“Really? You don’t think it could be life working in mysterious ways?”
“I’ve no idea, but there’ll be nothing mysterious about how I plan on working you over later.”
He saw lust flash in her eyes along with humor before he said, “Yeah, I know poetry.” And then he kissed her.
Lucien couldn’t believe he was voluntarily in the DA’s office, but desperate times called for desperate measures. The man himself was sitting behind his desk when his assistant escorted Lucien into his office.
“Lucien Black is here for your three o’clock.”
Lucien watched as the older man’s head lifted. There seemed to be the slightest hesitation, almost surprise, before he stood.
“Please have a seat.”
Lucien heard the door closing behind him as he sat across from the DA. Horace took his seat before he asked, “You mentioned having some information regarding the Elizabeth Spano case.”
“Yes, but it’s an awkward situation.”
Horace leaned back in his chair. “How so?”
“The information I have concerns your father.”
Lucien didn’t miss the calculated look that flashed in the DA’s eyes. “I’m guessing by that look that you aren’t surprised to hear that he may have been involved in her death.”
“My father is a tyrant who uses his influence to manipulate people.”
“And capable of murder?” Lucien asked.
“I can’t discuss the case with you, but I believe he is capable of anything, including using his courtroom as his own personal negotiation table. He doesn’t uphold the law; he twists and bends it to get what he wants.”
Lucien was probably crossing a line when he said, “And he believes that he’s untouchable, with one son a DA and another a senator.”
There was the slightest gleam of humor in Horace’s eyes. “Arrogance can do that. What is it that you know?”
“Your father slept with Elizabeth on the weekend of Nathaniel and Belinda’s engagement announcement.”
Lucien saw the anger and the pain. He was surprised by the naked response from the older man. “She was a sweet kid and had her whole life ahead of her.” His face hardened. “It’s an outrage that her murder has been unsolved for as long as it has been.”
“But?” Lucien asked.
“All the evidence, however circumstantial, suggested the Grimaldi family was involved. My problem with that angle was motive. Pasquale Grimaldi is a very smart man, but the murder was sloppy. Elizabeth had been strangled, which usually indicates a crime of passion, and the Grimaldis’ style is more a bullet to the brain. Even with all the digging I’ve done, I have never found a link to tie Elizabeth to anyone in the Grimaldi family. It was neat, too neat.”
Lucien read between the lies. “You already suspected your dad.”
“I’ll deny I ever said this, but there have been countless cases that were thrown from the judge’s courtroom, cases that when dug into deeply enough, were tied to the Grimaldis. My gut knew it was him, but I never had the smoking gun. It’s why I’ve been splashing Elizabeth’s name all over the news with the ‘new evidence’ ruse. I’m trying to draw my father out, to make him nervous with the hopes that he’ll slip and give me something to use against him.”
Lucien held the other man’s unwavering stare. “You have the smoking gun now.”
A wicked grin curved Horace’s lips. “And I fully intend to use the very law my father swore to uphold to hang him.”
Lucien stood in the grand entrance hall in the building where Judge Jonathan Carmichael had his office, debating with himself. He had contacted the man’s secretary earlier and knew the judge was just finishing a lunch meeting, and Lucien hoped to catch him on his way back up to his office. He wanted to find out who the hell his parents were, but he hesitated seeking out the older man because, with how he was feeling, he was likely to choke the life from the judge before he ever got what he came for. He was still debating with himself when he heard hushed voices coming from a darkened hallway. He moved closer and, though it was dark, he had no trouble making out the two figures: the judge and the senator.
“She was a goddamn kid.”
The judge hissed, “Lower your damn voice.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t put it together. All those visits Elizabeth made to the house. I thought she was coming to see me, but it was you, wasn’t it?”
The judge held himself to his full height. “You will remember to whom you are speaking. I am not just your father,