The Witness

pauses when she struggled for composure, the subtle changes in inflection, in her breathing.
    How many times would she have to say it all again? he wondered. To the prosecutors, to judge and jury. How many times would she have to relive it all?
    How many times would she have to start and stop, start and stop, as the listener interrupted with questions, with demands for clarification.
    But she didn’t waver.
    “Marshals Cosgrove and Keegan both stated, and the preponderance of evidence supports those statements, that Marshal Norton was down when they entered the safe house for their shift, that they were fired upon and returned fire upon person or persons unknown. They were unable to access the second floor at that time. As Cosgrove was wounded, Keegan carried him out of the house. When he called for assistance, he observed an individual fleeing the scene. He was unable to determine the identity of the individual, as there was a rainstorm and visibility was impaired. At this time, the safe house exploded due to what was later discovered to be a deliberate sabotage of the gas furnace.”
    “Yes.” Hoping she appeared calm, Abigail nodded at Cabot. “That’s an accurate synopsis of their statements. They lied.”
    “It’s your contention that two Deputy U.S. Marshals gave false reports?”
    “It’s my sworn statement that these two men, in collusion with the Volkov organization, killed Marshals Theresa Norton and John Barrow.”
    “Ms. Fitch—”
    “I’d like to finish. William Cosgrove and Steven Keegan, under the directive of the Volkov
bratva,
intended to kill me to prevent me from testifying against Yakov Korotkii and others. They rigged the explosion to cover themselves. It’s my sworn statement that both these men continue on the Volkov payroll.
    “John Barrow died in my arms while trying to protect me. He gave his life for mine. He saved my life by telling me to run. If he hadn’t, I would’ve died in that house.”
    She rose, went to the open suitcase on the bed, took out a sealed bag.
    “This is the sweater and the camisole Terry gave me for my birthday that evening. I went upstairs to put it on before Cosgrove and Keegan arrived. I was wearing it when I held John, bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds. This is his blood. It’s John’s blood.”
    She paused when her voice broke, bore down hard.
    She handed the bag to Garrison. “John and Terry deserve justice, their families deserve the whole truth. It’s taken me a long time to find the courage to tell that truth.”
    “There isn’t any concrete proof on the shooter from that day, but again, there is evidence that could be interpreted as a young girl, nerves stretched past the breaking point, who killed her protectors in an attempt to escape the situation.”
    Abigail sat again, folded her hands in her lap. “You don’t believe that. You don’t believe I could have attacked and killed two experienced marshals, wounded another, blown up a house, then escaped. It’s certainly possible, but it’s not logical.”
    “John Barrow taught you how to handle and shoot a sidearm,” Garrison commented.
    “Yes, and he taught me very well, considering the limited time we had. And yes, I asked for and received five thousand in cash from my trust,” she added, before Garrison could. “I wanted the security and the illusion of independence. I know the explosion damaged some evidence, but you would’ve been able to reconstruct. You would know Terry died in the kitchen, and John on the second floor. You would also know from their reports, and from the reports, interviews and statements from the Child Services representative assigned to me, that I exhibited no signs of that kind of stress.”
    She took another moment before going on. “If you’ve studied mybackground at all, if you know anything about my home life before that June, you’d understand that rather than stressed, I was, in fact, more content than I’d been in my life.”
    “If Cosgrove and Keegan are responsible for the deaths of Marshals Norton and Barrow, they will be brought to justice. Your testimony in the murders of Alexi Gurevich and Julie Masters, and in the death of Deputy U.S. Marshals Norton and Barrow, is essential to the investigations. We’ll need to place you in protective custody and transport you back to Chicago.”
    “No.”
    “Ms. Fitch, you’re a material witness, and a suspect.”
    “Suspect is stretching credulity, and we all know it. If you put me