The Witness

by Nora Roberts

  “Thank you. I’m not supposed to drink …” Elizabeth let out a half-laugh. “That’s stupid, isn’t it? I drank alcohol until I was sick. I watched two people be murdered. And I don’t want to disobey my mother’s directive about soft drinks.”

  She opened it, poured it into the plastic cup. “Thank you,” she said again.

  “Elizabeth.” Griffith waited until she had Elizabeth’s attention again. “Did you, Julie, Gurevich and Ilya Volkov leave Warehouse 12 and go to Gurevich’s residence?”

  “No. Just the three of us. Ilya had to take care of something at the club. He was going to come—and he did, but later. After.”

  “Did Ilya Volkov murder Gurevich and Julie?”

  “No. It was a man named Yakov Korotkii. I can describe him, or do a sketch, or work with a police artist. I remember his face. I remember it very well. I have an eidetic memory. I don’t forget. I don’t forget,” she repeated, with her voice rising, body shaking.

  “Detectives,” Ms. Petrie began. “Elizabeth has been through a severe trauma. She’s had enough for the night.”

  “No. No. I need to help. I need to do something.”

  “We have her mother’s permission to question her,” Griffith stated.

  “My mother?”

  “She’s been notified. She’ll fly back in the morning.”

  Elizabeth closed her eyes. “All right.”

  “Elizabeth. This is important. How do you know the man who killed Gurevich and Julie was Yakov Korotkii?”

  “Alex called him by his last name when they talked. Julie … she must have been in the bathroom. I fell asleep for a little while, out on the terrace. Their voices—Alex’s and the two men’s—woke me.”

  “Two men.”

  “The other was bigger, burlier. Korotkii called him Yegor. Korotkii said Alex had stolen from his uncle. Alex called him—the uncle—Sergei. He denied it, but he was lying. I could see he was lying. Korotkii, he was … Have you seen a cobra kill a mouse? How it watches, so patient. How it seems to enjoy those moments before the strikes as much as the strike itself? It was like that. Alex was dismissive, as if he were in charge. But he wasn’t in charge. Korotkii was in charge. And Alex became afraid when Korotkii said they knew he was cooperating with the police. That Sergei knew. He begged. Do you need to know what they said to each other?”

  “We’ll get back to that.”

  “The burly man pushed Alex to his knees. And then Korotkii took a gun from behind his back. He must have had a holster. I didn’t see. He shot him here.”

  Elizabeth touched her fingers to her forehead.

  “He put the gun against his forehead, and he shot him. It wasn’t loud at all. Then he shot him twice more. Here.

  “I almost screamed. I had to put my hand over my mouth so I wouldn’t scream. Korotkii called Alex a … It’s a very strong Russian oath.”

  “You speak Russian.”

  “Not fluently. I’d never heard the expression before, but it was … self-explanatory. I only mention it because that was how quick it all happened. He called Alex, even though he was dead, a name. Then Julie came in, from the kitchen direction. There’s a powder room off the kitchen. She said, ‘Alex, I don’t feel good. We should—’ That’s all she said. Korotkii turned, and he shot her. She fell. I could see she was dead, but he shot again. And he cursed in Russian. I couldn’t hear for a minute. There were screams in my head. I couldn’t hear. Then I heard Ilya. I thought they would kill him, too. I wanted to warn him, to help him. And then …”

  “Take a minute.” Riley spoke gently in what Griffith knew wasn’t his going-in-soft voice but sincere concern. “Take your time.”

  “They spoke in Russian, but I could understand all—or nearly all—of it. Ilya was angry, but not so much that Alex was dead.”

  She closed her eyes, took a breath, and relayed the conversation she’d heard word for word.

  “That’s pretty exact,” Riley commented.

  “I have an eidetic memory. I ran, because Ilya knew I’d come to the house. I knew he’d ask about me. I knew they’d kill me, too. So I ran. I didn’t pay attention to where I ran—I just ran. I left my shoes. I couldn’t run in the shoes, the heels, so I left them on the terrace. I didn’t think. I just reacted. If I’d thought, I would’ve taken them with me. They must have found the shoes. So they know I saw. They know I heard.”

  “We’re going to protect you, Elizabeth. I promise you.” Griffith reached out, laid her hand over Elizabeth’s. “We’re going to keep you safe.”

  Griffith stepped out of the room with Riley, clamped her hands on her head. “Jesus Christ, Riley, Jesus Christ on a pogo stick. Do you know what we’ve got?”

  “We’ve got an eye witness with a memory like a computer, who speaks Russian. We’ve got motherfucking Korotkii, that slick bastard Ilya Volkov. And if God’s good, we’ll get Sergei. If she holds up, she’ll break the back of the Volkov crew.”

  “She’ll hold up.” Eyes hard and bright, Griffith glanced toward the door. “We’ve got to call in the brass, Riley, get her into a safe house. We’re going to need the U.S. Marshals Service.”

  “Screw that.”

  “We ask, or they take. We ask, we stay in.”

  “God damn it, I hate when you make sense. Let’s get it started. You know what else I noticed about the witness?”

  “What’s that?”

  “She looked nearly as sick about her mother coming in as she did about the rest of it.”

  “I think getting grounded’s the least of her worries.”

  ELIZABETH LET IT BLUR. It didn’t matter where they took her. She wanted only to sleep. So she slept in the car with the two detectives and Ms. Petrie. When the car stopped, she got out without complaint, all but sleepwalking into a small, clapboard house. She accepted the T-shirt and cotton pants Detective Griffith gave her, even managed to change into them in the small bedroom with the narrow twin bed. She feared her dreams but was powerless against the exhaustion.

  She lay on top of the bed, used the cop blanket to cover herself. She felt the tears slide through her lashes as she closed her eyes.

  Then she felt nothing.

  She woke midday, dry and hollow.

  She didn’t know what would happen next. All of her life she’d known exactly what was expected of her, when it was expected. But there was no list, no schedule, to lean on now.

  It shamed her to be hungry, to wish for coffee, a shower, a toothbrush. Everyday things, ordinary things. Julie would never be hungry again, or do ordinary things.

  But she got up, wincing a little as her sore feet hit the floor. She hurt, she realized, all over. She should hurt, she determined. She should be in misery.

  Then she remembered her mother. Her mother was coming back, might already be back. That, she decided, would be more punishment than pain and hunger.

  Wanting the punishment, she cracked the door open. Listened.

  She heard voices—just the rumble of them—smelled coffee. Smelled, she realized with another wince, herself. She wanted the punishment but hoped she could take a shower before it was delivered.

  She stepped out, walked toward the sound of the voices.

  And froze.

  A stranger stood in the small white-and-yellow kitchen. A tall man, almost gangly, he poured coffee from a carafe into a thick white mug. He paused in the act of it, smiled at her.

  He wore jeans, a white shirt—and a shoulder holster.

  “Good morning. Or afternoon. I’m Deputy U.S. Marshal John Barrow. It’s all right, Elizabeth. We’re here to keep you safe.”

  “You’re a U.S. Marshal.”

  “That’s right. Later today, we’re going to take you to another safe house.”

  “Is Detective Griffith here?”

  “She’ll be here later. She got you some clothes, some things.” He paused for another moment when Elizabeth only stared at him. “You gave her your key, told her it was all right if she went to your house, got you some clothe
s, your toothbrush, that sort of thing.”

  “Yes. I remember.”

  “I bet you could use some coffee, some aspirin.”

  “I … I’d like to take a shower, if that’s all right.”

  “Sure.” He smiled again, set the carafe and mug down. He had blue eyes but not like her mother’s. His were a deeper tone, and warm.

  “I’ll get your bag. I’m here with Deputy Marshal Theresa Norton. I want you to feel secure, Elizabeth—do they call you Liz?”

  Tears stung the back of her eyes. “Julie called me Liz. Julie did.”

  “I’m sorry about your friend. You’ve had a rough time of it, Liz. Theresa and I are going to look out for you.”

  “They’ll kill me if they find me. I know that.”

  Those warm blue eyes looked straight into hers. “They won’t find you. And I won’t let them hurt you.”

  She wanted to believe him. He had a good face. Thin, like the rest of him, almost scholarly. “How long do I have to hide?”

  “Let’s take it a day at a time for now. I’ll get your stuff.”

  She stood exactly where she was until he came back, carrying her travel Pullman.

  “Why don’t I fix up some food while you’re cleaning up,” he suggested. “I’m a better cook than Terry. That’s not saying much, but I won’t poison you.”

  “Thank you. If it’s no trouble.”

  “It’s not.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know where the shower is.”

  “That way.” He pointed. “Then hang a right.”

  He watched her go, then picked up his coffee, stared into it. He set it down again when his partner walked in from the outside.

  “She’s up,” he said. “Jesus, Terry, she looked closer to twelve than twenty-one. She should never have gotten in that club.”

  “You saw the ID she forged. She could make a living.” Small, tough, pretty as a daisy, Terry hit the coffeepot. “How’s she holding up?”

  “By one rough strand of grit, if you ask me. Polite as your great-aunt Martha.”

  “If I had a great-aunt Martha, she’d be a bitch on wheels.”

  “She never asked about her mother. About Griffith, but not her own mother. That tells you something. I’m going to fix her some bacon and eggs.”

  He pulled open the refrigerator, got out what he needed.

  “Do you want me to contact the prosecutor? You know he wants to talk to her asap.”

  “Let’s give her time to get some food in her belly. But, yeah, better if he meets with her here before we move her. And better if she has a little time before she realizes she could be living in a safe house for months.”

  “Maybe years. How could somebody smart enough to be going to Harvard—at sixteen, no less—get herself mixed up with the Volkovs?”

  “Sometimes being sixteen’s enough.” John laid bacon in the skillet, set it sizzling.

  “I’ll make the call. Tell them two hours—give her time to get dressed, eat, settle.”

  “Check on the mother’s ETA while you’re at it.”

  “Will do.”

  5

  BY THE TIME ELIZABETH CAME BACK IN, WEARING JEANS and a blue tank with a thin froth of lace at the edges, he’d piled a plate with bacon, eggs, toast.

  “Did Detective Griffith pack everything you needed?”

  “Yes. I wasn’t sure what to do with the suitcase. You said we weren’t staying here.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Eat while it’s hot.”

  She stared at the plate. “That’s a lot of food.” Bacon? Her nutritionist would have a heart attack.

  The idea of the reaction made her smile.

  “You look hungry.”

  “I am.” The smile stayed in place when she looked up at him. “I’m not supposed to eat bacon.”

  “Why?”

  “Processed meat, sodium, animal fat. It’s not on my approved list. My mother and my nutritionist have devised a very specific meal plan.”

  “Is that so? Well, it’s a shame to let it go to waste.”

  “It would be.” The scent drew her to the table. “And you went to the trouble to cook it for me.” She sat, picked up a slice of bacon, took a bite. Closed her eyes. “It’s good.”

  “Everything’s better with bacon.” He set a tall glass of juice and three Tylenol beside her plate. “Take those, drink that. I can see the hangover.”

  Now the smile fell away. “We shouldn’t have been drinking.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have. Do you always do what you should do?”

  “Yes. I mean, before yesterday. And if I’d done what I should have yesterday, Julie would be alive.”

  “Liz, Julie’s dead because Yakov Korotkii is a murderer, because the Volkovs are very bad people. You and Julie did something stupid. She didn’t deserve to die for it. And you’re not responsible. Take the Tylenol, drink the juice. Eat.”

  She obeyed more out of the habit of obedience than desire now. But, oh, the food was so good, so comforting.

  “Will you tell me what happens now? I don’t know what happens now, and it’s easier to know what I’m expected to do.”

  He brought his coffee to the table, sat down with her. “A lot of what happens next depends on you.”

  “Because my testimony as to what happened, what I saw, what I heard, will be necessary to convict Yakov Korotkii on the murder charges, and the other man as his accomplice. And Ilya as an accessory after the fact. Also, it could implicate Sergei Volkov, though that may be hearsay, I’m not clear on that. He would be the most desired target, as it appears he’s the head, or one of the heads, of the organization.”

  John leaned back in his chair. “You seem to have a solid grasp on the situation, as it stands.”

  “I’ve been monitoring some criminal justice courses, and doing a lot of reading.”

  “Since yesterday?”

  “No.” She nearly laughed, but it caught in her throat. “Since I started college. I’m interested.”

  “But you’re studying to be a doctor.”

  She looked down at her plate, carefully scooped up a bite of scrambled egg. “Yes.”

  He got up, opened the fridge again, took out a Coke for himself, then a second. He cocked a brow in question.

  “I’m not supposed to— Yes, please. I’d like a Coke.”

  He opened both, then sat as a compact woman with blond hair in a sleek ponytail stepped in. “Liz, this is Deputy Marshal Norton. Terry, Liz.”

  “How’re you doing today, Liz?”

  “Better, thank you.”

  “Liz was just asking about the process, though she seems to have a handle on it. Terry’s contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office. You’ll have a representative from Child Services present while they talk to you, if your mother hasn’t arrived by that time. Your cooperation is voluntary, Liz, but—”

  “I could be held as a material witness. It won’t be necessary. I have to cooperate, I have to testify. Will you tell me if the Volkovs are Russian Mafia?”

  “What we believe and what we can prove—”

  “I want to know what you believe,” Elizabeth interrupted. “I think I should know my situation. I may be a minor, legally, but I’m not a child. I have an IQ of two hundred and ten, and excellent comprehension skills. I know I behaved foolishly, but I’m not foolish. I understand if I witnessed murders carried out on orders of what would be the pakhan—the boss—I’m a target. If I testify, Korotkii or one like him will do whatever can be done to stop me. Even after I testify, and particularly if my testimony leads to