Damaged Souls (Broken Man) - By Christopher Scott Page 0,49

argument is just not going to hold water. Here comes the good part, Jack relished the next few minutes as Mike pulled some folders out of his briefcase.

“Can I turn your attention to Exhibit A dated June 3rd,” Mike turned up the heat as he handed each of them a folder. “To summarize, the attached email is a Sheriff’s Department report that documents the events of June 1st and finds your client, Jeffrey Gross, not only engaged in a physical altercation with Mr. Leonard, but also escalated the incident with the use of deadly force. An aggravated assault charge is in the process of being prepared as we speak.”

“You are out if your fucking mind,” Mr. Gross stood up from his chair and threw the report at Mike as Jack understood where Jeff got his charm. “You are not going to blame my son for this.”

“Marty, sit down,” Mr. Stinson ordered his client to obey.

Jack almost smiled as he watched Mr. Gross comply with the orders of a man half his size and Mr. Stinson again assumed center stage as he briefly glanced at the report. “Pending my review of the report and trusting your reputation,” Mr. Stinson finally disregarded the legal talk. “What is it that you want, Mike.”

“I want to know exactly what Mitch Caldwell said to your client regarding the sexual assault of Delaney Boyd and a signed agreement that he will testify against him.”

“Forget it,” Jeff interrupted with a sneer. “I’m not ratting on Mitch.”

“That’s fine,” Jack finally got a word in as he stood up from the table. “You’ll have up to five years to think about your mistake in the state penitentiary. I hear they have a pretty good football team.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Jeff tried to act tough as he rose from his chair and towered above Jack.

“Shut up and sit down,” Mr. Gross bullied his son as he realized the jam he was in. “My son will agree to testify.”

“No way,” Jeff disregarded his father. “Mitch is my boy.”

“Well, your boy just threw you under the bus you idiot. Now sit down,” Mr. Gross understood what his son did not. “Jeff will tell you what he knows in exchange for all charges being dropped.”

Jack watched as Jeff sat back down and crossed his arms to pout. He knows exactly what happened, just as I thought. Guys like Mitch aren’t going to keep their supposed conquests to themselves.

“I will expect a written agreement on my desk by tomorrow close of business,” Mr. Stinson interrupted Jack’s thoughts as he realized his client was being granted a get out of jail free card and looked to Mike for assurance.

“You’ve got it,” Mike agreed under certain conditions. “But, I want to know everything your client heard right now and he needs to understand that if anything is leaked to anyone, all deals are off. Complete confidentiality is required.”

“Agreed,” Mr. Stinson understood the gift he was receiving. “Jeff, tell him what you know.”

“Fine,” Jeff responded like the brat he was. “Mitch came downstairs after his date ran out of the house. I asked him what happened, and he said Delaney wouldn’t put out so he had to convince her a little bit.”

A blast echoed through the room as the table nearly collapsed under the weight of Jack’s fist and Jeff practically jumped out of his chair. “You don’t talk about her that way you little shit,” Jack threatened him as the veins bulged out of his neck.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean anything,” Jeff apologized as he seemed to finally understand the trouble he was in.

“Jack, have a seat,” Mike tried to calm him down as he put a hand on his arm and he took a couple more seconds to glare at Jeff before retaking his seat. “Now, I want to know exactly what he said.”

Jack purposely let his mind drift as he let Mike do his job and he went back to plotting his next move. This is going to get a lot more complicated, he quickly realized that Jeff was just a small fish and that the bigger fish were still out there swimming around. I wonder if Mitch and his father understand what’s coming after them, how little time they have left to get away.

Not long, Jack smiled as he realized he was now the largest, most determined predator in the ocean. Definitely not long.

* * *

“Oh good, he’s home, “Amanda whispered to herself as she took one final look in the mirror. We should have