by K. M. Hodge
It didn’t take long before her list had five names on it. She would eventually need to talk this out with someone from the FBI, so she made a note to look into the case file to see if anyone on the case were still with the Bureau.
She stretched her arms behind her back and let them fall to the side with a sigh. The forensic report on the weapon left at the scene should have come in by now. Thank God for modern technology. Good quality forensic evidence analysis came within days now instead of weeks, like when she had first started on the force. This forced criminals to be more clever, and, sadly, they often didn’t disappoint to do things that kept her up at night.
Quinn O’Mally, a detective in the department, walked up to her desk and asked, “How’s the case coming, Espy?”
“It’s looking to be a little more involved, actually.”
He sat backwards on a chair and poked at her screen to turn it around.
She typed up her list to go over with a representative of the FBI.
“You thinking maybe this is a serial job or something?” He was always jumping to wild conclusions, but this one happened to be right on the mark.
She shrugged, not wanting to show all her cards yet. “I’m meeting with the lieutenant this afternoon to go over everything with her.” She stood up and stretched her back; middle age was a bitch on the body. “But first I’m gonna go for a run to clear my head.”
She knew suggesting anything that remotely resembled exercise was a surefire way to get Quinn, who barely passed his physical every year, to leave her alone.
“I reckon ya need to stay hot for Lisa?” He shot her a suggestive wink.
She shook her head. She and Lisa, the Editor-in-Chief of the Danville Press, dated several years ago but broke things off when Lisa wanted to make things exclusive. Monogamy had never been Marianna’s thing.
Quinn showed an annoying amount of interest in her sex life. Like a dog with a bone, he fixated on her former relationship with Lisa.
She wondered if he focused on her relationships so heavily because he was interested in her.
Quinn spun out of his chair and stood up. “I think I’ll go grab something to eat for lunch. Are you hungry for anything?”
She shook her head. “I brought lunch, thanks.”
“I knew you were going to say that. One of these days I’m going to wear you down and you’ll say yes.”
Wouldn’t hold my breath, if I were you.
***
Bruckman Assisted Living
Alexandria, Virginia
June 16, 2025
1:00 PM
~~~
Betty Williams moved back home to the DC metro area to be closer to her sons and their families after her husband’s death several years ago.
Ellie knew the real reason had more to do with being closer to Katherine, whom she loved like a daughter. Unlike her sons, Katherine would call several times a week, visit every Tuesday, and helped Betty with whatever she needed.
As part of her dying wish, Katherine had asked Ellie to look after the poor old woman. It was an easy request for Ellie to fulfill. On the way, she stopped and picked up some junk food and sweet tea for them to binge on together. She also brought Katherine’s funeral memorial card since Betty had missed the service.
Ellie walked into the commons room, and Betty squealed with joy and tossed her Reader onto the plush couch she had been sitting on. Betty jumped up faster than an eighty-year-old woman should be able, and hugged Ellie.
She felt like a fragile bird in Ellie’s arms. “How are you, Betty?” She spoke loud enough for Betty to hear.
Betty’s eyes shot wide as she whispered in Ellie’s ear, “They’re listening.” She kissed Ellie’s cheeks and her cheery smile returned. “I’m all right, Ellie. I’m sad I didn’t make it to the funeral though.”
Ellie sat down beside her, but couldn’t get what the old woman had said out of her mind.
Who’s listening, exactly? Is she slipping into dementia? Is this why Katherine wanted me to keep an eye on her?
***
Church Hill Neighborhood
Richmond, Virginia
June 16, 2025
2:00 PM
~~~
Jason worked straight through the day on researching The Syndicate. His hands shook and sweat dripped down his face—from not drinking—making the work extra challenging. He knew he was teetering on the edge, barely a functioning alcoholic.
As he read Alex’s old notes, he came across inferences to a nameless source that had been pivotal in locating US Marshal Mitchel and in bringing FBI Assistant Director Fullmore to justice. According to the notes, the source had provided a security tape that showed Fullmore had been taking bribes to look the other way.
But who was the source?
He had read all of the official paperwork and most of Alex’s own personal notes, but all he could find were the initials SR.
As he was combing through the arrest paperwork, his email pinged with an incoming message.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: Monday, June 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Subject: Obituary
~~~
Dear Mr. Knettle,
I am a big fan of yours and have been following your career for years with some interest. I heard you might be working on a new project, a true crime novel about “The Syndicate.” You might want to turn your attention to researching obituaries. There are a lot of notable people dying these days.
Sincerely,
True Blue
Jason closed the email and stood up to stretch. He opened the liquor cabinet, absentmindedly grabbed a bottle of scotch, and poured himself a glass. He drank it before registering what he was doing.
I fucking can’t go five minutes without a drink!
He poured the rest of the bottle down the drain and angrily tossed the bottle in the overflowing recycle bin. His head was pounding, but his mind went back to the email and what it might mean. He sat back down and tapped away at his keyboard. Maybe one of his techy friends would have something to make the searching more efficient.
He scrolled through his contacts and called Lisa Eddie, Editor-in-Chief of the Danville Press, the news “paper” his family had owned for years. It had been almost eight years since they had moved to an all-digital citizen’s newspaper and ditched the analog. It had been a risky move at the time but had, in the end, paid off. It kept his family business running when so many other papers were going belly up.
She answered on the first ring. “Hey, Knettle, what’s up?”
“Do you have any algorithms or apps I could use to search obits for the DC metro? Their search program sucks.”
“Yeah, I think so. Let me go through my stuff and get back to you.”
“Thanks.”
“How are you holding up?” she asked. “We missed you last weekend.”
He knew that her feelings were hurt that he had missed her wedding, but she had let it slide since Katherine had been dying.
“I’m doing okay, I guess.” After a somewhat long and awkward pause, he added, “I’m sorry I missed the wedding. It looked like quite the party.”
“You should think about settling down yourself.” She nagged him all year to pop the question to Marianna.
“I don’t know why everyone thinks they need to marry me off. I’m doing fine on my own.”
Lisa audibly sighed. “I’m worried about you, Jason. You’re not doing fine and you know it.”
Shit, it’s that obvious?
He wet his lips and ran his fingers through his close-cropped hair. “Yeah, well, I’m peachy so you can quit worrying.” When the other end remained silent, he took a deep breath and continued. “Just call me if you find something I can use.”
After a long pause, she said, “Okay, J. I’ll put it in your Dropbox if I find something.”
“Thanks.” He ended the call.
Fuck it!
He walked out the back do
or, slamming it behind him. The dive bar down the street was calling to him.
***
Manny Richards’s Brownstone
Alexandria, Virginia
June 16, 2025
3:30 PM
~~~
Manny Richards went to the Senior Center every Monday to play chess with a retired cop from Richmond. It was the one thing Manny looked forward to every week. Today, when he had found a note from his wife saying she had borrowed his truck to pick up furniture from a swap meet, he didn’t think twice about her borrowing his ride. He hadn’t thought she would be so late that he would miss his chess game.
He had waited on the porch for over two hours when his phone finally rang with an unknown number. Normally he would have let it go to voicemail, but he worried it was his wife trying to reach him.
He answered on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Hello, is this Mr. Richards?”
“Yes, this is he.” A creeping worry spread through him.
“Mr. Richards, this is Dr. Wills with Pendrall General. We’re going to need you to come in. Your wife has been in an accident.”
Manny dropped his phone. He knew from the tone of the man’s voice what he was going to say next. His wife wouldn’t be coming home.
I’ll need to call the girls.
CHAPTER 3
Church Hill Neighborhood
Richmond, Virginia
June 16, 2025
6:30 PM
~~~
Ellie took a long nap after her meeting with Betty. The old woman’s disturbing behavior left Ellie a little shaken. Betty had always been sharp, but now it seemed as though she might be losing some of her mental faculties.
In preparation for her dinner with Jason and Katherine’s husband, Ben, and wanting to look nice, she picked out a simple green smock shirt and black silk shorts.
A knock at the door startled her. “Come in,” she said, slipping on her comfortable but stylish flats.
“Hey, you look nice.” Jason stood in the open door frame dressed in a short-sleeve, blue, button-down shirt and gray linen shorts.
Ellie gave him the once over and nodded her approval. “Thank you for cleaning up.” He had been drunk off his ass when she came home and had looked like a total bum. She’d half expected him to bail on her, but there he stood looking clean, even somewhat sober—a small mercy, since the last thing Ben needed was to deal with a drunk.
“You ready?” he practically whispered. He glanced up at her with his bloodshot eyes, probably still hung-over.
She nodded, and they quietly walked down the stairs to her car.
The silence continued the entire way to Ben and Katherine’s house. The familiar drive from Ellie’s old house to Katherine and Ben’s brought back a rush of memories. She worried about Jason, who stared out the passenger window the whole fifteen minutes. The smell of liquor seeping out his pores concerned her even more.
Once there, Ben let them inside the darkened, spotless home, where dinner was waiting on the table. The three sat down and ate their food in near silence, everyone looking at the empty spot at the end of the table where Katherine would have sat.
Ben finally broke the silence. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m not the best host tonight. Katherine was the one who was good at this sort of thing.”
Ellie placed her hand on top of his. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”
Ben dropped his gaze, but she detected a faint, ghost of smile across his lips. “Thank you, Ellie.”
After they finished their meal, Ellie helped clear the dishes while Jason helped himself to the bar on the buffet at the back of the dining room. He drank a generous glass of scotch from his spot perched atop the side table.
Ben pulled out two boxes from the front room coat closet and pointed at the smallest one. “The first box is for you, Ellie. It’s mostly Alex’s stuff. I figured you would want it. There’s also some of Katherine’s jewelry and some clothes she thought you might like.” He poured himself a tall glass of scotch—something he almost never did. “The other one is for you, Jason. It’s a bunch of journals and things Katherine thought you might need for the book.”
Jason sat quietly at the table, but Ellie put down the dishes she’d been clearing away and opened her box. She picked up one of the carefully folded handkerchiefs that rested on top of the pile, thumbing the monogram on the bottom before holding it up to her heart. “Thank you.”
Alex had been a sore subject over the years, even though Ben always seemed to be understanding and accepting of the space his wife’s ex took up in all of their lives. It’s not that Katherine didn’t love Ben; she had just loved Alex more. Everyone knew this, even her husband, but he seemed to love her enough for the both of them.
Jason, who had been quiet up until then, spoke up. “So, Ben, where were you last night?” He swirled his glass of scotch—his third of the night—and leaned against the buffet.
Ben frowned. “I was here at home, visiting with my family. Why do you ask?”
Ellie shot Jason a look of warning. He had better not fucking go there!
Jason smiled drunkenly back at both of them as he teetered on the edge of the buffet. He lifted his index finger up to his lips in mock thoughtfulness. “Hmmm.... Well, you see, I’m trying to solve the mystery of who Doc fucked last night after the funeral. She didn’t come home until 3:00 AM.”
Ellie’s face burned hot with pure rage and she lunged at him.
Jason overcorrected his dodge and landed hard on the floor. “Ow,” he cried out. “Don’t worry about me. I’m okay.”
Ellie caught herself before falling forward, and glared down at Jason. Somehow she resisted the urge to kick him while he was down.
Ben—kindhearted and forgiving—sighed as he bent over to pick Jason up. “I’m going to go put him down for the night in the guest bedroom, so he can sleep off this stupidity.”
Ellie slumped down on one of the chairs, her tearful face buried behind her hands. With Katherine gone, everything was falling to shit.
A few minutes later, Ben came back into the room and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She covered his hand with hers and squeezed it before releasing it. “How long has he been like this?”
Ben sighed and rubbed his eyes, which were red-rimmed and sunken in. “A year maybe. It got really bad after Katherine told him she was... she was going to die.”
The wound was fresh and raw, Ben’s grief hidden behind his lopsided grin—the one Katherine had loved so much.
Ellie reached for his free hand again and squeezed it. “How are you holding up?”
He gave her a tired smile. “I’m okay. I know it will be hard when everyone leaves and I have to go back to work.”
She listened quietly, creating space in the moment for his grief.
He looked up and away as his eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “I really miss her. The house is too quiet with her gone.” He slumped into the chair beside her.
Ellie’s phone buzzed with an incoming message from Chris. She pulled it up and smiled in anticipation.
Chris: Are you still coming?
“The mystery man, I presume,” Ben teased.
“Yeah.” She sighed and hid her smile behind her hand.
“Go. I’ll clean up here and take care of Jason, and bring him and the boxes by first thing tomorrow.”
She scrunched her brows together. “I can’t—”
He held up a hand to interrupt her. “You can and you will. If Katherine were here she would be pushing you out the door.” He gave her arm a little shove. “Go on. Don’t keep him waiting. Get going then!”
Ellie jumped up from her chair and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, Ben.”
She looked back at him one last time before shooting out the door.
He gave her a goofy smile and the thumbs up sign. His red eyes and the tears spilling down his cheek made the moment bittersweet.
***
Pipeline Rapids Walkway
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Richmond, Virginia
June 16, 2025
9:00 PM
~~~
Sally followed closely behind the two men for over two miles—hiding in brush and behind trees along the way. This part of the pipeline didn’t see much foot traffic that time of night, so the men went unnoticed by anyone other than her.
They didn’t detect her trailing them—too stupid and arrogant to ever think they could be followed. They took precautions against electronic surveillance, but no one thought to protect themselves against good old-fashioned surveillance—on foot.
“Jean, we have to do something soon. Things are getting out of hand,” Alejandro said. “The police are starting to poke around now.”
“You gonna be the one to talk to him?” Jean huffed and puffed as he carried his half of the dead weight.
“Fuck no!” Alejandro turned at the pass and walked backwards down the worn path.
“Well then keep your head down and shut the fuck up unless you want to be on the list. Let him deal with the cop. Don’t think for a minute that he doesn’t know what’s going on.” Alejandro stopped at the bridge and indicated with his head to toss their burden over into the river.
Sally watched from behind a leafy Paw-Paw tree as the men—men she grew up with— heaved a body into the water. A mixture of sadness and relief washed over her as she watched her old man’s body floating away down the St. James. Even though she didn’t love him, she did the sign of the cross, kissed the cool medal of her St. Rita medallion, and said a short prayer as he disappeared into his watery grave.
“Father, Son and Holy Ghost,” she murmured to herself.
She would light a candle for him at St. Sebastian’s. It would be expected.
After that, she could really be free. The plan had been set in motion—no going back now. If it all worked out, she could leave Ocean City and The Syndicate behind her forever.
***
Church Hill Neighborhood
Richmond, Virginia
June 17, 2025
6:00 AM
~~~
Ellie quietly crept into the dimly lit house on her bare feet, not wanting to disturb Jason and his girlfriend, whose car was parked in the driveway. She was surprised to see Marianna laying a passed-out Jason on the couch in the living room. She sighed.
