Page 154 of In These Hills

“He’ll be publicly humiliated. And enraged.”

“Yes,” Thacker replied. “But he’ll also know that humiliation is the least of what he should fear. Because power is not lost when it is challenged. It is lost when it is ignored.”

She stared. “Are you and your colleagues in league with this organization?”

“In league? Certainly not. In contact with? Without question. That’s been essential in exposing the corruption. If you know the enemy and know yourself,” he quoted.

“You need not fear the result of a hundred battles,” she finished with him.

“Yes, Todd said you both enjoyed that book immensely. As did I.” He checked his watch a fourth time.

“Mr. Thacker, I—” She took a quick breath. “I want to understand. But who is this we you keep referring to?”

He looked past her, then down at the folder in front of him. “The judge has been offered the bribe, which stipulates that he must grant bail in your case. It took longer than hoped because he was on the bench this afternoon.”

“What? I—” Josephine shook her head. “But you said eight thousand dollars was required, which means we’re still five short.”

“Correct. At the start of this conversation, I told you I believed our meeting had been long in the making. I don’t say that lightly, Miss Dunham. I am not a man inclined to abstractions. I prefer facts, details, and patterns over figurative concepts. Yet, considering the facts, I cannot deny that a power greater than ours seems to have intervened. At noon today I was seated on the courthouse steps with a colleague discussing your situation. Frankly, all seemed bleak. Because as of five o’clock today, the window closes for any reversal of denial of bail. Then a man approached. A bondsman asking for the magistrate’s office. He said he intended to post bond for a woman charged three days ago with attempted murder. Then he gave your name.”

Josephine leaned forward, the thinnest hope stirring, yet mindful someone could be watching.

“We explained to him that bail had not been granted—and likely would not be, given the upgraded murder charge. He still insisted he’d speak with the magistrate himself. Five hundred dollars in cash, he told us, was too much to forfeit without knowing for sure. Miss Dunham, I would wager you know this, but bondsmen generally charge—”

“Ten percent of the total bond for their services,” she finished. “Which means he’d be given five thousand dollars!” The words left her in a rush. “Did he say who had given him the money?”

“A bondsman secures future business by not revealing his clients.”

She nodded, the thin margin of her circumstances becoming razor sharp. “And you said the judge has been offered the bribe.”

“Only moments ago. So now, we wait.”

She attempted to read the watch on the table but couldn’t see the face clearly.

“It’s a quarter to five, Miss Dunham.”

“Will that be enough time?”

He looked past her again, and she turned to see the matron who had escorted her here walking in their direction.

He stood and picked up his watch and folder. “I’m afraid our meeting has come to an end, Miss Dunham.”

“No, no,” she whispered, reaching out to him. “Please.”

“I do apologize for relaying so much information in such haste. I had hoped we would have more time. As it is, we will likely not see each other again. So let me—”

“You won’t be my trial attorney? W-what if I request you. Can I do that?”

The matron paused beside her. “Come with me, Miss Dunham.”

“Wait, please!” Josephine held up a hand. “If I request you, Mr. Thacker—”

The matron gripped her upper arm, as desperation gripped her by the throat.

“Great change requires great sacrifice, Miss Dunham,” he said, rummaging through his satchel, never looking up. “If you and I meet again, it will mean we have failed. This is your only chance to vanish. If Darden, or anyone still loyal to him, finds you, there will be no more options. And the money, regardless of its source, will have been spent in vain. So make the most of this opportunity. It will not come again.”

62

“YOU’RE NOT OUT OF THIS YET,” the matron whispered, propelling her down the empty hallway, the ring of keys jangling on her belt. “A few more hurdles await.”