PAYBACK

Chapter 1

     ‘VETERAN NAVY COMMANDER ESCAPES DEATH PENALTY AND IS ON THE LOOSE.’

     Almost every news station in South Carolina covered the headline. The papers made sure to contain it too. Within an hour or so, the breaking news went viral, and if people weren’t talking about their lonely lives, then they had their mouths busy with the news.

     Terry Lindsay, popularly known across the state of Carolina for her innate ability to preside over complicated trials and yet render sound judgments wasn’t one who listened to the news often, which her colleagues found weird. She’d always preferred staying off the grid, but it was impossible to do so with her profession.

     It was not a big surprise she wasn’t paying attention to what the female reporter was saying. Her flat-screen television currently showed one of those Charleston stations that gave news twenty-four/seven. Not that she didn’t care about state affairs. She had problems of her own—problems she felt were more important and required her absolute focus.

     She was given a week off work after acting as the presiding judge in a trial that took place not so long ago. A trial she shouldn’t have presided over because not only did she send a man to his death, but she also drove away her family. The trial of Ethan Willows had been one of her biggest trials ever since she was appointed judicial position at the courthouse.

     The U.S. Attorney General promised her that after the case had died down and with Willows gone, her family would be brought back. For now, they were in a safe house under the protection of the feds. During the early days of the trial, she somehow garnered unnecessary attention for herself. She received threatening messages too, which was the main reason James Clinton decided to safeguard her family.

     She also remembered vividly the surveillance team that was put together to protect her. She was glad her family had been away. At least she didn’t have to constantly worry about them, but now she couldn’t deny she’d missed them.

     She didn’t know why they wanted Ethan dead, and she didn’t ask either. She dared not. All she knew was that she had to preside over a trial and do as she was instructed. For the first time, Judge Terry hadn’t acted on her own accord. Could she have done things differently if the Attorney General hadn’t been constantly interfering? Probably not. She’d done everything by the book. The death penalty was the right punishment according to the law. But why was her gut telling her she hadn’t done things right? In law school, she’d learned to be unrelenting but fair. The key moral value was fairness. Had she stuck to that?

     Terry had been told Ethan Willows was a dangerous man—a threat to national security, and he needed to be eliminated at all costs. Till now, she didn’t believe the Attorney General even though he provided enough evidence to clear her doubts.

     But wait! The execution was scheduled to go off today at 9:00 A.M. Maybe there was still time. All she had to do was say something to stall the execution, and perhaps have Ethan’s case reviewed. Quickly, Terry reached for the small clock on the center table. She picked it and read the time. Thirty minutes before the execution. Thank God!

     She hadn’t reached her cell phone from the suede jeans she’d been wearing since yesterday when the telephone rang. Her heart thumped. After she answered the call and heard a familiar voice, she sighed.

     “Is it done?”

     She didn’t bother using formalities with the Attorney General. If Clinton phoned her, then he had news. She was given a place of honor to watch the execution but had turned it down, too scared to watch the death of a man she thought might be innocent.