The Final Death

Vinnie Angus, an unwitting source on meat-industry practices, is killed after noticing tough spots around USDA marks on meat. His widow Ruth is murdered by long-nailed attackers who stage her body as a “Final Death.” Remo traces Vinnie’s contacts from Meatamation salesman Peter O’Donnell to Texas Solly Weinstein, while Chiun identifies a revived Creed of blood-drinking killers from an old Sinanju story. Vinnie’s daughter Viki secretly intends to kill Remo and Chiun, believing they murdered her parents; she shoots at them and flees. The actual scheme uses one poison component in meat and a second in gas to activate it. A government inspector contaminates USDA ink, while the killers test the poison at a Pennsylvania convention and plan to disperse the gas over Houston from a plane.

Remo and Chiun survive the gas attacks, but Remo finds Viki already dead and frozen on a hook. Remo and Chiun kill the mercenaries at the slaughterhouse. Remo impales Mary Broffman with a thrown meat hook as her gas-carrying plane takes off; the crash destroys the gas before citywide release. Remo later leaves the blind Creed leader alive but paralyzed and aware in a hospital.