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“All the same, I would like to know what I did, or didn’t do, that made him want to kill me. What<br />
did I do to provoke payback that extreme?”<br />
“Could be you had nothing to do with it.”<br />
“You just said you thought I was the target.”<br />
“No I didn’t. You did. But maybe Rodriguez, or whatever his name was, wasn’t motivated by you,<br />
the court, or anything that we can put a label on. Maybe he was just a head case whose hobby was<br />
killing small animals. It was only a matter of time before he graduated to human beings, and the<br />
courthouse made for good theater.”<br />
“Especially the final act.”<br />
“Especially the final act. He got the attention he sought. Which is why local politicians, the media,<br />
and the public will be asking questions, and the police will be scrambling to provide satisfactory<br />
answers. They’ll have to justify taking him out the way they did.”<br />
“Was it justified?”<br />
“I had identified myself as a law officer and ordered him to put down the weapon. He not only<br />
refused, he fired two shots at a uniformed officer, and he probably would have gone on firing if those<br />
SWAT officers hadn’t stopped him. No, judge, it went down the way it had to. It’s just…”<br />
He thought back on those fateful moments. although measured in time by mere seconds, it had been<br />
a history-changing, life-ending event. He’d been there. He’d witnessed the whole thing. Yet he still<br />
didn’t understand why that young man had placed himself in such a near-perfect situation to get killed.<br />
His consternation must have been apparent, because the judge’s expression invited him to share<br />
what was on his mind, and before he knew he was going to, he did. “I wish I could have had a few<br />
more seconds with him, you know? Maybe I could have talked him into putting down the pistol. Or I<br />
could have convinced the deputy to back away and let me handle it. Or—”<br />
“Or you could have been killed.”<br />
That statement snapped him back into the present, and to her, and to the reason he’d come here in<br />
the first place. “Right. I could have been killed. Which makes me sorry I went after him in the first<br />
place. But I did. And because I did, I’m in the big thick middle of it, and I don’t want to be. I’ve been<br />
through a mess like this once before.” He paused for emphasis. “As you well know.”<br />
She looked down at the floor. “It’s an unfortunate circumstance for you, and I’m sorry over it.”<br />
“Oh, I’m sure you’re all torn up.”<br />
Hearing in his tone that he meant just the opposite, she raised her head and looked at him. “Why do<br />
you doubt it?”<br />
“Because my being gung-ho today gives you the perfect out.”<br />
“I don’t know what you mean.”<br />
“Sure you do.” He advanced on her a step. “If you had to rule on my petition right now, this<br />
second, would you award me custody of Georgia?”<br />
She parted her lips to speak, but nothing came out.<br />
“That’s what I thought,” he said with a snicker. “After today, you can deny me custody of my little<br />
girl and walk away with a clear conscience.”<br />
His conclusion angered her. “After this,” she said, passing her hand back and forth between the<br />
two of them, “I won’t even be deciding your case. I’ll have to recuse myself and give it over to<br />
another judge.”<br />
“Even better. You can wash your hands of the whole thing.” He made a show of dusting his hands.