Razorblade Tears

Mya doesn’t think they’ll catch Isiah and Derek’s killers. Mya doesn’t flinch when he says he’ll kill them if he finds them. A man from the cemetery calls with bad news. Someone has defaced the graves. The headstones are broken and covered in graffiti, including anti-gay and racial slurs. Ike calls his office and tells the receptionist to read him the number on the receipt on his desk. It is time for him to meet with Buddy Lee.

Over lunch, Ike tells Buddy Lee he took landscaping classes in prison, which gave him hope of making a normal life after his release. A truck with a confederate flag decal pulls through the parking lot. Ike notices and hopes that there will not be any trouble. He shows Buddy Lee a picture of the graves. After agreeing to help him, Ike says Buddy Lee must limit his drinking while they work. They agree to do whatever it takes to get justice, including murder.

Ike and Buddy Lee talk about racism on the way to Isiah’s place of work. Buddy Lee makes some remarks about “your people” that Ike doesn’t appreciate. Buddy Lee tries to make it right by saying that green is the only color that matters, referring to money. Ike says: “Green don’t matter if it’s in a Black hand” (44).

They go to the offices of The Rainbow Review where they talk to the editor, Amelia Watkins. Isiah was a reporter at her office. Amelia is congenial but chilly when they tell her who they are. She says that Ike would have had a lot in common with her father. Amelia is a lesbian whose father did not accept her. She says the death threat that Isiah received came from a group calling themselves the Blue Anarchists. They were angry about a piece Isiah had written that called them out for bigotry. She gives them the address where the Blue Anarchists meet and says she doesn’t think the murders were a random crime. She sees Ike’s tattoos and asks him not to hurt the kids.

The Blue Anarchists meet in a suite at a strip mall. Ike and Buddy Lee meet three of them: Bryce, Terry, and Madison. They are young, naive idealists who don’t realize that they are in over their heads. When Ike questions them, Bryce says they weren’t involved in the deaths of Isiah and Derek. Ike twists Bryce’s arm and puts him face down on the counter with his arm behind his back. He breaks Bryce’s pinky finger, and Madison vomits in fear. Ike realizes they don’t know anything, and he and Buddy leave. In the truck, Buddy Lee whoops and says it felt good to be doing something. Ike doesn’t respond.

Next, Ike and Buddy Lee go to Essential Events Bakery, where Derek had been expecting a promotion. They speak with a man named Brandon Painter. When Buddy Lee accuses him of knowing more than he says, Brandon protests. Buddy Lee says Brandon has a tell: He pulls his earlobe when he lies. Buddy Lee tips over a cake display, then makes a mess of the place. Finally, Brandon tells them that Derek met a girl who was having an affair with someone rich and powerful. Derek wanted Isiah to publish the story and expose the man. They were killed before the interview could take place.

Mya calls and asks Ike if he knows about an accident at the grave. She tells Ike that Arianna laid down on the grave and said she wanted to stay with her daddies.