by E. E. Borton
He started the video and slid it across her desk. It showed Mark naked in a room with four other inmates. After a short scuffle, two of the inmates bent him over a table.
Whoever was holding the camera zoomed in on his bloody face as another inmate stood behind him and dropped his pants. He grabbed a handful of Mark’s hair and slammed his head onto the table. Screams and crying blared out of the speakers as the inmate forced himself inside of Mark. The video ended after each inmate took his turn with her son.
“Now he knows how it feels,” said Lewis. “Just so you know, he didn’t have the luxury of being drugged. He’ll remember every second of that.”
Judge Hall lowered her head and tried to process what she had just seen. She didn’t notice Kate walking into of her study and taking a seat in the corner. Sheriff Lewis slid the tablet back into his briefcase and then slammed his fists down on her desk.
“You told Bullet to kill my wife and kids like you were asking him to take out the fucking trash! I don’t care what she does to you. It won’t be enough.”
When she raised her head, she saw Kate. Her shoulders dropped and she deflated. Sheriff Lewis composed himself, and stood.
“I had to use up a few favors to make that happen,” said Lewis. “Kate made the guards an offer they couldn’t refuse, so don’t forget to thank her for that.
“Finding inmates willing to help was the easy part, Your Honor. As soon as they found out it was your son, some of them offered to do it for free. They’ll be visiting him again as soon as he gets out of the infirmary. The entire cell block is going to pass him around like a cheese tray at a Super Bowl party. He knows that.
“He’s never getting out of prison, Cassandra. The drug trafficking charges are going to stick. I’ll make sure of it. He knows that too.”
“Are they going to kill him?” asked Cassandra, trembling.
“I hope not,” said Lewis, walking towards the door. “Goodnight, Judge. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Before leaving, he stopped in front of Kate. She looked up at him with no expression. He leaned down and put his hand on her arm.
“I’m not sorry either,” said Lewis, earning a slight smile from Kate. “I guess that makes me one of you.”
After he left the house, Kate sat in silence and stared at Cassandra. When the time came, she reached for the remote on the table. She raised the volume on the TV so the judge wouldn’t miss a word. After an introduction to their top story, Marilyn Crawford’s face filled the screen.
“As we previously reported in our exclusive coverage, police divers recovered the partial remains of three people from the waters of Mud Lake near Boudreaux. One person is still unidentified, but the other two have been confirmed as brothers Eddie and Billy Simmons. Billy, known to locals as Bullet, is a convicted felon with criminal ties to the Perez Cartel out of Matamoros, Mexico. He is suspected of orchestrating one of the largest drug smuggling operations in Louisiana history.
“In another WGNO exclusive investigative report, we now know how he did it and how a federal judge appointed by Congress made sure he wouldn’t get caught. This is just the beginning of a bizarre and twisted story of deceit, corruption, and murder at the highest level. This isn’t a script out of Hollywood. This happened in our own backyard. This is real.
“What you’re about to hear are a series of conversations that took place between District Court Judge Cassandra Hall and Billy Simmons. WGNO obtained those recordings from a confidential source, but what you’re about to hear has been verified and the content is beyond shocking. Viewer and listener discretion is advised.”
“You can watch the rest later,” said Kate, turning off the TV and then moving to the seat across from her. “I’m sure you have a lot on your mind right now, so let me help you with the obvious points first. There was no search warrant, we weren’t arrested, and there’s no evidence that I killed anyone. Sheriff Lewis was kind enough to let us borrow his jail for a few minutes. I had to be sure.”
“Of what?” asked Cassandra, looking down at her ringing phone.
“Let me turn that off for you,” said Kate, picking it up. “That thing is going to be ringing all night long. I’m sorry, what was your question?”
“You had to be sure of what?”
“Oh, yes,” said Kate. “I had to be sure that you weren’t sorry.”
“I’m not in the mood for more of your games, Kate. Just get this over with and get the hell out of my house.”
“Defiant to the end,” said Kate. “In different circumstances, I’d admire that. Not now. Now you answer for what you did to Emily.”
“They’re going to know it was you,” said Cassandra. “They’ll figure out that you kidnapped me and then murdered those men. I can spin this any way I want. You’re still going to prison for the rest of your life. I’ll make that happen. I was there, remember? Everything that you have on me is circumstantial.
“You’re not as smart as you think you are, Kate. Those recordings and any testimony will be thrown out before it reaches a jury. If that’s all you have, then you showed your cards too soon. In the end, I’ll still beat you, sweetheart.”
“Now who’s delusional?” said Kate, smiling. “You’re not going to make anything happen. It hasn’t hit you yet, but it will, I suspect shortly after I leave when you turn on your phone and watch any of the news channels, but let me help it along. I took your power, Cassandra. I took all of it. I didn’t do it in a court of law; that’s your domain. I took it in the court of public opinion.”
“The court of law is the only place that matters,” said Cassandra.
“No, it isn’t,” said Kate. “Right now, hundreds of thousands of people are watching your story on the news, and they’re disgusted with you. When the broadcast is over, millions more will download the recordings available on the WGNO website. It’s already going viral.
“They’ll hear your cold, heartless voice telling a drug dealing thug to humiliate and torture a beautiful, young, innocent girl. They’ll hear a woman without remorse telling him to get her hooked on heroin to the point she’ll have to sell her body to pay for her addiction. Then they’ll hear you ordering her execution and the execution of a sheriff that was trying to stop you.
“They’ll know you offered Bullet protection from police to run his criminal organization without fear. They’ll know you did all of that to protect your sick son from being arrested for raping Emily. The same son who was recently busted with half a pound of heroin in his car. Those recordings connect you to all of them. Is it starting to sink in now, sweetheart?”
“Get out of my house,” said Cassandra.
“You gave me the idea,” said Kate, ignoring her. “I’ve discredited you to the point nobody is going to care about your side of the story. You can scream my name from the rooftops, and they still won’t care. They’ll just see me as one victim trying to help another. The sheriff is going to confirm that I was nowhere near Bullet, his brothers, or you. He’ll tell investigators that he was concerned for my safety and had me under surveillance the entire time I was in Boudreaux.
“The pressure that the court of public opinion will put on law enforcement is going to be impressive to watch. They’ll be knocking each other down to be the first name on your arrest warrant. You’re about to make history, Cassandra. You’re going to be one of only sixteen federal judges removed from office by Congress, but you’ll be the first woman. They’ll never be able to take that accomplishment away from you.
“You succeeded in making the citizens of Boudreaux believe that Emily wasn’t worth saving. I just succeeded in making the citizens of the world believe the same about you.”
“I –”
“There’s no need to thank me,” said Kate, standing. “But you’re welcome.”
“What do you want?” asked Cassandra, making her last stand. “There has to be something. You didn’t go to all this trouble to just embarrass me on national TV. Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to
you. I’m sure someone as smart as you knows how to stop the bleeding that you started.”
“I gave you that chance yesterday, remember?”
“A chance for what?” asked Cassandra. “I’m sorry I missed it. I was confused by what was happening.”
“I took all of the pressure away from you,” said Kate. “I made you believe that you were going to get away with murder. I wasn’t scaring you. I wasn’t inflicting pain. At that point, you controlled everything and I asked you a question.”
“I remember,” said Cassandra, lowering her head. “You asked me if I was sorry about what I did to Emily, and I told you I wasn’t.”
“No,” said Kate. “I already knew you weren’t sorry. Your last chance to avoid what is happening to you now was to confess to Sheriff Lewis. You laughed at us and told me to hold my breath.”
“I was angry with you,” said Cassandra. “You’ve made my life a living hell since you got here. I’m tired of fighting with you, and I’m tired of carrying this burden around. I swear to you, Kate, I am sorry for what I did. There isn’t a minute that goes by that I don’t think about what Bullet and his brothers did to her. I know that was my fault. I’m truly sorry, Kate. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that to you. I promise.”
Kate turned around and walked up the wall displaying Judge Hall’s accomplishments, accolades, and photographs. She noticed a picture that she didn’t see during her first visit. It was Cassandra as a little girl holding the hands of her parents. The smiles on their faces were genuine and warm.
“This is it, Cassandra,” said Kate, turning to face her. “There won’t be any more chances for you. You’re right. I do have the ability to stop your bleeding. If you do this one thing for me, I’ll make all of this disappear tonight. I’ll be out of your life forever.”
“Whatever you want, Kate,” said Cassandra, sensing her victory. “I’ll do it.”
“Bring Emily back.”
“I wish I could, Kate,” said Cassandra, wiping an invisible tear.
“Since you can’t do that either, I’m done with you,” said Kate. “I’ve left you one final option to make all of this go away. It’s in the top drawer of your desk.”
In less than an hour, several unmarked cars and press vehicles were in Judge Hall’s driveway. While men in dark suits stood on her porch knocking, others were peeking in windows around her house. When the sheriff department arrived two hours later, Cassandra opened the desk drawer. When they breached the front door, she pulled the trigger.
Chapter 51
Home
It was early in the morning when Kate and Grey arrived at Sheriff Lewis’s office. They all knew the circus would be coming to Boudreaux, so it would be the last time they would meet in person until the dust settled. He greeted them with a firm handshake and a smile.
“I’m guessing you heard,” said Lewis, taking his seat.
“Yes,” said Kate. “Was there a note?”
“I’m not sure how you knew, but no.”
“She would be admitting defeat if she tried to implicate me,” said Kate. “She wanted me to believe that the final decision was hers. It was the last thing she could control.”
“I can’t kill a federal judge, but she can,” said Chief, shaking his head.
“What’s that?” asked Lewis.
“It’s something Kate told us a few days ago,” said Chief. “I didn’t understand what she meant at the time. Obviously, I do now.”
“Those recordings broke the internet,” said Lewis. “They had to shut down the servers at the news station for a while. My phone has been ringing off the hook since last night. Federal investigators will be swarming this place in a few hours. They may want to talk to Ms. Karla and Tyler at some point.”
“I’m sure they will,” said Kate. “We’ll take care of that.”
“They’re going to want to know what happened to Bullet and his brothers,” said Grey. “Any leads?”
“A few,” said Lewis. “I’ve been doing a little digging, and I’ve already passed the information on to the feds.”
“What did you find?” asked Chief.
“I talked to some of his boys,” said Lewis. “They weren’t too happy with him. Seems Bullet beat one of them to death with a baseball bat after he allegedly got robbed. We found evidence that he was the last person to access his safe. Either way, a large amount of drugs and money belonging to the cartel went missing. Shortly after, the Simmons brothers went missing.
“My theory is that Judge Hall turned over Bullet and his brothers to stay in good standing with Mexican drug runners. It was probably the same hit squad that she used to kill Emily.”
“Why do you think that?” asked Grey.
“We found all the remains in the same place. The Perez Cartel is notorious for feeding their problems to alligators. It sends a clear message to anyone looking to cross them. The feds agreed. They’ve seen it before. Now that we know Judge Hall was in bed with the cartels and Bullet, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to connect the dots.”
“We appreciate that, Sheriff,” said Kate. “We took care to make sure none of this came back on you. It’s the reason we couldn’t tell you everything. I hope you understand.”
“Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it, Kate. None of you have to worry about any fallout from this. You have my word.”
“Looks like the only fallout is going to be the cartel having to move their operation out of your county,” said Chief. “That’s going to look very good for you in the next election.”
“I’m sure you’re exhausted,” said Kate, standing. “It doesn’t look like you’ll be getting any rest once the investigators get here. You should try to get a few hours of sleep now. We’ll be around if you need anything.”
“I agree,” said Chief. “Get some sleep. You look like shit.”
“Okay,” said Lewis, laughing.
“Sheriff,” said Kate, giving him a warm smile. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for Emily. You risked your life and your career for her and her mother. You’re a good man, James.”
Sheriff Lewis lowered his head. He bit his lip trying to hold back tears. He gave up the fight, wiped one away, and stood. He walked around his desk and stood in front of Kate.
“Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” said Kate, accepting his embrace.
“I thought about her often,” said Lewis, composing himself. “More so after she went missing and when Ms. Karla would show up every Monday pleading for my help. I just kept telling her that we were looking for her, but my hands were tied. It’s hard for me to think of myself as a good man after turning my back on her and Emily.”
“Buddy, you had one evil, twisted bitch tying those hands of yours,” said Chief. “There’s no shame in that. The shame was on her.”
“In less than two months, you three did more for Emily and Ms. Karla than I’ve done in two years. We all know those unidentified remains are Emily. You kept your promise, Kate. You found her and you’re taking her home.
“Now I’m going to make a promise to you. This will never happen in my town again. I may look like shit, but I certainly don’t feel like it. In fact, I’ve never felt better in my life. I’ll never forget what you did here, and I’m proud that you let me be a part of it. Thank you for that. You will always be welcomed in this town.”
“That’s good to know,” said Kate, reaching for his hand, “because we still have some unfinished business here. We’ll be back in a few weeks. We’ll need your help again.”
*****
Dressed in black, the team sat on the deck of the rental house sipping coffee. Abby returned the day before with Tyler and Ms. Karla. It had been two weeks since the swarm of federal investigators descended on Boudreaux and the surrounding wetlands. They left satisfied that the cartel was responsible for the murder of all three Simmons brothers and Emily at Judge Hall’s request. In his dress uniform, Sheriff Lewis joined the team.
“We’re r
eady outside,” said Lewis.
“Ms. Karla is upstairs,” said Kate. “She wanted a few minutes with Tyler and Dawson before we left.”
“How’s that going?” asked Lewis.
“That woman is a lesson for us all,” said Chief. “Tyler was in tears telling her everything he knew. She didn’t say a word and just reached out for him. She was consoling him. Can you believe that?”
“With Ms. Karla,” said Lewis, “yes, I can.”
Karla, Tyler, and Dawson came down the stairs. They were all wiping tears from their faces. Karla lit up when she saw the sheriff.
“Oh, I’m so glad to see you,” said Karla, walking up to him and giving him a long embrace. “Thank you for finding my baby. I knew you would. I just knew it.”
“They did most of the work,” said Lewis, smiling at the team.
“But you helped them,” said Ms. Karla. “That means the world to me.”
“We need to start heading that way,” said Lewis. “The service is going to start soon. There are a lot of people who want to see you, Ms. Karla. It would be my honor to escort you.”
“To see me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
When she stepped outside, her eyes grew wide. As far as she could see up the driveway, there were police vehicles with their lights flashing. She covered her mouth and looked up at the sheriff with tears in her eyes. Kate walked up beside them.
“Thank you, again,” said Kate, whispering in his ear and kissing his cheek. “This is the way it was supposed to be.”
Arriving at the church, Karla started trembling. The parking lot was full, and people were lined up on the sidewalk. Sheriff Lewis helped her out of the car, and she was greeted with smiles and hugs.
The town that had turned their backs on Emily now knew the truth. The only thing they showed Karla when she walked inside was their open arms and hearts. She was trembling when she walked inside the packed church, but her knees buckled when she saw Emily’s casket. Sheriff Lewis and Dawson were at her side.
“We got you,” said Sheriff Lewis, holding her arm.
