Damaged Souls (Broken Man) - By Christopher Scott Page 0,51

responsibility for Jack’s actions. “But, it is a unique situation. We all know Mr. Caldwell is hindering the investigation and that we didn’t have any other choice. He would have buried this thing.”

“I understand, but that is a separate matter altogether,” Rick maintained his point of view. “You had no right to make a deal on behalf of my office. This is a criminal case, the prosecution of which is beyond your realm of responsibility. Do not proceed any further on this.”

This is not going well, Jack thought of how to save his plan from ruin as he studied the District Attorney. “What if we agree that this is not a criminal case, what if we leave you out of it,” Jack attempted to regroup as he realized how quickly the 4:00 deadline was approaching.

“That would be fine, but you would lose any leverage you may have,” Rick explained the fallacy of Jack’s plan as he took a sip of coffee. “Without the cooperation of my office, you don’t have an agreement with Mr. Gross and you don’t have a witness against the younger Mr. Caldwell. As I said, you don’t have a case.”

“I don’t think we need a case,” Jack altered his plan mid-course. “We just need to create the illusion of a case.”

“What do you mean,” Mike interjected.

“Mr. Caldwell has a ton to lose here, as does his son,” Jack explained what the two attorneys already knew. “And both of them are all about appearances, about their public persona. They both have a lot of secrets that they would rather keep quiet.”

“Where are you going with this, Jack,” Rick questioned him.

“I understand that we don’t really have a leg to stand on, at least not in the court of law,” Jack paused as he considered his options and his opponents. “I also understand that you can’t really involve yourself in a legal way, that you have to appear impartial even though we all know what happened. Basically, the dominoes fall together. If you charge Mitch, you have to charge Greg and you have to charge Jeff.”

“That is correct.”

“What if we agree there is no criminal case here,” Jack understood his need to compromise. “What if we agree there are no charges to be filed.”

“What would that accomplish,” Rick still didn’t quite understand where Jack was going.

“It takes away their leverage. Mitch knows I’m not about to let Greg get charged with anything.”

“That is a slippery slope, Jack, one I might not be ready to take on.”

“I understand,” Jack appealed to Rick as a person rather than as an attorney. “But, what if it was your daughter, how would you feel.”

“I would want that bastard to pay for what he did. I would want him prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Rick stated the obvious.

“But short of that, if that wasn’t an option,” Jack led his witness. “What would you want.”

“I get it, Jack,” Rick understood Jack’s line of reasoning as he spoke like the father of a teenage daughter he was. “But, how are we going to prevent this from happening again in the future.”

“I have a plan,” Jack improvised as he realized the District Attorney was still on their side. “I’m just going to need a little help from you.”

* * *

“Good morning, Amanda,” Delaney was pleased that morning coffee was becoming part of their routine as she sat down at the table.

“Good morning, Delaney,” she responded with a smile. “Did you sleep better last night.”

“I did, how about you.”

“I slept great, thanks for taking Logan last night.”

“You are welcome, I’m glad it worked out for you,” Delaney teased her.

“Me too,” Amanda replied, nearly impossible to embarrass about anything. “So, is it going better with Greg.”

“It was,” Delaney blushed, still susceptible to embarrassment. “Until Jack came home.”

“I know, he told me.”

“Oh my God,” Delaney exhaled as she leaned her head back. “I knew he could tell what was going on. What did he say.”

“Don’t worry. He was also young once, believe it or not. He understands, and fortunately, he likes Greg.”

“That’s good,” Delaney was relieved. “We were so close yesterday, and it was perfect until Jack came home. You are not going to believe it, Amanda, but Greg is still a virgin.”

“That doesn’t really shock me,” Amanda surprised Delaney with her response.

“Why not.”

“I’m pretty sure Greg has known what he wanted all along, and he is not one to fool around. I’m also pretty sure he hasn’t had too much time to think about things