Page 17 of Critical Witness

“What?” came Melanie’s small voice.

He pointed at the screen. “Reporters. You’d think they would have a little respect for the woman or even the office. But no. They’re all freaking vultures, looking for their scrap of airtime at the expense of innocent people.”

There was a small “oh” from Melanie on the bed, blood still streaked across her face. She looked like she was about to collapse any moment. The woman was terrified, that much was obvious. Of course, why wouldn’t she be? She was the only civilian witness to the assassination of the President of the United States. And she had a big fat target on her back.

Will fingered the thumb drive in his pocket. Not only did he have to capture the man who killed President Walters, he had to keep that professional hitman from killing the woman sitting across from him on a dingy comforter. Her hair was falling out of its confines, framing her face with wispy strands. She stared at her hands, like she had been for the last ten minutes, since he’d gotten frustrated with her lack of information. Having the witness in custody was supposed to make his job easier.

“Tell me again,” he commanded.

She jerked at his voice, and Will felt a twinge of regret at his harsh tone.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he tried again. “I’m just trying to piece together everything that happened.”

Melanie’s eyes were wide as she looked at him. Fear? Maybe. That didn’t seem quite right though.

“Sure. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I really appreciate you guys taking care of me.”

Will grunted. As though they had much choice. When the man you were hunting was hunting someone else? It was in your best interest to know where they were.

Maybe he needed to try a different approach. His usual approach of stark commands and dark stares didn’t seem to be having the desired effect on Miss Byers.

He exhaled slowly and then sat on the edge of the bed. “Okay. Let’s try this. Start from the beginning. Tell me about the assassination.”

Melanie’s expression darkened. “I already gave you the video. What more do you want?”

Will held up the thumb drive. “This? There’s nothing on this that I haven’t already seen on the security footage from the hotel. I sent it to Stephen, but I don’t expect him to find anything.” Joey swore he was some sort of prodigy, but Will was withholding judgment. With the whole mess at Zia Pharmaceuticals, Joey was handing things off, and Will didn’t like it one bit.

He softened his voice. “I need your help, Melanie. If we’re going to find this guy, I need to know what you remember. You saw something at the hotel or something at the cafe that can help us catch him. Something that didn’t seem important at all could be the key.”

Melanie’s eyes shuttered briefly, and then she met his gaze. She swallowed. “Okay. I’ll try.”

“Atta girl,” he said encouragingly.

Her cheeks reddened, and his eyes caught again on the bruise forming above her eye. He immediately felt guilty for pushing her when she hadn’t even processed the events of the day.

“How about you go take a shower? Clean up a bit. We’ll talk more when you get out.”

Her mouth opened as though she was going to object, then it shut.

“What is it?” he asked.

She tipped her eyes down. “I don’t… I don’t have any clothes.”

A knock on the door made him jump. He held a finger to his lips, warning her to stay quiet. He grabbed his gun and gestured for Tank to stand in front of Melanie.

Peeking through the doorway, he saw a young man on a bike. The kid looked bored.

“What is it?”

“Delivery.” The guy held up a large bag and read something on the paper as he spoke. “For a… Miranda?”

“You can leave it. Thanks.”

Will checked his phone and saw the message he’d obviously missed.

Miranda: Supplies incoming. ETA 10 mins.

He watched the courier disappear on the bicycle before opening the door and grabbing the bags. Once the door was shut again, he waved a hand to Tank, letting him know he could stand down.

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