She kept her voice calm and her gaze steady.
“You’re right, Danny is my brother. I apologize sincerely for withholding that information. I should have told you. That was wrong. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Why should I? I trusted you, and you lied.”
We trusted each other. And you lied. But she couldn’t say that.
“I’m truly sorry for disappointing you. I let my ambition get the better of me. I wanted the internship so bad. I know it’s no excuse, but I was afraid you wouldn’t hire me if you knew.”
“No. If this was just about getting the job, you wouldn’t be grilling me about my past. You’re after something, Madison. What is it? And who put you up to it?”
“Nobody. My only motive is to help you, Judge. Last night, when Wallace came to the door, I felt in my gut that he was there to hurt you. I feared for your safety, more than my own. I knew his name from Danny’s case, so I looked him up online. You know what I found? That he was the lead investigator on your husband’s murder, which was never solved. That made me wonder. Does he have some sort of hold on you? Are you afraid of him? Please, tell me what’s going on.”
The judge’s chin trembled. For a moment, Madison thought she was going to cry, but she shook it off, throwing back her shoulders with an angry glint in her eye.
“I won’t talk about this,” she said. “I can’t.”
“Did he threaten you? You can tell me.”
“Don’t push me, Madison. You’re on thin ice. I’d be within my rights to inform the dean of your dishonesty. Or the bar association, so you’d never practice law. I could even have you prosecuted.”
She’d been so focused on Danny that she’d lost sight of the threat to her own future. Her career hung in the balance, and she still cared about that, very much. She had to head this off.
“I hope you won’t do any of those things. I know it’s a lot to ask you to trust me again. But I promise you, I meant no harm. I only wanted to help you. Please, give me a second chance.”
The judge took a sip of wine, studying Madison thoughtfully.
“The truth is, I could use an ally. In a strange way, the fact that you lied almost makes it easier to trust you again. I have something over you now. You’re in a precarious position. The best-case scenario is that you infiltrated my chambers to influence my decision on your brother’s case. But there’s another interpretation that could lead to very serious criminal liability. If you had a vendetta or were plotting to harm me, that could mean years in prison.”
She gasped. “You know I would never—”
“I don’t really think you would. But it might look that way to an outsider. The point is, with what I know about you, I could destroy you, Madison. But I don’t want to. I’d rather make use of you instead.”
“Are you … blackmailing me?”
“Let’s not get dramatic. This is a difficult moment for us both. I’m simply suggesting that we’d be wise to throw in together.”
“Okay. How?”
“Well, for now, I just need you to stay close by. In fact, I’m going to insist that you stay here so I can keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t try to compromise me when my back is turned.”
“Stay at your house? For how long? Exams are coming up. I have obligations.”
“I’m not asking you to skip school. You need to go to class, law review, the internship. Keep up your normal routine. Don’t attract attention. At night, come here and be available in case I need help.”
Gooseflesh rose on her arms. “If you’re expecting Wallace to come back, I’m not the right person to—”
“No, it’s not that. I can’t go into specifics right now. This is more like … running errands.”
“Judge, I won’t break the law.”
The judge smiled mirthlessly. “Funny, I thought you already had. Look, I don’t know what you think of me, Madison. What you’ve taken into your head that I’m involved in, and I’m not sure I want to know. But I’m not asking you to do anything illegal. When the time comes, you can always say no. Plus, I’ll pay you. Let’s say two thousand for one week, cash up front, plus Ubers back and forth to campus to make it easier to get around without being seen. If the arrangement goes longer than a week, I’ll pay more.”
“Two thousand dollars is a lot of money. There’s something you’re not telling me.”