“I was thinking about that, too. My interview suit is probably best.”
“That thing? It’s all pilled. It sags at the knees. It won’t do. I have some other options. Hurry up, we’re running late.”
Did the judge mean there was something in the shopping bag for Madison? She rinsed the cat-food tin under the faucet and threw it in the recycling bin, following Judge Conroy up the stairs with growing anxiety. In the dressing room, the judge was pulling pieces from the bags, draping them over chairs, hanging them on racks and smoothing out wrinkles. There were dresses, jumpsuits, pants, blazers, blouses, all in gorgeous fabrics and cuts, but subtle, and sexy only in the classiest way, like what the most beautiful lawyer in the world would wear to an important professional social event. Stroking the satin lapel of a white, tuxedo-style blazer, she snuck a peek at its price tag and blanched. $2,290. These were from the couture floors of the department stores that Madison never set foot in.
The judge looked Madison up and down, then walked around, thoughtfully perusing various items.
“This one,” she said, snatching a jumpsuit from a hook and holding it up against her. “It’s something you could plausibly buy for yourself.”
Madison fingered the price tag, fighting a laugh. $895! Was she kidding? Though the question remained how the judge afforded these clothes herself. There had to be ten or fifteen thousand dollars in purchases here, in one afternoon, by a public servant who made two hundred grand before taxes and owned piles of designer clothes already. The likely answer was, Judge Conroy was a criminal, bought and paid for with dirty money, just like these clothes. Why did Madison continue to resist that obvious conclusion?
“Try it on,” the judge commanded.
She undressed quickly and stepped into the jumpsuit. As the judge zipped her up, they fell silent, staring in awe at her reflection in the mirror. The jumpsuit was black with filmy, diaphanous sleeves and beading at the neckline, cuffs, and belt. With its restrained, elegant sparkle, it was the most exquisite thing she’d ever worn. It wasn’t the outfit that struck them, though, but how she seemed like a different person in it. More beautiful, more mature. Rich. Like she belonged. She loved it. And yet it was a fraud, a costume, to be worn for some nefarious purpose that had yet to be disclosed.
“That looks amazing on you,” the judge said.
Judge Conroy was sending her to this event for a reason. Until she understood what it was, she couldn’t agree to attend at all, let alone accept a gift this extravagant.
“It’s generous of you, Judge. Too generous. Why are you doing this?”
“This is the most important networking event of the year in the legal community. I want you to look nice.”
There was more to it than that, obviously.
“You’re avoiding my question,” Madison said, holding her gaze, demanding an answer. “If there’s something you expect me to do while I’m there, you need to tell me what it is.”
Breaking eye contact, Judge Conroy busied herself cutting tags off the garments.
“There are a couple of people I’d like you to speak to on my behalf. That’s all.”
“I see. Is there some reason you can’t talk to them yourself?”
“It would be—inadvisable.”
“I don’t understand. Inadvisable how?”
“These are people I can’t be seen with. Or who can’t be seen with me.”
That didn’t sound good.
“I want to help. I really do. But if it’s inadvisable for you, wouldn’t it be for me as well? I’m worried I’d be walking into a trap or exposing myself to prosecution. Can you promise me that won’t happen?”
The judge’s eyes flashed. “I need a favor, Madison. We had a deal. I’ve remained silent about your indiscretion. Your crime of lying on that form—”
“I didn’t lie. I left it blank.”
“That’s a technicality. You lied in the interview. I could get you expelled, or worse, but you begged for a second chance. And I gave it to you. Now I’m asking you to do something for me.”
Madison felt the rope tighten around her. She should have foreseen this. The judge was presenting her with an awful choice—get turned in for lying or be forced to do something of even greater risk that could destroy her legal career and possibly send her to prison. Her only option was to call the judge’s bluff. She couldn’t see any other path out of this nightmare.
“Something that’s probably illegal. You said if I was uncomfortable with what you asked me to do, I could say no. I’m saying no now.”