Page 21 of Dirty Judge

LIAM

“There’s no precedent for this, and no amount of foreshadowing could’ve ever prepared me for this story…”

Iplaced a digital bookmark in my fifteenth long-form article by “Olivia S.” Much to my regret, I’d followed up on her threat about being an investigative reporter and discovered she wasn’t lying.

She’d penned a novel’s worth of articles forThe Wall Street Journal, and each one was more biting and intensely written than the one published before it.

Yet, for some odd reason, she wasn’t listed as a former staffer on the website. No picture of her appeared next to her work, and every article came with a “Warning: This article was formerly published under journalist standards that we have now changed.”

Hmmm…

Alas, if this woman had put as much care into her driving as her writing, she’d be the poster child for a safe driver.

I vowed to stop reading her words after three more articles, and then try again to pretend like she never existed.

Shaking away the thought of her, I opened my windows to check the weather.

Clouds clogged the sky, allowing the sun to peek through the gaps.

So, it’s going to be a decent and easy day in court.

I grabbed my briefcase, texted Mara that I was on my way, and took the elevator down to the lobby.

“Good morning, Mr. Ashton.” The bellman tipped his hat at me.

Seconds later, my favorite valet pulled up in an Audi and motioned for me to get behind the wheel.

“This isn’t my car, Chris.”

“I know, sir.” He looked away from me. “Would you like to drive the building’s complimentary house vehicle today?”

“No,” I said. “I would like to drive one of my cars, like I do every day. Bring me the Ferrari.”

“You have an Audi R8 in a detail shop across town, correct?” he asked. “Allow me to call and see if they’re finished with that one.”

“I said, Bring me the Ferrari.” I assumed he was having a busy morning. “I can take the McLaren if you parked it closer.”

“No, it’s um…” He ran a hand through his hair. “Both of those cars are unavailable right now.”

“I see.” I glanced at my watch. “Well, I’ll wait until you move the cars you parked around mine.”

“Sir, your cars are not drivable at all right now. No one can drive them.”

“Okay, look Chris. I’m not sure what type of game you’re playing this morning, but?—”

“Your vehicles were vandalized, sir.”

What?“Show me…”

“Okay.” He opened the passenger door and drove me around the block to the secondary lot.

Rows of luxury cars gleamed under the sunlight, and I was beginning to think this was all some type of birthday ruse.

Then again, my birthday wasn’t for another three months…

I considered if there were any other resident celebrations coming up, but then I spotted a swarm of men in security jackets.

Unable to see what was behind them, I stepped out and felt my eyes widening as the scene came into view.