"Oh, for goodness sake."Rebecca rolled her eyes."You say it as if we’re sleeping together.He’s in his sixties, and I don’t have time for anyone right now.He’s one of the best judges in the city, so sue me if I talked about him a lot."
"Don't worry, I spoke to him," Justin said.
"What?"Rebecca demanded."What does that mean?"
"He works you too hard," Justin said."Look how flustered you are coming in at six to start work, and I know you won't be done until five or six.It’s no wonder we didn't work out.You don't have time for anyone, not even yourself."
A shudder ran through Rebecca."You spoke to Judge Greene?"She asked."You had no right to do that.I can't believe you, Justin.What did you—No!Do you know what, I don't want to know.Oh, my goodness.You just make my life much harder than it needs to be."She held her hands up in front of her."Stop texting me, stop calling me, don't talk to any of my colleagues again, especially Judge Greene, and please don't wait for me on the street like this."
For the briefest of moments, Rebecca felt sorry for Juston when he looked like a puppy that had just been scolded, his eyes large, unable to look at her, and his facial features softened.Then she remembered that he had approached her on the street that morning and had said something to Judge Greene the previous evening that would only have made her job harder and her relationship with the judge more tenuous.
"I need to get to work," she said before leaving him standing on the street.
Rebecca tried to think what would be considered the opposite of a spring in her step.She had a thud in her step as if the ground below was pulling her downward with each step.She felt a shudder run up her leg every time she took a step.
When she reached the courthouse, she looked behind to ensure that, like a little lost puppy, Justin hadn’t followed her.The streets weren’t as deserted as before, and thankfully, there was no sign of Justin.The hairs on the back of her neck didn't prickle anymore.He was gone.
Rebecca used her fob to activate the code door, then stepped inside, pulling it closed behind her and making sure it was locked.Only then did she let out a sigh of relief.
The spring returned to her step as she made her way toward Judge Greene’s chambers, and, being in the courthouse, her second home, brought a calmness to her.
When she got to his chambers, the door was closed.
Rebecca felt some disappointment.Most Mondays, she arrived before him, and she could have everything ready for him.On the occasional morning, he arrived first, especially if he had a busy caseload, which she didn't think he did.She reached out her hand to knock on the door, but hesitated.Instead of knocking, she walked swiftly toward the kitchen.He didn't usually switch on the coffee machine, and the least she could do if she were to speak to him so early was not to turn up empty-handed.
Rebecca was happy to see the coffee pot empty and cold.She switched it on, filled the reservoir with water, placed the filter, and added the ground coffee.Then, she waited painfully as the seconds ticked by and the hot water warmed up before slowly dripping through, regretting her decision to brew the coffee and get back to his office ten minutes later than she could have.
She shook her head when she finally walked down the hallway back to his chambers with his coffee just how he liked it: lots of cream and three sugars.
Rebecca knocked on his door.
When he didn't command her to enter, she knocked again.Judge Green was not the sort of man who ignored a knock at his door.Rebecca mentally kicked herself.Judge Greene wasn’t in his chambers.The door had been closed, that was all.
She looked at the coffee, but couldn’t stomach drinking it here.She was used to black tea.Rebecca opened the door so it would be as it should be, and immediately dropped the coffee on seeing what awaited her inside.
The cup smashed on the floor, coffee spilling upward and covering the bottom of her left pant leg.Then it felt like someone had tripped her as she stumbled backward, tripping over invisible obstacles.
She finally fell, then thudded into the wall behind her.She could still see some of his on the desk, but not the blood.There was so much blood!
Rebecca pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the police.She had thought about calling for an ambulance, but it was far too late for that.
As the phone rang, Rebecca couldn’t take her eyes from the scene before her.
"Justin, what did you do?"she muttered.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alison had stood in a judge’s chambers before, but it was not a regular occurrence.Most of her work with correctional facilities had come before a trial had commenced or after a prisoner was incarcerated.So, she found herself in a relatively unfamiliar position.What made it more unfamiliar was the judge lying on the desk in the middle of the room, partly hacked in two.
She couldn’t take her else from him.It was unlike anything she’d ever seen before.
"Judge Greene," Moore said from beside her.
That didn’t matter at that moment.What mattered was that the killer had killed in a frenzy again, and in a similar but different manner compared to the previous ones.Alison had to assume that the same blade was used, but there was no way to confirm that.
Judge Greene lay on his back, atop the desk, his eyes open wide as if in surprise, both of them looking upward, but in slightly different directions.The middle of his face had been hacked down the middle, but the killer lacked the strength, or the blade lacked the sharpness, to cut the head completely in two.The result was a mangled mess where the skin had been cut through, and some bone was visible and cut in places.It was macabre and also lacked any surgical skill.
Alison couldn’t think about it fully.This was different.All three had bloody brutality.The killer was sending a message.Another note was proof of that.The third note copied the first one:No more lies.No more excuses.