My orange juice swayed in my glass.
Marcelo ran shaking fingers through his hair. “It’s bad enough that his father has killed everybody.”
I studied the weariness around Marcelo’s eyes. Although he’d only known Chanel and Romeo for five years, he was clearly having difficulty dealing with the deaths and chaos too.
I took out my mini book and made a note.
I’ll need to look after Marcelo more.
“You need some rest.” I cleared my throat. “I’ll talk to Lei about getting Chanel’s body back.”
“Good luck with that. He’s closed the East.”
I held my mini book in mid-air. “Excuse me?”
“Lei delivered a statement to all the news networks. Every store, restaurant, theater, bar, everything in the East is shut down until after Chanel’s funeral.” Marcelo sneered. “Apparently, a funeral without a body.”
I scratched my head. “So no business in the East?”
“No nothing. No one can even go in or out of the East of Paradise. It’s fucking North Korea over there.”
I wagged my finger. “He’s Chinese.”
“I know he’s fucking Chinese, but he’s acting like a communist dictator. The Dragon Gates are shut. I didn’t even know they could be closed. It’s a barrier in other places.”
Jesus Christ, Lei. What are you doing?
Marcelo continued, “He’s trapped people over there while he mourns. My spies say that everyone has to wear black, not blue.” Marcelo’s hands wildly moved around as he spoke. “There are road blocks everywhere! Especially for Caviar Lime Highway exits going into the East. Do you know how much harder it is to get to the North from the South with the East locked?”
“You must go through the West.”
“And when I did, three red vans tailed me until I left.”
“The Killer Crows are on edge.”
“I get it, but I don’t have to like it.” Marcelo shook his head. “You have to get Lei to open the East back up. That severely hurts business on all our sides, especially with the West getting anxious.”
Can this get any worse?
“And the News reporters are outside of the Dragon Gates reporting. It’s all gone viral on social media by the way.”
“Chaos after chaos. This will further help Park’s goal to take us down.”
“Exactly.”
I’d thought that I would be spending a relaxing day with Rose. It appeared the world had other things in mind.
26
The Funeral
Dimitri
T
hree erratic days passed.
During those days I raced to the East and then the West, trying to get some sense of togetherness for the Diamond Syndicate. The East wouldn’t let me inside. I almost had my people shoot down Lei’s men, but enough death had come. Plus, I needed him to refocus back on his father.
Then, I returned to the West. All of Romeo and Chanel’s cars were parked throughout Platinum Row. People had covered their vehicles in flowers, pictures, lit candles, and even teddy bears.
Breathtaking murals of Chanel covered so many buildings I lost count. One showed her with Paradise city on her shoulders.
Another had her hugging Romeo in heaven. Angels watched over. Jesus sat on a throne, smiling at them both.
When I arrived at the Jones Estates, men outlined the property and held machine guns. It was clear Killer Crows now had mistrust when it came to the entire Diamond Syndicate.
While Frederick opened the door for me with a friendly smile, he explained that I was not to enter. Kashmere refused a meeting until the Syndicate had her sister’s body back in Serenity Funeral Home and her siblings’ murderer was discovered.
This continued each day—Lei’s shut down and Kashmere’s refusal to talk.
A few times, I contemplated bombing both sections of Paradise. I pushed those urges away, remembering that everyone was mourning.
With these unexpected deaths, I was learning the many reactions to mourning—grief and anxiety, anger and guilt. What could Paradise expect from the Diamond Syndicate? We were human just like everyone else. And due to the West’s and East’s grief, the city remained in turmoil.
I wish there were a proper script on how to grieve that all of us could understand and abide by.
For those days’ lunches, I checked on Viktor’s mother—Mrs. Semenov. She’d read the newspaper about my exploits and liked discussing it during our meals. I had a repair man assess the house and fix anything that needed it. Before I would leave, I gave her a big hug and then checked on her progress with her nurses.
I hoped to God Viktor was happy with what I was doing.
Each evening I dropped the Syndicate’s problems and went back to my condo where Rose remained. News vehicles had camped outside of her building, waiting for a scoop. She spent a lot of days on the phone disagreeing with different Walsh family members. Many times she set them straight and reconfirmed the fact that she could spend time with anyone she wanted.
They worried about my criminal activities. They hated that my violent reputation could bring shame to the Walsh name. They all threatened to shut her out if the affair didn’t stop.