Moving Target (23 page)

When she had stalled as long as she could, she took another deep breath and headed for the door.

She was surrounded by Deputy Marshals, Daniel ever present at her side. The Deputies were almost all taller than her and she felt like a little kid wanting to jump up and down to see what was ahead of them.

They escorted her down a hall to an elevator that made a whirring noise as it descended. Her belly dropped with the car as it sailed down. The pounding of her heart grew faster and faster when they exited the elevator and the Deputies escorted her along another corridor. They took her to a tall door and Daniel told her it was a side entrance to the courtroom.

He squeezed her shoulder. "Kick their asses, Ani."

"I've got my heels on." She gave a tremulous smile as she looked up at him. "I'll grind him into the floor."

The corner of his mouth quirked. "Go get 'em."

The Deputy Marshals opened the door and Ani stepped over the threshold with Daniel on one side of her and Gary McNeal on the other side. She was vaguely aware of the smells of wood and carpeting and the coolness of the room's temperature across her skin.

A sea of faces blurred before her eyes and she grew light-headed. She could barely make out the jury to her left and ascertain that the courtroom was packed.

Then her vision cleared and she saw one man and one man alone.

Dmitry Borenko.

The blond man looked so calm and innocent, his expression almost angelic.

Fear stabbed her belly like a knife and she came to a stop.

In her mind she heard the shot.

Saw the hole appear in her father's head.

Heard herself scream.

Then saw those ice-blue eyes. Killer's eyes.

Dmitry turning his gun on her.

The bullet piercing her, close to her heart.

For one moment while she met Dmitry Borenko's eyes in the courtroom, Ani felt herself slipping. Slipping away back to that night.

The horror.

The fear.

A warm hand pressed against her lower back and she realized it was Daniel encouraging her to go forward to the witness stand.

She jerked herself back to reality and shoved away the fear.

And replaced it with anger.

This was the bastard who murdered her father and mother.

The bastard who made sure Jenn was taken from her life.

Hot rage flamed within her. Pain dug into her shoulder wound and her burn scar itched like mad. She tore her gaze from Dmitry's, held her chin just a little higher, and straightened her spine before she reached the witness stand with the Deputies to either side of her.

Everything seemed surreal, like it wasn't happening to her. For over two years she'd been preparing herself for this moment. Never forgetting her family's killer's face. Never forgetting what had been documented on her father's computer.

Ani hoped her expression was composed as she took the single step up and into the witness stand and moved in front of the chair. Daniel and Gary McNeal retreated.

She remained standing as a Bible was thrust in front of her and she was sworn in by the court reporter.

"Place your left hand on the Bible and raise your right hand."

Ani complied.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" the court reporter asked.

Ani took a deep breath. "Yes." Her voice shook a little and she hoped no one noticed.

Judge Steele said, "The witness may be seated."

After Ani sat, Singleton approached the witness stand. "Ms. King, please state your full name for the record."

Ani avoided looking at Borenko. "My name is Anistana Rachel King."

"Thank you, Ms. King." Singleton gave her an encouraging look. "Tell us where you have been for the last two years."

Ani took a deep breath then let out a slow exhale before answering. "For just over two years I've been in the Witness Security Program," she said. "For the first couple of months I was in a burn center in Oregon, followed by a few weeks in rehab. The burns on my back were a result of the fire that also consumed my mother's and father's bodies." Anger at the thoughts of their murders caused her to raise her voice. "When I was released from rehab, I was transferred to a safe house and went through more physical therapy."

Singleton gave her a nod. "Go ahead."

"This past year I've been residing in a small town in Arizona and working in an antique store." More anger from all that she had lost swept through her. "Before I was put into the Witness Security Program I worked as an art curator for a major museum in New York."

"What about family?" the prosecutor asked.

Ani clenched her fingers. "My mother, father, and sister were murdered two years ago by Dmitry Borenko."

"Objection!" the defense attorney said with a huff. "Whether or not my client had anything to do with the deaths of her family members is up to the jury to decide."

"Disregard the witness's statement about whom she believes to be responsible for the deaths of her family members,"

Judge Steele said to the jury.

After a nod from Singleton, Ani continued. "I do have cousins, aunts, and uncles, but I was forced to cut all ties to family and friends when I entered WITSEC. I haven't been allowed any contact whatsoever with my former life." Her face fell.

"When I left, I had a cousin who was getting married and another cousin and his wife who were expecting a child. I haven't been allowed to hear any news about them. It's been like my past never existed."

"Your recent injuries." Singleton gestured to her face. "How did you obtain them?"

Her face felt warm every place she was wounded. She hadn't put any makeup on today so she knew her bruises and scratches stood out against her fair skin.

She kept her eyes on Singleton, not sure she could look at anyone else. "I was first cut during an attempt on my life in Tucson, Arizona, from glass that shattered when I was shot at while on my way back to New York City to testify." She swallowed. "The majority of my injuries were the result of an attack on three U.S. Marshal vehicles after my plane landed in New Jersey. The cars exploded and I was flung through the air and hit with shrapnel. From what I understand, the assailants used a rocket-propelled grenade launcher to blow up the vehicles. Seven Deputy U.S. Marshals died in that attack."

Ani paused and Singleton said, "Go on."

"I have lacerations on the backs of my legs and the other cut on my face." She gestured to the bruises on the other side of her face, then pointed to her shoulder. "I also have extensive bruises on my shoulder and hip."

Singleton gave her a sympathetic look as he glanced at the jury and back to her. She focused on him as he continued his direct examination. "In your own words, please tell the court what led to the night of the murders—the things that concerned you the most." After naming the year, he said, "What are the events leading up to the nineteenth of August?"

She tried not to fidget as she started telling the court about the information she had discovered on her father's computer, just as she had during witness prep. Embarrassment at what her father had done and had become was overshadowed by her anger at the Borenkos for murdering him.

As she testified, the defense repeatedly objected to parts of her testimony. From the judge came "sustained," "overruled,"

and "I'll allow it"—which all made her feel as if she were on an episode of some television show.

After she finished explaining the records she found on the computer on the eighteenth of August, she told the court how angry she was to discover that her father worked with the Russian Mafia.

"He was out of town the day I found the computer files," Ani said, "so I was unable to speak with him about them."

Singleton held his hands behind his back as he stood in front of the witness box. "Now, I know my next questions will be terribly painful for you, but please do your best to bear with me. Can you tell me where you were on the night of August nineteenth, and what you were doing?"

Ani swallowed hard. "I was at my parents' home, 1616 Potter Street, Brooklyn."

The corner of Borenko's mouth quirked so subtly that she was sure it was meant for her and her alone. He was probably seeing her lying on the carpet of her living room, certain he was leaving her for dead.

Her entire body went cold.

Daniel, where was Daniel? Was he close to her? God, how she needed his support. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of him standing tall by the adjacent wall next to Gary McNeal and her heart rate slowed a bit.

She sucked in her breath and straightened in her seat. She wasn't going to let Borenko know he was shaking her up.

The prosecutor walked her through the events that occurred the night of the murders. Just like he had during her witness prep, he focused on what she'd overheard Dmitry say before asking her to speak about the shootings and the fire. She felt more angry, grew more rigid with every answer, every word she said, and it became harder and harder to keep from breaking down.

But when it came time to tell him about the murders themselves, she just couldn't help it. Tears rolled down her cheeks. It didn't matter that she was supposed to put up a brave front. The memories were too intense, too painful.

"What are the last things you remember?" Singleton asked gently.

His question threw her off. He hadn't asked her that during the prep.

She held up her chin. Her skin felt tight from crying and her eyes felt puffy. "The last thing I remember from that night is my mother's body burning beneath the gasoline-soaked drape. The hole in my father's head. My sister shot, her body on fire, as I pushed her out of the window, trying to save her."

Ani did everything she could to keep any more tears from falling when she said, "And the face of my family's murderer. I'll never forget his face."

Singleton gestured to the courtroom. "Is the man who shot and burned your family in this room?"

Ani clenched her fists in her lap. "Yes." The word came out loud, clear, resolute.

Singleton's features were a dark mask as he asked in a firm tone, "Could you please point him out?"

Ani looked directly at Dmitry and tried to control the trembling—trembling of rage this time. She pointed to him with no hesitation. "That is the man who murdered my family."

"Let the record show," Singleton said as he looked at the jury, his voice ringing through the courtroom, "the witness identified Dmitry Borenko as the assailant."

Finally, when she didn't think she could answer anything else, Singleton said, "No further questions, Your Honor." To the defense attorney he said, "Your witness, counselor."

Ani straightened in her seat and wiped the tears from her eyes with her fingers.
Here it comes
. She couldn't be weak. She had to be self-assured, confident in her testimony.

The defense attorney, Mr. Plutov, threw her off balance with his first question. "Ms. King, are you absolutely certain of what you saw and heard the night of August nineteenth?"

Ani blinked at him. "No question. I saw Dmitry Borenko shoot my father, myself, my mother, and my sister. Then he ordered two men to set our house on fire. I'm the only one who survived."

Mr. Plutov gave her an indulgent smile, and she wanted to claw out his heart. Bastard. He was already enjoying this.

"Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, people can become confused, right?"

"Some people, perhaps." With great force of will, Ani reined in her temper and kept her eyes on the slimy fat man in the brown suit. "But not me."

"So you're certain, with no doubts whatsoever, that your entire family died on August nineteenth."

"Objection." The prosecutor got to his feet. "Asked and answered."

Judge Steele, sounding mildly annoyed, said, "Sustained."

Another indulgent, condescending smile from Mr. Plutov.

Ani clenched her fingers together. Plutov's heart would look good on the flagpole outside the courthouse.

His smile was positively gleaming as he asked his next question. "Ms. King, did you identify the bodies of your mother, father, and sister?"

Ani frowned. "I was taken into protective—"

"Yes or no, Ms. King."

After a pause, she said quietly, "No."

The attorney focused his eyes on hers. They were calculating, intense eyes that held no mercy. "Then you do
not
know for certain if they are all dead."

Singleton stood again and braced his hands on the prosecution's table. "Objection, Your Honor."

"Where are you going with this, counselor?" the judge asked the defense attorney.

"My client is on trial for murder, among other things," the defense attorney said smoothly. "It seems reasonable to establish that, indeed, the people in question are dead."

The defense attorney exchanged glances with the Deputy Marshals and looked at Judge Steele. "Sidebar, please, Your Honor."

"Approach the bench."

Both Singleton and the defense attorney went to the judge's bench, Plutov carrying a file folder. The judge took off her glasses, glanced over the documents. Her head snapped up, she looked at Singleton, her expression sharp and angry. She turned and spoke to the attorneys in tones low enough that Ani couldn't hear.

Not that she could hear through the buzzing in her ears.

"I'll allow it." The judge's expression was thunderous as she put her glasses back on.

The two attorneys retreated from the sidebar and Plutov approached Ani again. Her skin tingled from head to toe and she gripped the hem of her skirt with her fists. What was going on?

Plutov looked positively glowing as he stated, "What would you say if I told you that not all of your family died in that fire, Ms. King? What if I told you that your sister is alive and well? Would that, perhaps, cause you to reevaluate your perceptions of what happened on the night of August nineteenth?"

Ani felt as if the blood had drained from her face to the floor of the witness stand.

Jenn? Alive?

Her gaze shot to Daniel's where he stood with Gary McNeal. Neither had any expression on their faces.