Redโs gaze trailed up from the check mark on Arthurโs hand, up the sleeve of his shirt, to his face, inches from hers. Eyes wide and wretched behind his glasses, rubbed raw, mouth open and his breath heavy, shoulders moving with it.โ
โNo,โ she whispered, shaking her head. โNot you.โ
Arthur blinked, slow, painful, and that was answer enough somehow. โWhat the fuck?!โ Oliver was on his feet now, charging over, eyes
skipping between the smashed walkie-talkie and Arthur. โItโs you!โ he roared, taking a handful of Arthurโs shirt, shoving him back. โYouโre the mole. Iโm going to fucking kill you!โ
In one quick movement, Oliver had Arthurโs arms pinned behind his back. Arthur didnโt struggle, he let it happen, watching it play out in the dark of Redโs eyes.
โSimon, search him!โ Oliver barked, holding Arthur in place. โSearch him!โ
โWhat the fuck is going on?โ Simon said, walking over, pink stains of Maddyโs blood up his forearms too. โWhy did you do that, Arthur? I donโt understโโ
โHeโs with the sniper,โ Oliver cut him o๏ฌ. โHeโs been playing us this whole time. Search him. Thereโs probably a microphone on him. Quickly, Simon!โ
Simonโs face cracked with the betrayal, shaking his head. But he did what Oliver asked, patting his hands down the sides of Arthurโs shirt, moving around to check the back pockets of his jeans. Then at the front, sliding his hand into each pocket.
โGot something,โ he croaked, pulling out a small, round, plastic device, holding it up for Oliver to see.
โI knew he was listening, I knew we were bugged,โ Oliver growled, letting Arthur go with a rough shove, grabbing the device from Simon.
โItโs not a microphone,โ Arthur said, but Oliver was already moving, charging across the width of the RV to the window behind the sofa. He pulled a corner of the mattress free.
โNo, wait!โ Arthur said.
Oliver swung his arm in an arc, throwing the device outside, far into the darkness of this never-ending night. But it had to end sometime; morning was on its way.
Oliver turned back.
โNow we can talk,โ he said darkly, โwithout your little friend out there listening.โ
โHe wasnโt listening,โ Arthur replied. โThat wasnโt a microphone.โ
โWhat was it, then?โ Simon asked this time, taking a step back from Arthur, so he was shoulder to shoulder with Oliver, bearing down. โWhat was it?โ
Arthurโs breath stuttered in his throat, a dry, scratching sound. He checked in with Redโs eyes before answering.
โItโs a button,โ he said. โA remote control. For a light I attached to the top of the RV earlier.โ
Red remembered him up there, while she was watching the moon cross the sky. Sheโd seen him climbing up the ladder and, yes, there had been something in his pocket, hadnโt there? Sheโd thought it was his phone. But that wasnโt all. She also remembered the way his ๏ฌngers had ๏ฌddled at the
front of his jeans all night. He wasnโt ๏ฌdgeting because he was scared, heโd been talking to the sniper. No, this couldnโt be happening. Not Arthur. Not him.
โWith a light?โ Oliver asked, eyes narrowing. โThatโs how you were communicating with the snipers?โ
โSniper,โ Arthur said. โThereโs just two of us.โ
One sniper. One gun. One red dot. And one liar. This whole time. Red stared at him but he looked like a di๏ฌerent person now.
โAnd, yes,โ Arthur continued, โwith the light. A code we made. Morse code if more detail was needed.โ
โYou told him to kill Don and Joyce?โ Simon said, a shadow crossing his eyes as he studied his friend. Who he thought was his friend.
Red couldnโt move. She was too close to Arthur and she wanted to be away from him, on that side of the RV, with Oliver and the others, but she couldnโt move.
โNo, no,โ Arthur said desperately, voice snagging at the edges. โI told him youโd passed them a note asking to call the police. I thought heโd shoot out their tires and their tank so they were stuck here too. I never thoughtโฆI didnโt think heโd kill them. He wasnโt supposed to do that!โ
โDid you tell him to shoot Maddy?โ Red said, and she couldnโt look at him.
โNo!โ His voice was frantic now. โI told him it wasnโt you, Red. I told him to take a warning shot. I thought heโd shoot in front of her, scare her back into the RV. She wasnโt supposed to get hurt. Iโm sorry, Maddy.โ He looked at her, voice breaking in half. โI tried to stop you from leaving, because I didnโt trust him after what he did to Don and Joyce. I tried, Red, I did. But Oliver forced her out and I didnโt have a choice. I didnโt want this to happen, any of it. He wasnโt supposed to shoot her!โ he said, and his eyes glazed again, muscles twitching by his mouth.
Maddy whimpered as Reyna pushed harder against the wound, watching the scene unfold in front of her.
โAnd who isย he?โ Oliver asked, eyes ๏ฌicking out the side of the RV, in the direction of the sniper. โActually, forget that. Who areย you?โ
Arthur sucked a mouthful of air through gritted teeth, eyes darting side to side as he thought through his answer. Red knew that, because she knew his face, the shift in his eyes when he was thinking hard, the curve of his mouth when he laughed. That look he saved just for her. But he wasnโt real. And neither were any of those small and not-so-small moments between them. She looked at the check mark on her own hand, and there wasnโt a small ๏ฌrework anymore, just a shiver, clawing its way up the back of her neck. Who was he? Was his name even Arthur? Had this been planned from the start, when he ๏ฌrst made friends with Simon and then the rest of them? What did he want from them?
โMy name is Arthur,โ he said, pausing, eyes ๏ฌicking to Red, latching on. โArthur Gotti.โ
Simon gasped and Oliverโs mouth fell open. Redโs heart kicked up, throwing itself around her chest. She doubled back and doubled over, arms wrapping around her ribs to keep her heart from falling out the gaps.
โYouโre Frank Gottiโs son?โ Oliver asked, but it wasnโt a question, not really. Because of course he was. โSo, this is about Red? Sheโs the witness in the trial against your dad and youโre here to kill her?โ
Arthur shook his head. โNo, itโsโโ
โWhy didnโt you just shoot her outside her house, if you knew who she was?โ Oliver demanded. โWhy drag the rest of us into it?โ
Arthur ignored him, head twisting on his neck, body following, as he turned to Red. โI tried to keep you safe,โ his voice croaked. โIโve been trying this whole time. I told them I could get it from you, if I became your friend, if I integrated into your life. No need for anyone to get hurt. But you wouldnโt, Red. You still havenโt after everything thatโs happened tonight. Anytime I got close to anything real, you would shut down and change the subject. Every time, Red. And then it got too close to the trial and my father said we had to force it. I donโt understand why you wonโt say who it is. Thatโs all we need. It never needed to come to this, I didnโt want it to come to this.โ His eyes widened, pleading with her, one hand buried in the folds of his shirt. โWhy wonโt you say, I donโt understand? I told them I didnโt think youโd give it up under torture, if we threatened just you, or even your dad. But Maddyโs
here, the person you care about most in the world. Your friends. Sheโs bleeding out over there and you still wonโt give it up. I donโt understand, Red! Why? Why?โ
โWhatโs he talking about, Red?โ Maddyโs voice was strained, staccato, breathing out through the pain. Her skin waxy and white.
โIโโ Red began, but Oliver spoke across her.
โGive what up?โ he asked. โSheโs the witness for the prosecution against your dad, what else do you need?โ
โNo, sheโs not,โ Arthur said, low and steady over the tremor in his throat. โSheโs not because my father did not kill Joseph Mannino. He wasnโt there that day, on the waterfront. And neither was Red.โ
Red blinked, pressed her eyes closed for a moment. No, she wasnโt there. She hadnโt seen Frank Gotti, hadnโt heard a gun. Sheโd never even been in that park, but sheโd walked it so many times since, memorizing every detail, in case it was needed in her testimony.
โWhatโs he saying?โ Simon asked, looking to Red.
โRed wasnโt there,โ Arthur said. โBut someone is paying her to say that she was, to set my dad up for a murder he didnโt commit. Thatโs right, isnโt it?โ he asked, and how was his voice still gentle, his eyes still kind? โSomeone paid you to do it, to swear under oath that you saw my dad there, to put him away.โ
Red blinked again, her eyes spilling over, tears hot from the shame, sliding down her cheeks. Yes, that was it. The plan. No one was ever supposed to ๏ฌnd out. No one. Red needed that money: pay o๏ฌ their debts, get her dad some real help, have the heating on this winter, maybe even think about college someday. But the money was long gone, the plan over the moment sheโd told them she was the witness. Those were the rules.
โItโs true?!โ Oliver asked, studying Redโs face, disgusted by her tears. โThatโs a crime, Red. Thatโs perjury. What the fuck were you thinking? You canโt be that desperate for money!โ
โIโโ she began.
โWho is it, Red?โ Arthur said, and still his voice was soft where Oliverโs was jagged and thorny. โJust tell me and itโs over. Who is paying you to be
the witness? Give me the name.โ
โIโฆโ Red drew o๏ฌ, eyes ๏ฌicking to Oliver, following the smears of blood to Maddy, then Reyna and Simon. All watching her, backing her into a corner. Sheโd been about to do it before. She was going to say it on the walkie-talkie before she found that interference. Why did it feel so much harder now with them all looking at her, now that she knew for sure this was what it was all about? Red didnโt know if she could. Guilty if she did, guilty if she didnโt. A betrayal either way.
โRed?โ The calm in Arthurโs voice shattered, his jaw tight and tense. โWhy wonโt you tell me? Who is it? Is it one of Manninoโs guys? Is it the Russians? Is it one of the New York families because of Atlantic City? Is it Tommy DโAmico? Who is it?โ
His voice echoed around the silence of the RV, real silence, now that the static was dead, buried somewhere in the undone puzzle of the broken walkie-talkie at her feet. Her throat was tightening, an invisible hand around it, pressing in from all sides.
Red checked Oliverโs eyes, and the danger that lurked there beneath the black, teeth bared and waiting. He didnโt have the knife in his hands now, at least. And Maddy, Red looked to her, pale and quivering, biting down on her shaking lip, eyes focusing and unfocusing as she stared back. This couldnโt hurt any more than that gaping hole in her leg, could it? Blood everywhere, marking them all.
โRed?โ Arthur shouted, voice clawing and desperate. Red took a breath.
โItโs Catherine Lavoy.โ
