secrets, secrets that pertain to your son. Please take this seriously. I know I’ve given you no reason to trust me, but for your son’s sake, please go see for yourself.” Piper pulled the phone from her ear, and disconnected, feeling a wave of nausea come over her. She had considered staying on the line long enough to get some kind of confirmation from Christian, but she didn’t want to open herself up to any further questioning by him. The dramatic end to the conversation would have perhaps created an even greater sense of urgency.
She tucked the phone back into her bag and was climbing out of the car as Bobby and Michael approached. She knew there would be a barrage of questions, and she didn’t want to participate.
“It’s done,” she said in a matter-of-fact way. “I’m sure he’s heading over there now. Have we confirmed the judge’s wife is gone for the morning?” She brushed past both of them and headed back toward the house. Betty and Jules had called in sick today at Michael’s urging, wanting to keep them close.
“Yes,” Michael said, jogging behind her trying to catch up. “She had a call with her girlfriend this morning about getting coffee and going jewelry shopping. We heard her leave twenty minutes ago.”
“What a charmed life. Jewelry shopping, it only costs a few thousand dollars and your soul,” Piper said as she turned the monitor of the laptop toward her and stared at the screen. She was convinced Christian would be there soon.
“We don’t know that the judge’s wife knows any of this. She could be as in the dark as the rest of the community,” Bobby said, taking a seat next to Piper.
“You’re not married to a man for that long without knowing what horrible things he’s capable of. She’s probably as sick and twisted as he is. I’m sure she covers for him all the time, hides his secrets.” Piper knew Bobby could see she was drawing the connection between her mother and the judge’s wife. Their eyes met and she shook her head. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter anyway.”
Thirty minutes passed and there was no sign of Christian at the judge’s house. Doubt began to creep into Piper’s mind about the effectiveness of her call. It didn’t help that Bobby and Michael seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“Did you tell him to get over there this morning?” Michael asked. “Did he say where he was coming from? For all we know he could be out of town.”
“Shut up, Michael, he’s coming. I could hear it in his voice, he took it seriously and he’s going to show up.” Piper stood up and walked away from the laptop, hoping the old adage, a watched pot never boils, might be true.
“He may have been completely worried, but if he’s not in town then he couldn’t get to the judge’s house even if he wanted to. You should have asked.” Michael stopped talking at the sight of Bobby waving his hands for them to be quiet. Michael assumed it was another attempt to shield Piper from the harsh reality he was doling out.
“Someone’s there,” Bobby said, turning up the volume on the computer. “I heard the door open.” Piper sat back down and crossed her fingers in a childish attempt at bringing them all some luck.
“It’s Christian,” Michael said as a man walked into the frame. Piper was surprised by Christian’s appearance. He wasn’t at all how she had pictured him. She had imagined he’d have a round beer belly crammed into a running suit, slicked back hair, and maybe even a thick cigar hanging from his lips. When she conjured up images of the head of a crime family she hadn’t pictured a fit, shaggy haired, normally dressed man. His dark denim jeans, comfortably fitting cotton shirt, and tennis shoes were incredibly misleading. The picture coming through on her computer was grainy, but Piper could tell Christian shared the subtle yet dangerously handsome attributes of his brother Sean. They both had those rebellious eyes and an intentionally unkempt air about them that tended to drive women wild.
Christian crept skeptically around the office, still not certain if this was a trap. He looked up at the bookshelf and whispered, “Son of a bitch, this better be a joke.”
The room was still as Piper, Bobby, and Michael all sat in anxious silence waiting for Christian to do something. Finally, he wheeled the office chair over to the bookshelf, as