Chasing Justice (7 page)

She looked directly into his green eyes and nodded her head as he continued.

“Promise me that I’m your only contact for this. You don’t go running around asking any lawyer who will listen what he thinks of a sitting judge. You can trust me, but you got lucky. Next time you might be asking the wrong person.” He released her hand and sat back in his chair.

“I promise, I won’t go asking these kinds of questions anywhere else. You said to promise you two things. What was the other?” Piper had hoped it was something lighthearted and back to being about dinner plans.

“Promise me that if you get in over your head, with anything, you’ll call me. I’d like to hope that after leaving this conversation you’ll go home and run a search on your computer for judicial ethics, piece together some fluff paper, and put all this behind you. But I’m not getting that impression. So in light of that, if you get yourself in a tough spot, promise you’ll give me a call.” Michael had no idea what was so magnetic about Piper. She was beautiful and came across as incredibly confident, but at the same time she seemed very broken. Maybe it was those big brown doe eyes with lashes that seemed to go on forever. Something about her made him think she was a walking contradiction. She managed to be both a headstrong woman and damsel in distress. It was hard to put his finger on but something about her always left Michael wanting more.

He was physically attracted to her, but if he was honest with himself, at the end of the day it was more that he wanted to know her, and to know she was all right. She had never volunteered much information about herself and it wasn’t in Michael’s personality to go digging for it. At work that was all he seemed to do, search for the truth. In his personal life he preferred to leave his connections with people fun and light. That’s why things worked so well with Piper. She didn’t spend all her time gushing over her last terrible boyfriend or her daddy issues. There were times, however, when he considered using his prosecuting skills to find out more about her, but he always reconsidered. Some territories are better left unexplored.

“I will, and thank you, Michael.” She tucked her pen and notebook back into her bag and stood up.

“Don’t thank me for that information. I’m sure I’ve done you more harm than good.” Michael stood as well, although he was sorry to see her going.

“I’m not thanking you for that. I’m thanking you for being exactly the guy I hoped you were. I’m not sure why I knew I could come to you, but I did, and you proved me right. There are a lot of disappointing people in the world, and today you weren’t one of them.” She smiled at him gratefully.

“Should we hug? I feel like we should hug.” Michael walked around his desk with his arms stretched out, ready to embrace her.

“Why on earth would we hug?” Piper asked, stepping back from him and laughing.

“I was hoping if I could press you up against me, get you close enough to smell my cologne and touch my rock hard muscles, then you’d be so overcome with my charm that you would reconsider my dinner offer.” He stepped in closer to her.

“Then we should definitely hug, because there is no chance of that happening,” she replied, with a deadpan look on her face as she let him wrap his arms around her.

He put his lips to her ear and whispered through her hair, “Is it working?”

“Not even a little bit,” she said, and he let her go as they laughed. She threw her bag over her shoulder, and he opened his office door for her.

“Be smart, Piper,” Michael called out, as he watched her walk back through the waiting area. She turned and smiled, mouthing the words “thank you” as she passed through the glass doors and back toward the elevator.

As Piper walked the eight blocks from her apartment to town hall she tried to internalize the warning Michael had given her. She wasn’t entirely sure this endeavor was something that could exist in reality. She reminded herself that there would be a point in time when it would be too late to turn back. She still had time to change course and mind her own business, get on with the new uncomplicated life that lay in front of her. She ran Michael’s words through her head over and over, but it didn’t seem to matter. She was committed to this now, and no amount of admonition would be enough to deter her.

She was lost in her own thoughts when she suddenly found herself knocked backward. She had run right into someone and she, being the smaller of the two, had toppled back onto the sidewalk. She felt a cold liquid spread across her chest and stomach. As she regained her bearings she heard a familiar voice over her.

“Oh my,” shouted Judge Lions. “My dear I am so sorry. Are you hurt?” He reached his hand down to lift Piper back to her feet, but shock kept her from taking his assistance. “I spilled my sweet tea all over you. You poor girl.” He crouched down next to her and with his large hands and sausage-like fingers began trying to wipe at Piper’s shirt.

“I’m fine,” Piper grunted, brushing his hand away. She wanted to shove his hand back and ask what kind of man uses the guise of a spilled drink to fondle a stranger, but she held her composure. This needed to be a relatively quick event with no lasting memory for the judge. She didn’t want to be on his radar in any way, especially as the woman shouting at him for groping her.

As hard as it was at that moment, Piper smiled at him. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going, and I’m not hurt. Thank you for trying to help, but I’m on my way to an appointment and have to run.” Now standing, she was close enough to smell his dated musky cologne and to see the large black hairs in his nose and ears. She couldn’t be sure if it was her knowledge of his deviant ways that made him so repulsive or if he truly was a disgusting looking man. Either way, from this close proximity, her stomach turned at the sight of him.

“Are you sure? I’ve ruined your shirt.” He reached out and touched Pipers shirt just over her belly button and it took an enormous amount of self-control for her to not physically strike him.

“I can pay you for dry cleaning costs if you like. Or we can go right into that shop there and I’ll get you a new one, whatever one you’d like. We’d probably get it for free. I’m a judge, you see, and I’ve helped Martha with a few speeding tickets, she drives like a lunatic. I’m sure she’d be delighted to return the favor.” He pointed to the shop across the street that read “Martha’s Boutique and Fine Jewelry.”

Piper winced as the judge’s breath, tainted heavily with the smell of onions, blew across her face. She supposed when you paid people to like you, or even to have sex with you, there was very little grooming required.

She took a few steps back then pointed over her shoulder. “That is such a nice offer, but I really have to get going. I appreciate it.” She let her words trail off as she turned and quickly walked away from him.

She climbed the large cement stairs outside of town hall practically in a run, skipping two at a time. She stepped into the revolving door and pushed it quickly around, pressing herself against the glass and willing it to move faster.

Once inside the lobby, she braced herself with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Her hair had become wild, knocked out of its barrette when she fell. She felt jittery and blood was pumping quickly through her veins, but she didn’t realize how tousled she really looked.

“Piper?” She heard someone calling her name, but couldn’t register it without more oxygen making its way to her brain. “What happened to you?” Piper squinted and looked hard, trying to make out the blurry figure standing in front of her. It was Jules, and she was staring at Piper as if she had seen a ghost, a very out of breath ghost covered in sweet tea. She took Piper by the arm and led her into an office, shut the door and offered her a chair.

“I’m fine. I bumped into someone on my way here and took a little fall. He accidently spilled his drink on me. It’s nothing really.” Piper wiped at the front of her shirt, not realizing until right then how much of the drink had actually landed on her, and how transparent her white T-shirt had become.

“Well here, you can wear my sweater.” Jules pulled her red sweater off and handed it to Piper. “I always wear layers when I’m here. You never know if the old air conditioner in this building will be blowing hot or cold air. It has a mind of its own.” Jules look suspiciously at Piper. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m positive. It was my fault really. I was distracted and I slammed right into the guy. I landed on my butt, and I was a little embarrassed I guess. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.” Piper smiled as convincingly as she could, and Jules’s worry seemed to diminish.

“Give me that shirt and I’ll go wash it out in the bathroom and run it under the hand dryer. I spill so much coffee on myself here I’m like an expert with that thing.” Sitting in wet clothes in the drafty building had given her a chill and she was grateful for the sweater.

Piper slipped her wet shirt over her head. She hadn’t heard another soul around the office since she had sat down. But of course that changed the moment she tossed her shirt over to Jules.

A quick knock before the door swung open sent Piper nearly jumping out of her skin and standing up abruptly. The sweater fell between the wall and the chair, out of her reach.

“Hey Jules, your mom asked me to stop by and see if you…” Bobby was halfway in the door before seeing Piper, standing shirtless, with a deer-in-the-headlights expression. The moment seemed to last forever. It was long enough for him to catch a glimpse of the subtle lace of her bra contrasting against the crimson red of her skin, flush with embarrassment.

“Bobby, get out,” Jules shouted, shoving him backward and slamming the door nearly on his head. “I’m so sorry, Piper. I didn't know he was coming. He always just comes right in like that. I should have locked the door.” Jules hustled over to her and reached down under the chair for the sweater. Piper was still standing motionless. Then a small smile broke across her face. Jules wasn’t sure exactly what to make of it. “Why are you smiling?”

“I’m trying to imagine what he’s thinking in the hallway. Like what kind of scenario is he’s envisioning that would have me in your office half dressed in the middle of the day? This is pretty embarrassing for me, but I’m betting he is dying out there.” Piper slipped the sweater on and sat back in the chair.

“Should we let him sweat it out a little, wondering what the hell we’re doing in here?” Jules was so grateful that Piper had taken a lighthearted approach to this uncomfortable situation. Having Piper around had helped alleviate some of the tension that had grown between she and Bobby since Scott came along.

“No, let’s let him off the hook. It’s not like he came running into the ladies’ room or anything. This is an office, I should have known better. I guess we’re lucky it was him and not some stranger looking for directions to the bathrooms,” Piper said, gesturing toward the door.

“All right, Bobby, it’s safe to come in now,” Jules said as she opened the office door and waved him into the room. He slinked back through the door, trying hard to avoid eye contact with Piper.

“I’m sorry about that Piper, I really didn’t see anything. I’ve come in this office a thousand times and there have never been any half dressed women before. I can assure you if there were I’d be by more often.” He regretted his joke the moment he said it. He fixed his gaze on a colorful framed picture on the wall.

“It’s not your fault. I had a little accident on my way here, and someone spilled his drink all over me and knocked me on my butt. Jules was nice enough to offer me her sweater, and I wasn’t thinking when I started to change. Let’s forget it ever happened. And like you said, you didn’t really see anything anyway. Now someone change the subject please,” Piper said, looking expectantly at Jules.

“Oh, all right, well why are you here, Piper? Did you need something or was it a friendly visit? I’ve got to get back up front to help out, so I can’t stay back here too long,” Jules said, amused by Bobby’s red face.

“Actually, I need some time down in the courthouse archives. An attorney friend of mine needs a hand with some research, and I told him I’d help out. I need you to point me in the right direction.” Piper stood, and was ready to get back on course, the one she had been on before Judge Lions physically knocked her off it.

A page rang out over the old intercom system calling Jules to the front to assist. She rolled her eyes and headed for the door. “I swear they can’t last five minutes without me up there. If you want to hang on for a bit, I can come back and help you out. It’s a little confusing down there. It takes a while to find what you’re looking for unless you’ve already used our system.” The static and cracking of the intercom rang out again, calling for Jules to come to the front.

Bobby, looking for a way to make this situation right, cut in with an offer.“I can give you a hand. I know my way around the system pretty well, and we can probably figure out the rest together until Jules gets a free couple of minutes.” Bobby was still not looking directly at Piper for fear his eyes would be drawn back to her chest out of some uncontrollable magnetic curiosity.

“Great,” Jules called as she headed out of the office. “When I get a few minutes I’ll join you guys.” She walked swiftly toward the front of the building as the intercom rang out a third time.

“Bobby, I know you’re busy. I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to put you out.” Piper was confident that she could have researched the cases she needed with the help of Jules without raising any suspicion, but Bobby was a different story. In the last few weeks that they had spent time together she had found him to be very perceptive. He, in true police officer fashion, asked piercing questions and seemed to retain information exceptionally well.

That troubled Piper. Most people preferred to talk about themselves and rarely remembered details she shared with them about her past. This was helpful as the particulars were all fabricated and, at times, difficult for her to keep straight. It was why, whenever possible, she redirected the conversation away from herself. But this had stopped working with Bobby.

“I know that was kind of awkward, me walking in and seeing you without a shirt, but I don’t want it to make things weird for us. I’ve really enjoyed hanging out over the last few weeks, and I hope this doesn’t mess that up. Before you came along, Jules and I were on a pretty destructive path. You’ve helped offset that dynamic a little, and I don’t want what happened today to wreck things.” Bobby finally found the courage to look back in Piper’s direction as he spoke.

It amazed Piper how much he had changed in the last month compared to the first day she saw him in the diner. It wasn’t limited to the fact that he was much more considerate and soft-spoken than he had been during their first few meetings, but he actually looked different now, too. In the diner he was pale, unshaven, and thin. During the past month he seemed to have gained a much-needed ten pounds, and the color had returned to his cheeks. With his shy smile and his face clean-shaven, Piper found him almost unrecognizable from her first impression.

He was not the same kind of handsome as Michael. He and Michael were polar opposites in many ways. Michael kept his fingernails perfectly groomed and shining, whereas Bobby tended to have painfully short nails often imbedded with grease from the work he had been doing on his truck. Michael had piercing green eyes and Bobby’s were a swirling espresso flecked with gold. Michael was like a performer; he walked with an air of confidence, almost a stage presence. Bobby stood like a soldier, back straight and arms by his side. They were both tall, but Michael had maybe an inch or two over Bobby.

It struck Piper as odd how she could find two men with completely contrasting features and builds both incredibly attractive. And yet she didn’t consider dating either one of them. Any other woman in her place would be pouring her time and energy into gaining the affection of one or the other, or maybe both. The fact that she wasn’t doing this only reminded her of how damaged she truly was.

“I guess you can get me started, but I don’t want to keep you here all afternoon. I know you’ll be having dinner at Betty’s tonight, and you need lots of time to prepare funny digs about Scott to drive Jules crazy,” Piper teased, poking an elbow into Bobby’s ribs as she passed him. She might not be actively pursuing his affection, but it sure was nice to find reasons to touch him every now and then.

“Do you think I do too much of that? Maybe it’s to the point where I need to be supportive of her. She’s married now and I’m her best friend. Best friends don’t act the way I’ve been acting.” A look of worry filled Bobby’s face as he thought about how terrible he had been lately. He gestured down the dark hall where the court records were kept, and she joined him in that direction.

“Jules is lucky to have you as a friend. You love her, and sometimes it’s hard to watch people we love do things that aren’t in their best interest. It’s a lot like how she probably felt when you became a cop. You’re both watching each other make these choices, and then acting like idiots because you’re worried. You had your reasons for becoming a cop, and Jules had her reasons for marrying Scott. But what you need to decide is if you’d both be willing to give up those things to be together.” Every now and again Piper surprised herself with how insightful she could be. Maybe she didn’t know the proper etiquette for everyday social settings, but she understood the idea of love.