Chasing Justice (19 page)

“Guys, I’m really hoping this is some kind of a prank you’re playing on me. I’m hoping if you had evidence that the judge and a cop were involved in a murder, you wouldn’t take it upon yourselves to seek retribution. You’d turn whatever you had over to the authorities and let the cards fall where they may.” Michael was stern in his tone and now boring holes through Piper with his icy stare.

“They
are
the authorities, Michael,” Piper said firmly. “We have no idea who we can trust anymore. Bobby almost got himself in too deep by going to a cop he thought was one of the most reputable and honorable guys he knew, and it turns out his hands are as dirty as they get. I trust you, and I know you wouldn’t want anything to happen to these women. It’s impossible to not adore them once you spend a little time in their company. I know with your case being continued you have some time on your hands. Couldn’t you just spend it here? Maybe give them a ride to work every now and then, hang out in the records department while Jules is there?”

Michael was quiet as he stood up and leaned against the porch railing looking out into the night. He had to admit, Piper was right about one thing. Sitting around a table with kind, down-to-earth people had certainly felt nice. But so did minding your own damn business and protecting your job and your life.

“It’s fine, Michael, if you don’t want to get involved. I completely understand. This was a long shot, a lot to ask. Let’s just call this a nice evening with great people and nothing more,” Piper spoke quietly, afraid Michael might be on the verge of an emotional explosion. Luckily she didn’t need to be loud out here where the whole world was placid. There were no car horns or bustling streets to contend with.

Michael couldn’t believe what he was about to say, damn his chivalry. “I think you know me well enough to realize I’m not one to walk away from a lost cause, and, as far as I can tell, that’s what the two of you are. I won’t sit here and play babysitter while you go off trying to right some old wrongs and get yourselves killed. If you want my help, then I want the details. I want to know who the players are and what you plan to do. I have a skill set that can benefit you both greatly, but I’m not going to give my blind support. Either fill me in, or count me out.”

He turned back toward the two and realized how far over their heads they were. If he did walk away now and something happened to any of them, he’d never forgive himself.

Piper and Bobby looked at each other and seemed to share a telepathic conversation about the pros and cons of fully informing Michael. There were certainly things he may be able to help with outside of what they originally considered, and if they were willing to trust him with Jules and Betty there shouldn’t be anything holding them back.

“Fine,” Piper said begrudgingly. “But Jules and Betty don’t know the details yet. No one outside the three of us can know. We’re still at the beginning stages of planning, so don’t jump down my throat if you don’t like something you hear.” She raised an eyebrow at Michael and continued without his even agreeing to her terms.

“The judge is—and has been—corrupt for some time. We know at least one police officer works closely with him to ensure the necessary outcomes on cases that provide them both with a large payoff. His name is Officer Rylie. I overheard a meeting between the two of them when they admitted to murdering Betty’s husband, Stan. Also, they planned to threaten or harm Jules and Betty if they couldn’t get Bobby to back off about some photos he had taken of the judge. You see, the judge has an affinity for underage prostitutes and uses his alliance with Christian Donavan to feed his addiction. The only reason the judge is so well protected and why going to the authorities isn’t an option is because Christian and his people need the judge right where he is in order to continue their illegal ventures and avoid prosecution.” She was leaving next to no room for him to interject as she spoke.

“Anyone bringing forth evidence on the judge or Rylie would be silenced in one way or another in order to keep the judge in his position. So my idea was to sever the ties between Christian and the judge, rendering him unprotected and vulnerable.” Piper pulled a notebook from her purse, looking over her notes.

“How exactly do you plan to eliminate a mutually beneficial alliance that is held together by unlimited knowledge of the others’ criminal exploits? Christian is not going to flip on the judge. In these circles, you’re better off being anything besides a rat.” Michael’s demeanor was still blustery with doubt.

“Unfortunately, I have my share of knowledge about criminals and their inner workings. There is one thing worse than being a rat, and that’s being a pedophile. You see, Christian has a young son who he fiercely protects. If evidence was brought to Christian’s attention that suggested the judge has an unhealthy attraction to young boys, and then he’s led to believe that his son is on the judge’s radar, he would certainly take exception to that.” Piper could feel her confidence grow as she spoke of this plan out loud for the second time.

Michael unfolded his arms from his chest and looked as though he had just taken a blow to the gut. “He’ll kill him; Christian will kill the judge.”

Bobby stood up and threw his hands in the air. “That’s what I said. She seems perfectly fine with that and all the possible repercussions that could come from it. I, however, am racking my brain looking for some alternative solution. She thinks we set up the evidence and then track Christian until he makes his move to kill the judge. We let him and ensure there’s enough evidence to charge Christian for the murder. We use our evidence as leverage to get him to turn on Rylie in exchange for a reduced sentence. This, in theory, eliminates all three men and serves as some kind of justice. I, for one, am not ready to have that blood on my hands. There has to be another way.”

Michael shook his head, still in awe of what had been laid out in front of him. “You came up with this entire thing, Piper? I have to say, it’s kind of genius and, frankly, very scary. I don’t know your history, but it’s got to be pretty twisted if you can work up a plan like that. It can’t go down like that though. Planting evidence is one thing, but if it results in a murder we could all become accessories. There has to be a way we can accomplish the same thing and keep our hands cleaner. I need some time to think about it, but I’ll admit you have the start of a plan here. I’ll look at this from a legal perspective and try to limit all of our liability, but, first and foremost, no one can be murdered.”

Piper had assumed this would be Michael’s position on this point, but she was still holding firm. “Come up with something equally effective, and I’ll go along with it, but if no one can offer any alternatives then the plan is going to move forward as is, and I’ll understand if you guys don’t want to be a part of it. I started this for my own reasons, and I’m prepared to follow through, even if that means I have to do it alone. Now, our next step is to come up with a schedule that has someone with Jules and Betty at all times. I’ve written down Bobby’s and my schedule and where the biggest gaps are. Since you are going to have free time, take a look at it and let me know where you can help. Now, obviously, Bobby, you are armed. Michael, Betty has a handgun and a rifle here at the house. There is a chance we’ve completely minimized the threat because Bobby let Rylie know he doesn’t have any interest in the judge anymore. We’re just not sure the judge buys it, so we need to take precautions.” Piper handed the notebook over to Michael, and he sighed as he looked at all the time he’d be spending watching after the women.

“How do you know I’m even capable of handling a weapon?” Michael furrowed his brow and started making note of what days and time he could be available.

“Colombo over here did a background check on you and saw you were in the Marines. Don’t feel too violated or special, though, he does checks on everyone.” Piper smirked up at Bobby who didn’t seem to find his nickname all that funny.

“And how about you, do you have a weapon or any idea how to fire one? I get that you’re the mastermind of all this, but you still need to protect yourself.” Michael tossed the notebook back at Piper, and it bounced off her knees and hit the floor. She winced and rubbed the pain away. Michael rolled his eyes. “We can cross off high threshold for pain and cat-like reflexes from your list of talents.”

“I’m going to take her out in the woods behind here tomorrow and give her a crash course. I have a small personal handgun I’m going to let her use,” Bobby said, lowering his voice as he heard Betty and Jules approaching. “So we’re good here, you’re on board?”

“Reluctantly, yes. I’m in,” Michael sighed. “But no one gets killed, and I get dibs on the redhead.”

In only three days Betty’s sitting room had been converted to a war room. Michael had brought in a large whiteboard to map out their strategy. With many apologies to Betty he removed all the small porcelain clown figurines from the corner of the room in order to hang the board. In reality he could have worked around them, but they were by far the creepiest little things he had ever seen. He felt like their eyes were constantly on him. The couch and love seat had become makeshift beds for whoever was tasked with keeping Betty and Jules company for the evening.

Piper had done surprisingly well at target practice with Bobby out in the woods and she found herself feeling quite emboldened by the presence of the .22 magnum mini revolver in her purse. It had also been nice to feel Bobby pressed up against her back as he steadied her hands and showed her the correct stance for firing a weapon. She could have stayed like that all day, with his chin just above her ear, his arms wrapped around her, and his hands covering hers.

Because it had been decided that keeping the names of the judge and Rylie from Betty and Jules would be important, in order to prevent them from prematurely lashing out at the men, code names were created. The judge would be called Porky, for his uncanny resemblance to the cartoon character. Christian would be called Rico due to his constant violation of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Piper named Rylie “Eppolito.” She realized it didn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it was fitting. Louis Eppolito was one of the most notoriously corrupt police officers in history. He had worked for the NYPD on paper, but in reality, took his orders from a prominent crime family. He was eventually convicted of racketeering, obstruction of justice, extortion and eight counts of murder and conspiracy. Piper liked that outcome and thought the name could be a good omen.

For some reason, Michael insisted they all needed aliases as well. Much to Bobby’s disappointment, the name Colombo, which Piper had used to mock him, had stuck. Michael decided he’d like to be called Finch, for Atticus Finch. That character had been the reason he had become a lawyer in the first place. Betty was dubbed The Queen, which seemed to suit her. Michael decided Jules should be Princess since it seemed to infuriate her and flatter her all at once. He adored the way her eyes narrowed into a glare failing in her attempt to fight off a smile.

Piper shot down every nickname they had pitched so they had just begun calling her Captain. It was all a bit too hokey for Piper, and, frankly, hard to keep up with. She decided that placating Michael’s desire to make this endeavor more like an espionage movie was a small price to pay for his help.

“So here are the pictures of Chris at school,” Piper said, handing an envelope over to Bobby. “I also took a tour of the school and his classroom, telling them I had a younger sister who was considering attending. I managed to collect a lot of additional information, but I’m not sure how we can integrate it with the pictures. I know his favorite television show is something called The Idiot Squad, which sounds like good quality programming. His two best friends are Tristan and Corwin, which I didn’t realize were even names. He listens to a band called The Stabbing Mothers and seems to enjoy trading these weird cards with monsters on them. So to sum up my findings, if the fate of humanity rests on the shoulders of this generation then we’re all screwed.”

“I love The Idiot Squad. You sound like an old lady, shaking her fists at the kids walking on her lawn,” Bobby said, pulling the pictures out of the envelope and looking them over.

“You belong in The Idiot Squad,” Piper said, throwing a nearby magazine in his direction, intentionally missing. “I still think it should be incorporated into the evidence we plant if possible. It makes it more authentic and personal. Maybe we can write some notes on the back of some of the pictures,” Piper said, ripping out the page of her notebook and handing it over to Bobby, who flinched as though she was on the verge of slapping him.

“There’s a chance that Rico would recognize Porky’s handwriting. We’d need to be able to match it close enough to be convincing. I can get a sample from some court records and documents while I’m at town hall with Princess,” Michael said making a note on the whiteboard.

“Do we really need to keep using these nicknames? I keep forgetting who is who,” Piper said, scratching her head with the back of her pen.

“Well if we want to be able to walk down the street and have a conversation about it, or we truly want to keep Jules and Betty from knowing the players then yes, Captain, we do need the nicknames. I’m pretty sure if Betty knew that she was serving eggs to the man who killed her husband every morning she’d be plunging a butter knife into his temple tomorrow.” Michael was right, but Piper had a feeling deep down there was an element to these codenames that was more about how cool they were than how necessary.

“All right Finch,” Piper said, throwing her arms up in surrender. “I can forge Porky’s handwriting on the back of the pictures. I made a decent profit writing excuse notes in high school for anyone willing to pay. Get me a sample, and I’ll get this packet all ready to plant in Porky’s house.”

“Have we figured out how and when that’s going to go down yet?” asked Bobby, sitting up in his seat ready to get down to business.

“The judge is a big fan of boxing. There is a boxing thing on Saturday. I’m thinking if I cut the cable Friday afternoon they’ll be anxious to have it fixed in time and call in for an urgent repair.” Piper assumed her forethought regarding the timing would earn her some accolades, but she was finding this was a cynical group of relentless clowns who were always looking for the next punch line. Jules was very similar, and when the four of them were together it was a parade of one-liners and zings.

“A boxing thing?” Bobby exclaimed incredulously with one eyebrow raised. “Saturday is one of the biggest boxing matches of the
decade
. Oliver Johnson and London Travis are two of the greatest fighters we’ve seen in years, and this is the first time they meet in the ring. I swear if you weren’t pretty you’d be tough to like.”

“Shut up Bobby. I don’t think two guys beating each other senseless and suffering lifelong repercussions should be considered a sport. That fact that you enjoy it is very telling. You’re such a caveman.” Piper rolled her eyes and decided to turn her back to Bobby and speak only to Michael. “I’m going to bring this envelope in the house and plant it somewhere it wouldn’t be stumbled upon accidently before Christian is made aware of it. I’m thinking we need to get the wife out of the house for a bit, and I have an idea I know neither of you will like. I’m very aware of why we want to keep Jules at a distance from this. However, I think this is the only viable option. The judge and his wife head a non-profit organization called Legal Buddies. It’s a program that pairs children who have been exposed to the system—either through their own crimes or their parents’—with a mentor. They learn to have a positive appreciation for the legal system rather than distrust.”

Michael cut in, unable to contain his clever snipe. “Sounds like a program that would have benefited you, my contemptuous little vigilante.”

Piper tossed her head back in exasperation. “I honestly have no idea what to do with you two. You’re both so hilarious I’m not sure how we’ll get through all this before your comedy careers take off. As I was saying, the program is a non-profit that would have filed all its paperwork down at town hall. We can get Jules to contact the wife and say they’re expecting an audit and some paperwork is missing that has to be corrected immediately. If not, the status of the charity would be at risk. Hopefully she’ll find it urgent enough, and my presence innocent enough, to consider leaving me there to work. I know this exposes us slightly with Jules, but I can’t think of another way.” The joking nature of the room seemed to subside as both Michael and Bobby began to consider the details Piper had laid out.

“It certainly makes sense,” said Michael. “I think if Jules was able to create a sense of urgency and you were to tell Mrs. Porky that you weren’t able to come back for the rest of the repair until Monday she’d most likely leave you there. You’ll need to be personable right out of the gate; she’ll have to like you.”

“Believe it or not, I’m very capable of being likable.” Piper turned back toward Bobby. “What do you think? I know you don’t want them involved, but I can’t think of any other way.”

“I think you’re right. This would give you much needed time in the house alone and not raise suspicion down the road. If Michael or I were to try to create a diversion, it would likely blow back on us. I want to be the one to talk to Jules about it though.” Bobby’s mischievous grin had faded and the seriousness of all they were trying to do had seemed to suck the air out of the room.

“I understand,” Piper said, as she tried to fight off the very foreign feeling of jealousy that had begun to creep its way in over the last few days of watching Bobby and Jules. Their connection was deeper than any Piper had witnessed in her life. They had endless stories of their past and would tell them, barely coherent, through breathless laughter. Piper tried to remind herself of the budding romance between Michael and Jules.

It was clear that Michael had caught Jules’s eye and that she was vying for his attention, finding reasons to be next to him. It was also clear that Michael was reciprocating the feeling. Piper had seen them engaged in a late night kissing session out on the porch just yesterday. They seemed to be getting along quite well.

Given the choice, which he frequently was, Bobby always tried to find ways to be with Piper. But for them there had been no stolen kisses or holding of hands, as both had agreed that it would draw focus away from their mission. It wasn’t easy for Piper to keep her hands and her lips to herself. When there was time to think about something other than the judge, her mind would drift to that night on her doorstep before everything got so convoluted, and the only thing that seemed to matter was Bobby kissing her goodnight.

She frequently caught Bobby looking her way, smiling, presumably lost in the same memory. The knowledge of these things should have been enough to calm Piper’s anxiety and jealousy. Still, there were times she thought infringing on the bond that Jules and Bobby shared was a futile task.

Piper continued letting the business at hand trump her feelings. “Along with the pictures I’ll also be planting some micro cameras to ensure that we can keep tabs on the evidence and who is aware of it and when. I’ll use this burn phone to contact Christian.” She saw the look of frustration on Michael’s face as he huffed with annoyance. “Sorry, I mean Rico,” Piper corrected. “Then once we know he’s in possession of the photos we’ll tail him until he makes his move. I’m guessing it’ll be pretty quick, since there will most likely be an enormous amount of emotion involved in all this. I doubt he’ll be doing anything but seeking some revenge.”

“You’re oversimplifying this a bit. How exactly do you plan to tell him about the photos? Don’t you think he’s going to have some questions? It’s not going to be quite as easy as making a quick phone call,” Bobby chimed in. He was concerned that on paper, they were heading in the right direction, but in reality things wouldn’t go as smoothly.

“I’ve got that conversation under control. I’m prepared for it. What we’re not prepared for is what happens when these two men are face to face. I know you’re both against any bloodshed here, but I haven’t heard any other solutions. We can’t let that piece of the puzzle put the brakes on everything else. We move forward on Friday.” Piper heard loud footsteps move above her and then down the stairs toward them. She had learned to tell the difference between Betty’s slow and quiet steps and Jules’s quick and heavy gait. For a small person the girl could certainly stomp around the house.

Like every night before this, she was bored and frustrated to be cut out of the details like a child. She came sulking into the sitting room and planted herself down next to Michael.

“Are you guys finished yet? I’m tired of being grounded,” Jules said, folding her arms obstinately across her chest.

Michael wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his side. “Yes, we’re done for tonight. Sorry you have to wait around so much. I know this isn’t easy on you. We’re in the homestretch now. There won’t be many more nights like this.”

It was so odd to see Michael comforting Jules. Piper had grown so accustomed to his silly side that she hadn’t realized how good he was at being serious, at being someone’s rock. He was a good man in a storm, and this was certainly turning out to be turbulent weather. They had only come together a few days ago, yet they seemed to balance each other perfectly. Jules was a bit dramatic and emotional while Michael was steady and logical. Certainly, under different circumstances, they’d never grow so close so quickly, but something about this ordeal seemed to make it right to seek comfort in each other.

Jules had spent hours telling Michael about her father and what his death had done to her as well as how grateful she was for Michael’s role in all of this. It had made Michael’s resolve and commitment to see the endeavor through even stronger.

Piper turned toward Bobby, expecting to find him watching begrudgingly as his childhood companion sought solace in the arms of another man. Instead, his eyes were fixed on Piper, and his look was one of deep longing. He knew he didn’t need the distraction, he didn’t need to be clouded by his emotions for her, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t finding it near impossible not to hold her.