Bitter Root

by Laydin Michaels

“Are you sure this is the place? It’s so huge,” she said.

  “This is it. Come on. They aren’t nearly as big and scary as they look from the outside, when you’re inside. The office is on the eighteenth floor.”

  The feeling of heaviness that hit as the elevator ascended shook Adi. She glanced at Griffith, who seemed undisturbed. Must be normal. I wonder how it will feel going down? Once again, she was reminded of the different worlds they inhabited. She didn’t want to think about where they’d go when this was over. When they entered the office they were met by a man in a suit.

  “How may I help you?” he asked.

  “We’re here for a meeting with Mike Hague.”

  “Okay, give me a second to verify.” He looked at his computer for a few seconds. “Ms. McNaulty? I’ll need to see your identification, please. And yours as well, ma’am.”

  They handed him their licenses and waited. He scanned them into his system and handed them back.

  “Right this way.”

  They followed him into a good-sized conference room, and Adi’s anxiety rose another notch.

  “He should be with you in a minute. Can I get you some coffee or something else to drink?”

  Griffith looked at Adi, who shook her head. “No, thank you,” she said.

  The chairs at the long table were comfortable, and they didn’t have long to wait. The door soon opened, and a large, bearish man entered.

  “Griffith, Ms. Bergeron, hello. I’m Mike Hague.”

  “Mike. Good to see you again.”

  “Likewise. Ms. Bergeron? I didn’t expect you this morning, but I’m glad you decided to come. Thank you.”

  “It’s Adi. And you’re welcome.”

  “I don’t know if Griffith spoke to you about our current case. We’ve been following the movements of J.B. Nerbass for the past eight and a half months. I understand you’re familiar with him?”

  Adi shivered. “Yes. He’s my stepfather.”

  “That’s what Griffith said. You do know the nature of his work, right?”

  “You mean his drug trafficking? Yes.”

  “Good. We’ve built a scenario and I’d like to run it by you. Is that okay?”

  Adi looked at Griffith, but she wouldn’t meet her eye. What’s up with that? Why is she not being upfront with me? She said I could trust her.

  “Okay…I guess that’s fine.”

  “Good. Griff wasn’t sure you’d be willing to help us, but we have to ask.”

  “Wait. How am I going to help you? What are you talking about? I thought I was just giving you some information or something?”

  “It’s like this, Ms. Bergeron…Adi. We need a way to get your father to say something that incriminates him and ties this thing up nice and tidy. I think you’re our solution. We want you to confront him and get us the kind of information we can use to put him away for good.”

  Adi felt her blood turn cold. Confront him? I don’t ever want to see him again. I spent my life hiding from him. What exactly are they expecting?

  “Don’t worry. You won’t be in any danger,” he said.

  “How can you know that? You’ve no idea what you’re talking about. I can’t do this,” she said. She started to get up, feeling the need to run.

  “Hold on. Let Mike tell you what he has in mind. If you can’t do it, you won’t, but hear him out,” Griffith said. She placed her hand over Adi’s and said, “Please, Adi. It might be the only way you get your life back.”

  Adi sat back down and turned her hand over so Griff could slide hers into it. “Go on.”

  “It’s really fairly simple. You arrange to meet with him in a location of your choosing. We’ll have all possible routes to and from watched. You’ll be perfectly safe. All you have to do is engage him in a conversation about his business. He’s been looking for you for a long time. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”

  “He won’t. He knows how much I hate him. How much I hate what his drugs do to people. He won’t believe a word of it.”

  “Why is he still looking for you, then?” he said.

  “Trust me, it’s not for a reunion. He wants me dead. Looking for me is his safeguard against my surfacing and sharing what I know.”

  “What do you know?”

  “I…it’s complicated.”

  “Try me. I’m pretty good at figuring things out,” he said.

  Adi looked from Mike to Griffith. Sweat ran down the line of her back, and she felt nauseous. Griffith gently squeezed her hand, lending her strength.

  “It’s okay. You can trust him,” she said.

  “Anything you tell me is just between us at this point. If it is something that incriminates Nerbass and we can use it, that might change, but you don’t have to worry, regardless. You’re completely safe here. As far as the DEA is concerned, you’re an informant. I can guarantee you won’t be charged with anything by us.”

  Adi felt Griffith slide her arm around her shoulders. She leaned into her, wishing this wasn’t happening. Griff was right, Adi wanted a real life, and she knew J.B. had to be stopped, had to pay for his crimes, but she didn’t want to have anything to do with him. Not confronting him meant running again, and this time she would be running from those who loved her. She’d spent the past eight years afraid. No more. It was time to stand up to him. She took a deep breath and willed the tension out of her body. Her voice caught as she started to speak, but she made herself keep going.

  “When I was eleven, he made me shoot a man. I didn’t know what he was going to do, and I couldn’t stop him. I would never have pulled the trigger if I had a choice; he put his finger over mine and forced it. It was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. And then—”

  “What man? Did you know his name?”

  “Yes. Ransom Prejean, our neighbor.”

  “Good. Let’s stop and do this properly. We need this on the record to be able to use it against him. Come with me, please.”

  He led them to an interview room and asked them to wait. Adi felt her stomach cramping. What I wouldn’t give for a Coke right now. Why am I talking about this? She looked at the door, wondering if he’d locked it behind him.

  “It’s okay, you know. You aren’t in any trouble, I promise,” Griffith said.

  “How can you know that? They could arrest me. I just told him I killed a man.”

  “Seriously? You were forced to pull the trigger. And the other stuff? You were a child, forced to do what you did by a parent—again, not your fault. Even if they did press charges against you, there’s no way you’d be convicted. What’s the worst thing that could happen?” she said.

  “I could end up in a jail cell.”

  “Okay. Let’s look at that. If, which isn’t going to happen, you are arrested, then what?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Griff took a deep breath and nodded. “Here it is, Adi, the big scary truth. If you are arrested, they bring you before a judge for arraignment. You make your plea and we get you bonded out. Worst-case scenario, you spend a night in lockup. The hardest part is over. You’ve finally opened up about J.B. and the things he made you do. Everything from here on means dealing with your past head on, instead of letting fear keep you from living. And that’s better than spending your life running.”

  How could you possibly know that? There’s nothing easy about any of this. I want to believe you, but I can’t.

  She dropped into the hard-backed chair and waited with building dread. When Mike returned he had a second officer with him to take notes. It wasn’t an easy thing at all, but she got through her memory of the day Ransom died. They asked her about the years after, and she told them about all of it. The beatings, the bodies, the oil rig and the man there. She told them about the way J.B. arranged to ship his drugs and how he recorded the transactions. The questions they asked were reasonable, and she was surprised when she actually did feel the tension start to fall away.

  “Okay, I think we’re done for now. How are you holding up?” he
asked.

  “I’m okay. So, are you going to arrest me?” she asked.

  “No. Firstly, we have no evidence that this occurred other than your story. We have to investigate the crime and see if there’s any evidence that can tie up Mr. Nerbass. Giddings, here, will coordinate the search for Ransom and the others. Second, I’m going to ask you to play a bigger role, and that makes you an informant. I’ll see to it that you’re not implicated in this due to your cooperation with our investigation. We have to have something concrete to stop your stepfather. Your information will help, but it’s not enough,” he said.

  “What else can I do?”

  “I propose that we go through with the original idea,” he said.

  “But—” she said.

  “Hear me out. We’re much more likely to get him on this charge if you can get him to talk about it with you. He won’t be able to stay away if you tell him you want to meet. We’ll bait the hook just enough so he’ll want to hear you out.”

  “But what’s to keep him from just walking up to me and killing me? That’s what he wants. He’s used to having his way.”

  “That won’t happen. There is a risk, but we’ll minimize it. You don’t have to worry. It’s our job to protect you, and we’re good at it.”

  Adi wasn’t convinced, but the pinprick of light in her soul was enough to make her willing to try. They would set everything up and this thing with J.B. would be over. One way or another.

  “Right. No time like the present.”

  From there, everything started happening so fast, Adi barely had time to register it all. They made detailed plans and explained everything. Other officers came and went, and the entire situation started to feel surreal. If it weren’t for Griff’s constant, calming presence, Adi would have bolted and disappeared into the bayou somewhere. Instead, she sat there, getting ready to face her demon.

  The next challenge was to bait J.B. into a meeting they could monitor and control. This was where Griffith came in. Once they had the equipment set up, she called him and admitted to giving him false information.

  “I knew you lied to me. What is your angle, McNaulty?”

  “It’s about your daughter, Mr. Nerbass. She wasn’t ready to meet with you, but now she is.”

  “Oh, come on. You expect me to believe this shit? What do you take me for?”

  “I’m telling you the truth. Your daughter, Merley, is here right now. Do you want to talk to her?”

  “You better not be playing me this time. I’m not a forgiving man.”

  Griffith handed the receiver to Adi. Her hand shook as she put it to her ear.

  “Papa? It’s me.”

  There was silence on the line. For a minute, Adi thought he’d disconnected, but the agent signaled that the line was open.

  “Papa? It’s Merley.”

  “Where are you? Where have you been? I’d given up on ever finding you.”

  “I’m here. In New Orleans. I want to see you, Papa.”

  “Come to me, baby. Come to Morgan City and I’ll take care of you.”

  “I can’t do that. My life is here. If you want to see me, I’ll be in Jackson Square tomorrow at ten thirty in the morning. If you don’t show up, I’ll know disappearing was the right thing.”

  “I’ll be there. Don’t you worry, I won’t let you down.”

  “Okay.” She disconnected the call.

  “Good work. We’ll have everything in place well before sunup tomorrow. You just come in and get wired, and we’ll handle all the rest. Thank you for doing this,” Mike said.

  Adi felt like someone had thrown a blanket around her. She could see and hear what was going on, but she was detached, emotionless. He’s coming. Tomorrow. She should be terrified, but strangely, she felt nothing.

  *

  Griffith followed Adi out of the building to the waiting cab. The flash chill of the air conditioning hit and she shivered. The weighted humid air and heat of New Orleans corrected by frigid artificial temperature changes shocked her every time, just like it did in LA. She gave the cabbie their destination and sat back, watching Adi.

  She’d been quiet since the meeting with Mike, even more so after the conversation with her stepfather. Griffith gave her the space she needed to digest what they had talked about, and to deal with the coming confrontation. She would wait as long as Adi needed her to. When she was ready, she would talk. Until then it was her job to be supportive. I’m finally learning.

  The journalist in her was chomping at the bit to start writing this story. But J.B. Nerbass had caused so much damage to her soul, and Griff wouldn’t make the mistake of jumping the gun and getting shut out of the healing process. She would be patient, and if supporting Adi meant losing the story, so be it.

  “Why didn’t you tell me what they were planning?” Adi said.

  “I’m sorry, but I really didn’t know what they had in mind. I knew Mike wanted to talk to you, but not that he wanted you to be involved. He never told me that.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t know. I was worried you’d lied to me, to get me in there. But it’s true. I need to finish this, to be free of J.B. and his world. I’m tired of being afraid.”

  “I promise I didn’t lie to you, and I’m glad you’re ready to move forward.”

  “It’s weird. I should be frightened by what’s ahead, but I’m not. Oh, I was at first, but now, I’m just numb. I think about what I’m going to do and expect the cramping stomach and the fear to knock me over, like it usually does, but it doesn’t come. What’s wrong with me, Griffith?”

  “Nothing’s wrong with you. You’ve let go of the fear, now that you see a solution ahead. You’re waiting. Numb is okay, for now.”

  “Will you be there? Tomorrow, when I meet him? Would you be with me, please?”

  Griffith wrapped her arm around Adi and gently hugged her. “Of course I will, although I don’t know if they’ll let me be right beside you. But I’m here and I’m not leaving. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

  “Thank you.” Adi leaned into her, her head resting on Griffith’s shoulder.

  I’m here for you, Adi. I’ll be here as long as you allow me to be. Griff had been a journalist long enough to know things could go wrong. And that dealing with people this dangerous had a list of potential outcomes less than optimal. But sometimes, it was necessary to get the bad guy. Please don’t let anything happen to her. She closed her eyes and pulled Adi closer.

  *

  T’Claude met them at the curb and slid into the front seat. He directed the cabbie to a place he knew in the Garden District for lunch. When they were seated, he grilled them about the morning.

  “I can’t tell you, T. We have to protect the integrity of the operation,” Griffith said.

  “Come on, you can trust me. I’m not going to do anything that puts Adi in danger.”

  “I know you wouldn’t, but she’s in danger and the way we keep her safe is to keep quiet and let the professionals handle things.”

  “What kind of danger?” He looked at Adi. “What are they making you do, kid?”

  “What I have to do to be free of all this, T,” she said.

  T’Claude sighed and looked at the ceiling, his hands wrapped tightly around his glass.

  “I know what you’re feeling right now, T. It’s hard to feel helpless to protect those you love. You’re going to have to trust that these guys will keep her safe,” Griff said.

  “I’m not okay with that.”

  “You haven’t got a choice, T. This will all be over with by tomorrow, and then Adi will be free.”

  “I don’t like this one bit. You sure you want to do this?” He looked at Adi, who avoided eye contact.

  “It’s not a choice. It’s what I need to do to be free of him forever. I want my life, T. I don’t want to run anymore. Bertie…you know, what she said in her letter? It’s true. I’m stuck, and I’m tired of being stuck,” she said.

  “I’m on your side, always. If this is how it
is, then I have to accept it. You know you can count on me, right?”

  “Of course I do, T. And the moment it’s all over, I’ll call to let you know. Thank you for coming after me.”

  Adi tried to relax and enjoy the beautiful meal, but the looming events made even the best food tasteless and unappealing. The waiting was the hardest thing. She willed the day to pass and the new one to dawn. She wanted resolution, needed it. J.B. had always been her personal nightmare, and she wanted him out of her life. She looked at Griffith and T’Claude. They were bantering about the food and trying to distract her.

  I’m so lucky to have you both in my corner. I hope this ends the way I want it to. If not, I hope you’ll lean on each other.

  “What do you say, Adi?” T said.

  “Huh?”

  “I asked if you and Griffith want to go see some sights, get a feel for the place. Sound good?”

  “Yeah, that does sound good. I need to be distracted. Thanks.”

  They left the restaurant and joined a walking tour across the street. They followed that with a carriage tour, and then a trip down river on the Creole Princess, a paddle wheeler. The day waned into night and they wound up back in the city.

  Adi stopped to check out of her old place. She needed to do something about the apartment, but that could wait a while. She had also called Tujague’s and let them know she wouldn’t be returning for now. Maybe when this was all finished, she would stay in New Orleans for a time. It was nice to know she had options. And then there’s Griff, and whatever happens with that.

  She considered booking her own room, but Griffith urged her not to. They would all check out after tomorrow to head back to New Iberia, and it wasn’t an issue for her to stay with her. When the door to their room clicked shut, Griffith made it clear that this was exactly where she wanted her to be as she led them straight to the bed.

  The feel of Griffith against her, the clean fresh smell of her, intoxicated Adi. This was the place she wanted to call home. Here, in Griffith’s arms. When their lips met, it was with the familiarity of a lover’s kiss and the tenderness of the known. If kissing you were the only thing left in my life, it would be full and happy. In you, I feel whole.