17. Ezekiel
17
EZEKIEL
W hat in the actual fuck was that? I ask.
That was Councilor Augustus showing us his hand. The power he wields. And his ruthlessness. I m sure every minute was choreographed just for us.
It was a rhetorical question, Brother.
I felt like it begged to be answered regardless. You can be reckless, Zeke.
The gates open at our approach and the car that had driven off the property earlier waits on the other side of them to enter. Inside are four men who make eye contact as our vehicles pass.
They seem friendly, I say.
Jericho glances in the rearview mirror. Did you notice the one in the passenger seat had the coda tattooed onto his neck?
Soldiers? I ask.
Likely. I can t imagine Girard would have walked into that house without protection, Jericho says.
Why would he walk in there at all?
Ines?
Maybe. Did you see how he tensed when he saw her fresh welts?
I did. Like I said, Augustus orchestrated that well.
I don t think that s it, though. Not entirely. Girard lost his hand. Augustus destroyed his future. He was a promising pianist. His entire life s trajectory changed. Augustus, his best friend, was the mastermind behind that.
He did sleep with the man s wife.
Girlfriend. I don t even remember an engagement ring on Ines s finger in the photo we saw.
He shrugs a shoulder. That s past and quite frankly, has nothing to do with us. Augustus was clear. He looks at me. He wants the flash drive. Give it to him and this is over.
Do you believe that?
Not really.
Me either. By the way, Blue s father left a calling card at Blue s apartment.
Jericho glances at me. What are you talking about?
A postcard. She doesn t know. I m not sure I m going to tell her.
Would he know where the sister is?
I don t think so, but I ve upped the guard.
Good.
My phone rings and Jericho pauses. It s Robbie. I hold up a finger. Robbie, what s up?
I know why that flash drive is so important.
Oh? I thought we figured that out already.
No. It s not what we thought. Or at least it s not only that. I m at the house. Isabelle said you were having a drink somewhere. I can meet you.
No. We re almost back. What is it?
I ll show you.
When we walk into the kitchen, it s to find Cynthia at the stove cooking something that smells delicious while Robbie is sitting at the table awkwardly holding Christian on one knee, the little boy wearing Robbie s cowboy hat on his head and yelling Gitty up horsey at the top of his lungs. He s slapping Robbie s leg and Jericho and I stand, stunned, and watch Robbie bounce his leg up and down, his expression telling exactly how clueless he feels.
Jericho chuckles and swoops in to pick Christian up and spin him around in the air.
Hey, little man. I like your new hat.
Daddy! Christian throws his arms around my brother s neck, and I m still stunned to see it, to see Jericho like this, this side of him so foreign to me. It s a side I d like to get to know.
Robbie stands up, looks around confused.
Where is everyone? I ask.
Blue was changing the baby and Isabelle was helping Angelique and Matty in the bath.
Are you adding babysitting services to your résumé? I ask as Blue walks in with a big grin on her face.
He s pretty good at being the jackass.
Horse. I was a horse.
Mhm. She turns to me, and her expression grows serious. Glad to see you re both in one piece. She realizes how that sounds, considering Girard s missing hand, and shakes her head. Sorry. That came out wrong. How did it go?
I m going to make my way to your study and fix myself a drink, Jericho. I ll see you boys in there, Robbie says.
Isabelle and the gang make their way down the stairs, the kids noisy. When Isabelle sees Jericho, she visibly relaxes. She must have been worried. He goes to her, wraps an arm around her and hugs her, kissing her forehead before he whispers something into her ear. She nods.
Blue, maybe we can help Cynthia with dinner.
Blue looks at Isabelle and back at me. I know she wants to be a part of the conversation in the study, but this may be better.
I ll fill you in later, I tell her. Help Isabelle.
She glances at Isabelle and the kids and, although reluctant, she nods and is graceful about it. Jericho and I head into the study.
What did you find? I ask as Jericho closes the door. Robbie has his laptop set up on top of the desk and is bent over it.
He straightens to answer. The reason Councilor Augustus needs the flash drive back. And the reason Antoine Girard wants to get his hands on it before that happens. These two aren t the type of men to forgive and forget, after all.
No, they re not. I m not sure any of us thought they were.
Here you go, Robbie says, punching a few keys and turning his laptop over for us to have a look. Greedy fuck, Lucius Augustus. Like his father. Like his grandfather. The Augustus funds dried up two generations ago. I guess The Tribunal s paycheck wasn t enough to sustain his lifestyle.
I peer at the screen, scrolling down over the spreadsheet. Not photos or videos this time. No court records. This is a ledger. A record of all the bribes taken by Lucius, his father before him, his grandfather before him. Bribes that cost people, in some cases, their lives.