Web of Justice

by J J Miller

  “It’s okay,” I kept saying over and over again with my lips pressed against the top of her head.

  I heard Jack’s feet shuffle around the small cabin. He was inspecting the camera that Lund had set up and various other items in the room.

  “I’ll be outside. I’ll give you a moment,” he said before turning for the door.

  “Hang on,” I said. “Where the hell did you come from? I thought you were dead. Last I saw you were inside a stricken helicopter.”

  “Normally, you’re supposed to go down with the ship, so to speak. They train you to stay on the joystick, doing your best to control the descent. But I had nowhere to land. It was all cliff. Except for a wide chute full of snow. So I did my best to make a steady pass over the chute, got as close to it as I could, and jumped.”

  “You jumped? How far?”

  “About sixty feet.”

  “What?!”

  “Yep. Straight into the loving arms of deep Montana powder. It was like landing in a feather bed. But before it crashed the chopper spun back towards me, real close. Almost gave me a haircut. So I guess it didn’t all quite go to plan.”

  “So what took you so long?”

  “Climbing out of that chute was a real bitch.”

  He went outside.

  Soon afterwards I could feel Bella’s body was calm and relatively warm. It was time to move.

  “Come on, darling. Let’s get you off this mountain. We need to call your mom.”

  Her weak arms tightened around my neck.

  “I’m here, sweetheart,” I whispered. “I’m here.”

  “I knew you’d come, Daddy,” she said quietly. “Just like you promised.”

  36

  A white van made its way towards the open gates of San Quentin prison. A few yards beyond the exit it stopped, and the passenger door bearing a large California Department of Corrections badge opened. A guard stepped out. He took two steps and then turned back to face the van. Another guard took the handle of the sliding door and threw it open. Demarco Torrell emerged holding a small white plastic bag containing the sum of his belongings. The first guard stated Demarco’s name and gave him his release papers and a handshake. Demarco then turned to me and crossed the yellow line separating the free from the incarcerated. He managed a half-smile as he took my hand and we bumped shoulders.

  “Welcome back, Demarco,” I said.

  “Thanks man.”

  “Let’s go see your mom.”

  It had not taken long to secure Demarco’s release. On the return drive from Big Sky to Bozeman, there were a couple of things to do. The first was to get Bella—who was safe, warm and comfortable but still quiet and subdued—some FaceTime with Claire. Next, I’d sent the link to Lund’s private YouTube stream, along with the login details, to Jessica Pope. She didn’t need me to tell her a grave miscarriage of justice had been carried out by the state of California. She was not the type to take it personally or impede any effort to free my client. She acted with haste.

  I also told her I’d be handing over a large folder of supporting documents that would not have existed had it not been for the hard work, instinct and tenacity of Dino Cassinelli.

  “Dino Cassinelli. I thought he was a spent force.”

  “Far from it. He’s a terrific cop, Jessica. You need him. The city needs him. You can’t let his talents go to waste.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. I can be persuasive.”

  “I know you can.”

  After delivering Bella into Claire’s arms, I went straight back to LAX to fly to San Francisco. But I wouldn’t be needing a ticket for this flight. Once Jack had filled Carla Pearson in on Demarco’s story, she’d told him to keep the Gulfstream’s meter running and get the boy back home as quickly as possible.

  This time, for Demarco’s benefit, I accepted the offer of an air stewardess.

  Once we were at cruising speed, Stacey approached us with a bottle of French champagne.

  “Ms. Pearson thought you might like to celebrate,” she said.

  Demarco smiled and nodded, accepting the glass once Stacey had finished pouring.

  “So have you given any thought to what you’re going to do?” I said.

  “Yes, I have. And I still want to join the Marines.”

  “Is that what you really want to do, Demarco?”

  “I know the cost of war more than just about anyone, Mr. Madison. But I want to defend my country and stand up for my people just like my dad did. I feel like it’s my family duty.”

  I had the most powerful sense of deja vu. I could have sworn Tank had once uttered those exact same words.

  “Here’s to your dad, Demarco. He’ll always be my hero. And believe me when I say you remind me so much of him. Cheers.”

  “Cheers,” he said, and we clinked glasses. “That’s good to know, sir.”

  THE END

  Hi there,

  First up, I want to say thanks, a huge thanks, to everyone who bought Web of Justice, but especially to those of you who responded so favorably to Force of Justice, the first book of the series. Sure, I copped some criticism and some of it was warranted but the overwhelming message I got from you guys was positive.

  I won’t be the first author to admit that I read every review of my books on Amazon and Goodreads and I have taken all the feedback on board—the good, the bad ... but not so much the ugly (you’ll never please some people).

  But because of the success of Force of Justice I was able to commit to writing novels full-time. I quit my day job and am chasing my dream of succeeding as a full-time novelist. There’s no guarantee it will work out well for me and my family, but at least I am giving it a real shot. Anyhow, I couldn’t have taken that step without you, and for that I am so grateful.

  All well and good, but what’s in it for you?

  Well, for one you won’t have to wait so long between drinks with Brad Madison. You’ll get a top up twice a year, at least. My aim is to deliver on everything you loved about Force of Justice and then some.

  So there, I’ve made my goal public—no pressure!

  While I’m on the topic of how you and I get along, I hope you enjoyed Web of Justice as much as I enjoyed writing it. That said, writing this book tested me on a personal level I did not expect. In it, I explore the father-daughter relationship, something I’m living and trying to nurture and refine on a daily basis. I have a daughter Bella’s age (and two younger sons!) and I found Brad’s despair was my own as I tried to imagine what it would be like to have such a horrible thing happen to your beloved child. Thankfully things turned out well in the end! But it was a very emotional journey for me, getting this story down.

  Back to reviews. Please consider leaving one on Amazon. The number of reviews a book receives daily has a direct impact on how it sells and how high it ranks. So just leaving a review, no matter how small, helps me to keep writing. And I’ve jumped into this gig boots and all now. The next Brad Madison novel is already taking shape ... and I want to get it to you before Christmas, so keep me to my word.

  Please remember that when I make changes to the manuscript a new version will be made available to anyone who’s already purchased the book.

  I say this because I will soon have a website out and will be starting a newsletter to keep you up to date on everything Brad Madison.

  When the website is live I’ll post the address here and on my Amazon and Goodreads author profiles. So keep an eye out.

  Again, thank you so much.

  All the best

  JJ

 

 

 
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