Page 92 of Second Chance Savior

I crossed my arms. “Tell me about Stillwater.”

He hesitated.

Jud was used to being one of the most important men in the room. Which was why I’d been surprised that he retired from his political career last year, but that was just one of the clues to this story.

“I saw the deposits to your bank account, Jud. I saw your debts, and how money started appearing out of nowhere. Small enough amounts that they could be explained away, I’m sure, but I do knowsomeaspects of your life. That money didn’t come from your real estate holdings or investments.”

“You can’t prove it,” he muttered.

“No? Then how about I leave you here and walk away? River will place some anonymous calls to the police. How long until Stillwater tracks you down? I wouldn’t mind seeing what they do to you.”

“No!” He wiped his bound hands over his face. “Okay. Iamrunning from them. No idea how you figured that out. You don’t understand though.”

“You’re right, I don’t understand at all. Stillwater’s business model is consulting for human traffickers. Drug dealers. Hit men. You took part in that. You’re equally culpable.”

“I didn’t know. I swear to you.”

“And I swear we’ll leave you to Stillwater if you keep lying.”

“It’s the truth. But I suppose I was willfully ignorant. All right? I’ll give you that.” He swallowed a few times. Licked his lips.

Then he started talking.

“A man came to me a couple years ago. Said he was a lobbyist with an anonymous client who was interested in developing a relationship. When his client needed something, I would use my influence to make it happen. Weigh his client’s preferences when I decided how to cast a vote. Things like that. The kind of stuffalllobbyists ask for.”

“Bullshit. This wasn’t a typical lobbyist.”

“No. I found that out.”

“Before or after you accepted his bribes?” That question was rhetorical. “I want his name and anyone else inside Stillwater you know about.”

“I only have the name of the lobbyist and a few of the underlings at his office, not anyone else up the chain. They never share that. My contact might not even know.”

I glanced over at River, and he was playing with the hunting knife again. But I noticed his other hand was holding his phone near his hip, aimed right at Jud. I realized what he was doing.

Recording.

“Tell me what happened next,” I said.

“Things went like clockwork for a while. I got calls every few months, and payments started appearing. But the demands got more arduous over time. I’m sure you can imagine.”

“When did you learn the client was really Stillwater?”

“When I started pushing back, asking questions. I said if they wanted more specific performance from me, then I wanted more money.”

I shook my head in disgust, but I didn’t interrupt.

“About a week later, a car with tinted windows pulled up when I was out for a morning jog. Some bruiser got out and stuffed me into the back. The lobbyist was there with a bunch of henchmen. He told me if they were going toincrease my payments, then they had to bring me in fully as a member of their little group. They gave me a gold coin I was supposed to use to prove my affiliation. And my loyalty.”

“A gold medallion,” I said.

Jud looked surprised. “Yeah. Exactly. That was the first time I actually heard the name Stillwater.”

River had mentioned the medallions to me. I had never seen one in Jud’s possession. But that meant little, considering how well he’d hidden his alternate life.

“After you became a member, you learned what Stillwater really did?” I asked.

He swallowed again, Adam’s apple moving up and down. “The lobbyist drove me to an abandoned warehouse. They had a guy tied up there. They…” He shuddered. “They made me watch as they tortured him. But it wasn’t for information or anything. His father was a Stillwater member and had betrayed the group. So the son was suffering for it. They wanted to show me what full membership meant. The people I cared about would die in agony if I ever stepped out of line. And then after I’d seen my loved ones suffer, they’d cut my throat.”

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