“Okay, Marion.” I force myself to grin. “Thank you.”
***
It takes nearly an hour for me to give him all of the details. Everything that I’ve learned from my time with Pavel. Everything that has happened since my brother sold me to him. All of it the truth—even if there are times when I’ve used some creative omissions. Berkowitz stops me from time to time to get specific information. But with every word from me, he’s slowly coming around to the idea that I’m telling the truth.
When I finish my statement, he takes a breath and focuses on his phone again. There are a lot of notes. It’s going well.
I just hope the rest of my plan goes well, too.
“If even 10 percent of this is true,” he says. “A lot of heads are gonna roll. I need more than just an independent investigation. I need political support. Understand this, Liya. The mayor used to be a cop. They put him in power, and we’re about to dismantle that power structure. He’ll push back unless we can push him some other way.”
“Okay. How do we do that?”
He gestures to me. “Through you.”
My heart nearly stops. “You wantmeto meet with him?”
He frowns and clears his throat. “No.” He folds his hands over his phone. “I want you to meet the press.”
My heart sinks. “You want me to go public?”
“Going public can get a lot done, Liya. And it all starts with the press.”
“I can’t do that. It’s too dangerous.”
He sighs. “I know.”
“So much for your protection.”
“This was why I suggested you enter custody. It’ll keep you safe while the media circus runs its course.”
I stare at the uneaten burgers on the tray. I’m not hungry anymore. I just want to go home.
But I can’t give up.
“I won’t speak to any reporters.” I meet his gaze. “There has to be another way.”
“We can go over a list of statements.”
I stare at his phone. “For what?”
“A certain anonymous individual could leak a lot to the press. We need to make sure that the statements are strong enough to implicate who you want without casting too much suspicion on you.”
“And what about the manhunt on me?”
He nods. “I can mark your case as closed for now. Once the full investigation starts, I can update your file as an undercover informant and then get rid of the file a few years down the line.”
“So what happens now?”
“For now, you go back to wherever you were hiding, Liya. You’ll get a call from me with updates.” He smiles weakly. “Or you can check theNY Postevery day.”
I lower my head. Relief floods me. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“It’s my duty to help, Liya.”
I lean against the table and look over the statements. As we go through them, I feel a lightness take me over. It feels good. It feels like everything is going to be all right.
For once.