The vein in his forehead throbbed like a snake under his skin. “You need to leave now, or I’ll call security.”
My legs shook, but I held my ground. “My mom is at the police station. The police are going to check out your story, you know. They’re going to crawl through everything. You better hope you dotted every i and crossed every t.”
He leaned forward, his face in a snarl, and I backed up a step. “You think you scare me? I don’t have to answer to you about what I did or didn’t do. I’m smarter than you can even comprehend. The police couldn’t find their own ass without me providing a map. They aren’t going to find a thing I don’t want them to find. They will never know my part in this.
“Are you so stupid that you think I did something this large without making sure every single detail was covered? You think I got to this point by being careless? You say whatever you want, but you have no proof. I will sue you and your low-rent mother. I will take every last fucking dime from your measly lives.” Spittle flew from his mouth, hitting my face as he spoke. “I will make that shithole you live in now look like a palace. So if you and your mom have a brain cell between you, you’ll leave me alone.”
“Paige will never forgive you,” I said.
“Look, I don’t know if you’re in touch with Paige or not, but she can’t do a thing. She’s dead.”
“Fine, I’m going.” I threw the heavy door open and stepped out into the secretary’s still-empty space.
“You came here to warn me?” the judge called out from his office. “Maybe you better take a warning from me instead. Stay out of this. And if you really are getting messages from Paige, you best tell her to shut up too. No one wants to hear what she has to say anymore.”
I bolted down the hall. Once I rounded the corner, I stopped and leaned against the wall. I bent over, sucking in air, my entire body vibrating with fear. This guy wasn’t going to give in easily, and I sensed he didn’t make a lot of mistakes.
But he’d made one.
My hands were shaking so hard I could barely pull my phone from my pocket. I flipped it over in my hand and turned off the record function. The fact Ryan had asked me if I was wearing a wire last time I talked to him gave me the idea. I wasn’t going to have any more conversations I couldn’t prove.
My mom was at the police station making her prediction. The cops might ignore it, but they weren’t going to be able to ignore what he’d said. I didn’t need Paige to speak from beyond the grave; the judge had done it for her.
Forty-Six
No more press conferences at fancy hotels. The judge’s family didn’t surround him this time; the guy next to him was his lawyer. When the only person you can get to stand by you is being paid to be there, it’s not a good sign.
The lawyer stood in front of the bank of microphones. “Judge Bonnet will be making a short statement. We will not”—?he paused to look out at the crowd of reporters as if they were naughty children—?“not, be taking any questions. As you may be aware, Judge Bonnet surrendered himself to the police yesterday after some new information about Paige’s abduction came to light and he was formally charged in the abduction and death of his daughter. He is currently free on bail. He vehemently denies any involvement in her death, and we look forward to having the opportunity to prove this in a court of law. We are cooperating fully with the investigation.”
The lawyer stood to the side and motioned for Judge Bonnet to take his place. His hands quivered slightly as he gripped the side of the lectern. “I did not kill my daughter Paige. I did not hurt her in any way, nor would I. Like many fathers and daughters, Paige and I didn’t always get along. I was frustrated when I felt she wasn’t living up to her potential, and I suspect she felt that I didn’t understand her. However—” His voice cracked, and he looked down for a beat to gather himself. “However, I loved my daughter very much. She was an amazing and complex young woman.” He took several deep breaths as if he were about to dive into the deep end.
“While I was not involved in her murder, I’m ashamed to admit that I was involved in her abduction. With Paige’s full cooperation, I came up with a plan to have her . . . disappear for a period of time so that it would seem she’d been kidnapped. I did this with the intent of gaining media attention for my run for political office. I am not proud of this decision, and am unable to understand how I came to a point where I felt this was, in any way, an appropriate choice.” He stopped to look up at the crowd of reporters. “I didn’t believe that Paige would be at any risk, and no one in my campaign staff was aware of my actions. The Republican party should not be held accountable for my mistakes, and I apologize to them and my supporters for this grave loss of judgment on my part.
“While I am willing to take full responsibility for the plan I constructed with Paige, I want to stress again that I was in no way involved with her murder. I’m willing to take whatever punishment is required for filing a false police report and will cover the costs of the investigation, but I did not kill my daughter. The police’s insistence of focusing their investigation on me means that a murderer is still out there—?free.”
The judge blinked. He seemed to waiting for the reporters to take up his cry and demand the police do something, but they stared blankly at him with their microphones extended.
The lawyer moved to stand next to the judge and touched him lightly on the elbow to move him aside. “That’s all we have for today. We ask that the media don’t rush to judgment, even if the police have. We are confident that once all the details come out in court, a very different picture will emerge. We are offering a reward for any information that leads to Paige’s true killer. And we remind you that in our system of justice, the accused is to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Thank you.”
I sank into the sofa cushions. It made me sick that he had the gall to stand there and talk about how he’d loved Paige. The only thing he was sorry about was that he’d gotten caught.
Forty-Seven
The Burger Barn was slow. The rush was over, and there were only a couple of tables left. Early in my shift, a little kid had thrown his sundae at me because he didn’t like “nilla” ice cream, so I had a smear of crusty dried hot fudge down the front of my uniform. I prayed no one else would come in so I could go home early. My feet hurt, and I had exams starting in the morning. With all the school I’d missed lately, I needed the study time.
The bell above the door tinkled, and I jolted when I saw it was Mr. Lester. He smiled and took one of the stools at the counter.
I held up a menu, but he shook his head. “Just a sparkling water.”
Did he know where he was? Grease we had. Fat we had. Food products full of sugar and questionable chemicals aplenty. Sparkling water was not a Burger Barn staple.
“We have Sprite,” I offered.