Page 81 of Don't Cross Mo Ellery

“You’re the only ones who can,” he says, desperate. “And ... and look! You’re already on the case. You just have to infiltrate Merle’s office, see if he might be wanting to kill me, and if so, keep me alive. That’s it!” He opens his palms like the shrug emoji.

“Is that all,” I mutter.

“That isnotall. Because if you do this...” His eyebrows waggle at me. “I’ll let you keep the money. From Claudia’s house.”

Oh. Shit.

That stops me. Eleven point five thousand dollars.

I really need that money.

Really, really.

It would, in fact, change everything.

I wouldn’t have to worry about Sheila or how long it takes me to get rid of the dogs. I wouldn’t have to worry about making rent. I could buy the good pepperoni. I could take Tasha to fancy restaurants.

Oh god. Am I actually going to do this?

Hang on. “Is this another bribe?” I ask suspiciously.

“No!” he says quickly. “It’s a payment. For your services. But you only get it if you keep me alive.”

“Andthat’show you leverage money,” Marlowe points out.

“I can’t promise to keep you alive.” I grit my teeth. “But for 11.5K, I willtry.”

“Yes!!”Tond pumps his fist. “Iknewyou’d cave—”

Buyer’s remorse hits immediately with the reality of what I’ve signed on for. Am I going to barf? Maybe.

“I need a sec,” I say and run back to the kitchen for a glass of water. What the hell am I doing?? Other than agreeing to something impossible and dangerous because I’m broke. Just like IthoughtBenny was doing. And, again, got him wrongfully arrested for.

I search all the cabinets for a glass, but they’re all dirty and piled up in the sink. The only things to drink out of are the empty jars on the floor, but I don’t do pickle water. I groan. Comeon, is a glass of lead-infused Chicago sink water too much to ask??

And that’s when I see Cran’s okra-drenched calendar on the floor.

The pukey feeling dissipates.

Because—suddenly—I have an idea. I snatch the smelly calendar off the floor. Cran’s handwriting looks cramped and easy to forg... erize. Forge? Easy toforge. Point is, maybe there’s a meeting between Cran and Merle that just sohappensto appear on this calendar, the week Cran died. And since I’m already boobs-deep in the alderman’s office (thanks to Tasha), this soon-to-be-forged calendar is the boob in the door I need to compare with Merle’s calendar and piece together his past movements and future plans. Plus, I’ve got plenty of Rodney O’Malley videos if I need help.

Maybe thisisdoable.

“Mo Ellery’s on the case with a new growth mindset!” I hum a little bit of a cool theme song I’ve just made up and strike a detective pose.

“Mo... you okay?” Marlowe says, and I freeze mid theme song.

She and Tond are standing in the kitchen, watching me. Tond grabs a nearly empty pickle jar and sticks his fingers in.

“Tond,” I say. “If I’m going to work this case, I need something from you. You have to tell the cops this Benny stuff was all a big misunderstanding. That he wasn’t creeping around or murdering, he was just dropping off an envelope of real estate info for you.”

Tond huffs. “You wantmetolie? To thepolice? How dare you.”

I give him what I hope is a stony expression. “Would it be better if I asked you to bribe them?”

He turns pale and looks away. Nice job, my face!

“But what if the cops find out the envelope was actually full of money?” he says.