Lily stood on the unlit side of the one-way glass, watching her mother yell at Aunt Caroline. Caroline was still in her biker getup, staring dully at the wall.
“...and I cannot believe that you have gotten yourself into a position like this! I know you still have some of John’s connections, Carrie, but for the love of God, this isn’t a parking ticket!”
“I know,” Caroline answered, her voice vacant.
“God help you,” she ranted, “if I find out that you got Ainsley involved in anything else like this, anything at all!”
“Are you going to help me or not?” Caroline asked, fiddling with her handcuffs. She still wasn’t looking at Eleanor.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, of course. I’ve already hired Amanda Turturro.”
Lily was impressed. Amanda Turturro was the best defense attorney in the state. She’d been at Johnny Cochran’s firm for years before striking out on her own. She was pale and had a body like a knife, blade-thin and all angles and edges, and had no sense of humor anyone was aware of. But if you were in trouble, she got you sprung.
Her mother continued ranting. Lily’s eyes glazed over. She still had to figure out what to tell her mother about all this, and when.
Kyle Klotzman sauntered up. “Boy, we gotta stop meeting like this.”
She rolled her eyes. “What do you want?”
He shrugged. “A Van der Wahl under arrest for aggravated assault? Figured it was worth a look.”
“Look elsewhere.”
He smirked. “Listen, I been meaning to thank you for that tip.”
“You mean the immaculately organized case files? You’re welcome.”
“Yeah. It’s been great.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
“I know.”
She gave him a look of disdain. “Well, congratulations. You’re a real journalist now. Go get a job at a respectable paper, will you?”
He grinned. “Not a chance.”
From the Borough Record, December 21
LINA SCHULZE GRAND JURY DELAYED FOR THIRD TIME
By Kyle Klotzman
Those anxious to see the immensely unpopular deputy mayor of New York tried are going to have to wait just a bit longer. Citing security concerns, Lina Schulze’s defense attorney, Mitch Cohen, requested an adjournment until his client’s safety could be adequately ensured. Cohen’s firm also represents the deputy mayor’s brother in his own plea-bargain process in the involuntary manslaughter of media mogul Graham Sparr five years ago.
District Attorney Maggie Burnett has accommodated the request, so the grand jury proceedings are now expected to begin in early January, although sources close to the case suggest that it may be longer, due to the deputy mayor’s cooperation in an unrelated case...
From the Borough Record, December 27
COMMISH STEPS DOWN AS ROLE IN COVERUP COMES TO LIGHT
By Kyle Klotzman
Top cop Corey Connolly officially tendered his resignation today, citing the ongoing controversy surrounding his ties with the Schulze family and his apparent involvement in multiple scandals. In the wake of Erik Schulze’s confession of responsibility for the death of media titan Graham Sparr, Connolly is now implicated in the subsequent cover-up. The District Attorney’s office had no comment at the time of publication regarding whether it intends to pursue charges against Connolly. However, an unknown party has retained private attorneys Spitz & French on behalf of the family of Lamont Hartwell, the young man who was, until now, presumed to be responsible for Graham Sparr’s death. The attorneys are suing both Connolly and the city of New York for damages.
Connolly is also implicated in several of the charges pending against Lina Schulze, deputy mayor and daughter of Lyonsbank COO, Frederick Schulze. While he would not confirm or deny his involvement during his resignation announcement this morning, Connolly expressed that the controversy surrounding him made him no longer effective in his job....
Lily stood with Ainsley and Khady in the lightly falling snow, watching all the generic black Kawasakis get loaded onto a large moving rig. From here, Ainsley would go and turn in the warehouse keys, officially terminating Caroline’s lease and calling an end to the days of Phaedra’s Fist.
“So,” she asked them, “what’s next for you two?”
Ainsley shrugged. “I think I wanna go back to school. I might be able to get into a CUNY school, you know.”
Lily raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Aunt Caroline talked to me a bunch of times about looking into taking meds for ADHD and you know. Maybe that’s not my problem, but if they help, I think I’d like to go and major in pre-law or criminal justice. I haven’t been taking advantage of the stipend that I’m allowed to take from the family trusts, and that’s dumb. I could be going to school.” She gave Lily a sly smile. “Maybe you won’t be the only detective in the family.”
Lily shoved her hands deeper into her pockets. “Or maybe you won’t.”
“What?”
Lily shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Also,” Ainsley went on, “I guess I…” She glanced at Khady. “Can I tell her?” Khady nodded. “I think we’re gonna get married.”
Lily gasped. “Married? Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, we can. So why not?”
Meds? College? Marriage? Lily’s head spun. Maybe this whole crazy experience had been good for her sister after all. “Have you told Mom?”
“Not yet,” Khady said, “so keep it under your hat. Quin and Nadia are gonna announce their engagement soon, I think, and we don’t wanna steal their thunder.”
Lily nodded. “Will do.” The truck started, and after it roared away, she asked, “So what about the rest of the girls?”
Khady smiled. “Well, Vea’s going back to Kingston to run for public office, believe it or not. It doesn’t sound like Eilidh wants to go.” She affected a truly terrible Scottish accent. “Me and me pale arse running ‘round Jamaica? Are you mad?”
Lily chuckled. “What about your nemesis, Ainsley?”
Ainsley laughed. “Abra Baum is gonna go back to whatever she was doing. Mostly kickboxing circuit, I think. She gave Khady a little parting gift, though.”
Khady explained, “Apparently, her dad called in a few favors and was able to find some information about my parents’ deaths.”
“Fucking Abra played down her dad’s Mossad connections all this time,” Ainsley grumbled. “I knew she was full of shit.” She got on her Indian. Before donning her helmet, she looked at Lily. “So, where does this leave us? I mean, I know Aunt Caroline is in some trouble for Frankie Beanbags, but is she gonna be in any hot water for all the…stuff we did?”
Lily sighed. “Not if I can help it. But, if it comes down to someone having to get hurt to keep you guys out of trouble, I’m gonna have to draw the line. I’m not Corey Connolly. I don’t do cover-ups.” She meant it. This was as close to grey as she ever wanted to get.
From the Borough Record, January 31
ERIK SCHULZE SENTENCED TO HOME DETENTION, NOT CONNECTED TO OTHER SCHULZE CRIMES
By Kyle Klotzman
Schulze family scion and Lyonsbank board member Erik Schulze was handed a sentence this morning for his guilty plea in the death of Graham Sparr in a Midtown Manhattan parking garage: two years’ home detention. Schulze made a plea deal with the city after presenting himself to the police in Cape Cod, where had been hiding for 10 days. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for the five-year-old killing, which had been a closed case until now. His motives for doing so are unclear, and he has made no public statements regarding them or any other aspect of the case.
While involuntary manslaughter can carry sentences of anywhere from five to fifteen years, there is some precedent for this degree of leniency. Schulze had no priors, and the death of Sparr was allegedly not caused through recklessness or criminal activity. Since two years is a short enough sentence to qualify him for home detention, Schulze’s attorney argued
that Schulze’s disability—he has a prosthetic hand—made him a candidate for this type of disciplinary action.
Rumors connect Schulze to the attorneys currently representing the Hartwell family in their suit against the city, but at this time, there is little substantial proof…
Lily’s eyes glazed over. She wasn’t even really absorbing the article in front of her. She just stared into her coffee.
Miri said, “You’ve been sullen for ages now. You want to talk about it?”
She sighed. “Yeah, I don’t know. I just… I mean, Connolly was forced out of his job, the deputy mayor lost her job and is probably going to face some house incarceration like her brother, and it looks like the D.A. is going to be able to nail Frederick Schulze and at least a couple of people at Lyonsbank for their role in the crash, and maybe some money laundering too…” She trailed off.
“But you’re not satisfied,” Miri supplied.
Lily shrugged. “It’s hard to get powerful people to pay for what they do. The Schulzes, Connolly, they probably won’t do more than a token penance for what they did. Beanbags gets off. The Corratos won’t even be touched, probably. I let my sister off the hook for crimes I knew she was committing, and I intimidated a victim—granted, a sleazebag who tried to kill me, but stilla shooting victim—to get my aunt out of trouble and keep him alive and available to testify for what I needed him for. So where do I even get off being moralistic about any of it, you know? I know the truth about my dad now, which is good, I guess, and Erik Schulze is paying for it, a little. But…”
Miri nodded and placed a large hand over Lily’s on the table.
“It feels hollow, is all,” Lily sighed. “I don’t know if any of this qualifies as justice.”
“Careful,” Miri warned with a little smirk. “You’re starting to sound like Ainsley.”
Lily sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if she was wrong after all.” She clicked on the local news channel and saw Ainsley and Khady, in their matching rainbow hijabs, speaking at a rally for queer Muslims in New York. Ainsley had decided to convert not long ago, and Lily was still getting used to it. “I’m trying to work, you know, and it’s great to be back in Queens and partnered up with you again, but…”
Miri squeezed her hand. “I know. You hate the attention.”
Lily nodded. “Yeah. It’s hard to just do the damn job anymore.”
A week later, Lily went to McArdle and turned in her badge and gun. He wasn’t happy about it, but he understood.
She called Finlay at SparrMedia. There was a desk at Fast Forward with her name on it.
“The test of the machine is the satisfaction it gives you. There isn’t any other test. If the machine produces tranquility it’s right. If it disturbs you it’s wrong until either the machine or your mind is changed.”
–Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
About the Author
Jennifer Giacalone writes books, as you may have gathered given where you are reading this. She’s a Rhysling Award-nominated poet and author of several novels, the first of which is the mystery Loud Pipes Save Lives. She’s a former rock star, artist, graphic designer, amateur plumber, baker and time lord. She writes anywhere she can, as often as she can, whether it’s in her own study, on the porch of a summer cabin, or on her iPhone at three in the morning.
Jen loves to explore flawed characters, lesser known histories, and bring to life heroes of all different genders, races, orientations, abilities, and identities, bringing adventure, heartbreak and reconciliation to casts of characters that look like the world around us.
About Carnation Books
Carnation Books is a fandom-powered publisher of the best in inclusive fiction. Founded in 2016, Carnation Books is at the forefront of new author discovery. Visit carnationbooks.com to learn more, and to sign up for our story-filled newsletter!
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