The Perfect Witness (3 page)

She was silent.

“It would be the only way to do it,” he said. “He wouldn’t give up such a prize advantage, and he obviously didn’t give a damn about you. Did he make it rough on you?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

The regular beatings with the belt. The ropes. Isolation, verbal and physical abuse.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s over.”

“Your mother didn’t interfere?”

He didn’t understand about Gina. Nothing bad ever touched her. Beautiful butterflies never interfered in anything ugly. But she had come to Teresa after every punishment and held her in her arms and dried her tears.

“I know, baby,”
Gina had whispered as she held her close and stroked her hair.
“I grew up with beatings, too. You just have to do whatever you have to do to survive. Give him what he wants, if you can. Just remember that I’m always here for you.”

“Teresa?”

She didn’t answer.

“You fooled him?”

“I had to make him believe me,” she said jerkily. “I couldn’t do what he wanted any longer. It helped that I couldn’t stop crying for days after it happened. He thought maybe I was going crazy.”

“Yes, I can see how that would help convince the son of a bitch,” Mandak said harshly. “A raving maniac wouldn’t be of much use to him.” He was silent. “Did you try to get away from him?”

“Once. He caught me and locked me up. Then, two weeks later, he was killed, and I thought that I’d be free.”

“But you weren’t free. It’s difficult keeping a secret as valuable and intriguing as your father was trying to do. Just the fact that you, a child, were present at certain crucial meetings was unusual. There had to be leaks. Camano knew about you and wanted to take over the action.” He paused. “Or to get rid of you before you could read some of his own memories that might prove fatal for him.”

“No!” she said sharply. “That wouldn’t happen. I’m never going to do that again.”

“But you can’t help yourself, can you? You wouldn’t do it intentionally, but if you leave yourself open, don’t the memories come flooding?”

Her eyes widened in shock. “How do you know that?”

“Don’t they?”

Panic was suddenly racing through her. Why was she even talking to him? Why had the answers to his questions tumbled out helter-skelter? Perhaps because he had already seemed to know so much already. But those facts could have been learned by diligent research.

But not the way the memories worked. That was what was scaring her to death. There wasn’t any way he could know how that worked. No one could know how people’s memories flowed gently to her at times and at others came and went like wind and thunder. Or how impossible it was to stop them when they wanted to be heard.

“I’ve frightened you.” His gaze was searching her face. “You’re such a tough kid, I keep forgetting that I’m supposed to deal gently with you. It’s not my modus operandi.”

“You didn’t frighten me.” Then she said hoarsely, “Yes, you did. You know too much. Things you shouldn’t know. But it’s nothing I can’t get over. I just have to find out if it’s going to hurt me.”

“It might. But not right away. You’ll have a chance to recover and develop good defenses. That’s all I can promise you.”

“Are you being honest with me?”

He smiled faintly. “Yes. Can’t you tell? Why don’t you see what kind of horrendous memories I’m storing away? It might help.”

“I told you that I won’t do that again. It’s not what—” But she could feel the familiar darkness of the tunnel pulling her, his memories flowing toward her, overwhelming her.

And she could feel herself reaching out, searching …

Nothing.

Blank.

Reflecting like a mirrored golden wall.

She was stunned.

“You’ve never run across a block?”

“You can do that?”

“Yes, and so can you if you let me help you. Accept it. Isn’t it really a relief not to be able to read me?”

Relief? It was weird and terrifying. There was nothing comforting about this blankness. It was like looking at the edge of a machete that could turn and cut in a heartbeat. “Who are you? You said you weren’t the police.”

“And I’m not. That doesn’t mean that I can’t offer you a certain amount of protection.” He opened a bottle of water and handed it to her. “And that I may eventually be able to give you a gift that you’ll find priceless.”

“What gift?” she asked warily.

“You have a talent that’s wild and erratic. I can teach you to block and control. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” he asked softly. “I can give that to you, Teresa.”

“I don’t want to control it. I want to get rid of it.”

He shook his head. “That’s not one of the options.”

“Then just let me go, and I’ll work it out for myself.” She took a drink of water, then asked, “Why can’t I read your memories?”

“Control and blocking. Which makes me stronger than you. You’ve been surrounded by people who have made you a victim. Aren’t you tempted to make sure it doesn’t happen again?”

“All I want is to get away from here and stay alive.”

“That’s part of the package.”

“It is?” She was trying to think, trying to work it out. “You know what’s happening in my head. Or at least some of it. Is it because you’re a freak like me?”

“You’re not a freak. You’re very special.” He shook his head. “People call me special, too, but I don’t possess your gift. You’re not unique, but your ability is very rare. I don’t share it.”

“Be grateful,” she said bitterly.

“Oh, I am. I have enough on my plate without that. But it’s not as if I couldn’t deal with it. It’s a tricky path, and you’ve just been dealing with the wrong guides.” He smiled. “For instance, I’m a guide without equal.”

“You think well of yourself.”

He nodded. “Confidence is a valuable weapon.”

“But even if you aren’t like me, that doesn’t mean you’re not a freak. Special is only a pretty word for it. People use you, and when they’re through with you, they push you away because you’re different.”

“Then you learn to wear a mask and push back when it becomes necessary.”

“Like you pushed back tonight? You killed those men.”

“It was necessary. If they’d caught you, they would probably have killed you. Wouldn’t you have fought back?” He stared her in the eye. “Didn’t you intend to kill if you had to do it?”

“That’s different.”

He chuckled. “It’s always different in the first person.”

“But you had no reason to do it. You had no quarrel with them. You could have walked away.”

“No, I couldn’t have walked away.” He paused. “And I had a very good reason.”

“What?”

“I had to pay in advance for services rendered.”

“What services?”

“Future services.”

“What future—” She stopped as he shook his head. “Services. That means you want to use me, too.”

“I won’t deny it,” he said quietly. “But you’ll find I always pay for what I want. But you’re not ready for me to offer you a deal yet. We’ll discuss it later.”

He was being annoyingly deceptive. She changed the subject. “How do you know what goes on in my head? Are you some kind of slimy egotist like Dr. Kramer?”

He shook his head again.

“Stop
doing
that.” She wanted to hit him. She was brimming with frustration. “I want to know who you are and what you have to do with me.”

“I’m sure you do, but that’s not an option, either. You’ll find out in time, but you need that time. You’re only sixteen, Teresa.”

“You say you want to help me, but that’s not true, is it? You’re like everyone else. You said you wanted to use me.”

“Yes, I do.” He reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “In the end, we all use each other. I’ll take what I want from you. But I’m giving you a chance to grow and strengthen and fight me. I consider that very generous. Don’t you?”

She didn’t know what she thought. His hand was exquisitely gentle against her temple, and his light eyes were mesmerizing. She was tired and frightened and desperate, and she had to ignore the physical appeal of Mandak. It had nothing to do with who he really was. Her father had been sleek and handsome, too, but inside he was ugly or he’d never have had those chilling, callous memories. And she couldn’t know what memories Mandak was hiding, and that was scary in itself. “It’s all double-talk. How do you expect me to make sense of you?” She went on in a rush, “That doesn’t mean I’m going to let you fool me. What … How would you keep Camano away from me?”

“Have you disappear. Create a new identity. You’ve heard of the Witness Protection Program? Something similar to that.”

“It wouldn’t work. They’d find me. My father had the police in his pocket. Camano took over and kept the bribes going.”

“We wouldn’t deal with local authorities. I have someone high up in the U.S. Marshals Service who would make sure that all information was strictly confidential. Josh Dantlow would handle the details of your resettlement himself, and any communication would only be through him … or me.”

She gazed at him skeptically.

“You doubt it would work? Dantlow would answer to me. There’s no question that he would betray me.”

“You killed three men tonight. If he’s government, are you saying that he’d turn a blind eye to murder?”

“I’m saying that I have him under control.” He shrugged. “And that he’d probably regard that scum as unimportant in the scheme of things. They all had records a mile long. I did the police a favor in removing them.”

“Your opinion.”

“And yours. You weren’t crying when you saw those bodies. You were shocked. You were a little sick. But all you could think about was that men who were trying to kill you had been taken out. They were the enemy.” He paused. “Like your father, like Rico Camano.”

He was right, she thought wearily. Why was she arguing when she might have been dead except for his lethal intervention? He had been there when she needed him most. She could never trust him. She could never trust anyone. But by that single act of violence, he had formed a chain it would be hard for her to break. “But you’re like Camano. You’re like my father. You said yourself that you were going to use me.” She glared at him. “How? I won’t do it if there’s any way I can get out of it. Would you beat me? Would you kill me if I learn too much?”

“A beautiful young girl like you? What a waste that would be.”

“You didn’t answer me.”

“No, but I’ve told you that I’m giving you your chance to save yourself.” He added, “And I’ll promise to make sure that you’ll be safe until you’re ready for me. That will probably be at least a few years.” He smiled. “After all, it would be to my advantage to keep Camano at bay and you alive. As you pointed out, you’re no good to me if I can’t use you.”

“Promises? I can’t trust your word. I don’t know anything about you.”

“You’ll have the opportunity to learn more. Once I have you settled, I’ll be visiting you frequently.”

“No! I want you to leave me alone.”

He didn’t answer.

No, of course, he wouldn’t. He had told her he was in control of the situation, and he was manipulating her into a position where he’d remain in control. “What … would you do with me?”

“Find you a safe place, surround you with safe people, let you grow and learn.”

“It sounds too … good,” she said doubtfully. “Where do you fit in?”

“Oh, I’m a very important part of the picture. I guard your body, and I give you gifts that only I can provide.” He smiled. “Because I can teach you how to block those memories assaulting you and push them away to some extent. It’s one of my more freakish talents. In some cases, I can also create a complete barrier and make you unable to read some of the people surrounding you so that you can have a few normal relationships.”

Her eyes widened. “You could do that?”

He nodded. “My pleasure. I thought you’d like that.”

Like? It would seem like a miracle to her. To reach out and touch and not have the poison of being thought strange or having everyone afraid of her. “It’s been … a long time. Not since everything went wrong when I was a kid.”

And he had probed and studied her and decided that this was an offer she couldn’t refuse. The idea that he was right and that she desperately wanted what he said he could give her made her suddenly angry. “You’re probably lying.”

“I’m not lying,” he said. “I promise you.”

“How do I know that? You’re setting all of this up and expecting me to go along with it. You can go to hell,” she said defiantly. “I’ll do what I please.”

He smiled faintly. “And you’ll be pleased to go along with the plan at least in the beginning. The Witness Protection Program is eminently respectable and will give you the opportunity to take it on the lam if you begin to feel threatened. I’ll have Dantlow give you impeccable references to verify his identity. On the other hand, it may be the only sure way to save your life. True?”

So true that it was filling her with desperation and panic. She had no money and no friends. She wasn’t afraid to go out on her own, but she knew that the odds would be against her. And she would
not
let Camano kill her.

“It … might be true,” she said reluctantly.

He nodded. “Then you agree.”

She was silent, considering if she had any other choices. “Temporarily. Don’t expect it to last.”

He chuckled. “God, you’re stubborn. And what a firecracker. Stubborn and full of anger and fire.” His smile faded. “But who could blame you? Defense mechanisms all the way.”

“You’re talking like one of those doctors again. Are you sure that you’re—”

“Very sure.” He was putting out the campfire. “And now that we’re on the same page, let’s get the hell out of here. I had to take the time to bind that wound and come to terms with you. But I want to be over the Kentucky border by dawn.”

“What’s in Kentucky?”

“An airport at Louisville and a meeting with Josh Dantlow.”

She stiffened. “You made an appointment with him before you talked to me?”

“Yes, and save the complaints. Time was important. You’ll have a lot more to be pissed off about before this is over.” He reached down and half pulled, half lifted her to her feet. “Can you walk?”