Like Silk

“You need to stop by Ashton on the way in.”

Ashton was the prison in the next county. Collier frowned, his thoughts jumping back to Brittany. He could hardly stop by the prison with her in the car. “Whatever it is, can’t it wait?”

“I don’t think so. It’s Jim Sauterwhite. He tried to kill himself last night.”

“Shit,” Collier muttered. Jim was one of his old school buddies. He had been convicted on attempted murder charges, with his wife the target. Though he maintained his innocence, he had been convicted nonetheless and was serving a twenty-year sentence. Collier made it a point to visit him from time to time.

“What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know,” Kyle admitted. “The details are sketchy. I just thought, since the prison’s on your way in, it would save you a trip.”

“Look, I’ll see him, but not today.”

There was a short silence, then Kyle said in a puzzled tone, “Suit yourself.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, later.”

Collier hung up and headed for Brittany’s bedroom door. His gut instinct told him that she would be ready and waiting. He paused, his hand on the knob, sweat lining his upper lip.

Apologize. That was the first order of the day. But he knew he couldn’t bring himself to do that, because he wasn’t sorry. Not for the right reasons, anyway. His chest felt like it was caving in. He paused, took a deep breath, then let loose a few expletives under his breath.

He opened the door, nipping his circling, self-hating thoughts in the bud.

Seven

“So what’s the verdict?” Kyle asked.

Collier faced the door and watched as the investigator strode in, a stack of papers in hand. “Man, you and Dad. Give you a whip and your torture chamber would be complete.”

Kyle was of medium height and weight, with medium brown hair and eyes. Everything about him was medium, except his intelligence. There was nothing medium about that. He was one of the sharpest men Collier had ever worked with. He shuddered to see the day Kyle took a notion to leave.

Since he wasn’t married and had no ties that bind, he had a reputation for getting bored and moving on to greener pastures. Because of that, Collier worked hard to make sure he was one happy—and busy—employee.

He gave Collier a pointed look. “Learned it from the chamber master.”

Collier snorted, then rose behind his desk. “Somehow I don’t think that’s a compliment.”

“Sure it is,” Kyle muttered offhandedly, then grinned.

“Sit your ass down.”

Kyle chuckled. “I need something to get me going. You got any coffee? I didn’t even take time to stop by the kitchen.”

“I’ve been here since dawn-thirty. I’m working on my second pot, so help yourself.”

“Man, you must be wired and ready to go.”

“I’m wired, all right, but not ready to go. Not with that harassment case, if that’s what you mean.”

Kyle didn’t respond. Instead he crossed to the coffee bar in a far corner of the opulent office, where he poured himself a generous cup. Once he was seated directly in front of Collier’s desk, he said, “I was thinking about the appointment.”

“You’re rushing things. I’m one of four in the pot.”

This time Kyle snorted. “You’ll get the appointment. I’m not worried.”

“Well, I am,” Collier countered flatly.

Kyle swallowed a mouthful of coffee, then set his cup down. “Why? From what I know of the other candidates, you’re far superior to any of them.”

“Are you forgetting I have no, quote, ‘political experience,’ unquote, under my belt?”

Kyle shrugged. “So?”

“So the others have, especially Travis Wainwright.”

“That prick. He won’t get to first base.”

Collier frowned. “Are you forgetting he’s Rupert Holt’s choice? You know what power that guy wields with Senator Riley.”

“The senator’s backing you, right?”

“That’s the impression I got, but you never really know.”

“Ah, you’re just borrowing trouble.”

“Don’t think I’m not going to fight for the job, because I am,” Collier stressed. “I want it, and Dad wants me to have it. I can’t, won’t, disappoint him.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Kyle responded, his tone confident.

“We’ll see. But it’ll be tough. If I get anywhere close to being the top choice, the FBI’s going to jump in and scrutinize me closer than a bug under a microscope.”

“So?” Kyle said again. “You don’t have any skeletons in your closet.”

“We all have skeletons.” Collier sighed, then rubbed his chin. “But now’s not the time to go into that.”

“If anything will give you trouble, it’ll be this upcoming case.”

“I’ve thought about that, and so has Dad. He’s not happy I took it.”

“As far as the firm goes, it’s damn lucrative and good for business. It never hurts to have a bigwig like Luther Brickman in your pocket.”

“Only if I win his case.” Collier took a heavy breath. “You know how tricky harassment cases are. I probably wouldn’t have taken it if I’d known I’d be up for the judgeship.”

Kyle grinned. “Doesn’t matter. You can have both.”

“Yeah? Then you’d better get cracking on your end. The woman who’s his main accuser is one tough cookie. This could get nasty. And there are other cases awaiting my attention.” Collier raised his eyebrows. “Are you forgetting that?”