by K. M. Hodge
“What’s his problem?” Sally turned to Jude, her friend of nearly twenty-five years.
His eyes widened as he kicked his feet up onto the console and drank scotch straight from the bottle. “That’s wonderful, doll. Piss off the new kid. He was like... what... two, when all this Syndicate shit went down?”
Sally slumped in her chair and started to chew the nail on her index finger. “I’ve been working on this—”
“You... honey, you are not an island.” Her old friend teetered on his chair and tossed his empty into the recycle bin. “Everything here is group effort and don’t you forget it.”
Sally hated when he got up on his high horse, often because he tended to have a point. “All right, I’ll be nicer to the kid.”
Jude dropped his feet to the floor and scooted his chair over to her. “I know how important this is to you, but we all got skin in this game. You and me, we been fighting this fight a long time, but these kids have every right to be here and get credit for their part. It’s all our war now. And it’s gonna get a whole lot more dangerous once you get this little Ruberg plan of yours going.”
Sally’s heart fluttered in anticipation, or fear—she wasn’t quite sure. Either way, the changing wind meant there was reason to hope, something she never had the luxury to do before.
“Don’t worry, spy girl, all your hard work will pay off and we’ll finally be free. Maybe do something other than ratting out the world to the cops and the FBI.”
The FBI....
Sally’s chest tightened. “Alex....”
Jude’s smug smile fell.
She glanced away from him. “It’s been seventeen years since he died.”
Jude rested his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. “It’s a good plan, Sal. It is. He’d be proud of you... for not giving up. And Billy ain’t gonna be around long, not since the leak. So you’ll be freer than you’ve ever been. We should be celebrating.”
“If anything goes wrong.... What if my luck runs out? What will happen to—”
“I got you covered, doll.” Jude kissed the top of her head. “Don’t you worry. I’ll be there like I always been.”
Sally rested into his embrace and let his comforting words act as a balm to her frayed nerves. Everything seemed to be falling into place way too easily. Surely something would go wrong. Her plan needed just one more thing to work, and it would be the hardest to come by. Soon, the ball would drop down the shoot, triggering all the pieces of the game she had carefully put in place.
That was if everything went as planned.
***
Church Hill Neighborhood
Richmond, Virginia
June 16, 2025
3:00 AM
~~~
Ellie tiptoed through the back door with her shoes in hand. She didn’t want to wake Jason or explain to him why she was strolling into the house at 3 AM... in her clothes from the day before.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice called out in the darkened kitchen.
“Jane, you ignorant slut.”
Jason!
He had perfected his Dan Aykroyd impression years ago after watching old SNL skits with Ellie and Katherine, leaving them more times than not in stitches. Tonight, however, he was not funny.
Ellie pitched her shoes one at a time in the direction of his voice, and was rewarded by a yelp when one of them connected.
The pungent smell in the room overcame her as she closed the back door. “Oh my God! What’s that smell?”
“Puke.”
The belch that followed his matter-of-fact pronouncement made her gag.
“Oh God!” She flipped on the light switch, making them both squint.
“Ah, jeez, why didja have to do that?” Jason sat splayed out on one of the oversized kitchen chairs with a mostly empty bottle of scotch on the table.
She sighed as she walked over to him, and started tugging off his soiled clothes.
A total and utter mess, he grumbled, mildly protesting her efforts to clean him up.
The smell was so pungent she held her breath to suppress the urge to throw up. She tossed the wadded up the shirt, jacket, and pants into the washer and turned it on. The smell lingered but lost its intensity.
“How long have you been sitting here like this?” She tossed in a little extra soap and started the cycle. The comforting whirring sound of the machine filled the room even after she slid the glass door closed.
He shrugged and reached for the bottle to drink more.
“Oh no, you don’t.” She snatched it and dumped its remaining contents in the sink.
“Hey!” His body went slack and his sunken eyes drooped. He didn’t even try to get up and stop her.
The bottle made a satisfying clink when she tossed it in the recycle bin, but the sound startled her—she hadn’t noticed before how many empties were in there. She hopped up onto a clean spot on the kitchen counter and leaned back against the cabinets. This house would always be home to her, even though she hadn’t lived in it for almost fifteen years.
“You weren’t at the funeral,” she said.
He looked up from the table and met her eyes. “And you just rolled in at 3 AM wearing the same dress you wore to the funeral.” He shrugged off her glare and hiccupped. “Sss-orry, I thought we we-ere playing state the obvious game.”
She jumped down from the counter and poured them both steaming hot mugs of his favorite tea, from his instapot tea maker, and brought them over to the kitchen table. The house was quiet except for the soft whirring of the washing machine.
He flipped on the Atlantis digital computer he kept on the kitchen table beside him. It projected an illuminated keyboard on the table and a twenty-inch screen above it at his eye level.
Ellie sat down beside him in front of the screen.
He sipped his tea and finger-flicked through a bunch of vid files. He clicked on a file labeled security072408.vid and pressed pause. “Katherine sent me a bunch of files and videos a week ago to help me write the true crime book about The Syndicate,” Jason said.
He pressed play. The screen lit up with security footage of Katherine and Alex, with a timestamp of seventeen years ago—almost to the day.
“The safe house they stayed at when she was in hiding had 24-hour security footage that was saved on the user’s cloud. After Alex died, the woman who owned the condo gave her some of the files to keep, to remember him or whatever.”
Ellie’s eyes welled up with tears. She never saw what they were like together. Seeing them now, in such an intimate way, tugged at a spot in her heart, a spot she thought long dead. Yesterday had been a difficult and emotional day—heck, it technically hadn’t ended yet since she was still awake—and the video threatened to send her over the edge.
Jason skipped through the files he had obviously watched multiple times, and took a sip of the hot tea before continuing. “Here he proposes to her.”
Ellie’s gaze stayed glued to the screen. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn’t bother to wipe them away.
Suddenly the video changed and Jason turned on the volume for the built-in speakers above them. Katherine’s image appeared and the young, healthy, vibrant woman who moments before had graced the screen, was now replaced by a sick, older woman—the woman Katherine had become in the months leading up to her death.
Ellie gasped.
Katherine’s voice said, “Jason, please don’t turn this off. I know you didn’t want to say goodbye, to have any last words, but there were things that needed to be said. I knew if I wrote you a letter that you would throw it away. So I’m making this video.” Katherine looked away from the screen and to the right, obviously holding back tears that threatened to spill.
Ellie sat glued to the screen, hugging herself as memories of her friend came flooding back, overwhelming her. The ache of Katherine’s passing joined with the other losses in her battered heart.
“I’m worried about you. I hope when you see these vide
os, and read the notes, that you might see what you’re missing out on by keeping everyone around you at arm’s length.” The old woman on the screen grimaced in pain.
Ellie’s chest tightened and her skin prickled. When she reached for Jason’s hand, she was surprised when he let her hold it.
“It’s very hard for me to leave in peace knowing that you are alone and hurting. I’m sorrier than you can ever know for all the pain I’ve caused you. I was selfish in wanting you all to myself. I didn’t think about how it might hurt you in the end. I know this may seem trite given what I just said, but I do want you to be happy.” Katherine wiped away a single tear from her pale cheek. “Please look out for Ellie. With the divorce... I worry about her being alone.” A coughing jag caused Katherine to double over. When she caught her breath, she continued. “I’m hoping that you can be there for each other.”
Jason squeezed Ellie’s hand. With her free hand, she wiped away tears from her cheeks.
“If you’re still watching this, there’s one more thing. I know I gave you the rights to the book and that we’ve talked about this a million times, but I really wish you would reconsider writing it. These people are so dangerous. I know you know this, but I also know you aren’t going to stop. Please just think about it. Take care, J.”
The video went black.
“I saw this right before I left for the funeral,” Jason said. “I got mad and thought drinking would be a better idea. What about you?” He eyed her up and down.
She took back her hand and buried her face in her open palms. Her phone pinged, alerting her to a new message, and she glanced down at the screen.
“Did you make it home okay? I’m hoping that I get to see you again tonight.”
She bit her lip as she read the message and shot off a quick reply.
“Yes and Yes.”
Jason’s dissecting gaze made her feel uncomfortable. She cleared her throat and rose to put their empty tea cups in the sink. She wracked her mind for a diversion—anything to get Jason to stop looking at her like that. Then she remembered Katherine’s husband’s request. “Oh, uh, before I forget, Ben wants us to come over for dinner tonight. He has some of Katherine’s things he wants to give us.”
“You fucked Ben! Sheesh, his wife isn’t dead and gone but a couple of days and you’re already moving in on the poor bastard!” The fine lines that bracketed Jason’s eyes deepened along with his teasing smile.
She punched him hard in the shoulder, making him wince and laugh at the same time.
He glanced up at her and smiled. “Isn’t there something in the Renter’s Bill of Rights about not abusing your tenants?”
“You start paying your rent on time and we’ll talk.” Ellie patted his shoulder and sighed. “Why don’t you get cleaned up and go to sleep, and be ready to go to Ben’s house tonight around seven.”
He nodded his assent.
On her way out of the room, she glanced back at him from over her shoulder. “Shower and shave.”
Jason laughed. “You sure do demand a lot from a man.”
Ellie gave him a weary half smile. “You have no idea.”
***
Church Hill Neighborhood
Richmond, Virginia
June 16, 2025
9:30 AM
~~~
Marianna used her key to let herself in through the back door. She was surprised to see Jason at the stove, dressed in clean clothes and freshly shaved. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee and bacon smelled like heaven. She smiled wide and walked over to him. “You’re clean, dressed, shaved and sober!”
He snaked his arms around her waist, pinning her against the kitchen sink, and she eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips met each other halfway.
He broke away from the kiss slowly. “Hmmm... maybe I should have cleaned up sooner.”
God, I missed this—him!
His humor, good nature and intelligence made him a worthwhile endeavor. At least, it’s what she had been telling herself over the past six months as he began to drink more and more.
He quickly shut off the burner to the stove and kissed her again in earnest. His fingers dug into the back of her head under the tight bun at the base of her neck. He kissed and nipped at her skin.
She gasped. Even though she needed to get to work, she let him boost her up on top of the counter. She wrapped her legs around him the best she could in the skirt she was wearing.
Despite her growing affection for him, she kept her feelings to herself because he’d admitted to her once that, even though he was monogamous with her, he wasn’t looking for anything serious. Over the last two monogamous years, she’d kept the openness in their relationship in place because it was what he wanted. The system worked, and she didn’t want to rock the boat, so she kept silent.
He drank so much these days that they hadn’t been together in over two long weeks. The time apart meant that each small touch he proffered now threatened to send her over the edge. She needed to get to work, but the idea of letting him take her right there in the middle of the kitchen overpowered her sense of duty.
Just as he started unbuttoning her blouse, a petite woman with dark hair and eyes entered the kitchen, causing Marianna to pull away from Jason’s grasp.
Must be the ever formidable Ellie.
“Oh, jeez, sorry,” the woman said, looking away.
Marianna wasn’t one to be embarrassed, but the other woman’s cheeks pinked. “Wait, don’t go. It’s okay. I really should be leaving. I’m late for work as it is.” Marianna pushed Jason out of the way and jumped off the counter, buttoning herself up.
The woman stood half in, half out of the room.
Marianna smiled and shrugged a little as she righted her shirt. When she was once again presentable, she walked over to Jason’s friend and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Marianna. You must be Dr. Forester. Jason has told me so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you. I suppose I have you to thank for him getting cleaned up.”
Ellie shook her hand. “Nice to meet you as well. I don’t know that I can take credit for his cleaning up though.” She gave him a sidelong glance.
Marianna nodded and went back to give Jason a chaste kiss. “I’ll call you later,” she said, and headed out the door.
***
Ellie stared at the now closed door, her mouth hanging open.
“You can pick your chin up off the floor now, Ellie.” Jason looked at her with an amused look on his face.
She poured herself some coffee and scooted up onto the island while Jason resumed making breakfast.
He poked at the scrambled eggs. “You’re unusually quiet. Does it shock your sensibilities that I have a sex life? Did you imagine me a monk?”
She carefully set her cup down beside her. “No, not a monk. I’m glad you have someone. I was actually thinking how it would have shocked Katherine. Why didn’t you ever tell her?”
“Katherine didn’t need to know,” he said, avoiding her gaze.
Ellie picked up her coffee cup and took a sip. She wondered if keeping this hot, younger girl a secret was his passive-aggressive way of punishing Katherine for supposedly leading him on all those years. “How long have you two been together?”
He shrugged but still didn’t turn “I don’t know... a couple of years, I guess.”
What? How have you kept this woman a secret for so long?
Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone beeping—the third message that morning.
She gasped in surprise when Jason unexpectedly made a grab for her phone. He used his free hand to hold her back, unfairly using his size against her. “Let’s see what we have here.”
“Dammit, Jason, give it back.” A swift kick to the back of the knee caused him to stumble but not fall.
“You really don’t want me to read this text,” he said, out of breath. He activated the voice command. “Play message.”
“Can’t stop thinking of last night,” her phone said.
“Ooohh!” He made silly faces at her. “You did sleep with someone!”
She flushed with embarrassment and snatched it away from him at last. “Fuck you, Jason!” She stormed out of the kitchen.
How dare he!
He followed hot on her heels, much to her great dismay. “So wait, let me get this clear. You get to encroach on my privacy, but your life is completely off limits?”
She paused, bristled by his entitled tone.
“Would you tell Katherine if she were here?” He stood on the landing to the stairs staring up at her.
She turned in a huff to face him. Her face flushed and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Yes, yes I would tell her, but I can’t do that anymore now, can I? Maybe... I miss my best friend, especially now when I’m going through a crazy time of my life. Maybe... I was hoping you of all people would understand.”
Jason sighed and his shoulders dropped. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
He swiped away one of the tears on her cheeks with the pad of his thumb, and drew her in for a hug. “Katherine always said I was a good listener—” A blush spread across his pale cheeks. “—when I’m not being a total dick.”
She didn’t want to smile, but she couldn’t help it. This was the Jason she knew and loved, but even with his self-deprecating request to be her friend, she just wasn’t ready to talk about this with him—with anyone yet.
She pulled away and sighed. “Maybe another time. I think I need to process this by myself first.”
He stepped back and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
She gave him a fleeting smile and climbed the stairs to the guest bedroom, and for the hundredth time in the last few days, she wished her best friend was still just a phone call away.
***
Richmond Police Department, First Precinct
Richmond, Virginia
June 16, 2025
11:00 AM
~~~
Marianna sat at her desk sipping her coffee as she cross-referenced recent suicides, murders, and accidental deaths of individuals in the greater DC Metro area, with her growing list of individuals who were ever, in any way, involved with The Syndicate, especially the trial.
