Revenge of the Adventurer! 17.

The cold water closed over me and I began to sink. But I smiled. I'd had enough presence of mind to do the old Houdini trick of expanding my wrists slightly when the whip was used to bind me. It was a trick that had saved my life before, and I hoped it would save my live again. I hadn't released myself earlier in case something went wrong - and boy, it had gone wrong! I relaxed my wrists and carefully slipped them out of the bonds my captors had put me in. Then I bent to untie my ankles before the air in my lungs ran out.
Free, I floated back towards the surface. Unfortunately the Police don't approve of me, so I couldn't go to them. I just had to swim back to where I'd left my car parked, dry myself off a bit, and go home.
I couldn't do anything about Galliard, either. Dead or alive, he was in police hands now.
I surfaced close to the side of the barge.
"They ran in a hurry," I heard someone say.
"Yeah. Whose boots are those?"
"No idea. Must belong to a girl from the look of 'em. And that belt... Hey! you think they might belong to the Girl in Grey?"
Full marks for observation, officer, I thought.
"Well, we scared 'em off before they could hurt Mr. Galliard. I'm glad he had the sense to call us!"
So was I. Otherwise, nasty men that they were, they'd have tried to kill me in a more efficient manner.
I remained floating in the water by the boat, not wanting to be spotted. When I thought enough time had passed I gulped in air and dived. I swam as far as I could underwater before I surfaced and made my way back to the car. I'd got used to the water, but the last few yards, out of the water, dripping wet on a cold night, weren't any fun at all, and I don't mean maybe. I unlocked the car and opened the boot.
"Sis!" Scruff jumped out of the car, looking very worried. "What happened?"

"I got wet saving Galliard."
"But the Adventurer attacked Alice Slate!"
"He attacked Jackson Hughes too," Emily made herself visible a few yards away and ran over to us. "I shot him twice!"
"When?"
We compared times. The attack on Alice Slate had been first, then the attack on Hughes, and finally the attack on me. Okay, Galliard, but I was the one who got beaten up.
"I know the answer," I said as I wrapped a towel around my wet costume. Scruff smiled eagerly.
"Go on!"
"There were three men. None of them were any of the men we've spoken to. That means they were hired assassins."
"So we try Molly Farrow?" Scruff asked.
"Exactly."
I had a few other questions as well, but Molly Farrow would be a god place to start. Still, hired assassins meant one thing was certain - Barton wasn't behind it. Assassins have to be paid up front, and Barton didn't have the money.
Now it was personal - someone had tried to kill me. And I get nasty when it's personal.