The Blue Zone

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Twenty-four hours passed. No change.

No change in Tina’s condition the next day either.

The surgeons still couldn’t get anywhere near the bullet. Her brain scans were steady, but the swelling around the wound was massive, the intracranial pressure high, the tissue damage unknown. All they could do was wait for it to recede. They just didn’t know if she’d pull through.

Kate spent most of those next days at the hospital with Ellen and Tom. She told the police how Tina had closed up for her that night. How she wasn’t into drugs or anything illegal. That she was the last person on earth to have a connection to any kind of gang.

The cops claimed they had leads. A man in a red bandanna was seen jumping into a white van down the street from the building and heading up Morris Avenue. Red bandannas were the trademark of the Bloods. It was how they cut their bones, the detective said. Shooting an innocent victim, right on the street. An informer in a rival gang had put the word out that that’s what was going down.

A gang initiation rite. Her friend was lying in a coma. How Kate would have liked to believe that, too.

That second night she and Greg got back to their apartment after 2:00 A.M. Neither of them could sleep. Or even think about sleep. All they could think about was Tina. They just sat on the couch, shell-shocked and stunned.

One day it had to come out, Kate knew. What would she say? Tom and Ellen had the right to know.

“I’ve got to contact Phil Cavetti, Greg,” Kate said. “The WITSEC people have to know.”

Kate understood that once she made that call, everything in their lives would change. They’d have to move. That was for sure. Maybe change their names. Greg was almost finished with his residency. He couldn’t simply leave. They were just starting out their lives.

Was this going to be hanging over their heads forever?

“The police say they have leads,” Greg said, trying his best to be calm and logical. “What if they’re right-and this is just some tragic coincidence?”

“This wasn’t about some gang.” Kate shook her head. “We both know that!”

This was killing her. Her best friend was fighting for her life, not some faceless person on the news.

“We both know that Tina was shot, Greg, because they thought it was me!”

He held her, and Kate tried her hardest to feel secure in his arms. But she knew. Cavetti and Margaret Seymour had warned her. Mercado wasn’t going to let this go away. What was it they had said? That it wasn’t just about revenge? It was deeper than that. They called it “insurance.” Insurance that the next time someone like her father turned against fraternidad, this wouldn’t happen again.

They finally managed to fall asleep there, in each other’s arms, mostly out of sheer exhaustion.

And in the morning they agreed to wait. Only one day longer-maybe two. Just to let the police play out their leads.

But during the night, Kate woke up. She lay there, pressed against Greg, heart beating, her T-shirt drenched in clammy sweat.

They knew.

The premonitions of the past few days had been right. The police could play out all the leads they wanted, but Kate would be able to conceal it only so long.

They had found her. There would be a next time. Of that she was sure. And what would happen then? When they found her for real.

What would happen when they realized that the wrong person had been shot?

Kate stirred, freeing herself from Greg’s embrace. She sat there in the dark for a moment, knees tucked tightly to her chest. She prayed her family was safe, wherever they were. From under her shirt, she pulled out the pendant her mother had given her the day she’d left. The halved golden sun. “It holds secrets, Kate. One day I’ll tell them to you.” Would they ever fit the two halves back together?

Mom, I wish I could hear those secrets from you now.

Kate got up and, in the shadows of the darkened apartment, stepped over to the front door. She reached for the heavy bolt. And drew it shut.