Chapter Thirty

Evelyn

 

My mind was anywhere but on the zoning case I had in front of me. Court was about to start as I sat on the bench outside those fateful doors that left James homeless just days earlier.

People started flowing into the courtroom as the clock struck nine o’clock. I lagged behind, waiting on my client. The case was complicated, but I had everything in order to win, but of course, I knew not to take that for granted now.

When my client arrived, I quickly caught him up on my plan of action, and then we entered the courtroom, taking seats on the left a few rows from the first, just where James and I sat before the ruling was made. The same judge stared out into the crowd, not really locking eyes with anyone. He scanned the room, stopping on me for a moment, and then continued as if he’d never met me before in his life.

Several cases were before mine, and each appeared to have a typical ruling. There wasn’t anything odd in the way the judge handled the cases I witnessed, so why did he go so left field with mine?

I ushered my client to the podium when our case was called, standing front and center before the judge. My skin crawled as he glared down at me, a smug expression on his face, and tiny beads of sweat on his brow.

The case was battled hard against by the prosecutor, but in the end, I won. The ruling in my favor was bittersweet, knowing that the one I wanted to win, needed to win, was the one that was lost.

After watching the judge handle the other cases before mine, and then mine as well, I knew there had to be a connection between him and the Jasper kids. That was the only explanation for the off-the-wall ruling in James’s case.

I tried James after leaving the courthouse, and again when I arrived back to my office. By the time I’d arrived home, I started to feel heartbroken, deciding that James must’ve decided he no longer wanted to see me. Is it because he is upset at the ruling, at me, or was he using me?

My body jolted at the sound of my phone ringing, something I’d begun to get used to after so many times. It was never James, even though each time I’d hoped it to be.

“Hey,” Axel’s voice was excited when I answered.

“What did you find?” I asked.

“I’m coming over,” he said, and then hung up once I agreed.

I paced my living room floor, wearing the carpet down in the path of my stress. Axel’s truck finally pulled into the parking lot. I watched out the window as he climbed out of the large truck and headed towards my door. I buzzed him in before he had a chance to buzz me to request being let inside. I opened my door, listened as his feet clomped up each stair, and then rushed him inside when he reached the top.

“I didn’t want to talk on the phone. I don’t know how deep this thing goes,” Axel avowed.

I opened two beers, handing one to Axel as he took a seat on my white sofa. It was the first piece of furniture I’d bought on my own, and even though it wasn’t, it looked brand new still. I thought about how no one had ever been in my apartment, just James once, and now Axel. Being alone never bothered me before, but now, it was something I dreaded as I continued to miss James.

“What did you find out?” I asked.

I sat in the chair across from Axel, one I’d kept from my grandmother’s estate. It was hard, awkward, but the small couch didn’t leave room to sit by Axel. Having seating for company had never been an issue in my life, until now.

“The man has strong roots in Amarillo,” Axel announced.

I sipped my beer, listening as he told me about the committees the judge belonged to, and how many of them were exclusive to certain higher-ups in the state. All of this was interesting, somewhat enlightening, but didn’t really give me anything I could use. If anything, it gave me reasons why I couldn’t go after the judge.

“So, any connection to the Jasper kids?” I asked.

“There is, but just to John,” Axel replied.

“How so?” I pushed, sitting on the edge of my seat with anticipation.

“They are golfing buddies, and apparently John helped fund his last campaign for office,” Axel disclosed.

“That’s something,” I perked up.

“And, John is on a couple of the same committees here in Texas,” Axel added with a grin.

“Okay,” I smiled briefly.

“We have to find something that could prove they have a strong connection,” I noted.

“Being golfing buddies isn’t enough to cause concern?” Axel’s eyebrows rose.

“It should, but since we are dealing with someone so well rooted, it’s going to take a lot more to file a complaint or request a new court date,” I sighed.

“This is bullshit,” Axel scowled.

I leaned back in my chair, sipping on my beer as I let all the information absorb into my thoughts. The judge, the regular judge, was conveniently t-boned right before a scheduled court date, one that wasn’t anywhere on the books. A new judge, one that just happened to be a golfing buddy of John Jasper’s, a member of the same country club as both John and Jill Jasper, and on several of the same committees as John, was appointed a seat in the small town courtroom. This was a judge that had financial backing from John Jasper. There were no coincidences here; this was all too well linked, but somehow perfectly separated so no trail could be followed.

“We have to find the financial backing,” I blurted.

“I can place John in the campaign office with the judge, and all his funding is public record,” Axel replied.

“That’s a start, but still not be enough to prove corruption,” I grumbled at the reality of the situation.

“Why not?” Axel questioned.

“I have to be careful with everything I do. Remember, John had pictures of James and me, and there’s no guarantee they are all actually gone. Plus the fact that you hacked into his account, threatened him, and you’re related to me. All of these things can be used against me. Add in the fact that he has so many connections, that this town is so small, and one wrong move from me, and I’m disbarred,” I explained.