Chapter 21 Chapter Twenty

Ordell told Jackie to go to his apartment on the beachfront in Palm Coast after he flew here on Wednesday, which he called a "payday" meeting. This evening the weapons will be taken to Islamorada and loaded onto Mr Volka's boat.Tomorrow he shipped and got paid for, and the day after tomorrow, Friday, Jackie brought all his cash back from Freeport. Here comes Louis.He said Simone was still getting dressed; let him report that she would be a little late.Ordell said it's impossible to go into that woman's house and keep her from taking her to bed, can you?Louis didn't speak.Ordell asked if he had shipped the TEC-9 to the warehouse.Louis said it was shipped early this morning and gave Ordell the key to the padlock.Other than that, Louis didn't say anything else; his behavior was odd.

Here comes Jackie.He introduced her to Louis and his old partner, saying, "This is Melanie." Unexpectedly, the two women looked about the same age, both wearing blue jeans.The difference between the two of them was Melanie's jeans, which were thick up and down at the hips, looked a bit scruffy, and those big tits.Jackie has a delicate and slender figure. It can be seen that Melanie looked at Jackie with envy. The first thing Jackie did was pull him out on the balcony and say, "I don't want any more accidents. We've got to do what I've suggested, or there's no 'paycheck'."

Ordell said he didn't understand what she was talking about.What kind of accident? "I gave the money to that woman, and she gave it to someone else." Her words were beyond Ordell's expectation. "How did you know she did it?" "I was there, I saw it." "I said, you shouldn't be there." "I looked around," said Jackie, "thinking you might be up to one of those tricks." Ordell told her that it was his money and he could do whatever he wanted.Jackie said it wasn't going to work when she got involved too, and she had to do what she said or don't do it at all.So Ordell went on to explain how he needed Simone to be there to see if it worked, and he was counting on Simone to take the money from her on "pay day."He said Simone would be here any minute.She's a perfect woman, and Jackie will like her.

They went into the living room and he told Louise to call Simone and tell her to come quickly, she was alone.Louis didn't know the phone number, even though he still lived there.This made Ordell a little angry.He grabbed the phone from the long table and dialed her himself.I just heard the phone over there rang and rang, but no one answered. "She's on her way," Ordell said, looking at Melanie, who had finished pouring everyone's drinks and rested her big ass on the sofa.He said: "You go out first, okay?" The tone was very kind. Melanie rose slowly from the couch and walked past him into the kitchen.Ordell turned around at the long table.

"Girl, I said leave us. Go outside, play on the beach for a while." His tone now is very cold. Without saying a word, she walked past everyone and entered the bedroom. "Now she's pouting," Ordell said. "Her hair is done, and she has to find her sandals, her bag, her sunglasses..." They waited.When she came out, Ordell said, "You're having fun, you hear that? . . . Don't slam the door." Still, she slammed the door, and slammed it hard. Ordell shook his head.Louis glanced at him, and Jackie glanced at him, and neither of them said anything, until Jackie glanced at her watch and said she was leaving soon.

"Where are you going?" "I've got to see that Authority guy." "It worries me that you're going to talk to him." "If I don't talk to him, we can't get this thing done," Jackie said. "I'm going to tell him Friday's the day it's booked. He'll stop me at the airport and mark all the bills..." Ordell shook his head. "Man, I don't like this part." "It can be removed," Louis said. "I just told him we're going to do it as usual," Jackie said. "They'll follow Sheronda. . . . Let's just say I don't want to leave her with the bag."

"Last time she came home and looked at the bag," Ordell said. "Like the panties that Simone gave her. Sheronda doesn't know anything about money. She thinks it's for us rich people to play." What game - exchanging gifts." "I got some pot holders," said Jackie. "See, that's what the woman thinks." "Tell her I need a blouse," Jackie said. "Six, just plain." "Will you get her a 'Macy' shopping bag this time?" Ordell said. "Simone got me one too. All right, we'll trade at Macy's," Jackie said. "Simone knows what I look like, doesn't she?"

"She saw you with Sheronda." "So, if she doesn't come right away..." "I'll settle the matter again," said Ordell. "Simone goes to the women's department with her Macy's bag. . . . " "Designer Womenswear." "She's there waiting for you to come in and try on clothes." "A fitting room. There's a sign on the door." "Why are we doing business there?" "I have a hunch they're going to spy on me. We can't risk exchanging bags in public, not even in that restaurant area. Are you sure about Simone? Can you trust her?"

"She's like my big sister." "Anyway, it must be a woman who enters the fitting room." "She'll take care of it," Ordell said. "You come out with her Macy's bag and see Sherronda. Simone peeps out, waiting for Louis to signal. Nobody's watching. She leaves the store, gets in her car, and I follow her here. I want to make sure she's on the road." Jackie was in a hurry to go now, not wanting the Authority to be upset.Ordell walked her through the hall, reached the elevator, and pressed the button.She said to him, "After I hand over the money, I'll just have to trust you."

"You mean we negotiated a deal." Ordell said, "I've believed in you for so long, right? We agreed, and you deserve ten percent of what you bring in." "And if I go to jail, give me 100,000." "Yes, there is another one. But you haven't told me where the money I gave you is stored." The elevator came and the doors slid open.She leaned against the door and looked at him. "Give the money to bailman Max Cherry. He'll take care of it." Ordell narrowed his eyes and said, "Max Cherry?" He was surprised and wanted to think again. "You and him are friends now? Did you tell him about the deal?"

She got on the elevator, but still held the door, turned to face him, and shook her head. "He didn't know where the money came from, except that it was mine." Ordell said, "Max Cherry? Do you know what you're doing?" The door slid shut and he was still saying, " Don't you know that bail people are liars?" Ordell stood there for another moment.He knew he wasn't going to give Jackie that commission, and he wasn't going to go to jail for it.He doesn't need to worry about this.It was her close relationship with Max Cherry that really bothered him.This is something to think about. Back in the apartment, alone with him and Louis, Ordell said, "Tell me what's bothering you." Lewis said, "Max Cherry." It was him again, jumping out.Max Cherry. "Did you run into him?" "He came across me," Louis said. "He knows where to find me." Jackie stopped on the boardwalk and tried calling Ray Nicolai again to tell him about Louis, to show how seriously she was working with him.Last night Max had said not to waste time; he had called Nicolai to tell him where Louis was staying.This morning she tried calling Ray's BB button number before takeoff, and now she's out, calling him again.She was going to use the phone at Keser's and check the recordings left for her before calling him again; it was too late to find him in the office.Jackie walked into the roadside entrance. It was already crowded inside.Someone is on the phone.A big fat man was leaning against the wall, holding the microphone between his chin and shoulders, so he couldn't see it.She turned away and saw Melanie sitting at the end of the bar. Melanie turned on her stool, saw her, and motioned for her to pass.She raised her glass. "Have a drink." "I'm waiting to use the phone." "Take your luck, that guy has been playing for half an hour." Jackie said, "I'll look elsewhere. Goodbye." As she turned to leave, Melanie said, "I know what's going on, everybody knows what you're doing for him. Have a drink with me and I'll tell you a secret." Melanie, who was drinking rum and Coke, said that for the past hour some guy in a tourist outfit had been sneaking up and touching her.Jackie ordered a glass of beer and took a sip.A guy put his hands on their shoulders.Asked them if they'd like to come over to their table, "Have a pick-me-up with me and my mate?" Melanie told him to fuck off without looking at him and just rolled her eyes at Jackie. "That's the kind of cheerful talk we need. Where are you from? . . . Oh, really? Where are you from? . . . Ohio, huh? No nonsense." Jackie said, "How long have you been with Ordell?" "This time? Almost a year. I've known him for a long time." "Why did he tell you to leave?" "That way you don't get nervous. He wants you to feel like I'm the only one in the room who's going to tip him off, obviously not taking the risk." Melanie leaned over the curved edge of the bar table, her cheek against the over her shoulder, looking at Jackie sitting on the stool next to her. "I saved a fucking life the day before yesterday. The Nazi was going to kill him, and I shot the guy four times, in the heart. Today, he wants me to play on the fucking beach. ’ Jackie sipped her beer. "You killed a Nazi?" "Just one of those 'white supremacy' funny guys. We're going over there to get all his military stuff back. Army weapons, you know? My job is to take Gerald's clothes off so that Ordell knew the guy wasn't armed so he could shoot him. Ordell got rough guys on occasion, but he was always safe because he had a bunch of crazy niggas in his place Remove this heavy rock. They killed two other guys who happened to be there." Jackie said, "Where is this?" "Gerald's. Out of Rock Sahatche. Do you know Mr. Volka?" Jackie nodded. "Ask him about Ordell, and he'll tell you. Mr. Volka's an old buddy of mine, and he sent me good things." "Is that your cocaine?" Jackie said. Melanie grimaced in pain. "Oh, listen, I'm sorry about that. I hope they don't make trouble for you. God, don't give you trouble because of me. Ordell should have told you, it's on you You know, maybe, at least asked if you'd like to bring that thing in. It's not legal." "He said he didn't know about it." "Do you believe him? Well, yeah, I guess you gotta trust him. You're already in it, well, what can you do, since you're fucking in, hope for the best I should have given it a second thought, but I knew him then. You're wrecked, and they're going to punish you, far worse than those narcotics. I mean, forty-two grams of cocaine can With all those fucking machine guns and rocket launchers? Uh... and the cash?" Melanie lifted her head a little, took a sip, and then put her face on her shoulder again , but her gaze never left Jackie's. "You have money in your flight bag, even if it's only 10,000 yuan, it's enough to attract people's attention. How about 50,000 yuan at a time, can you destroy it?" Jackie nodded. "Fuck, he knows what's going on," Melanie said. "They got the money, they got my drugs, and they got you to die for them. Shameless, you know the bottom line Yes? The next time you fly, you will bring back more than half a million dollars in your flight bag." Melanie's eyes softened, and so did her voice. "If you think of cheating Ordell this time, I dare say I can't blame you." Jackie smiled. "You thought I was talking nonsense," Melanie said. "Talking in your sleep," Jackie said. "You know how easy it is? Because he trusts you," Melanie said, "so he doesn't go around the boulevard, does he? Just one more bag change, first. That's it. Listen, if If you are interested and need help..." "Just you and me?" Jackie said. "Why not? What good has that bastard ever done us?" "But he'll always know." "By the time he figured out what was going on, you'd be gone, far away, to California, Mexico, goddamn it, anywhere, Alaska. Go somewhere and figure out what to do later. You don't want to think too much beforehand and slip your tongue. You know, you have to have guts to do it." "Have you ever done this before?" Jackie said. Melanie turned her head away, as if to see if anyone was eavesdropping, and then looked at Jackie again. "I am hoarding cash, drugs, jewellery, and a painting that was said to be priceless but later turned out to be fake. I also have a car from time to time - once I got off the plane at Key Frost Airport, I went from there Ninety miles an hour driving this ass benz back. Get in the car and run far away, then fly, let's say to Spain. Don't bring a backpack, they will check you for drugs. You are old anyway Well, it’s not appropriate to travel with a backpack. Wear a good dress and shoes, and you can walk in and out of customs in any civilized country, but not here and Israel. You don’t want to go to Israel anyway, it’s not safe there.” Jackie said, "That's all?" "That's fine," Melanie said. Jackie said, "Thanks a lot," and slid off the stool. Melanie raised her head quickly. "Where are you going?" "Get a phone," Jackie said. It was almost seven o'clock when she got the news that Nicolai had left it on her answering machine. She ran home, changed her clothes, put on a calico dress and earrings, and came to Enshi Hospital.When she said hello to Taylor, Nicolai moved a chair, she was all smiles, and she stroked Taylor's hair and patted him on the head to encourage him.Not exactly a mother's way, though he looked like a seventeen-year-old sitting on the bed with a can of beer.Flowers were piled all around, almost to surround them, and there were a few congratulatory cards on the windowsill for a quick recovery.Nicolai sat her down.She took out a cigarette and lit it. "I have something to report," said Jackie. "Two things. I'll bring the money back the day after tomorrow, and it's still the same. I'll meet Sheronda at Garden Avenue at four-thirty." "The one on Thirty-first Street," Nicolai told Tyler. Taylor nodded. "Is she married to Ordell?" "They live together," Jackie said, "but he's not always there. Sheronda has no idea what's going on. She's fine. I hope you don't arrest her." Nicolai said, "What terms did she ask?" "She's too scared to open the door." Taylor said, "As long as she confesses to Ordell and says he gave the money, then she can be released." He said to Jackie: "You The second thing to tell us?" "Ordell has a guy who works for him named Luis Gallas." When she saw Taylor looking at Nicolai, she turned to Nicolai, who was sitting next to her, and Nicolai said, "Have you seen him?" "This afternoon, in an apartment on Palm Shores Beach. I don't think Gala lives there, but I might be able to find him." Nicolai reached down, lifted a grocery bag from the floor, and put it in the knee. "Have you spoken to him?" "Not really talking." "What is he doing for Ordell?" "I don't know yet. I think I can ask." "Would you like a can of beer?" "OK." Nicolai reached into the bag, pulled out a can of beer from the half-pack, snapped it open, and handed it to Jackie, chilled and still wet on the outside.She sucked. "I know he's just out of prison. They seem close enough for a white man and a black man." Tyler smiled at her. "You've done a good job." "Can you let me out?" "We know Luis Gallas," Nicolai said. "He's a bank robber. We've been watching his place on Thirty Street in West Palm since last night. It was about five-thirty this morning." He came out, walked to the house on Thirty-first Street where Sheronda lived, got the car keys from her, and drove away in a Toyota parked in the driveway. The car was registered He owns the car. We tracked him to a self-storage warehouse near Australia Boulevard on the Riviera. You know the kind of warehouse, like a row of garages.” Nicolai looked at Taylor. "That must be where Kuch is going." Tyler nodded and said, "I know, he was in stock. We thought he was in the garage." That part didn't concern Jackie; she listened casually. "He opened the door of a warehouse," Nicolai told her, "and took a cardboard box from the boot of his car and put it in the warehouse. When he came out, he returned to his residence on Thirty Street." .At 3:30 this afternoon, he drove to the Palm Coast beachfront apartment you mentioned." She was surprised. "Then you must have seen me go in." "I wasn't there," said Nicolai, "I was in that warehouse with a check and an opener. We went in—it was full of guns, all kinds, even military weapons.  … . . .some of the stuff we know came from a farm outside Rock Sahatche, where three people were killed on Monday." "One of them," said Jackie, "was a 'white supremacist', Gerald or something?" "That's right, yesterday's news is already on the front page of the newspaper. It's on the front page again today." "I didn't read the paper," said Jackie. "A woman named Melanie, Ordell's girlfriend, told me she shot Gerald in the heart four times. Is that so? " They both stared at her."Four shots, all right, but not in the heart," said Nicolai. "I don't believe it either." "She told you she did it? When?" "About an hour and a half ago, at the Kessel's, right after I left the apartment she had. She said, 'The mad nigger who worked for Ordell killed two other people.'" Taylor and Nicolai looked at each other again, and Nicolai said, "Did she tell you their names?" Jackie shook her head and took a drag on her cigarette."I don't even know Melanie's last name," she said, and she saw Nicolai looking at Taylor again. "Do you know a man named Melanie?" "I don't know," Taylor said, "what does she look like?" Jackie said, "Well, she's got really big breasts.  …" Taylor said, "Huh?" "A thick head of blond hair. She's about thirty, but looks much older." Nicolai said, "Why is she telling you this?" "Because she hated Ordell. The guy she killed beat Ordell half to death, and Ordell wouldn't let her go to the 'Payday' meeting." Jackie said: "'Payday' means It's Friday. He likes to use code words. 'Rum punch' is his deal with the Colombians." Nicolai said: "We also used that code name once, but it was just one word, 'rum punch', referring to the operation against armed forces in Jamaica. So we can say that Ordell must have been there that day. And Louis , is he there?" "She didn't say." Nicolai was silent for a while. "If Melanie hates Ordell so much..." "She's not leaving," Jackie said. "I'm sure." Nicolai looked at Tyler. "You know what they say? As long as they have a nigger. . . . But I need him more, I bet she needs him more than she does. There's going to be a hand-to-hand fight." To grab him, is it the Authority, or Faron's people, or the police station. You said there will be an operation to deliver weapons soon?" Jackie nodded. "That's what he told me." "They've got enough stock in the warehouse and they're ready to go anytime. My BB goes off, man, I gotta go." Jackie said, "What if Ordell wasn't with them?" "I don't care if he's there or not, I know that's his depository," Nicolai said. "We can show that there are weapons from Gerald's farm and arrest O. Dyer. It's better than what we've been doing, I like the plan. It's great to send him to 'Marion' prison. Locked up there twenty-two hours a day." Jackie puts the beer can on the floor; gets up, goes to the toilet, and throws the cigarette in the urinal.After she came back, she stood by the door leading to the hall. "When shall I get out?" "After it's over," said Nicolai. She looks at Taylor. "My case belongs to you, not his." "Here," Taylor said, "I'm going to call the state attorney general tomorrow and ask him to agree to drop the case." Jackie said, "Bill A-99?" Taylor smiled at her. "Why don't you stay longer? We've got rid of Ray..." Ordell said, "Keep going. I don't like that Chevrolet parked there. There's someone in it." "I didn't see him," Louis said, looking in his rearview mirror. "Is he black or white?" "Black crow, how do I know if he is black or white?" "This is a black neighborhood," Lewis said. "Of course I know. But black bros have cops too, you probably never heard of it. Look, the lights aren't on. It's too early for her to go to bed now. Go around the block." Louis turned to the South Terrace, then up Twenty-ninth Street, and finally back to the street where Simone lived.Then they passed Nafran, and Ordell looked back. "Damn it, I still can't see. Go up to Sheronda's and see what's going on there, Thirty-first Street." "I know the place." "Dude, they fucked people up. Forget it, don't go. Come around, go to the corner, go back. Dude, I gotta figure it out now. It's dark...the man in the Chevrolet Could be spying on someone. Or some man who thinks his woman is hanging out with somebody else. The police don't know you, so how do they know you're here?" "Max Cherry knows." "Hey, fuck it. Let's go to the house." They pulled up in the driveway and entered the house through a side door. "There's not a single light on here. It's not like her habit," Ordell said from the kitchen. "Well, we're only looking at one place, and that's where she plays her 'Modang' music records. If the record is gone, she's gone too." "The record's gone," Louis said from the darkened living room. Ordell said, "Shit. Well, let's look at the money." Louise said, "You know, if she's gone, the money's gone. That's why she's gone." "What? You say nine thousand dollars will make her run away? Dude, this hurts me so much. I'm going to give her double if she helps me out." "She left your watch," Louis said. "It had something to do with Max Cherry," Ordell said. "Going into her house and freaking her out." "Scared me too," Louis said. "How did he find me here?" "Man, this is fucking making me nervous," Ordell said. "Looks like I'm going to have to change my plans. First thing, I'm going to have to replace Simone." "Don't look at me," Louis said. "I didn't look at you, I was thinking who I could use." "You're looking at me," Louis said secretly. "You can do this." "Walking into the women's fitting room? How could I do that?" "Shit!" Ordell said, "Let me think about it." Max didn't touch the phone.The phone was on the table, along with the lamp and the digital clock, against Jackie's side of the king-size double bed.She was in the kitchen when the phone rang and stopped after three rings.She must have picked up the receiver standing by the long table.She left the bedroom wearing a men's make-up shirt and nothing underneath.She was now lighting a cigarette, presumably talking to Ordell or Ray Nicolai about Friday, and the numbers on her watch showed 10:37, and she had just finished mixing their drinks.Max took a cigarette from his side of the table. He had bought the pack of cigarettes before he went to see the lawyer this morning about the filing, and he had five cigarettes left, and the lawyer suggested that he and Renee should sell the house and divide their property, which would be useful.Later, in the kitchen before going to bed, Jackie said, "That's all you have to do." After all, his part was about half a million. "Ok?" this is nothing.If it's so easy to change your life, why does he keep thinking about that little thing every day, writing a $15,000 bond for a criminal defendant?He said to Jackie, "Okay," and took it, his part in the affair more secure than hers.Later, when she was standing next to him in the kitchen, he lifted her skirt up to his lap and looked at this woman in a summer dress, and at the mischievous look in her eyes, he knew they were in the same thing. Li has worked together.He knew it, and when they made love and he looked into her eyes again, he was sure of it. Whenever he had doubts, he felt alone.Not sure if she was using him so that once it was over he would never see her again. It is now ten forty-five. He had always thought that with the name Max Cherry he was something.Max, the legendary bailman, tells the patron of Helen Wilkes' pub the frightening tale of tracking down a fugitive bailout and apprehending a fugitive felon.Once he told a story like this--how he chased all the way to Van Horn, Texas, to recover a fugitive defendant who was released on five-hundred-dollar bail--and the people who heard it didn't get it, they didn't get it What is the meaning of this dedication.He made up his mind to be who he said he was, not a character, and that's probably why he's here. Jackie came in with their drinks, the man's make-up shirt hanging open. "It's Fallon." She handed Max his cup and walked around to the bed.It was ten fifty-one. "Have you had a good chat?" "Ray just got word that there were three guys carrying weapons and he was gone. So I called Ordell and God forbid he wasn't one of those three guys. After all this, we can't now lose him." Max watched her put the wine glass on the nightstand and light a cigarette before sliding into bed and propping the pillows against the headboard. "He must be at home," Max said. "At the apartment. I told him to concentrate on his business, and he was hysterical for a while. So it took him so long to calm down. I told him we'd better bring the money in tomorrow. He said Mr. Volka was in Islamorada and he had to get in touch with him. I said drive to him and drop him off in Miami and fly him to Freeport where he had to wait for my flight. I told him if he wanted his money he'd better bring it in ASAP and he said well Mr. Volka would withhold his commission and put half a million cash in my bag .Now I have to get in touch with Ray before we leave tomorrow." She is so calm.Max said, "Why?" "Tell him it's changed to tomorrow." "If he's not in the boulevard, he'll be the one to ask for." "I hope he's there, that's part of the plan. Let him check me out and know I'm clean." "You're almost like the people I know." Jackie said: "I'm going to tell Ray Ordell has had a change of heart. He's afraid to bring all the money in because of what's happened, but needs about fifty thousand for bail in case he gets caught stand up." "He needs more than that." "Don't be such a nerd. That's the number I'm going to tell Ray." "But you have to show him the money at the airport." "Well, you know I'm not going to show him all the cash. He can only see fifty thousand." "Where are the rest?" "At the bottom of the bag." "What if he sees through it?" "He won't. What he's going to see is 50,000. If it's on the surface, it's over. He didn't pick my bag last time." "You risk too much." "Even if he finds out, I'll say that Mr. Volka put the money in it. I didn't know there was still there, just like cocaine." "That way you'll be fine, but you won't get anything." "Yeah, but I tried, and I didn't end up in jail." "Keep it simple, huh?" "That's right," she said, "Oh," and another thing came to mind. "Is there no problem tomorrow?" He just smiled. "I'll try to get there." For a long time Jackie smoked quietly and watched. "Pretty much the same as the original plan. Your part hasn't changed." "You have to beware that there are people watching you everywhere." "I know. So you have to wait until I come out of the fitting room before acting." "Buy a dress to wear." "Well, a suit, I've had my eye on an 'Ithani' one. The only thing I'm worried about right now," said Jackie, "is that Simone's gone, and guess who For her - Melanie."