Jury Town (39 page)

EPILOGUE

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

“I’m sorry again about your nephew, Judge Eldridge.”

“Thank you, Victoria,” Eldridge said quietly from behind the desk of his Supreme Court office. “At least Mitch died honorably. He had a lot to make up for. He knew that. I think that’s why he did what he did in Maine. He knew going up on that helicopter wasn’t going to end well. He took the courageous way out. He died in battle.”

“It’s ironic. If he hadn’t taken those payoffs from Salvatore Celino, we might never have found out who was manipulating the juries.”

Eldridge shook his head. “It’s still difficult to believe how high up the conspiracy went and at what agencies. CIA, DHS, NSA. It’s astounding, really, and a shining example of how we must always question our leaders . . . and check on them constantly. Concentration of power is a recipe for evil.”

“And we didn’t get them all. One of those men is still out there.”

“As is whoever tried to kill Angela Gaynor. Thank God, Trent Tucker is all right.”

“I still find it hard to believe that Chuck Lehman’s wife was the one who passed Angela’s location on to the shooter,” Victoria remarked. “She was the one who set Angela up. She seems like such a sweet soul.”

“Martha wanted her husband to be president, at any cost. She was quietly but unquestionably obsessed with it. Has she said anything yet about who the shooter was?”

“Not as of yesterday. I’m not sure she knows.”

“Angela came so close to being assassinated.”

“So close to not becoming a United States senator and now she’s on the Hill. She’s quite a success story.”

“As are you,” Eldridge pointed out, smiling. “Jury Town is a massive success. The reason I asked you to come to my office today was to tell you that every judge I’ve spoken to claims it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to the Commonwealth’s jury system. It’s exactly as we hoped, Victoria. The juries are becoming incredibly efficient and incredibly knowledgeable. A couple of my old cronies say it’s starting to get embarrassing because the jury members are more familiar with the law than some of the attorneys coming before them.”

Victoria laughed. “Maybe someday they’ll be more familiar than the judges.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Eldridge replied good-naturedly. “What’s going on with the other states?”

“Illinois is just weeks away from bringing their project online, and California and New York won’t be far behind.”

“And you? What’s next for you?”

She grinned as she rose from the chair in front of his desk. “I’ve got my eye on something big.”

Eldridge winked. “So I heard from Senator Jordan. He told me you two had an excellent lunch in Washington last week.”

Victoria nodded. “We did.” She smiled back at him as she rose from her chair and headed for the office door. “You’re a tough man. I love you, Your Honor.”

He chuckled. “Just remember me when you’re president, Ms. Lewis.”

“That’ll be pretty easy . . . because I won’t ever forget you. I can’t.” She moved out of the office and grinned at Dez, who was waiting for her. “So, what are we going to do with the rest of the day?”

“Well, I thought maybe we’d finally have that drink together. And then we’d go dancing . . . but this time in public.”

“Perfect,” Victoria agreed. She moved to where he stood and tapped his arm three times so the pennies on her bracelet jingled. “Just perfect, Mr. Braxton.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To my daughters, Christina, Ashley, and Elle. The lights of my life.

To my literary agent, Cynthia Manson. A wonderful partnership that’s lasted twenty years.

To my editor, Caitlin Alexander. Caitlin did a tremendous job on this book.

To all the great people at Thomas & Mercer who make these books possible . . . including Alan Turkus, Kjersti Egerdahl, Jacque Ben-Zekry, Tiffany Pokorny, and Paul Morrissey.

To Kevin “Big Sky” Erdman. I never would have known Montana without him.

To the others who’ve been so supportive and helpful through the years: Matt and Sarah Malone, Andy and Chris Brusman, Pat Lynch, Jack and Linda Wallace, Jeanette Follo, Lisa Sevenski, Barbara Fertig, Bart Begley, Walter Frey, Marvin Bush, Scott Andrews, and Baron Stewart. Thank you all so much.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen Frey has spent thirty years working in investment banking and private equity at firms including J. P. Morgan & Company in New York City and Winston Partners in Arlington, Virginia. He is the author of twenty-one novels, including the Red Cell series,
Arctic Fire
,
Red Cell Seven
,
and
Kodiak Sky
. He lives in Leesburg, Virginia.