Chapter 15 – Age 30
“No.” Jule shook his head.
His client opened his mouth.
“No,” he said again.
“But—”
“Seriously, no.” Jule’s phone buzzed, but he ignored it.
“If I pay Dan, he’ll change his story,” his client explained.
“Are you going to smoke that whole thing yourself or are you going to pass it around?
He frowned. “Huh?”
“I’m saying you must be on something right now because how the fuck do you think that’s a good idea when Dan’s the one who went to the cops in the first place? And where are you going to get the money to pay him when we both know you’re broke?”
“A buddy of mine has a great plan. He’s working at this pawn shop on McDowell and—”
“Stop immediately.” Jule rubbed his temples to stave off the headache this conversation was certain to give him. “Do not finish that sentence and do not move forward with that plan.”
“But my buddy works there. He has a key. He’s allowed to be at the shop and handle the merchandise so it’s okay if we—”
“No. Him working there does not make it okay.” His phone buzzed again.
“I didn’t finish explaining what we’d be doing.”
“You’ve said more than enough, Carl.”
“Are you sure we can’t—”
“I’m sure,” Jule said.
“Then how am I going to get the money to pay off Dan?”
He rubbed his temples. “You won’t, which is good because that’s a dumb fucking idea.”
“Isn’t it your job to figure out a way for this to work?”
“No, it is not my job to come up with a way for you to bribe a witness. It’s my job to give you the best defense possible, which will be exponentially more difficult if you commit another couple of crimes trying to cover up the one you’re already charged with.
” His phone buzzed for the third time. He picked it up and looked at the screen.
Phoenix Police Department. He sometimes dealt with law enforcement in his cases, but they didn’t usually blow up his phone.
“How are you going to do that when Dan already fucked me by talking to the cops?”
“Dan took the police to a location where they found evidence of a crime. He described details about that crime and the details matched what they found at the scene,” Jule said.
“Exactly!”
“Did Dan provide any proof that you were part of the commission of that crime?”
His client blinked.
“Could Dan have committed the crime by himself or with someone else and still have those details and that evidence in his possession?”
He stayed quiet.
“Alright so I’ll do my job and you’ll stop planning a cover-up that’s going to be worse than the underlying crime.” His phone buzzed again. “I need to wrap this up. Someone really needs to talk to me.”
Jule’s grandparents were already seated at the round table when he entered Chief Montez’s office.
He gave them each a hug and shared surface level information about his life while they waited for the meeting to start.
His mother was the last person to arrive.
She gave a quick but sincere apology, explained that she’d been in an important client meeting an hour away in East Mesa when the call came in, and then took a seat beside Jule.
“Now that you’re all here, we can get started,” the chief said.
He had endured half a dozen meetings about his father’s murder with Chief Montez over the years and they’d all gone essentially the same way, which was nowhere.
Even before it started, he knew this one would be different.
For one thing, he had never been summoned to the chief’s office with no notice.
But that aside, the chief’s facial expressions and energy were totally new.
He didn’t look resigned or disappointed.
He didn’t appear to be bracing himself for raised voices or pointed remarks. He looked relieved, maybe even happy.
“I appreciate you making yourselves available on such short notice. I want to fill you in on developments in the case before tonight’s news cycle.” He was smiling as he spoke.
“Developments?” his grandfather said hopefully.
“Did something happen?” his grandmother asked. “Have you finally arrested my son’s killer?”
“A lot has happened today,” he confirmed. “We’ve arrested all of the Knight cartel’s first and second tier lieutenants, and as we anticipated, the scouts are quickly turning. We have witnesses, documents, photographs, videos. Our case is ironclad. None of them will get out of this.”
“What about John Jones?” Jule asked. He cared more about Tor than he did about anything else his father’s people had been doing, and Tor couldn’t be free as long as his father was after him. “Did you finally get him?”
“We did. Or at least, we tried to.” The chief started to smile and then he cleared his throat, put on a serious expression, and propped his arms on the table, fingers laced together.
“Jones is stubborn and he did not succumb willingly. He drew fire and left our officers no choice. He was DOA at the scene. Three of his lieutenants and two of our officers were also hit in the shoot-out. I don’t have details on the Knights yet, but our officers’ injuries are not life-threatening, and the doctors anticipate complete recoveries for both of them.
” He seemed unable to contain his smile any longer.
“I realize this has been a long time coming but this was the best possible outcome. Better than we had hoped. John Jones is out of the picture for good.”
For once, Jule agreed with Chief Montez. He had to get in touch with Tor, had to share the news. He would drive to the house, ask one of his brothers to call him. Maybe Tor could come home that night. Maybe Tor could finally stay.
“Thank you, Chief Montez,” his mother said. “We are grateful for your work getting justice for Harold.”
His grandfather nodded but he looked too choked up to speak. He put his hand over his grandmother’s, who was dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief.
Jule tapped his foot against the floor and his fingers against the table. He was desperate to leave but he couldn’t walk out on his mother and grandparents during such an emotional moment. Hopefully the chief would end the meeting soon and they could all be on their way.
“I understand this hasn’t been an easy process and I’ve appreciated your patience.
There is one more thing that I want to share with you.
” He picked up his phone, pressed a button, and held it to his ear.
“Sara, please get him now, and remember, don’t tell him I have people in my office, just say I want to talk to him.
” He set the phone down. “As you may remember, we had a lot of trouble getting a foothold into the Knights cartel. There was one exception. He successfully engineered and implemented our strategy. He led this case on the ground from day one. I am not using hyperbole when I tell you that absolutely nobody else could have accomplished this outcome. I’ve never had the privilege of working with anyone as dedicated, tenacious, and insightful.
He has been living deep, deep undercover for over twelve years.
Only a couple of us knew about his role, and even now that it’s over, he has been adamant that he will not accept any public recognition, but I believe it’ll be good for everyone involved that you meet him. ”
A knock sounded. The chief rose, strode to the office door, and opened it.
“You need to see me, Chuck?”
Jule’s entire body went ice cold, his heart seemed to stop, and his jaw dropped.
“Come in.” Chief Montez faced the room and said, “This is Lieutenant Torrence Dunworthy. He is the person responsible for closing this case.”
Tor stood perfectly still just inside the office, clearly not having expected this audience.
Jule catalogued every detail as his brain slowly clicked back to life.
A black T-shirt under a canvas button down, a pair of 501s that Jule loved because of how they clung to his ass, and the boots whose leather gained richness, depth, and distinction with each passing year.
A tiny white scar above his left eyebrow that he’d gotten racing shopping carts in fifth grade; they’d won the race.
Hair buzzed low enough to show the missing line on top from when he’d scraped it freshman year jumping a fence.
Strong hands that had pushed him and held him for as long as he could remember.
And the most beautiful eyes Jule had ever seen.
It took him a few seconds to unlock his muscles and catch his breath, and then he shoved his chair back, leaped to his feet, and threw himself against Tor. “Holy fuck.” His entire body trembling, lungs heaving, he curled around Tor and squeezed him tightly. “Holy fuck.”
“Shh.” Tor gripped his nape, strong fingers pressing into tense muscles. “Breathe.” He was six years old, standing in the Dunworthy kitchen, wanting to play in the rain, and Tor was stopping him from having a meltdown.
“Did you say Dunworthy?” Jule’s grandfather asked.
“Julian?” His mother sounded worried. “What’s going on?”
“Dunworthy?” his grandmother stammered.
“Julian?” his mother said again. “Do you know this man?”
Did he know Tor Dunworthy? Jule laughed humorlessly. His entire body was shaking, and he realized his cheeks were wet. He kept leaning against Tor, but he turned around so he could see his family. “Yes, Mom, I know him.”
“How? Who is he?”
Tor was his brother, though not by blood.
Tor was his best friend. Tor was everything he had ever wanted and the one thing he had feared he couldn’t have.
Tor was the person he had loved before he knew what love was and the person he had continued to love no matter what obstacles life threw in their path.
Tor was his past, his present, and his future.
“Mom, Grandfather, Grandmother, this is Tor Dunworthy. He is the best person I know and I’m going to marry him.”
“They’re going to have to arrest me to get me out of here, and even then, I’ll give them hell if they try.” Jule crossed his arms over his chest and planted his feet. He was not going to leave Tor, not now that he had a choice in the matter.