“That’s fine. I know what I am and what I do. That’s the cost of doing business in our line of work,” he said. “But they stopped me on the fucking school run. I had to call Janet to come and get the kids. Ally’s started wetting the bed again. Fucking bastards.”
Grade bit his tongue on the urge to ask if it had been Paul who’d stopped them. Sometimes he didn’t have to make things worse. It was a new thing he was trying.
Harry was propped up against the wall by the window to keep a lookout on the street. Ezra had not been joking about the number of times deputies just rolled by.
“Maybe the laptop is a red herring?” he suggested. “From what you say, Judge Parker has danced to Fisher’s tune for a while. She might be sick of being in people’s pockets.”
Clay tossed the papers down on the table. He stretched and cracked his neck, then pulled out a packet of cigarettes. “She probably is. But she sent the DA’s investigators to get the laptop. It was only when they didn’t find it that she got angry.”
Ezra eyeballed Grade for a moment, but didn’t point out that technically made it Grade’s fault. For once.
“What if it wasn’t the judge who was sick of it?” Grade said. He paused as everyone looked at him, but he pushed on. “Two years. That’s how long Ledger had been looking for something to use against Judge Parker, and what did she have?”
“Fuck all, apparently,” Ezra said. “Which means we do too.”
“Exactly,” Grade said. “Clay thought that Ledger went to the party that night so she could throw what she knew in Charity’s face. What if he’s right, but she lied? Two years and she had nothing, so she just turned up andtoldCharity she had the evidence. That she knew. And Charity’s guilty conscience did the rest.”
Ezra nodded. “That makes sense,” he said. “It doesn’tfuckinghelp, though, does it?”
Clay swung onto the back legs of the chair. “Maybe it does. Think like a law-abiding citizen, Ezra. Charity doesn’t want to believe that she didn’t need to beat a man to death with a fucking wine bottle, so as far as she’s concerned, the laptop is still a ticking bomb. We know it’s a shit screenplay and some photos of food, but she doesn’t.”
Ezra considered that for a second and then grimaced. “Except she’s still a judge, and we ain’t Fisher. We don’t have the resources to move against her without ending up in federal prison. That’s why we needed the evidence, so the fucking legal system could work for us for once.”
There was something there. Grade took Clay’s beer off him and took a drink. He licked his lips and hesitated for a moment, because this was not his wheelhouse. It went against everything he stood for professionally—which was being reliable, so people kept giving him money.
“What if we need to stop thinking like law-abiding citizens,” he said slowly. “We helped Judge Charity Parker get away with a double murder. Why don’t we just make that right?”
Ezra squinted dubiously. “You want us to confess?”
“No,” Clay said. He brought the legs of his chair down onto the floor and turned to look at Grade. “I think he wants to frame Charity for a murder shedidcommit.”
Grade nodded. “Pretty much,” he said. “We just tighten up the story.”
***
“What?” Cody said. He grabbed the tickets out of Grade’s hand and then whooped. “You bought us tickets to Hurricane Bay? Uncle Grade, you rock.”
Susie gave Grade a curious look.“Is it really a good time?” she asked.
At the same moment, Dory protested, “I can’t afford that! I appreciate the thought, but there’s travel and hotels and food and—”
“Mooom,” Cody protested. “Come on.”
Grade held up his hands. “It’s the best time. The Choke’s closed, so it’s not like she’ll lose any money. I paid for the hotel already, and I’ll give you gas money. All you have to do is pay for food.”
Cody bounced in his chair. “I can pay for that!” he said. “I’ve money saved from Christmas and birthdays and when Uncle Grade gives me money for lunch.”
Dory hesitated. “I don’t know,” she said. “I can’t accept this.”
Grade shrugged. “You have to,” he said. “I got the cheapest hotel I could find. No refunds. I think the three of you need to get away, have some fun.”
“You’re not coming?” Cody asked as he looked up at Grade. The disappointment in his face stung a bit. There weren’t that many people in the world who wanted to spend time with Grade; he hated to let one of the few down. “But it’d be fun.”
Grade ruffled his hair. “It’d be awesome,” he said. “But I have work. Maybe next time.”
Cody pouted, but the lure of the water park distracted him after a second. He scrambled to his feet. “I’m going to go pack!”
“I haven’t said yes, yet!” Dory protested after him as he left the kitchen. She waited for the door to swing shut and then narrowed her eyes at Grade. “How much shit are you in?”
