Read The Perfect Witness Online
Authors: Iris Johansen
Tags: #Fiction, #Thrillers, #Suspense, #General
The Perfect Witness
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Contents
CHAPTER ONE
SHE WAS BLEEDING …
The pain in her side was almost overwhelming.
Teresa could hear the three men behind her in the forest, crashing through the underbrush.
Run.
No time to try to stop the bleeding. If she didn’t get away from them, there would be another bullet, another wound.
Or death.
She had been lucky to have seen them coming up the road toward the cabin and guessed that they had been sent to kill her. She had slipped out of the cabin, but they had caught sight of her running into the woods. She had heard Mick Judaro shout to Tantona when he saw her. He’s been surprised, they’d thought she’d be easy game. But she’d been waiting for them for the last three days.
Waiting for death.
No, she wouldn’t let them kill her. She could feel the anger tearing through her, smothering the fear.
“Stop, Teresa. We didn’t mean to hurt you. That was only supposed to be a warning shot.” It was Hank Tantona calling out to her. “We were just sent to bring you back. You know me. I’ve watched you grow up. I was at your sixteenth birthday party last month.”
She had not wanted to have that party, but Mother had insisted. She had said it would look strange if she didn’t throw a party for her. And she had been aware of Tantona leaning against the wall while she blew out the candles. Smiling, joking with her father. She hadn’t been able to look at him.
His memories were too dark, too ugly, swirling around, pushing into every corner of his mind. He didn’t try to keep that ugliness tucked away. He was proud of it.
Like her father.
But she had learned to shut herself away from her father’s memories. She wouldn’t have been able to survive living with him if she hadn’t.
She ran faster.
“I know you’re scared,” Tantona shouted. “But Rico Camano doesn’t want to hurt you either. He only wants to talk to you. He was a good friend to your father. He wants to find out who murdered him. He thinks you can help.”
Liar. Liar. Liar.
“But you have to obey Camano just like you did your father. After all, he’s our boss now, Teresa. He’s the Don. And your father would like him to be in charge now that he’s gone. Camano will treat you well if you just do what he says.”
Camano would kill her. She had seen it in his face at her father’s funeral. He had smiled at her and patted her shoulder, but she could still feel the coldness of him.
Then he had smiled at her mother, Gina, and she had smiled back.
And Teresa had known that she was alone.
“But if you don’t stop, we may have to take you down, Teresa,” Tantona called. “We’ll try not to hurt you again, but I can’t promise. Just give up and let us talk to you.”
Her breath was coming in gasps, and the pain was getting worse. “Blood,” she muttered. She had to do something about that blood …
“Yes, you do.”
She paused, startled at the words that had come out of nowhere. Her gaze flew to the path in front of her.
A man stood on the path a few yards away. Tall, dark-haired, gleaming, light blue eyes. Dressed in dark jeans and sweatshirt. She didn’t recognize him. He was a stranger. But everyone was the enemy.
Her hand tightened on the branch in her hand, then she crouched and swung the branch at him like a club.
He grabbed it and wrenched her arm until the branch dropped to the ground. “You don’t have time for this. I’m no threat to you, Teresa.”
She punched him in the stomach.
He muttered a curse and swung her around and shoved her up the path. “I told you I was no threat. Get out of here. You have only a few minutes. I’ll take care of Tantona and the others. Wait for me on the hill, and I’ll look at that wound.”
She hesitated only for a second, then took off running again. She didn’t know what was going on, but it couldn’t be worse than what she was facing now. He was a stranger, but strangers couldn’t be any more dangerous than those people with whom she’d spent her entire life.
Mother …
Don’t think of her. It hurt too much.
Keep running.
She heard a scream behind her. Then a curse, then another sound that was like a grunt.
Had Tantona killed him?
The wet shrubs were striking her face as she ran up the hill.
Get away. He had told her to wait, but he was probably a dead man.
If he wasn’t, he could be just as much a danger to her as the men who had shot her. She couldn’t trust him. She couldn’t trust anyone.
“Dammit, stop.” The stranger’s voice behind her. “You’re okay now. No one’s chasing you. Correction. No one but me. Stop.”
She kept running.
Two minutes later, he tackled her from behind and took her down.
She rolled over, and her fist struck out and hit his mouth. Then she butted her head up and struck his chest as hard as she could.
Dizzy. Her head was spinning.
But she tried to do it again.
He muttered a curse as he straddled her and pinned her shoulders to the ground. “I’m not going to hurt you, you little tarantula.”
“No, you’re not,” she said fiercely, and moved her head, so that she could sink her teeth into his hand on her shoulder.
He didn’t move but said through clenched teeth, “Get your fangs out of me, or I’ll knock you out and explain later. Do you want me to prove that I’m not one of Camano’s errand boys? I will. No problem. Let’s go down the hill, and I’ll show you their bodies.”
She stiffened and removed her teeth from his hand. “That doesn’t prove you’re not just as bad.” She was silent, looking up at him. “Did you really kill them?”
He shrugged. “It was the only way to stop them. Camano had given them orders. He would have taken you alive, but he’d be relieved if you were dead.”
“How do you know what Camano wants or doesn’t want?”
“Not because I belong to his fine organization. He’s as dirty a gangster as your father was before him. I don’t give a damn about him.” He met her eyes. “But I do give a damn about you. I want to help you.”
“Bullshit. I don’t know you. Get off me.”
“Then let me introduce myself. My name is Andre Mandak. And I’ll get off you if you promise you won’t kick me in the nuts or run away. And if you’ll let me take a look at that wound and stop the bleeding.”
“Why would you want do anything to help me? I don’t know you.”
“You’ve said that before. Maybe I’m just a good Samaritan.”
“Bullshit.”
“You’ve said that before, too. I know you’re scared, but think. I saved your life. Why would I want to take it now?”
“I don’t trust you.”
“You don’t trust anyone. Deal with it. I’m the only game in town.”
She stared up at him, then slowly nodded. “Get off me.”
He swung off her and helped her to her feet. “I’ll take you to my car on the road and see if I can stop that bleeding and—”
“I’m not getting into any car,” she said flatly. “And how do I know that you really did kill those men who were after me? Maybe it’s a lie to trick me.” She started back down the hill. “I want to see them for myself.”
“Really?” He followed her. “Are you sure? Corpses aren’t a pleasant sight.”
“I have to know if you lied to me.” Her hand was holding the wound in her side. It was wet with blood. Pain … She had to keep on going. “If you work for Camano, too, I don’t think you’d kill his men. It wouldn’t make sense. So I might be able to trust you to— No, but maybe I could—” She stopped again. She wasn’t thinking clearly. She whirled to face him. “But you took away that club I had. If you really want to help me, give me your gun or something else to protect myself if you’ve lied to me.”
“What?” He shook his head. “I didn’t expect that.” He hesitated an instant. “No gun, that would be too easy to turn against me.” He reached in his jacket pocket and took out a long, slender dagger. “That’s not enough to prove I’m on your side?” He gave the dagger to her. “No, I guess not.”
“I have to know that they’re dead. Then I might be able to listen to you and decide what you want from me.”
“And someone is always wanting something from you, aren’t they, Teresa?” he asked quietly. “You’re only sixteen. How long has it been going on?”
“None of your business,” she said jerkily. Don’t give in to the weakness. Put one foot in front of the other. “Where are Tantona and the others?”
“You’re my business, or I wouldn’t be here,” he said roughly. “And part of that business is keeping you alive. Will you give this up and let me stop that bleeding?”
“Where are they?”
“Behind those trees up ahead. You’re running a big risk just to see if I’m lying to you.”
“I know. How else can I find out? You could be tricking me. But you could have killed me back there. I don’t know why you didn’t. Either way it’s a risk. I can’t trust anyone. But I have to find out for sure who I have to fight.”
“By all means, go check them out. Considering the fact that your dirtbag father raised you as a Mafia princess, I’m sure you shouldn’t be shocked at a few dead bodies.”
He was angry, she realized. Were those words supposed to hurt her? It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but finding a way to get away from Camano.
She faded to the left when she reached the trees and tried to creep quietly forward in case there was someone in wait for her. Her hand tightened on the dagger. She stopped and listened.
No sound.
Her gaze searched the darkness.
She went a few steps deeper into the trees.
The first body she saw was that of Georgie Sohler. He was lying crumpled beside an oak tree. His head was twisted at an odd angle.
Shock. She stopped short, then forced herself to keep on walking.
A few yards later she saw Mick Judaro lying with eyes wide open staring at the sky.
“Seen enough?” Mandak asked, behind her.
She shook her head, moving forward.
Tantona’s throat had been cut, and there was a pool of blood on the ground around him.
Dead. All dead.
“Satisfied?” Andre Mandak asked.
“Satisfied I’m safe from them.” She couldn’t take her eyes from the wound in Tantona’s throat. “Not satisfied that I’m safe from you. You’re a murderer like them. You killed them all in just a matter of minutes.” She was dizzy, and it was hard to form the words. “Maybe you’re … worse than they were.”
“Or better. It depends on how you look at it.” He took a step closer to her. “But I’m not going to hurt you, dammit. Now let me—”
Her knees were buckling. She was falling …
He caught her before she reached the ground. He took the dagger from her hand. Then he lifted her and was carrying her through the trees.
“Let me … down.”
“No way. I’ve wasted enough time already. I can’t be sure that Tantona didn’t phone a location to Camano while he was chasing you.”
“Camano already … knew I was at the cabin. That’s why he sent them.”
“How did he know?”
“She … told him.”
“Who?”
“My mother.” It hurt to say the words. “She … told him.”
He was silent. “You’re sure?”
“I’m … sure.”
“Son of a
bitch.
”
He was angry again. She didn’t think that it was with her this time … “What are you going to do to me?” She moistened her lips, then said fiercely, “I won’t let you kill me. I’m not going to die. Do you hear me? I’ll fight you.”
“I know you will. You’re ready to fight the whole damn world.” He was looking straight ahead. “But you don’t listen. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m your best hope to stay alive.”
“Why?” she whispered. “If you help me, Camano will kill you.”
He didn’t answer.
And she didn’t care. She was getting dizzy again. It might be okay to hope that he didn’t want to hurt her or kill her and just let go …
“You were wrong about me,” she whispered. “I’ve only saw one man who had been murdered before tonight. But he was shot in the head. Hideous…”
“Your father did it?”
Jokman’s skull exploding and blood and brains blowing in all directions.
Guilt. Terrible guilt.
Scream. She had screamed …
“No, I did it. It was me…”
Darkness.
* * *
