Page 79 of Dirty Judge

She stopped walking and sighed.

“I think you’re looking at a hung jury at best.”

“A what?” I sat up. “How do you figure that?”

“Because all this evidence is good, but...I don’t think it’s enough.”

It’s more than enough.

“I mean, I understand your obsession with people who don’t obey traffic laws—trust me—but it really seems like this Grant Jenkins guy swerved too hard into a family’s van by accident.”

I clenched my jaw.

“I know you don’t want to hear this for whatever reason,” she said, “but…He was only slightly tipsy that night. He wasn’t driving drunk.”

“So, he gets to cause generational traumatwice?”

“You mean five times for five deaths, right?”

“Sure.”

“Well, no. That’s not what I’m saying.” She walked over to me, lowering herself into my lap. “But, with a new judge and new jury, you can’t control how the verdict will go this time.”

But I could still try.

“Why does this case bother you so much?” She looked into my eyes. “Honestly.”

“Because it’s a good example of how there are two justice systems and they’re both unfair.” My eyes clouded over. “One lenient for the rich, and one punishing for the poor.”

“He can’t help that he was born to rich parents, Liam…” She paused. “If you had a son, wouldn’t you try to help him get out of trouble?”

“It depends on what he did or who he hurt.” My voice was now hoarse. “I would never shield him from consequences, though. Never.”

“What about your dad, then?” She smiled. “Would he protect you if you caused a car accident?”

“Let’s talk about something else.” I changed the subject. “Anything else.”

She sighed and moved out of my lap, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.

“I’m sorry,” I said to her. “I despise Grant Jenkins and his entire family, and it’ll never change—whether he’s in prison or not…But he deserves to be there.”

“Did you know that some of the original jurors were on the fence?”

“Yes.” I could still remember it like yesterday. “It was originally eight to four…Until someone paid them all seventy-five thousand dollars apparently.”

“I thought only two were paid off…”

“His father tried to pay them all off at the beginning.” I paused. “I guess they retaliated somehow.”

“I never saw that fact in my research.”

“Why would you?” I looked at her. “Why would it ever come up at all?”

Silence.

She held my gaze. “Did you know him personally?”

I didn’t answer.