“You up for meeting him tonight?” he asks.
“Maybe not tonight, but soon,” I say.
“I just feel like if you don’t meet him tonight you might not ever. Please. Just for a few minutes.”
Chapter 3
“Now, look, my young brother,” Rodney says when he and Merrill are in his room. “I’m glad you made a love connection or whatever that was with Malia. She needs to be comfortable with who’s gonna be guarding her. But I gotta know you can do the job and that you’re really worth the money. I’m the one bankrolling this operation. I’m the one calling the shots.”
Merrill doesn’t say anything.
“Oh, you a hard nigga, that it?” Rodney says. “Well, I guess that’s good when you protecting the princess, but . . . you ain’t gonna get the chance to do that, you don’t convince me you the right man for the job.”
Though Rodney’s room is nearly identical to Malia’s, something indefinable about it makes it seem like it’s not as nice. It’s not as bright and well lit. It doesn’t smell as good. And it’s not as fresh and clean. But Merrill decides the real difference is the absence of Malia herself.
“Thought I already had the job,” Merrill says. “Ain’t tryin’ to be hard. Just listening to you and tryin’ to get the lay of the land. Didn’t realize Ms. Goodman wasn’t in charge.”
“Oh, she thinks she is,” Rodney says. “And I’m happy for her to think that. She’s very good at what she does. Makin’ a real difference, but she’s naive. The threats are real—from a lot of different directions. She wouldn’t last a day out here on her own.”
As Rodney talks, Merrill gets a good look at him for the first time. He’s a tall, thin, older man in a cheap burgundy suit with long hands and bony fingers. His eyelids are loose and droopy and appear hooded. Peeking out from behind them, his small, watery eyes are wary and furtive.
“Maybe I’m a bad judge of character,” Merrill says, “but she doesn’t strike me as naive, and I’d say given what she’s gone through, what she goes through every day, she’s tough enough to handle most anything comes her way.”
“I’m not sayin’ she’s not tough or strong, not resilient in a certain way,” Rodney says, “just that she’s . . . She’s a . . . a visionary I guess you’d say. She’s a big-picture type of person, not good with details. That’s all. I’m not saying anything bad about her. Just letting you know—”
“Who calls the shots,” Merrill offers.
Rodney leans back and studies him for a long moment before speaking. “You fuckin’ with me, boy?”
Merrill’s brow furrows as he looks up and squints, seeming to consider something.
“You have to think about it?” Rodney asks.
“About what?”
“Whether you’re fuckin’ with me or not.”
Merrill shakes his head. “No, not that.”
“Then what?”
“I’s tryin’ to remember that last time I’s called boy. And what I did to the man who said it.”
Rodney holds up his elongated hands, palms out, in a placating gesture. “Didn’t mean it like that. Sorry. Got caught up in playin’ the old man role a little too much. Tell you what . . . you let that one go and I’ll let the fact that you were fuckin’ with me go.”
“The only reason I’m still here,” Merrill says, “only reason I haven’t knocked you on your old black ass, is how much I respect the lady and admire what she’s doing and know I can protect her better than anybody else. But there are limits even given all that and we’ve about reached ’em. Hire me or don’t, but get on with it.”
“You should be the best for what you charge,” Rodney says. “You come highly recommended by the right people, but goddamn you’re pricey. I could hire three bodyguards for what I’d be payin’ you.”
“Get what you pay for,” he says. “And you ain’t just gettin’ me. But I’m willing to give Ms. Goodman a discount for the cause.”
“That’s very generous of you and would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. But we’ve got to talk about who’d be helpin’ you. The gentleman who came with you tonight isn’t right for what we need.”
“I say who’s right to work for me and nobody’s righter than John.”
“Righter or whiter?” he asks. “And it ain’t just that he’s white. He’s a cop.”
“Two things Ms. Goodman obviously doesn’t have an issue with.”
“As I said she can be too naive for her own damn good sometimes,” Rodney says. “The thing is . . . this isn’t just about who can do the job but how they look doing it. I’ve got to consider the optics involved in everything we do.”
Merrill turns without a word and leaves the room.
Rodney follows him.
Merrill steps down the hallway and knocks on Malia’s door.
“Wait,” Rodney says. “There’s no need for . . . Don’t disturb her. We can work this out.”
Tana opens the door.
“Did you make sure it was us?” Merrill asks.
“No, I’m sorry, I just . . .”
“I need to speak to Malia a moment.”
“She’s—”
Malia appears behind her. “What is it?”
“Just came to say goodbye and to make sure you knew why I wasn’t taking the job,” he says.
“I thought you already had,” she says.
“I did too, but evidently, Rot-ney here calls all the shots because he’s bankrolling this little operation and he thinks I’m too expensive—even with my offer of a discount because I believe in what you’re doing—and my friend is too white and too much a cop to be working for you. It was an honor to meet you. Keep up the good work. And maybe be a little more selective about who you surround yourself with.”
With that, Merrill nods to her and turns to leave.
“Wait,” she says. “Please.”
CLICK HERE to start BLUE BLOOD now.
And the Sea Became Blood
AND THE SEA BECAME BLOOD -- the 21st John Jordan Mystery Thriller and Author Michael Lister's response to living through Hurricane Michael, the Cat 5 hurricane that devastated John Jordan's beloved Gulf Coast.
Can he survive long enough to catch a killer?
The murder of retired priest Andrew Irwin begins like any other homicide investigation for sheriff’s Investigator John Jordan. But it is soon interrupted by an existential superstorm of apocalyptic proportions that threatens to destroy both John and his family.
Can John catch a killer under such extreme and extraordinary circumstances? Will he live long enough to even be able to try?
The stakes have never been higher, survival never more in question. Don’t miss this thrilling stand-alone mystery adventure if your heart can take it.
"Michael Lister is a master storyteller." Michael Connelly
Get “And The Sea Became Blood” today and 25% of all profits will be donated directly to Hurricane Michael disaster assistance.
Also by Michael Lister
Books by Michael Lister
(John Jordan Novels)
Power in the Blood
Blood of the Lamb
Flesh and Blood
(Special Introduction by Margaret Coel)
The Body and the Blood
Double Exposure
Blood Sacrifice
Rivers to Blood
Burnt Offerings
Innocent Blood
(Special Introduction by Michael Connelly)
Separation Anxiety
Blood Money
Blood Moon
Thunder Beach
Blood Cries
A Certain Retribution
Blood Oath
Blood Work
Cold Blood
Blood Betrayal
Blood Shot
Blood Ties
Blood Stone
Blood Trail
Bloodshed
Blue Blood
And the Sea Became Blood
(Jimmy Riley Novels)
The Girl Who S
aid Goodbye
The Girl in the Grave
The Girl at the End of the Long Dark Night
The Girl Who Cried Blood Tears
The Girl Who Blew Up the World
(Merrick McKnight / Reggie Summers Novels)
Thunder Beach
A Certain Retribution
Blood Oath
Blood Shot
(Remington James Novels)
Double Exposure
(includes intro by Michael Connelly)
Separation Anxiety
Blood Shot
(Sam Michaels / Daniel Davis Novels)
Burnt Offerings
Blood Oath
Cold Blood
Blood Shot
(Love Stories)
Carrie’s Gift
(Short Story Collections)
North Florida Noir
Florida Heat Wave
Delta Blues
Another Quiet Night in Desperation
(The Meaning Series)
Meaning Every Moment
The Meaning of Life in Movies
True Crime Fiction Page 127
