He’d considered killing them at the time, but feared it would warn Thorne as to what was coming. And he’d wanted Thorne caught completely unaware.
Yes, I threatened Segal with exposure. But not for money. He didn’t need money for one, nor did the judge have any to spare. He and his wife had spent their fortunes. Segal was a financially desperate man.
He was also very afraid of Thomas Thorne, having lived in fear for all these years that Thorne would discover his secret. Segal had never expected the boy he’d known as Thomas White to simply walk away. He had expected Thorne to avenge his Sherri.
It’s what I would have done. I never would have walked away. He’d known that Thorne was weak, but the discovery of his cowardice had cemented his opinion.
As a young man Thorne had been broken by the trial, by the loss of his Sherri, and by the betrayal of his family. That fracture in his character still existed, but he had covered it by changing his name, reshaping his life so that it wasn’t visible. Nevertheless, underneath it all was a broken man, afraid that all he’d built could be taken away.
So on that knowledge he’d made his plans. On that knowledge he’d offered Segal the opportunity to make his fear of Thorne go away forever.
The judge had accepted his offer. Had provided him with everything he’d needed to set up the crime. Except, of course, the victim who’d been found in Thorne’s bed.
Killing Patricia’s young lover would have been the most stupid thing he could have done. And unfair. Patricia hadn’t deserved to be spared. And the discovery of her body in Thorne’s bed had kicked off his plan so much more effectively.
But the judge wasn’t supposed to have been suspected of murder. That was never part of the plan. He wouldn’t have been either, not if Colton Brandenberg had been killed the way he was meant to have been. Now that the truth had come out, Segal might try to sacrifice him to make a deal.
In the end, whatever Segal told the police would be the judge’s word against his own. Anything he said would be viewed through the lens of a man accused of Richard’s murder. Even the boy with whom Patricia had been having her affair would come forward to say that Segal had threatened him.
The trouble was Thomas Thorne. Thorne would keep pushing the investigation. That was a certainty. Any charges brought against the judge would remove the spotlight from Thorne. He might even be cleared. And he had the feeling that Thorne would push to uncover how the judge connected to everything that had happened to his businesses and his friends. How the judge connects to me.
For the first time, he had doubts about his ability to achieve his plans. Killing Thorne was now an option he had to consider.
The return of Colton Brandenberg was a game-changer. Margo’s misstep had tipped the balance precariously. Perhaps he’d assumed too quickly that she’d be an adequate successor. She’d always seemed so together. Always so intelligent and cool-headed. But when the pressure got too high, she’d screwed up.
He had expected too much of her, he knew that now. She was grieving Colin and caring for the baby, all at the same time. She’d be punished for her mistakes, but he had to admit he’d made mistakes too.
Grief would do that to a person. But now he had some difficult decisions to make. He dialed Kathryn.
‘I’m with Patton,’ she said after answering. ‘We’re on our way to pick up the judge’s kid. We had to lose our tail. Looked like Feds this time.’ She hesitated. ‘I can’t lie, Cesar. This situation is bad. Brandenberg showing up like that . . . alive? He was the block that could bring down the whole tower. Margo promised us that he’d been taken care of.’
‘I know,’ he said grimly. ‘The judge will take the fall for Richard’s murder and will not attempt to implicate me. Especially once we have his son.’
‘What about Thorne? He’s not gonna back down. You have to know that.’
‘I know,’ he said again, even more grimly.
She sighed. ‘Hate to be the one to tell you this, but all that time we thought you had? It just got shortened dramatically. Thorne will not give up investigating you until he finds something that sticks. And in the meantime, he and his people will be a pain in the ass. They’ve already located the Poulins.’
He shrugged. ‘I covered that eventuality a year ago, when I sent Margo to work for him.’ They’d eliminated the Poulins. But he frowned, because they were supposed to have eliminated Colton Brandenberg too.
‘I know, but I’m saying that they are digging and will continue to do so. Eventually they will uncover something we haven’t planned for.’
She was saying what he was thinking, even though he did not want to be thinking it. ‘You’re saying I should just end him, rather than watching him suffer.’
‘I’m saying you might not have the luxury of choice.’
‘Kathryn,’ he growled.
‘You think you should end him, don’t you?’
He found himself pouting like Benny. ‘Yes. He is no longer worth the trouble. I agree.’
‘Then that’s what you should do. But be aware that bringing him in will not be easy. You can’t just send Patton after him. He and his friends will be on their guard. Whatever you do, it will have to be quick, surgical and overpowering.’
‘Such as?’ He already knew how he’d play it, but he wanted her take. And as he listened to her plan, he realized once again how much he trusted her judgment. ‘Can you make it happen?’
‘Of course,’ she said confidently. ‘I’ll have to pull some of your men away from their normal responsibilities. I won’t touch your bodyguards, but I need your highest-ranked men on the street.’
He could forgo the income his men normally generated in a single day. Their customers might go to their competition for the day’s drugs, but they’d be back. If not, his people would eliminate the competition. ‘Do it. I have to get back to my lunch guests. They will be wondering where I’ve gone. What did you tell my lunch guests when you left?’ The men who were about to award him a lucrative shipping contract.
‘That you’d just received contracts from one of your Russian clients and needed me to translate them.’
‘Perfect as usual. Message me when you have the Segal boy and when you’ve planned the hit on Thorne.’ He ended the call and made his way back to his table, where his clients were finishing their meal. ‘I am so sorry, gentlemen. I hope the food has been delicious?’
One of them, a big barrel-chested man, pointed to his empty plate with a chuckle. ‘Hated it,’ he said with a smile. ‘Had to be forced to eat every bite.’
The other man looked appropriately wary. ‘I hope everything is all right.’
Because no sane businessman made such a lucrative deal with a man who catered to drama.
‘Everything is just fine. A minor issue, easily resolved.’ He waved to a server, who refilled their wine glasses. ‘Where were we?’
Hunt Valley, Maryland,
Thursday 16 June, 2.50 P.M.
‘We need to do something,’ Frederick murmured to Clay and Jamie. The three of them sat watching Thorne, who was miserably watching Gwyn, who stared out of the window on to Clay’s backyard with a vacant expression. They hadn’t heard anything from the Feds in Virginia who were searching for her son.
‘I can’t even imagine what she’s going through,’ Jamie murmured.
‘I can,’ Clay said flatly.
Frederick winced, because he’d been the cause of Clay’s pain. He was the one who’d hidden Taylor from Clay for most of her life. Gwyn had wondered if her son was alive or dead for a few hours. Clay had wondered for years.
‘Stop it,’ Clay grunted impatiently.
‘Stop what?’ Jamie asked.
‘I’m talking to Frederick. He gets this guilty look on his face. I wasn’t blaming you.’ Clay elbowed Frederick lightly. ‘It was our wife’s fault.’
‘Oh, right.’ Jamie shook his head. ‘I forget you two shared a wife as well as a daughter.’
‘Not my finest memory,’ Frederick said.