Do You Want to Know a Secret? Read Free

municipal court sessions. He’d been only too happy to get some of those chubby thighs. But that was two years ago when he’d just been a town judge, before he had moved on to the Bergen County Superior Court. Amber had been convenient, but she wasn’t classy enough for his larger aspirations.
    “How ya doin’, stranger? Long time no see.” Amber was grinning. Bad caps. God, she was chewing gum, too. The cow.
    “Hello, Amber. How nice to see you again.”
    “Haven’t you gotten my messages? You never call me anymore. A girl would think you didn’t care.” She looked up at him in a pathetic attempt at coyness.
    A girl would be thinking correctly, he thought. “Oh, you know how it is, Amber. I’m so busy trying to keep up with all my cases. The courts have such a backlog. I have no time for a social life anymore.”
    “I liked it better before.”
    “Well, it certainly was simpler then.”
    “I was wondering, could you use any help in your office?” Amber asked hopefully. “You always said what a good secretary I was.”
    I’d say anything to get what I wanted. “Unfortunately, Amb, there’s a hiring freeze on.” Seeing her mouth begin to turn downward, he hurried on. “I wish I could stay and talk but I have several briefs I have to get to tonight. You know how it is.”
    “Yeah, I know how it is.” Amber stood watching as he got into his black Lincoln Continental with the JUDGE decals on the license plates.
    Craning his neck, he preened before the rearview mirror as he drove off. Just twelve years out of law school, he was the youngest judge on the Superior Court bench. If you had the funds, anything was possible. The Superior Court was great, but he had bigger plans. He reminded himself he wanted to call Nate Heller again. It wasn’t too early to set up the next step.
    As he pulled into the driveway of his long, white ranch, he felt good. And then he remembered. Another payment to Bill Kendall was due.

Chapter 4
    Eliza replaced the receiver in the cradle after Range’s call and wondered if he had seen the Mole article yet.
    Drug addiction! Cocaine! Dear God!
    She felt her heart pounding and her cheeks grow hot. This horrible story could ruin everything! Everything for which she had worked so hard. For herself, for Janie.
    Janie.
    Thank goodness Janie couldn’t read yet and was still young enough that her classmates wouldn’t be teasing and embarrassing her.
    You’ve got to get a grip, Eliza told herself. Everyone is going to be watching you for your reaction. Get a hold of yourself. Hold your head up. Do what you have to do to get through tonight’s broadcast. Take one thing at a time.
    She called home and asked Mrs. Twomey to stay with Janie for another two hours.
    “I know I’m already late, Mrs. Twomey. I’m sorry.”
    “Not to worry, Mrs. Blake. My little faerie and I are havin’ a grand time. She’s just finished her supper and I’m after pourin’ the Mr. Bubble into the tub.”
    Eliza smiled weakly to herself. “My little faerie.” Mrs. Twomey, born and raised in Ireland, was unaware of the connotation of the expression here. Eliza delighted in the woman’s affection for Janie.
    “Go on with ya,” the housekeeper went on. “Do what you have to and stop your worryin’.”
    Next, as usual, Eliza thought of John. Whenever anything of moment happened, she thought of John, wished she could still share it with him. She felt the loss, the persistent tug of missing him. She was almost used to it now, four years later. But just because you were used to something didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt.
    She held the inside of her wrist to her nose and remembered one of the last nights in the hospital. John was dozing as she entered the room and she had watched him, loving him so. All the painful treatments had not worked. He was very thin and flushed with fever. Eliza could see his chest laboring slowly up and down under the thin cotton hospital blanket. She heard his wheezing