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work.”
    â€œWant me to run you out there tonight, Captain?”
    â€œGet your car—I’ll be down in five minutes!”
    The bluffs overlooking the harbor were pale in the moonlight, a little sinister. Below, in the silvery waters, Leopold could see that the killings had taken their toll of the pleasure craft. The usually crowded area now held only three boats, and one of these was the police launch, on patrol duty.
    Leopold followed the younger man down over the slippery rocks. Browning was right—this would be the perfect base for the killer’s operations. Lonely, remote, yet only a five-minute swim to the harbor anchorage area.
    â€œDown this way, Captain,” Browning whispered, hopping noiselessly to the next half-buried rock. “Keep it quiet, Captain. This might be another of his nights.”
    â€œI don’t think he’d try anything with that police boat out there,” Leopold whispered back.
    â€œYou never know with a nut.”
    They crept along the rocks, watching for evidence of recent human presence. Around them now was only the sound of the water, ever in motion, ever changing.
    â€œWhat’s that?” Browning gripped Leopold’s arm. “There!”
    It was a bundle wrapped in rubber sheeting, hidden in a crevice between two boulders. Browning went in for it, lifting it carefully out for Leopold’s examination. Leopold removed the sheeting. A black-painted air tank…a black rubber suit…flippers…a mask…Leopold had a fleeting sense of exhilaration.
    â€œAll here. You were right, Browning.” He unzipped the waterproof pouch, not surprised to find it empty. “At least, it’s all here but the gun.
    â€œThe gun’s here, Captain.”
    Leopold looked up. Browning was raising the glistening .38, slowly, as if he had all eternity to train it on the captain’s middle.
    â€œThe gun’s here, Leopold. And this time it’s for you.”
    Leopold stood very still on the rock, his death a mere tightened finger away. He stood very still and he said distinctly, “You killed those three people, Browning?”
    Browning’s eyes were as wild as they had been in Leopold’s office a few days before. “Damned right I killed them. You had that A, B, C business all figured out, Leopold—all but the payoff. I killed Doc Flown and Proctor and that girl just to cover up my real pigeon— you. In a minute you’ll be dead and I’ll have a perfect story. We surprised the phantom and he shot you. The bullet will match and no one’s going to doubt it. You’ll just be D after A, B, C. And they’ll probably give you a medal with your funeral, Leopold, which is more than you gave me!”
    â€œYou deserved what you got, Browning.” I must keep him talking, Leopold thought.
    â€œI’ve spent two years of my life planning how I’d get even with you for busting me back to a beat. That’s why the first three killings had to be on boats. I knew when you tumbled to the skindiving, you’d request an officer with skindiving experience to work with you on the case. And I was the only man in the department who could qualify. It takes a good detective to think up a perfect crime, Captain!”
    â€œWhat if I hadn’t thought of the skindiving right away?”
    â€œThen I’d have gone on killing till you did. I’m hiding you in a forest of bodies, Leopold, and I’m even going to cover you up with one or two more. What’s one or two more murders to a nut?” Browning laughed. “Of course, I’ve got to leave this diving gear for the boys, to back up my story. But it’s not traceable, and I’ve another outfit stashed away. The gun stays on me. Who’ll think of searching me?”
    â€œBrowning…wait…”
    â€œI’ve waited too long already.” The .38 in Browning’s big hand steadied.
    â€œPut down the