Red blinked.โ
Her heart was in her throat, grotesque and swelling, cutting o๏ฌ her airway as she watched Oliver turn to face her, his chest rising and falling. Arthur was still bent double behind, coughing into his hands.
โWhat did you say?โ Oliver asked her again, and she could feel his eyes boring into hers, an almost physical sensation. She didnโt like it, him looking at her like that, it might leave a mark.
โI have the secret. Itโs me,โ she said, voice almost failing her.
Everyone else was watching her too, Red checked around the RV. There was a look of shock in Maddyโs eyes. Wait, was it shock, or that same strange look from before?
The static ๏ฌzzed in her hands, and Red hugged the walkie-talkie to her chest, purring against her empty rib cage because her heart was still climbing, in her ears now.
She had to give it up.
โWell, what is it?โ Oliver spat, puppet strings pulling his head to one side, hanging askew on his neck.
โYou okay?โ Simon spoke across him, patting Arthur on the back as he ๏ฌnally straightened up.
โFine,โ Arthur said, brushing Simon o๏ฌ to look at Red. A question in his eyes, the same as in everyone elseโs.
โWell?โ Oliver took a step forward. โWhat is it?โ
โR-Red?โ Maddy said tentatively, tripping over the word.
Red exhaled. Her heart had moved out the top of her head now, somewhere loose in the RV, ๏ฌeeing from that look on Oliverโs face.
โItโs me,โ she said, framing each word carefully, choosing the right ones. โIโm the witness.โ She paused. โThe protected witness, in the Frank Gotti case.โ
Oliverโs eyes snapped open, ๏ฌrst shock, then disbelief. โNo.โ He shook his head. โIt canโt be you.โ
And how much easier it would be to agree with him. But Red couldnโt.
โIt is me,โ she said, treading carefully, like Reyna had before, tiptoeing around the landmines in Oliverโs eyes. โIโm the witness in the case.โ She took one more breath and began. โI was walking in this little park on the waterfront, Washington Avenue Green. This was last August, August twenty-eighth. It was nine oโclock in the evening, not quite dark yet, but getting there. I was walking to the bus stop on Columbus Boulevard, Iโd been at the Staples nearby for school supplies earlier. I decided to go through the park rather than walk on the road. Itโs nicer there.โ
Red paused, but she didnโt need to. Words rehearsed so many times, over and over, she didnโt even need to think about them. They followed each other out of her mouth, in their prearranged order, just like in her statements. The way she would have said it all at the pretrial conference in two weeks, and at the trial. She was ready. Keep her face straight and her story straight. All the details.
โI was on the path, going past the back of the industrial complex there. The map says itโs for sheet-metal workers,โ she said. โI didnโt know that then, though. There was no one else around at that time, just me. And thenโฆโ Red did need to pause here, checking that the others were listening, that Oliver hadnโt crept any closer while sheโd been talking. โI heard two gunshots. One right after the other. One-two. It was close by, though. Real close. Somewhere out the back of the parking lot there, near the dumpsters. I didnโt want to run
in case they started shooting at me too, so I hid in one of the bushes by the path. And I waited.โ
Red swallowed.
โKeep going,โ Oliver said, like she needed his permission to continue and he was giving it.
โI heard footsteps on the pavement, and I looked up and I saw him. He didnโt see me, but he walked right by me. A white man in his ๏ฌfties. Dark curly hair. Long, tan coat, even though it was warm out. I later identi๏ฌed him from photographs. It was Frank Gotti,โ Red said. โDe๏ฌnitely him. There was no one else around after the gun went o๏ฌ. I left about ten minutes later, once I was sure he was gone. Tried to forget about it. But I called in to the police station a couple days later, after I heard about the body they found there that evening. Joseph Mannino. Shot twice in the back of the head. I should have called it in earlier, but I didnโt know anyone got shot until it was on the news. I heard Frank Gotti kill him, saw him leaving the scene. Iโm that witness.โ
She ๏ฌnished, daring a glance up at the others. Arthur was looking down, chewing his lower lip with a small shake of the head, like he couldnโt believe it. Oliver was staring right at her, Red could feel it; she tried to avoid his gaze, to not fall into that trap. Reyna was watching, tears gone now, a small sympathetic stretch in her mouth, not a smile, but on the way there. Simon pu๏ฌed his cheeks, blowing out a mouthful of air, not meeting Redโs eye. Why wouldnโt he look at her, avoiding her gaze like she was avoiding Oliverโs? Maddy was behind; Red couldnโt see her, so Maddy couldnโt see her either and that was lucky. It was half the story, half the plan. But the only half they needed to know. Red couldnโt say the rest, not here, right in front of them.
โWhy did you never tell me?โ Maddy croaked, and now Red spun to look at her, over by the table. Just ๏ฌve feet between them, but it felt longer somehow, di๏ฌerent sides of the RV.
โI wasnโt allowed to, Maddy,โ Red said, shrugging one shoulder, just one. โFull anonymity for my agreement to testify in court. I had to sign a lot of paperwork. It was for my own safety, they said. No one knows, thatโs the whole point. Not even my dad.โ Red had turned eighteen in the ๏ฌrst week of September, when this was all starting. She was an adult in the eyes of the law
now, she didnโt need to tell him. Not that she was sure it would have registered, anyway. Nothing did anymore, hardly noticing whether she was coming or going, home or not. Maybe he didnโt even notice the cold inside their house in winter.
Oliver cleared his throat, eyes back and forth like he was working through her story, sifting through the details. He was prelaw, didnโt you know? โWhy were you at that Staples?โ he asked. โThereโs one closer to where we live.โ
Red had been prepared for any question about her testimony, including that, running through them like drills, memorizing her responses so she could make them look natural on the stand.
โSometimes I go to the waterfront, by the piers,โ she said, clearing her throat, pausing in the appropriate place. โBecause itโs close to where my mโฆโ She breathed, and that wasnโt part of the act; it still hurt to say, guilt churning in her gut beside the fear and dread. โWhere my mom died.โ
No one reacted, faces blank as a favor to Red. No one except Maddy, a rustle as she ๏ฌdgeted somewhere behind, an outward breath that almost sounded like a sigh. Maybe Red was banned from saying the word too. Sorry.
Oliver raised his head, another question forming on his lips. โWhat are the chances that it was you, youโre the lead witness for the prosecution, and our mom is the lead prosecutor?โ Except it wasnโt a question, not one Red knew how to answer at least.
โOliver,โ Maddy said, stepping forward, voice stronger now. โDonโt you see? Thatโs probably why Mom fought so hard to have this case, to make sure it wasnโt tried in federal court. It was so she could protect Red. Make sure her name was kept out of all court documents, that she was completely anonymous. She would have wanted to be in charge of all that, for Red.โ
Maddy was right, her mom had done all that. Red had met with Catherine Lavoy many times over the past six months, not as Red and her best friendโs mom, or her dead momโs best friend, but as assistant district attorney and her lead eyewitness in an upcoming case, going over the facts and Redโs testimony, practicing for trial. She was safe, Catherine would tell her. Her name would never get out, she promised. Except now it was, promise or not.
Oliver nodded, seeing the sense in what Maddy had just said. โYes,โ he said, just to con๏ฌrm it. โYes, she would have wanted that. To keep Red safe, anonymous. Make sure no one ever found out who you were. Exceptโโhe paused, a wayward muscle ticking in his cheekโโsomeone has found out who you are. They know youโre the witness. Thatโs what all this is about.โ He gestured his arms around the RV, rolling those too-wide shoulders. Red followed his ๏ฌngers as he traced them in the air, pointing to the bullet holes in the walls and furniture. โI saidโright at the start, didnโt I?โthat this had organized crime written all over it. This is what they do.โ He stood still for a moment, staring right at her, through her. โTheyโre here to kill you, to make sure you canโt testify at the trial.โ
Simon gasped, maybe not at what Oliver was saying but that heโd said it at all. But Red knew Oliver was right, the rest of them must as well. The man out there with the ri๏ฌe knew who she was. And that little red dot, it was meant for her, always meant for her.
โOliver,โ Reyna hissed, trying to tell him something with her eyes, but Oliver blinked and looked away from her, back at Red.
โWhy didnโt you say all this three hours ago, when the sniper told us he knew who we were, that he was looking for a secret?โ His eyes darkened, and Redโs heart reacted like there was a direct link between them, cause and e๏ฌect, kicking up in her chest. โYou must have known he was talking about you.โ
But she hadnโt, and that was the truth. She hadnโt because sheโd listened to Oliver once again, over her own gut.
โNo,โ Red said, taking one step back, away from Oliver, toward Maddy. โI didnโt. I didnโt think there was any way they knew I was the witness. Your mom told me no one could ๏ฌnd out my name or any identifying factors, that was the whole point. And then you confused me.โ Red shook her head. โYou said they were holding you and Maddy hostage to get the name from your mom. And I thought you must be right, and obviously I didnโt want them to get the name because then theyโd know it was me, so I went along with your escape plans. I was wrong, but so were you.โ
It happened in half a breath, in one ๏ฌicker of static hissing in her hands. Oliver switched, ๏ฌipped, face changing around those overbearing eyes. Hard edges and all teeth.
โYou should have told us at the start!โ he roared, pointing two ๏ฌngers toward her, like a gun made from the ๏ฌesh and bone of his hand. โYou knew this was about you. You kept it to yourself, kept us here hours longer than we needed to be! Sel๏ฌsh, Red! Stupid. Those two people out there.โ
Red bet heโd already forgotten their names.
โTheyโre dead and itโs your fault!โ Spit ๏ฌew from his mouth. โYou could have ended this hours ago!โ
No, not more guilt, Red couldnโt carry any more. Sheโd begged Oliver not to pass that note to Joyce and Don. It was him, not her. Please say it wasnโt her.
โYou didnโt tell your secret back then either,โ Arthur said, rough and jagged. Was he angry, or was that from Oliver pressing against his throat? โIt could have been about you and you held on to it, you and Reyna. You only spoke up when Reyna forced you to.โ
โShut the fuck up!โ Oliver said, not taking his eyes o๏ฌ Red, trapping her there in his gaze. She shouldnโt have looked back, now she was stuck, legs melding into the ground.
โIf you die, Frank Gotti walks,โ Oliver said, voice lower, but the threat was still there, recharging. โThatโs what they want. Theyโre here to kill you.โ
โShe knows that, Oliver,โ Simon said, staring at the back of his head. โYou donโt have to keep saying it.โ
Oliver blinked and Red moved another step back, closing the gap between her and Maddy. The RV wasnโt safety, but Maddy Lavoy was. Maddy looked after her, just like Catherine. Paid for Redโs lunch sometimes when she couldnโt, though Red had never asked her to. Helped her look for things when she lost them, kept reminders like a walking, talking to-do list. Organized this whole trip so Red could a๏ฌord to come on spring break. Maddy cared.
โRed,โ Oliver said, turning her name ugly in his mouth, full of hard edges. โYou have to leave the RV.โ
No one said anything for two seconds, only the empty ๏ฌzzing static that had made its home in Redโs head.
โWhat?!โ Maddy shrieked, voice right behind her, cutting through. โOliver, what are you talking about?โ
โShe has to leave the RV!โ Oliver looked over at his sister, like Red was already gone and it wasnโt up for discussion. โThey want her. Sheโs putting the rest of us in danger by staying here. Look. Heโs going to keep shooting up the RV until he gets what he wants. Some of us will get hit. Some of us will die if we continue. We need to give him what he wants, and he wants Red!โ
โNo!โ Arthur roared now, voice dark and dangerous to match Oliverโs. He stretched up to his full height, raised his chin to look Oliver in the eye. โRed is not leaving the RV.โ
โYou canโt be serious,โ Simon was saying. โHeโll kill her!โ
Oliver didnโt answer Simon, instead looking at Red like she was the one whoโd spoken. Her heart was fast in her chest, too fast, it knew what was coming and so did she, both unraveling at their seams. She didnโt want to die. She wasnโt ready. And, oh god, sheโd know it was coming, just like her mom did, lifetimes of regret and guilt and anger and hate in those last few seconds of life. No oneโs world would fall apart without her, though, at least that was one good thing. Would it hurt, or would it feel like relief, when the bullet ๏ฌnally split her open? What should her ๏ฌnal thought be? Please, not about the fucking pattern in those fucking curtains, why couldnโt she let that go? She was supposed to be thinking about dying, for fuckโs sake. She didnโt want to die. No, this couldnโt be happening. Maddy, help.
โYou must have known,โ Oliver was saying, voice strange and unsteady like he was trying to control it, trying to be reasonable when reason had gone out the window hours ago. His eyes betrayed him, though, wild and overfocused. โOn some level. You must have known this was a possibility when you agreed to testify, Red. I mean, this is the Philly mob weโre talking about, what did you think was going to happen?โ
Not this, never this. No one was ever supposed to ๏ฌnd out her name, Catherine told her that.
โBut she didnโt do anything wrong,โ Simon said, backing up to stand closer to Red. โShe just saw a man leaving a crime scene, she shouldnโt have to die for that.โ His arms tensed at his sides, the Eagles logo on the back of his shirt rippling, mouth opening and closing like it was whispering silent nothings to Red. โI mean, Oliver, you actually killed someone and you werenโt prepared to leave the RV.โ
โThis doesnโt concern you, Simon,โ Oliver said, darkly, trying even harder to mask it.
โYes it does!โ Simon raised his voice. โIt concerns every single one of us. โNo one is leaving this RV,โ thatโs what you said, back when you thought it was your secret they wanted. I see the rules are di๏ฌerent for you, then! Weโre not kicking Red out!โ
โDo you want to die?โ Oliver let his eyes fall on Simon, and Simon shrank under their weight.
โNo one wants to die, thatโs my point,โ Simon answered, trying to push back.
โSheโs not going anywhere,โ Arthur said, ๏ฌanking Oliver from the other side, glasses ๏ฌashing under the lights.
Oliver ignored them both, turning back to Red. โRed, listen to me,โ he said, softening his voice, but it wasnโt soft at all, it was sti๏ฌ, barbs and thorns at the end of his words. โYou need to accept whatโs happening here. Thereโs nothing the rest of us can do. You know it, donโt you, you know you have to leave the RV to save the rest of us. To protect Maddy. Sheโs your best friend, isnโt she? Youโve known each other all your lives. Save her.โ His chin moved up and down with those ๏ฌnal two words, drilling them home.
โOliver, no!โ Maddy cried. โStop it, please. Just stop.โ
โYouโre all thinking it too.โ Oliver cast his eyes at all of them, skipping over Red because she didnโt matter anymore. There were still two sides to the RV, but this time it was Red against everyone else. A team of one. โDonโt pretend. None of us want to die.โ
โNone of us want to throw Red out,โ Arthur said in answer, and he must have learned it from Oliver, sharpening his words to a point. Oliver even winced, took one step away.
โI know youโre all protesting because you have to in front of Red,โ he said. โBecause you care about her.โ His eyes spun, another circuit of the RV. โThatโs why weโre going to put it to a vote. A blind ballot, so you can vote whichever way you want and no one else will ever know.โ
The air had grown thorns now too, infected by Oliverโs words, pricking at Redโs skin, stabbing at the surface of her eyes. It wasnโt warm now, it was hot, sweat pooling along the line of her lip, but there was a chill at the back of her neck, hairs rising. She didnโt want to die. She didnโt want to die.
โA vote?โ Reyna asked, shattering the silence, eyebrows pulling together across her forehead.
The static hissed, retreating into Redโs cupped hands.
Oliver nodded, just once, that was enough. โA vote on whether Red stays, or she goes.โ
