“He was violent. Eventually, my aunt kicked him out, but it wasn’t easy.”
“I appreciate your concern, but you’ve got it wrong.”
“I just want you to know that I’m here to help.”
“This pasta helps. Conversation helps. Distract me.”
“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”
“Tell me about Chloe Kessler and Ty Evans.”
Madison barked a laugh. “Seriously? Why does everybody always ask about Ty?”
“Because he’s interesting.”
“I’ll dish on one condition. I get to ask you something in return.”
“Hmm.”
“That’s the deal.”
“Fine. You first.”
“Let’s see. Well. I noticed Ty the first day of orientation. He was the best-looking guy in our year, and I thought, I’ve got no chance.”
“Oh, stop. No false modesty. You’re gorgeous and you know it, too.”
“Okay. What I really thought was, I want that guy, and I’m gonna get him. So I did a little maneuvering to make sure we wound up in a study group together. Anyway, by the third week of school we were a couple, but we were both so competitive. I just never felt like I could trust him, and that bothered me.”
“Trust him how? Was he a player?”
She paused, seeing an opening.
“Not with other women, no. It was more like I’d mention something I wanted, and he’d go after it, too. As a matter of fact, that happened with you, Judge.”
“With me? How do you mean?”
“With the internship.”
“But Ty didn’t apply.”
“I thought he was going to, because he tried to talk me out of applying. He warned me away from you.”
The judge’s eyes focused sharply. “Warned you how? Tell me exactly what he said.”
Huh. A chill crept down Madison’s neck. Judge Conroy wasn’t actually interested in her relationship with Ty, was she? She wanted to know what people at the law school said about her. Particularly Ty—and Chloe, Douglas Kessler’s daughter. Madison wasn’t the only one at this table fishing for information.
“Um—it was nothing. He just said you had a reputation for working interns really hard. At the time, I thought he wanted to clear the field to apply for the position himself. But then I heard the last intern was fired.”
The judge frowned. “You heard about that.”
“It’s getting around. Why was she let go?”
“Come on, Madison, you know I can’t discuss personnel matters. Let’s just say not every relationship works out. Speaking of which, what happened with you and Ty?”
“I broke it off at the end of the school year as kind of a bluff, to be honest. I figured he’d miss me over the summer and come crawling back all humble, the perfect boyfriend. Instead, I drunk-dialed him one night, and guess what? Chloe picked up his phone and said he was in the shower.”
“No.”
“Yep. They were both interning in New York. Turns out they got together like two weeks after we broke up. Served me right, I guess.”
“She’s a sly one. You’re not friends with her, are you?”
“I don’t have anything against her. I’m cool with Ty moving on. I have my career to think about. Relationships hold you back.”
“I used to work with her dad. Does she ever talk about me?”
Madison paused. Her instincts were right. The judge was pumping her for information.
“Chloe? Not that I recall. Why?”
“I just wondered. That’s all,” she said, taking a bite of pasta.
They fell silent. Madison considered her strategy. So far, her plan to loosen the judge’s tongue with wine was not working. They were like two prizefighters circling one another but neither landing a blow. Because they both had their guard up.
“I told you about Ty. Now it’s my turn to ask a question.”
“Go ahead,” the judge said, but she did not look happy.
The judge had shut down any discussion of Wallace. Her best bet was to focus on Raymond Logue. How could she bring him up without revealing that she knew of him through Danny? She had to take a roundabout approach. Logue was someone from the judge’s past. He’d danced at her wedding, attended her high school assembly. High school. That was it. She’d ask a question about Catholic Prep. Their shared history. How school was a refuge when their mothers fell ill. How— How a family member helped with their education.