Page 46 of Witness 8

‘Butsomeonewould find you, Charles. And then Mr. Moresco and his associates would come looking for me. That would be . . . messy. I’m sorry. This is the way it has to be.’

‘Will I feel anything?’ asked Charlie, blinking away tears.

‘Nothing. I’ll make sure of that,’ said Mr. Christmas as he drew a pistol from his jacket. He pointed the muzzle at the back of Charlie’s head and pulled the trigger twice.

‘See, you didn’t feel a thing,’ said Mr. Christmas.

He repacked his bag, took out his cell phone and dialed a number.

‘That was quick,’ said the voice on the line.

‘My business concluded earlier than expected. Please inform our friend in Chicago. He will be pleased. I must confess, your proposition intrigues me. You mentioned some of my colleagues were interested in this job . . .’

‘A few.’

‘Angel?’

‘I don’t work with him, but I imagine he would be interested.’

Angel was a world-class sniper. Ex-military. Navy seals. He preferred to take out his targets from a different ZIP code. He got the nickname Angel because he could make fire rain from heaven and disappear before the smoke cleared. Few people had ever met him. Mr. Christmas had caught sight of him once, in Guatemala City, from a skylight. He had taken prey that had belonged to Mr. Christmas. And that was rude, to say the least. Mr. Christmas did not care for rudeness.

‘If you would be so kind, book me on a flight to New York, please.’

PART TWO

16

Ruby

In the two weeks that followed Petra’s neighborhood gathering, a new kind of tension trod the sidewalks and twitched at the curtains of West 74thStreet. Ruby had felt it. That night, Petra had taken Ruby’s subtle suggestion about John Jackson for her own, as Ruby had expected, and even though there was a consensus for the plan agreed that night among the residents, it had taken some time for it all to be prepared.

A few days ago, Alison had asked for a quiet word with Ruby in the kitchen. She looked pained, and not with worry for her husband.

‘Ruby, I don’t really know how to say this, but I want you to know that I trust you and I’m in no way implying anything, but did you happen to see my old necklace anywhere around the house? I can’t find it,’ said Alison.

‘Oh, which one?’ asked Ruby.

‘It’s very fine silver. Looks like lace? There are a few small stones in it. It was my grandmother’s necklace. You know the one?’

‘I think I do. I remember seeing you wear it once. It’s sooooo beautiful.’

‘It’s old and it means a lot of me. Yeah, sorry, I just can’t seem to find it. Normally, I keep it in my drawer upstairs, but it’s missing.’

‘I’m so sorry. The last time I saw it was when you must’ve worn it. My mother used to have something similar except it’s nowhere near as beautiful. She loved to wear it with her black cocktail dress.’

‘Does she still wear it?’ asked Alison.

‘No, they . . .they took it. The banks. After my father left us . . .’

‘Oh God, Ruby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean . . . I feelterriblenow . . .’

‘Don’t be agoofball– it’s not your fault,’ said Ruby. ‘That’s all in the past now. It was . . . difficult at the time. My dad just ran out and left us with all his debt. Millions of dollars. They took everything. Mom and I were left to deal with all of it. But we got through it. The hardest part was the shame, you know? But I’m so grateful to you and all the neighbors for everything. I’m sorry about your necklace. I’ll keep a look-out for it.’

‘How is your mom doing?’ asked Alison.

‘Not good,’ said Ruby. The truth. Along with everything else that had been taken from Ruby and her mom, health insurance went too. If they had at least held on to that, maybe her mom would have had a check-up sooner. Maybe they could’ve caught the cancer early. Maybe she could have been saved . . .

It was too late now.