He leans down, burying his face next to mine. “You can’t tell anyone you saw me here. Promise me, Amanda.”
“I promise,” I say nodding my head in my corner. I’d agree to anything.
He turns and walks around the corner of the site.
I peek around the side and watch as the other man who got out of the car punches the guy who shot Richie in the face, forcing him to step back. “You’re done. You better run and hide because you’re on your own this time, fucker. Let the police take you.” He spits on the sidewalk and gets in the passenger side of the vehicle, slamming his door.
Then as fast as the car pulled up, it shoots away from the curb and speeds off into the distance.
1
“Are you sure there’s nothing we can do for you?” Aspen pats my arm reassuringly, but her looks of pity and concern are more worrisome. Nothing good ever happens when Aspen is concerned about you.
Aspen is a wonderful person, but if she gets too involved in something, she has a way of… well pushing herself into everyone else’s business. Sure, she means well. I know she means well. I just don’t want the unneeded attention. Her brother Ben is bad enough.
So, I lie. “Promise, Aspen, I’m fine. Your brother is taking care of everything.”
The second part isn’t a lie. Ben, a detective with the San Francisco Police Department, heard my name over the radio. Next thing I knew he’d taken over complete control of the crime scene and promised me his personal effort in hunting down whoever is responsible.
The problem is I didn’t see anything. I can tell him the guy who was shot hasn’t woken up yet. At least he lived. I’m trying to focus on the positives. It keeps me from going insane.
“We’re all so worried.”
“Aspen, really, Ben’s taking care of everything. I’m lying low for a few days until the guy in the hospital wakes up. It’ll be fine.”
Too bad reassuring her doesn’t reassure me as well.
“She’s right, Aspen.” Ben steps between us. “Amanda told us everything she can. Once Richie Rostelli wakes up, we’ll be able to get the rest of the story. More than likely it was a petty squabble between city thugs.”
Guilt chokes off my words for a moment. This keeping up appearances shit is starting to take its toll and I wish people would leave me alone for a while. Lying is exhausting. “I wish I could help more.”
That’s no lie. I do wish I could help more. I told Ben everything I heard on the sidewalk. Though considering I don’t know the people or what was talked about, it wasn’t much. But when it came to the two men in the car, I told Ben a big fat lie when I said I didn’t recognize either of them. It seemed so small and insignificant at the time, but the more he reassures me I did the right thing and how brave I am, the shittier my stomach feels. Torn between two loyalties, I’m not sure what to do.
The scene moved faster than I could think. I needed more time to consider everything and decide, but the police lobbed question after question at me, leaving no time. It all happened so fast and they wanted answers right away. I choked.
Now the lie is out there. I can’t turn back.
Ben pats me on the back lightly. “If you remember anything else, you’ll tell us.”
“Stop pestering her for more information, Ben. If Amanda doesn’t remember, she doesn’t remember.”
“I wasn’t pestering,” Ben returns, looking to me for confirmation, but I’m not getting in the middle of this brother-sister argument. A piece of the wall becomes super interesting and I nod in a general nondescript direction to avoid taking a side.
The siblings both nod like they see my actions as an agreement for their side of the argument. With three brothers, I’m accustomed to fist fights for settling arguments more than the constant nagging these two do to one another.
“The important question is whether Amanda will be safe. Shouldn’t she be in witness protection or something? Where are the marshals?” Aspen asks.
Ben rolls his eyes but smiles. “No, she doesn’t qualify for WITSEC, but I have a plan in the works.”
“You do?” I fidget with the can of Sprite I’ve been sipping on since the beginning of Aspen and Finn’s Christmas party. I wasn’t aware of any plan.
“I called my friend in Maine. You remember, the one from Pelican Bay? The guy who does security alarms. He said he’d help.”
“The same guy who did Grant and Clare’s? Will he set up a better alarm or something?” Aspen asks, referring to the super tripped out alarm system Grant had installed in the Victorian house he owns on the outskirts of town. Grant said if Clare refused to move, he could at least make his four walls safe. I agree with her, though, the motion detectors were a bit overkill.
Ben smiles and my stomach drops. “Yeah, something like that. While he’s here, he’s going to stop by your place and check around too.”
“Ben!” Aspen yells. I imagine sounding like she did as a teenager. After losing her parents when she was young, Ben stepped up to be a father figure, and sometimes they still revert to those roles. With a flourish she sets down her tall glass of wine and crosses her arms, glaring at her brother.
