“Fuck,” Judge muttered, he hit the speaker button on his phone and placed it on his chest so he could reach out and rub Jury’s ears.
Most of the time he didn’t even realize he was doing it, but at that moment, he did it on purpose. He needed to keep his thoughts calm and clear. Jury always helped him keep his shit from spinning.
“Thanks,” he muttered.
“For what?” came through the speaker.
“For talkin’ me into gettin’ Jury.”
Silence filled the room for a few beats.
It wasn’t the first time he’d thanked Deke for taking him along to pick up Justice and it wouldn’t be the last, so his cousin was used to it. Deacon got it. Justice was everything to him, too.
“Yeah, so Beth said she kicked his ass out and filed for divorce coupla months later. She and the girl stayed in the house, just thinkin’ her douchebag husband was only a gamblin’ addict. Turned out to be worse. Found that out when her ass got dragged in by the pigs and questioned. Even threatened with time in the joint and loss of her fuckin’ kid.”
“Fuck,” he muttered again, his fingers moving more quickly over Jury’s soft floppy ears. She groaned and stretched out along his side. Justice head-butted his other side and flopped down, wanting attention, too.
Judge didn’t deny him.
“Get this shit... The fucker was the finance manager for the Kids Can Do Foundation. Finance motherfucking manager.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, perfect place to feed your habit, if you can get away with it.”
“Small amounts, maybe.”
“Right, maybe if you’re smart. But if your addiction’s out of fuckin’ control, you’re not thinkin’ straight. You’re thinkin’ about where your next fix is comin’ from. And eventually someone’s gonna notice when several hundred grand comes up missin’. Even a financial manager can’t hide that shit. He coulda been pocketin’ any cash donations, too. Long story short, his ass got caught and they seized everythin’. He bonded out and you know the rest.”
“Don’t get why she left Rochester.”
“Because this was a charity for kids with cancer, the news spread like wildfire. Everyone was up in fuckin’ arms about how he could do this, not only to a charity but one that helped kids with the big C. And, of course, even though they had separated, her name was dragged through the mud along with his by default. Cassidy Lange, wife of Dennis Lange. Shit like that’s hard to scrape clean of, ‘specially when they’re still legally married.”
Judge figured as much since Cassie was still listed as his wife in the documents the bondsman had sent. Without a divorce, she could be held responsible for his debt. Which for her—hell, for most people—was huge. “This Beth think she was a part of it?”
“No, she’s one of the few who don’t. Said most of ‘em in the vet’s office don’t believe Cassie knew. Unless she’s a good actress, it all came as a shock to her. She was actually devastated when she found out he’d gambled everything away, before findin’ out the rest. But John Q. Public blames her for not warnin’ the foundation that Lange was a gamblin’ addict the second she found out.”
“Thought she didn’t know.”
“Yeah, she didn’t and by the time she did, she wanted nothin’ to do with him and had no idea he was embezzlin’ all that scratch. She wasn’t seein’ any of the money, so she had no fuckin’ clue about it. He was takin’ it and gamblin’ it right away. Apparently, he was playin’ online poker and making bets right in his office durin’ working hours. Movin’ money from one account to another. Feds went in, took the man’s computer and they then had all the evidence nice and neat. Case closed.”
Yeah, case closed if the fucker hadn’t jumped bond. “Jesus.”
“Yeah. Sounds like the addiction had a solid hold of him if he was doin’ it right there in the office.”
“Why he got caught. Got reckless, desperate even, to feed his habit.”
“Prolly. But the board of directors had ordered an audit of the books without him knowin’ and that’s when shit didn’t add up. Hired a forensic accountant who pointed a finger at Lange.”
“So, the asshole had a secret fuckin’ life he hid from his wife and kid.”
“Pretty much. But the looks she got, the comments, the harassment... She even had people push her, spit on her, threaten her and the kid’s life. Everyone thought she should help pay back the stolen money since she was still legally married to him. But she had nothin’ left by the time he got caught since he’d spent it all. Actually, she had nothin’ by the time he admitted to her he had a problem. By then, it was too late.”
Judge’s jaw got tight. “Goddamn bullshit.”
“People see what they want to see. Push blame where they want to, whether it’s right or wrong. We fuckin’ know that, Judge. Hell, we see that every fuckin’ day in our business.”