“But you’re stealing from your own family.”
Raymond shrugged. “I was gonna give it back—after I doubled it. They’re gonna see how I can be a…asset to the operation.”
I marveled at the backward logic. “I’m not sure this is the right way to do it.”
“Nobody asked you, slut,” said Harry. “So shut the fuck up.”
“Don’t call her that!” Raymond snapped. He moved toward me and I backed up. “Things are different now,” he continued. “Harry told me about the hijacking, and we figure that those hearses were the very same ones we saw at your pop’s garage. So now that I’ve got you too, I’ll make a new plan. Figure out how to use you to my best perantage.”
“Advantage.” Harry shook his head. “Jesus, you’re fuckin’ stupid.”
“Shut up!” screamed Raymond, his face mottling with rage. He put his hands to his head and grabbed two fistfuls of black hair. “Stop calling me stupid all the time!”
“Then quit saying stupid fucking things,” Harry said calmly. He didn’t even look up from the cash.
“You know what,” seethed Raymond, nostrils flaring. “I’m fuckin’ done with you.” With that, he picked up a pistol lying on the table and fired five shots into Harry’s chest and head before I could even blink.
The noise was deafening. I screamed as Harry’s body jerked and his chair went over backward. Daddy yelled “Tiny!” as my feet pounded down the hallway to the bedroom. Kicking the door shut behind me, I collapsed on the floor and crawled to the farthest wall, popping stitches in my dress. I opened my mouth to tell Daddy what happened but couldn’t speak. It was like someone was sitting on my chest—I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs, and my ears were ringing from the shots.
“What?” Daddy kept saying. “What happened?”
The bedroom door opened, and Raymond appeared. “I had to shut Harry up. I was sick of him.” He held up one finger. “And, he was mean. But this wasn’t in my plans, so now I have to think.” He shut the door, leaving us alone.
I was numb. “He killed him. Shot him. Right there in the front room. I saw it,” I whispered. “I saw it.”
“Listen, Tiny,” Daddy said, his voice steady. “I know this is hard, but don’t panic. I think you’re right—if he wanted us dead, he could have done it already. And now there’s only one of them but two of us. Let me think.”
I was a quivering blob of jelly—I couldn’t think about anything but watching the life being jolted out of a human being. Sitting back against the wall, I hugged my arms to my chest and shivered. Daddy asked me about the roads we took to get here, the area outside, the distance I thought we’d driven, but I couldn’t answer any of his questions. From the front room we heard thumping and scraping and something being dragged across the floor. He’s getting rid of the body, I thought, bile rising in my throat. What if we’re next? My teeth began to chatter. I’m too young to die. I haven’t even lived yet. I never got to see New York or Paris or Enzo with all his clothes off. Would the silent, murky depths of this stinking cabin be the last place I’d see on earth?
We had to get out. I didn’t care what it took.
“Daddy,” I said quietly. “If I can convince Raymond to let you go and keep me, will you go?”
“No! I’m not leaving you with that animal!” Daddy’s whisper was vicious.
With difficulty, I got off the floor and sat next to him on the bed. “Listen to me. If he agrees, you go back to the city and find Enzo.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s not involved in this, and he’ll know what to do.”
Daddy went silent, scratching his face again. “You trust him?”
“I do right now.” It could all change tomorrow. “I just wish I could think of a way to get Raymond to trust me.”
“You have to give him something he wants, make him think you’re on his side.”
I shuddered.
“You’re smarter than he is. Talk to him. Figure him out.”
I chewed on my lip for a few minutes, thinking it over. I knew what he wanted and how his mind worked. All I had to do was convince him I had a way for him to impress his father and outdo his brother. After a while, a plan formed in my head, but it was risky. How far was I willing to go? “I’ve got an idea. If it works, you know what to do. I’m going to call him in here.”
“What are you going to say?” Daddy sounded shocked.
“Just go with it. And if it works, find Enzo as soon as possible.” I took a deep breath. “Raymond! Are you out there?”
Heavy footfalls thumped down the hall. The bedroom door burst open. “Yeah?” Lit from behind with sickly yellow gaslight, he looked ominous, like a Hollywood monster. His shirt was even more disgusting now, smeared with Harry’s blood. My stomach turned.