Chapter 3
I took a deep breath as I entered the courtroom in Nederland, Texas. This move was because my chambers were burned to a crisp. Every time I thought about it, I released a sigh of relief. Had it not been for the quickness of those firefighters, I would have died. Genesis Farris was leading the rescue. I could clearly see her experience outweighed the others just by how quickly she was moving. She seemed so sure of herself in a moment that could have brought the strongest man to his knees.
That fire didn’t care about how strong you were. It would swallow you up whole, consuming you and using you as an accelerant. It had been two days since the incident, and it was my first day back on the job. I had minor smoke inhalation. It wasn’t serious enough for me to be hospitalized or to even stay home, although the doctor recommended it. I took my job seriously. If I was able to move around, I could go to work. It wasn’t like sitting on the bench was physically taxing.
After getting inside the chambers, I checked my email to confirm my order from the florist. I’d ordered flowers for Genesis Farris. I’d found out which fire station she worked at and also learned that she wouldn’t be back to work until Sunday. She was on her four days off. I had to pay extra to get them to deliver the flowers on a Sunday, but I didn’t care. She was worth it. That woman was so gorgeous. I could barely function enough to help her save me. Had she not been guiding us through the hallway, I would have walked right into the flames from staring at her.
It was like nothing was important at that moment, not even my life. She was an angel. I could see her light brown complexion and rosy cheeks through the respirator she wore. Once she took it off, I noticed she had thick pink lips, and her gaze was intoxicating. If I wasn’t mistaken, my presence had her shook just like her presence had me. I’d never seen a more beautiful woman. What took the cake was that I searched for her on social media and found her Instagram profile.
When I saw the pictures of her out of her uniform, I nearly found myself drooling. She had an hourglass shape that was mesmerizing. She had long dreadlocks that she somehow hid in that respirator. I wasn’t sure how she did it, but she made it work. She seemed to be extremely feminine, judging by what she wore. I liked that. However, when I came across a picture of her in a bikini, I stared at that damn picture for what seemed like hours.
The woman had me in a trance. Had I seen her pictures before actually meeting her, I never would have guessed she was firefighter. She looked like a model. That was just how perfect her body was.
“Good morning, Judge.”
I turned to see Tyson approaching me. I shook his hand as he said, “It has been a week from hell.”
“Who are you telling? After what happened Tuesday, I was done. They could have shut down everything for the rest of the week.”
“Right. Did you ever report that threat?”
I squeezed my eyes shut and brought my hand to my forehead, gripping my temples with my fingers and thumb. “I didn’t. I forgot.”
He slowly shook his head. “I asked because I pulled this note off your car on my way inside. You think this has anything to do with the case from last week?”
I grabbed the note from him and huffed loudly. Why couldn’t people just mind their business? I was more than sure this threat didn’t come from the perp. It came from someone who considered themselves a friend or a family member. I opened it to read, You actually believe that fire was because the building is old, don’t you? This will be easier than we thought if you do.
My eyes lifted to Tyson’s, and he took the note from me. Yesterday, the news outlets had reported that the courthouse fire was electrical. This note was saying the opposite. Was there corruption in the system? This note was only taking me back to my days of wanting to be a detective. I ended up going to law school instead. I felt like I could be a better judge than a detective.
“You have got to report this, man, along with the other one.”
“Yeah. I will. I can’t afford to forget again.”
“Forget what?”
We both turned around to see Judge Temmons entering the chambers. She and I were sharing a chamber for now. I glanced at Tyson to see he was staring at me. Out of all the people I worked with, I knew he had my back at all costs. I wasn’t sure about her. However, I shared what we were discussing anyway.
“I’ve gotten two threatening letters in the past week. The one I got today is more disturbing and urgent though. I have to be sure to report it.”
Her eyebrows lifted slightly. “Like, threatening to kill you? I would say that’s pretty serious.”
“Yeah. I get them a lot. It’s the nature of the job. I turn them in, and nothing ever really comes of it. These seem more organized. They aren’t just someone trying to scare me.”
“Well, if you don’t have a case this morning, I would go and take care of that immediately.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t have a case until this afternoon, and I briefed myself on it at home already. I’m gonna head back to Beaumont now.”
They nodded as I grabbed my things and headed back out. As I did, I received a text. Checking it, I saw a message from the DA. I frowned slightly because he rarely texted me. I stopped walking and checked it to see, Have you seen the headlines?
I frowned slightly. I didn’t have the slightest clue what he was referring to. Just the fact that they had me all the way in Nederland had me out of the loop. Nederland was only fifteen to twenty minutes from my end of Beaumont, but it was far enough away from the Beaumont Municipal Courthouse to receive delayed information.
When my phone rang and I saw Tyson’s number, I answered. “Hello?”
“A warrant was issued for Darlene.”
I frowned. “The mayor?”
“Mm hmm. Money laundering. Guess whose court she will most likely see?”
“Shit. This is going to be an entire shit storm.”
“Yep. The district attorney will probably be reaching out.”
“He already did. Let me call you back.”
I got into my car and quickly made my way to Beaumont. I couldn’t believe this. Darlene Doll was extremely kind and likeable by everyone. I didn’t understand how she could do something like this and ruin her reputation. The love of money was definitely the root of all evil. When attaining money could entice you to commit all sorts of evil acts was when it became a problem. Darlene Doll just didn’t seem like the type to be easily influenced that way. There had to be more to that than what we knew.
However, I wasn’t her criminal defense attorney. My job would be to sentence her if she was found guilty by a jury of her peers once the facts were all presented. However, if her attorney did his or her job, they would be able to find out if there was more to the situation, especially if Mayor Doll cooperated.
When I got to the police station, things were in an uproar. The media was everywhere and so were police officers. Once I parked, I went in through a back entrance, nearly running into Carl, the district attorney. He gave me a slight smile. “I suppose you got my message.”
“Yeah. I was already on my way here. This is insane.”
“It is.”
I walked past him, doing my best not to interact too much. I didn’t want anyone to say I was being swayed one way or the other, especially if this trial would be coming to my court. Although what I had could have been given to him, I chose to go to a detective. When I got to Detective Johnson’s desk, she stared up at me for a moment. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but she stood and said, “How can I help you, Judge?”
“I needed to turn in these threats that have been left on my vehicle. One was from last week and the other was from today.”
She nodded as I pulled them from my pocket. When I handed them to her, she immediately unfolded them and read what they had to say. Her eyebrows lifted, just as Judge Temmons’s had done. “Do you have any idea of who this could be? Any recent run-ins with anyone?”
“I’m a criminal court judge that doesn’t take shit off anybody. What that tell you?”
“That it could be anybody. We’ll look into it, Judge Patrick. I’ll keep you updated.”
I nodded and turned to walk away until she called out, “Judge.”
I turned back to her, and she said, “I heard this circus is coming to your court. I know you will handle it well. You’re by the book, and that’s what this trial will need.”
I nodded once again. “Thank you.”
She gave me a slight smile, and I turned to head back to Nederland.
I took a sip of my drink. Although it was Sunday, I was mentally drained. I’d gone to church with my mother, and so many people were coming to me to talk about the mayor and hoping that I would punish her. She was not only laundering money, but she was embezzling it as well. It seemed the charges were being stacked against her by the hour, and I didn’t know how she was going to beat them.
I knew I couldn’t go to church again until this case was over, though, because I couldn’t talk about it to anyone until it was over. Even then, I didn’t discuss case details with anyone outside of my courtroom. It was just safer to keep it that way. There was already a microscope on me because I was so young. That only added to the pressures of being a black man in America.
As I took another sip of my drink, my phone chimed, alerting me of a text message. I didn’t get those often, because I didn’t really have friends like that. Tyson and my mother were the only people who texted me. Since I’d already seen and talked to my mother, I figured it had to be Tyson. When I picked it up from the table at my side and noticed an unfamiliar number on the lock screen, I got slightly nervous.
Those letters were truly starting to bother me. I didn’t know who to watch out for. I found myself staying home this entire weekend, except for my trip to the Lord’s house. I opened the message and read it.
Hello, Judge Patrick. This is Genesis Farris. Thank you so much for the flowers. That was very kind of you. I was simply doing my job. Your thank you wasn’t needed. When I took my oath, I took it seriously. These flowers are beautiful though. Lilies are my favorite. Thank you again.
I hurriedly saved her number in my phone. I didn’t expect her to reach out, although I’d had them put my number on the card. I figured she would wait until she knew I was at work and leave me a message that way. Her text was a pleasant surprise. I immediately texted back.
You’re very welcome. Can I call you? I mean, I know you’re at work, but if you aren’t busy, I would prefer talking over texting.
I stared at the screen, waiting for what she would say. Instead of texting, she called. I took a deep breath, then answered. “Hello?”
“Hello, Judge Patrick.”
“Please, call me Kyrie.”
“Umm… okay. How are you?”
“I’m good, considering. How were your days off? I wanted to send the flowers Friday, but I was told you were on your four days off. I apologize if I was given too much information.”
“No. It’s okay. Now had they given you my home address or my personal number, they would have gone too far. My days off were good.”
She chuckled, and I did too. “I wanted to hear your voice outside of the traumatic experience. I wanted to hear you at peace, without the adrenaline rush.”
“Uhh. Okay. Why?”
“I am extremely grateful for you saving my life, but I feel a connection to you. It doesn’t have a thing to do with the trauma. You’re a beautiful and caring woman. I could tell how caring you were by the way you handled everyone you escorted out. While you had to move quickly, you were tender… even with me.”
“Thank you for the compliment. Why wouldn’t I be tender with you?”
“I know people talk about me. People are usually somewhat standoffish around me because they think I’m a rude jackass. I’m no nonsense in the courtroom. I mean… I’m no nonsense in real life, too, but I’m not as rude as they think.”
“You’re not as straightforward either. If this isn’t a trauma bond, what is it? You said what you thought about me, but what is this conversation really about? Why did you want me to call?”
“Although I think you know already, I’m gonna go ahead and say it. I want to get to know you. I’m extremely attracted to you, Genesis. I thought it was a trauma thing at first too. Then I searched you on social media, and it only proved that I was truly attracted to you. I liked almost all your pictures. It’s embarrassing.”
This woman had my body heating up with desire simply from her voice. It was soft and calming… soothing even. It fit her looks, if that was even a thing. Some people’s voices didn’t match their looks. Genesis had to be the image of Eve, God’s first perfect creation of a woman. Her aura had to represent the beginning of a new journey for me.
“Judge… I mean, Kyrie, I’m flattered, but wouldn’t this be umm… I don’t know. It seems like there would be a conflict in some way.”
“Why? It’s not like I work for the city. I’m an elected official for the county. There is nothing wrong or conflicting about us getting to know one another or dating.” Softening my tone, I said, “I would really like to see how much we have in common and explore what could develop between us. Do you at least feel an attraction to me?”
She was quiet for a moment, I supposed thinking about how she would word how she felt and how much she wanted to tell me about her feelings. She took in a sharp breath, then said, “I do. I felt it when I stared into your eyes. I thought that I was imagining your attraction to me, confusing it with extreme gratitude. I’m willing to get to know you. I don’t judge a person by what everyone else thinks about them. I form my own opinions based off my own experiences.”
“Well, I suppose I’m grateful for that. It will make getting to know you less complicated.”
She chuckled. “Yes. Well, I have some work to do. If it’s okay, I’ll call you back in a couple of hours.”
“Yes. It’s more than okay. I look forward to it.”
“Okay. Bye.”
I ended the call feeling like I was on top of the world. Feeling so sensitive about this woman came as a surprise. I hadn’t felt this way in a long time. My entire body was warm, and I was more aroused than I had been in months. She’d managed to make me forget about everything else that had been on my mind and replaced those thoughts with ones of her aura and appeal. Genesis Farris was going to be the woman to change my life. I didn’t know whether that was a good or bad thing just yet, but either way, I was anticipating the journey.