiar's house in such a way that he could not see me, although he probably heard me. I entered through the gate—it was unlocked—and went to the shed. There, as far as I remembered, an ax was kept, that is, a splitting maul, with which they splitted wood for the bathhouse. I took it and went to the house. I knew my tracks would remain in the snowdrifts, but that did not bother me.

"I needed to cut the power to the house so that Familiar could call nowhere and so I could carry out an ambush more easily. The entrance to the basement, where the generator was located, was on the veranda at the back of the cottage. I skirted it to the left, but broke the window to the veranda on the right side. I cleared the window frame of fragments of glass but still threw my coat in the snow so as not to accidentally get caught on something and leave fibers. At that point, I did not know that I would soon end up in a fire, but more on that later. I also thought about taking off my shoes so as not to leave puddles and so that I could move silently but decided that in the dark there would still be no footprints, and as the floor was cold, I might suddenly sneeze, and the whole plan would go to hell.

"In short, I climbed in through the window and opened the door to the house. As the hallway was lit, I could look around at the veranda without turning on the lights there. Then I went down to the basement and cut the wire that ran from the generator. I then went up to the veranda, and at the end of the hallway, now enveloped in darkness, I noticed Familiar with a gun. My eyes were already used to the dark, but he seemed to be a little blind. He could indeed have started shooting at that moment, and I was not yet ready for it.

"I hid behind some boxes and waited. I hoped Familiar would go to the generator room and was not mistaken. When I calculated I was no longer in his field of vision, I slipped into the hallway and went to the second floor. I knew the living quarters were there and that Familiar would check there last. That is, I was gaining time to plan the ambush.

"By the way, about the time. From the moment I arrived at the summer house until the start of the battle, no more than half an hour had passed. Not much, right? But it seems to me that I managed to seriously demoralize Familiar during that time, which is why further actions were not as difficult as I had thought they would be.

"Oh, damn it, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you why I decided to kill Familiar. While I was driving to the summer house, I thought very seriously about whether it was worth doing. Yes, he shot at me, but since he left a bottle of mineral water with his saliva on it on the roof, that meant he would be imprisoned for attempted murder, and killing him was perhaps too harsh a decision.

"Then, on the couch in the living room, I found a whole box of masks in the form of my face. The same type used by the killer during the hospital massacre. This is where it hit me. After all, the presence of masks proved Familiar was the Villain, and even if he was not the killer himself, then he was at least an organizer and a person who had escaped justice for too long. I sentenced him to death.

"Vigilantism? Of course. But when you have an ax in your hands, and you realize that you have the chance to solve all your problems with one blow, it would be rather stupid not to use it.

"I forgot to say: all the doors in the house, except for the entrance, opened into the rooms. That is, not into the hallway. This played right into my hands.

"I went out the door, gripping the ax in my hands, and waited. Five minutes later, Familiar finally entered the room. Through the gap between the door and the jamb, I noticed he was checking around the corners. However, he didn't consider one thing: the open door formed a fifth corner, which he ignored. Although if he had checked, I would have struck him with the ax, and that would have been the end of it, but Familiar went into the next room first, then to the sofa, and then began to play around in there. He lowered his rifle, and I attacked him.

"The fight began… idiotically. I do not know what motivated me when instead of attacking from the rear and cutting off his escape route, I attacked not just from the flank, but also over the sofa. Yes, the handle was long, but Familiar took a step back and immediately shot me. It's good that I managed to duck.

"Then all hell broke loose. I missed him when I struck, and Familiar missed his shots in the same manner. The noise from the shots was so loud that I almost went deaf. To make a long story short, at the end of all the idiocy, I planted the ax in the doorframe. This was what led to Force's death, but more on that later.

"That was also the first time Familiar could have really killed me. If I had hesitated and tried to pull out the ax, he would have shot me point-blank in the chest or stomach, but I improvised successfully: I dove under the ax handle, deflected the gun with one hand, and hit the enemy in the jaw with the other.

"From that point on, I was, in fact, in control of the situation. Continuing to strike Familiar, I forced him to retreat to the staircase and spend another shot on me, which I deflected to the floor with a blow. Oh yeah, I forgot to say: I didn't know then, but Familiar only had six shots. And on the landing, he spent the fifth. So with each mistake, his chances of winning decreased, and mine, on the contrary, increased.

"Then I did something else stupid. Instead of keeping up the pressure and continuing to strike Familiar (he was clearly one step away from a knockout), I decided to push him down the stairs and get the ax back.

"I still can't understand what drove me because it actually gave Familiar another chance to kill me, and this time only pure luck saved me.

"The thing is that it took me two seconds to pull out the ax, and this was just enough for Familiar to land on the first floor and come to his senses. The count came down to seconds. If I had gone down the stairs, Familiar would have shot me almost point-blank and therefore would have hit me for sure, so I jumped over the railing and attack from the hallway. This eventually gave me the right moment: I noticed how Familiar was looking for me upstairs, but then he found I was attacking from the hallway and shifted aim.

"Then instinct and luck worked together. I suddenly realized that I needed to use maximum speed and not brake to hit him, and this would only be possible if I struck him in passing. And so I ran, switched the ax to my left hand. A shot thundered, and in a moment, the blade entered Familiar's body.

"I've been talking for quite some time, but in fact, the fight probably only lasted about thirty seconds.

"Familiar died instantly: the ax entered almost the middle of his chest. Later I found out that I had chopped straight into his heart.

"The realization came to me: I had just killed a man, and not just any man but an old acquaintance, who was, albeit not entirely healthy mentally, also a good person. However, although adrenaline was rushing through me, I was thinking soberly.

"I began to get rid of any traces and evidence. I yanked the ax out and stuck it into the handrail of the stairs. Then I returned to the room on the second floor, took the pistol, and loaded it. Why I did this, I will tell you later. Then I went to the basement and got the cans of gasoline, which Familiar was filling the generator with. I thoroughly doused the window through which I climbed in, then covered my entire route in gasoline. In short, anywhere I could have left trace evidence. In case you're wondering, I did not douse Familiar's corpse. I used the rest of the gasoline on the garage and the shed, where I took the ax. Then I poured gasoline on the paths from the house and the barn and set it all on fire.

"By the way, there's a benefit to smoking: a smoker always has either matches or a lighter with him. So if he needs to set something on fire, there is never much difficulty.

"Then I returned to the Wolfpack, on the way drank half a bottle of vodka in one gulp and spent the rest of the evening in the company of bikers.

"The second part of the story is now over. Any questions?"

***

Dia and Fiddler looked at each other thoughtfully.

"Mmm… I understand your motivations, and although I can't approve of the decision, on the whole, I can understand why you did everything," said Fiddler. "However, there is a point that interests me from the point of view of… hmm… you as a person. How did you feel when you killed Familiar?"

"You mean if I got off on the murder or was horrified or saddened?"

"Sort of," Fiddler nodded.

"Um… You know… When I was in the house, I focused only on survival, preparation, battle, and eliminating evidence. When I returned to the city, I did not think about anything at all. But then, realizing of what had happened… I felt something like… satisfaction. As if needed business had finally been done, the death itself or the moment of the murder did not evoke any emotions at all, either good or bad."

Cord looked at Dia. She sat in silence, stirring with a spoon the tea that had long cooled and that she had not even started.

"If you were given the chance to do it all again, would you still commit murder?" Fiddler asked.

Cord smiled.

"You see, we live in a world without a time machine. What is done is done. I consider it a senseless waste of time to dwell on options that are not in fact realistic."

Fiddler nodded.

"No more questions?" asked Cord. "Can we proceed to the last part of the story?"

Dia looked up at her husband.

"Yes."

4

"It was all over. The fire was so intense that it completely burned up all trace evidence. I had not even expected such a thing, but there it was. At the bar, Tusk and some other customers confirmed I had been at the Wolfpack and had been drunk all evening. Then I decided not to use Mort as a witness because I knew he might be useful to me later.

"The rest you know: the Villain case was closed. But I knew Force was on to me and was trying to figure out what to do next. Of course, I did not want to kill him, although I took the pistol just for such a purpose. However, Force, by his own actions, made it clear he was not going to harm me. So I calmed down.

"The problem arose four months later when Flaminga publicly questioned the Villain's death. It was strange because she was the one who actually finalized and closed the story of the maniac and helped us to justify Chief in the eyes of society. So I decided to talk to her, and it was then that I found out who she really was. Was I going to kill her for what appeared to be a small campaign of revenge against me in her articles? No. What for? We have freedom of speech, so anyone can write whatever they want. If, on top of all that, I considered the fact that her articles did not do any harm to me, then I had no intention of doing anything nasty to her.

"However, I realized that it had come time to talk to Force about their relationship. The dialogue went well, and we understood each other. The only thing was that on that very same evening, Flaminga was murdered. If that was not enough, the killer left evidence on her body that indicated that Force might be involved in her death and gave proof that he was, in fact, the mole.

"I tried the best I could to keep Force from losing his job. Of course, he was immediately excluded from the investigation into the murder of the journalist, but his dismissal was definitely not in my favor. Paradox, right? After all, if he was working, he could uncover the killer of Familiar, that is, me, so I, on the contrary, should have been glad of his dismissal? But no. If Force had personally gone to Chief and presented him with the killer of his son, I would have been finished and had no options. Chief would have activated all of his connections, resumed the case, and wiped me off the face of the Earth. As for Force, he would have returned to work, and maybe he would have even asked for a medal.

"Thus, I understood it was time to finish off my friend.

"Mort helped me with the place of execution, which turned out to be a vegetable storage facility where Tusk stored supplies for the bar in several storage units. Of course, we didn't use the keys to them or Tusk's units. Mort broke the lock into another unit and prepared everything there, naturally with gloves on.

"Today, I went to see Force. As you remember, Dia, after he was fired, I visited him regularly. These were not just friendly gatherings. On the day of Flaminga's death, he admitted he left her because he thought she might be the Villain. And I was hooked on this thought and then instilled in him its veracity. Say, the Villain is Flaminga, and the killers are just performers. This would be useful to me later, if 'later', of course, would occur.

"So, when I got to Force's place, he did not immediately reveal everything to me. I suspected he was trying to hide something, and I turned out to be right: Force was preparing material to charge me, and apparently, he had enough to do so, and so, therefore, he was in a big hurry to hide everything and shoved it all behind a cushion on the sofa while I was at the door. I later found them, and Mort burned everything.

"We 'worked' until Mort sent me a message on my pager saying 'DINNER IS ALMOST ON THE TABLE.' This meant that everything was ready. Then I left, and exactly twelve seconds after the door closed, Mort, who had been waiting for it all the time, rang the doorbell and, as soon as Force opened it, knocked him out with a punch in the face.

"It wasn't planned that way, but Mort overdid it. You see, an unconscious person cannot swallow, so he cannot be gotten drunk, and this was required for my plan. So we blindfolded Force and brought him to his senses. I poured a bottle of vodka into him, and then Mort knocked him out again. This time, the blow broke his nose, which was also not planned.

"We untied Force's eyes and hands, and Mort dragged him to the motorcycle. To an observer, it looked like he was just helping a drunken friend, as Force could barely move his legs. In the meantime, I found the materials that Force had hidden and prepared his apartment.

"Then I went downstairs, and Mort had just finished putting Force in the motorcycle sidecar and putting a helmet on him, and we traveled to the scene of the murder.

"At the location, we sat Force down in an old armchair and tied his wrists to the armrests. Force regained consciousness after we made him sniff ammonia, and I talked to him and killed him. Finally, we prepared the crime scene. Then you sent me a message, after which I realized I could not hide the truth.

"The end.

"Well, not quite. There are two more points.

"Remember the gun I took from the summer house? If it was necessary, I was going to eliminate the one who exposed me. I understood this person would most likely be Force. The thing is this: I knew this pistol would connect two crimes—the murder of Familiar and that of Force—and since I had a confirmed alibi for the first crime, it would be obvious that I couldn't have killed Force and the murderer must be someone else, namely the same someone who killed Familiar.

"As for why I delayed getting rid of Force for four months and waited in fear whether he would turn me in. I just couldn't decide to kill my friend. However, I recently found out that he had tried to hang himself, which meant that he no longer valued his own life. That meant that he needed to be killed now. By the way, at the end of our conversation, Force confirmed this to me and even asked me to shoot him himself.

"However, that still does not excuse me."

5

Cord sighed.

"Let me summarize. Because I wanted to spend more time with Dia, I did not put all my efforts into the investigation, and this led to many deaths. The cause of two of them, namely the death of Familiar and Force, was me. You see, even if the murder of Familiar could be classified as self-defense or, at least, a counterattack, the murder of Force was a deliberate, cold-blooded murder. Even though, as I said before, he had a desire to die and blah blah blah, the context remains the same. If the death of Familiar can be likened to the execution of a murderer, that is, I acted like a kind of vigilante (a man with his own understanding of justice, but in general still just a man) then having shot Force, who was not only innocent but my friend, because he might have prevented me from remaining free, I truly became a complete monster. Right now, while I am in a state with no certain future, you have to decide my fate. Basically, of course, Dia, because she is not only my wife but also the mother of my unborn child." Cord turned his gaze to his most beloved person. "You must decide whether you want to live with your monster husband or do the right thing and hand me over to the police. But you, friends, must decide: even if you suddenly do not expose me, whether you will communicate with me in the future or break all contacts. Think hard."

Silence reigned in the kitchen, broken only by the barely audible tapping of the Fiddler's finger on the table. Dia stopped stirring the tea and now only stared into the cup in a stupor. Fiddler stared into the distance. Mort looked down at his hands resting on his knees. He spoke first:

"What I want to say, Cord…"

Everyone looked up at him. Mort turned to Cord.

"I'm kind of... uh-uh… your accomplice. Therefore, I am for you. You have not yet told your friends about your plans, but I am already taking part in them, so they will have to decide my fate too." Mort looked at Fiddler and Dia. "I was a killer myself in the past, and therefore I fully understand the murder of Familiar, but I can understand Force's murder too. After all, you tried to hold on to freedom and life. During our first meeting, you said that especially dangerous killers can have their imprisonment extended indefinitely. I think that is exactly what will happen to you. Your boss will not forgive the death of his son, and then you will also be tied to other murders that you did not commit. That means they will imprison you for life. I don't want that. I like talking to you. You are a good friend, and I think you do not get pleasure from homicides, and if you get out of this story, you will live like a normal person and will kill no one else. You can get out because you are very smart and came up with such a cunning plan. Our friends do not know about it yet, but I would never have thought up such a thing. Therefore, I will say this: I will continue to be friends with Cord and will never betray him."

"Thank you, Mort," Cord smiled gratefully.

"Then I'll speak next if Dia doesn't mind," Fiddler said and, receiving a nod from Dia, continued. "From the very beginning of our acquaintance, I, how should I say this? I saw darkness in you but did not see evil. Oh, wait a minute. What I want to say is that you are a difficult person and capable of anything, including altruism. When I asked you to use your shower on the day of our acquaintance, you allowed me to, even though I was a homeless person and was not your friend yet. And after you fed me and gave me the books, which by the way greatly delighted the girls, remember them? Then later, when I tricked you into buying my people some food, you agreed without objection. But when you, with no requests or hints, on New Year's Day, gave us new things and holiday meals to celebrate, I was amazed. Dia admitted to me it was all purely your idea. I… never expected this from anyone, but in fact, these are all material things, little things. There is another thing which is much more important. One day I asked Sky if she considered you to be a good person. She told me you had cheated so that Familiar could not eliminate her. Then I became convinced of your kindness when you did not use my testimony without the assurance that nothing would happen to me. You were ready to take a hit on yourself so long as there was no trouble brought on innocent people or people close to you. That's what's important." Fiddler smiled. "Everyone, even the most pious person, has a boiling point at which he can cross his moral event horizon and become, as you put it, a monster. Of course, you yourself are to blame for the consequences, but the decisions were made with the best intentions at heart, so I cannot consider you a bad person. I will repeat the words of Mort: I will continue to be friends with you and will never betray you. Those are my words."

"Thank you," Cord nodded to his friend and turned his gaze to the person whose opinion was most important to him.

If Dia had said that she would now call the police and tell them everything, he would accept his fate.

"I… I…" his wife sobbed. "I need to… breathe."

She awkwardly got up from the table (her belly getting in the way) and left as quickly as she could. The friends heard the balcony door open and close.

"Do you think I need to give her time or should I go after her right now?" Cord asked.

"I would go now and grab her jacket," said Fiddler. "Even though it's May, it's cold outside at night, I know from my experience."

Cord listened to his friend's advice.

***

Dia stood with her hands folded on the rail, gazing into the distance. Cord walked up behind her and put her jacket on her.

"Thanks," Dia muttered. "Give me a hug."

Cord obediently complied with the request.

For a while, they stood silently and admired the night sky. Finally, Dia spoke up.

"I… listened to what you said and what your friends said about you. And you know… I was really thinking about the situation right now. What you did is bad, terrible, yes, but… I don't want to lose you. After what I heard, I tried to judge you, to hate you, honestly. But… You said that you did it to preserve your happiness and not ruin the lives of others. This, of course, led to a disaster, but the motivation was good, and we cannot predict the results of our actions. You are the most horrible person I have ever met, but at the same time the nicest and certainly the only one with whom I am truly happy. And you are also my husband, the father of my child, and in general, I love you. Therefore, I will tell no one anything if you promise not to kill anyone else."

"There is no need for anyone else," said Cord. "Mort said it right: I don't enjoy killing. The story will end, and then everything will return to normal. So yes, I promise: no more deaths by my hand."

Dia nodded and snuggled up to Cord.

"In general, I forgive you. I guess I'm a bad person."

Cord hugged her tighter and whispered in her ear:

"Probably."

Dia nudged him in the side with her elbow.

"Hey, I thought you would argue with me."

"Why? You're right. You are a bad person. Like me. This is probably why we are such a perfect couple."

"Such a jerk…"