strong-armed by the judge into defending Sydney Bennett.”
“And how would that make me feel good about myself?”
“Because this is exactly the kind of case you would want. But you didn’t want to take it.”
“This is starting to sound like analysis.”
“In your mind, being ordered by the judge to defend Sydney Bennett makes it more acceptable to your fiancee. There, I pointed it out: the elephant in the room.”
“No, I think it’s Max. Those mangos are murder.”
“Don’t make jokes, damn it.” She came closer “Look. Jack. I love you so much, but there’s a reason we’re engaged and still haven’t set a wedding date. And it’s not because we’re too busy. It’s because we’re still. . negotiating.”
“Negotiating?”
“Yes. There’s no other word for it. I’m being very honest. I don’t want you to turn me into something I’m not, any more than I should turn you into something you’re not.”
Jack was silent, but he knew where the conversation was headed.
“I’m taking this undercover assignment,” she said. “I could be away for five months. For me, that’s not negotiable.”
“That’s fine. I want you to take it,” he said.
“And I love you for that. That’s not the problem. The problem is, I
“So for you, undercover work is nonnegotiable, but you want my selection of cases to be negotiable?”
“No, I want you to stop making yourself miserable, stop trying to be a pleaser. Stand up and say, This is me, this who I am, this is not negotiable. And I’m just going to have to find a way to get over that. . if we’re ever going to set a wedding date.”
He brought her closer.
“Weird,” said Jack.
“What is?”
“That actually made me feel better.”
She kissed him gently.
“And confused,” said Jack.
“Why?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Could it be because what you just said is completely unlike anything you’ve ever said to me before?”
“I’ve evolved.”
“More like transformed.”
“Let’s just say a little birdie sang in my ear.”
“A birdie, huh?”
She let out a little laugh, but it was cut short by Shorty Shitstain. Theo’s ringtone. Jack still had his friend’s cell phone, and it was vibrating on the nightstand. He reached over and grabbed it. This time there was no SQUEEZEPLAY or COOCHIE MONSTER in the caller ID. It was just a random number-at two o’clock in the morning.
“I’m going to take this,” he said, and he answered it: “This is Jack.”
“Oh, thank God! Jack, you have to help me!”
She was in a panic, but he immediately recognized the voice. “Sydney, calm down.”
“Calm down? I’m out here on my own, I can’t even close my eyes to go to sleep, and now I saw on TV that Judge Matthews expects me to show up in court on Monday.”
“He wants to know about the guy who met you at the airport.”
“He’s crazy, okay? Sick and crazy. He tried to choke me.”
“What?”
“He came to me like he was my friend, gonna sell my movie rights, gonna make me a million dollars. Then the first night we were alone together he turns into this crazy man.”
“You didn’t tell me this before.”
“I told you he was a creep, that I was going through hell. What is it about lawyers that they need to have everything spelled out from A to Z? Is that so you can give your client the big ‘I told you so’? I didn’t
Jack sat up on the edge of the mattress. “Sydney, you have to listen to me. You’re in a lot of danger.”
“No shit!”
“What I’m trying to say is that you need more help than your lawyer can give you. Where are you now?”
“I can’t tell you. I can’t tell anyone!”
“We need to get you protection.”
“Yeah, like the whole world wants to bend over backward to help me, Jack.”
“Listen to me. My fiancee is an FBI agent. She’s here with me. I can put her on the phone right now to talk if-”
“No! If you give her that phone, I’m hanging up.”
“All right, don’t hang up. But I want you to memorize her number,” he said, and then he gave it to her.
“I’m not calling the FBI. You’re my lawyer. You have to protect my not-guilty verdict. Please, please. I’m begging you. I can’t come back for another trial.”
“Maybe you can come back, if you call the FBI.” He blurted out Andie’s number again.
“I can’t! You have to do whatever it takes to stop that judge from throwing out the verdict. No way can I put myself in a courtroom or any other box where he can find me.”
“Who is this guy?”
“His name is Merselus.”
“Merciless?”
“Might as well be.” She spelled it.
“What’s his last name?”
“That is his last name. Or maybe not. I don’t know. He just goes by Merselus. He found me when I was in jail, said he was a Hollywood agent. When he actually followed through and got the money for the private airplane to my father, we figured he was legit. Or at least I thought my fucking dad would have checked him out to make sure he wasn’t just another crazy son of a bitch with a hard-on for Shot Mom.”
“Your father-”
“I gotta go. I gotta go
“Sydney, wait!”
“Just help me, okay? He tried to strangle me, Jack! Don’t you get it?”
Jack started to reply, but she was gone. He put the phone on the nightstand and glanced at Andie. She’d heard only one side of the conversation, and Jack wasn’t ready to share the other half. He was thinking of Celeste. And Rene. Then he touched his own neck, recalling his personal encounter with this Merselus.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Merselus entered his apartment and locked the door-two deadbolts and a chain. It was dark inside, save for the faint glow from the closet, and the room smelled of mildew from the afternoon rain. A forty-year-old roof was no match for Miami’s summer cloudbursts. Merselus could have afforded a much nicer place, but he preferred the anonymity that came with a cheap apartment, no questions asked. He didn’t need a team of Ritz-Carlton servants trying to memorize how he liked his eggs in the morning, what newspaper he preferred, or what time he wanted his bed turned down. The longer-lease apartments in his complex faced the river, but his week-to-week rental was on the street side, directly across from a nightclub. Even on the third floor, his boarded
