Both of them turned around to face Fabricio. Nita stared at him. “Victims?”

“The pink-haired girl. I saw her on television earlier.” Fabricio shrugged. “She’s making quite a fuss.”

Mirella. Mirella was on television.

“Thanks, we’ll look at that now.” Nita smiled tightly at Fabricio and then dragged Kovit into the bedroom, closing the door behind them so that Fabricio couldn’t snoop on what happened next.

Nita clicked through the news links on her phone until she found the one she wanted. It was titled Woman Comes Forward Claiming to Be Zannie Victim.

Nita hesitated, eyes flicking to Kovit as her finger hovered over the Play button. His jaw was tight, and he nodded sharply. “Play it.”

She did. Mirella came onscreen, her long pink hair tied back into a professional bun, her left eye covered by a black patch like a pirate. Her skin was gray and contrasted starkly with her too-pink eye. High cheekbones and a square face made her determined look seem more steely and hard as she spoke. Nita clicked the subtitle button beneath the video so that Kovit could see the translation, since he didn’t speak Spanish.

“I want to clarify, for all those people doubting that this man is a zannie. He absolutely is, and he’s absolutely the monster your nightmares are made of. He was one of my jailers in el Mercado de la Muerte, and he abused his power frequently to torture me whenever he was bored.” Her eyes were hard. “If you see him, don’t hesitate. Kill him.”

The video ended there, and both Nita and Kovit were silent afterward. Nita had always assumed that Kovit had hurt Mirella more than just the one time Reyes had asked him to, but hearing Mirella actually say it, putting words to the monstrosity she hadn’t dared quite imagine made Nita feel nauseous and a little lightheaded.

Kovit was very still, and he blinked slowly before whispering, “Fuck.”

Nita pursed her lips and closed the window. “Mirella has no proof, and anyways, this isn’t a trial right now. We can still fix this.”

“Even when the videos come out?” Kovit sounded skeptical.

“Even then.” Nita opened the fake email account she’d created when they sent Mirella the information about the assassination and found a response.

Thank you, whoever you are, for this information. It saved my life. If there’s ever anything I can do in return, let me know.—Mirella

“Translate it for me?” Kovit asked, and Nita did. His smile was bitter. “So we actually saved her, and she decided to go do this?”

“She doesn’t know we’re the ones who sent the information.” Nita’s voice was soft.

“Would she have refrained from making that video if she knew?”