A smile crossed my face. “Well, I see you’ve done your homework. So have I. You rekindled your friendship with Luis Delgado, seen with the man only a few hours after you walked out from behind prison walls. You’re not one for keeping up appearances, are you?”
He laughed and sat forward. “You know I don’t care what anyone thinks of me.”
“Don’t we all wear a uniform? A mask? Take yours, for example,” I sat down in my seat, acting as if we were old friends simply chatting about our pasts. “You were orphaned at age five, forced to go live with your aunt and uncle. But after you nearly burned down their house and killed their cat, they wanted nothing to do with you.”
He yawned as if every word bored the hell out of him. I knew what buttons to push and what made him tick. I also had formed my own psychoanalysis of why he’d turned into a serial killer. Other than he’d been spawned from an evil man who’d raped and murdered six young girls. It was tough to come back from a legacy of pure evil. But that wasn’t what had driven him.
“I understand your foster father wasn’t much better. No one deserves the abuse you received from him.”
His body language changed, becoming tense, but I’d yet to fire the grenade. A smile suddenly found his face again. “Nice try, Judge, but the past was a long time ago. I’m a different man now. Besides, we all have our crosses to bear. Don’t we? Mine is well documented. What about yours?”
Why was my instinct screaming that he was trying or perhaps hoping to use something in my past against me?
“True, but both physical and emotional scars last a lifetime. Your actions and photos prove all of yours have.”
“He got what he deserved in life. And death.”
He’d murdered his foster father and mother in cold blood, but I’d long suspected those hadn’t been his first kills. He’d only perfected them from there.
“Maybe so. However, I’m certain you enjoyed acting as judge and jury.”
He seemed amused by my words. “Don’t we all from time to time? Take you, for example. You sit behind that bench every day. I can only imagine what it feels like when a monster like me slips through the cracks.” He made a hand gesture as if he was sliding easily through a maze. It was his way of letting me know he suspected at least I’d been behind the attack the night before.
Well, good for him.
“Absolutely. But as I’ve always said. Justice does prevail. Sometimes it needs a little kick from karma. Now, allow me to give you a piece of advice.” I’d been doing that a hell of a lot lately. So full of advice. Maybe I should take my own.
I leaned over my desk, clasping my hands together. “After the horrible things your foster father did to you, many of themsexual in nature, I can imagine you need help. I know it’s a cliché, but you don’t have to live the life you’ve chosen. This is your last chance to change. You have my word.”
His button had been pushed, although not with as much creativity as I’d hoped.
Still, the rage in his eyes and the way his body stiffened prepared me for his next action. Which was why I immediately unsnapped the holster, positioning my weapon on the top of my desk. In a non-threatening manner.
His eyes immediately fell to the gun, his chest rising and falling as he attempted to control his anger. All through the court proceedings, the monster had shown zero emotion. Cool and collected in his silent threats. The abuse was his Achilles heel.
“If you’d like,” I continued, “I’ll be happy to recommend a very good therapist who can help you through your bouts of rage. Who knows, Jacob. Perhaps you can eventually become a productive citizen instead of being used as a pawn in a very dangerous game. A game you won’t win.”
As soon as he stood, so did I. I was taller by several inches. I also had at least fifty pounds on him, all muscle from days spent in the gym. While I rarely used my size as an intimidation tactic, today I felt it necessary. He needed to know where he stood with me.
That if he dared fuck with me, he’d lose.
I knew the moment he regained control by the icy return of his glare, the wry smile that could catch some people off guard. He was the master of mental manipulation for unsuspecting innocents. He shoved his phone into his jacket pocket and stood staring at me, as if drawing some line in the sand.
At least within a minute he realized his methods wouldn’t work on me. “I’d be very careful if I were you, Judge Armstrong. You’re right in that this is a very dangerous city. I would hate for you to be caught up in a wave of violence. The same goes for the witness. Goddamn, she’s a beautiful woman. Big doe eyes and a body meant for sin. Oh, yeah, and her pussy smells so sweet. I could only imagine how delicious she tastes.”
A slow smile spread across my face even though I was seething inside. The bastard was fishing as well as goading me. I refused to take the bait. “Is that a threat, Jacob?”
His shrug was followed by him walking to the door. He was also attempting to goad me into exposing my weakness. That wasn’t going to happen. I could eat men like him for breakfast. “Now, threatening you would be illegal. Wouldn’t it? I’m simply giving you a friendly piece of advice.”
“Duly noted. Now, I’m going to return the favor.” I moved closer. I wanted him to feel the rage radiating from every pore within my body. “If you as much as try and lay a finger on anyone involved with the case, the witness included, you’ll regret the day you were born. And I would enjoy taking my time showing you exactly what it feels like to be carved up like a piece of meat.” I kept my tone civil, the smile remaining on my face.
For a second he said nothing, darting his eyes back and forth. “Nice try, Judge. But here’s the thing. You took an oath to uphold the law. You wouldn’t dare cross the line. You’re far too… predictable. But I do admire your desire to toe the line.”
He gave me a solid onceover before opening the door. It was easy to see he wanted to push the issue further, but his intelligence kicked in enough to force him to walk out the door, closing it gently behind him.
I found it interesting that he bothered to issue a threat at all. That allowed me to believe he and Delgado were worried about potential interference in more than just the case against him. Perhaps James Worthington as well. Maybe the mole worked for the corrupt man and had overheard my conversation with Dan. At this point, anything was possible.
What poor misguided Jacob Jones didn’t know was that every human being alive had two sides. Push them hard and long enough and they had no issue heading into the darkest side where guilt and any concept of upholding the law was tossed aside.
