The Judge’s List
- Автор: Гришэм Джон
- Серия: Lacy Stoltz #2
- Год: 2021
- Язык: английский
- Год: Doubleday/Random House
- ISBN: 978-0-385-54602-7
- Жанр: Триллеры
Электронная книга - «The Judge’s List». Краткое содержание книги:
Then she meets a mysterious woman who is so frightened she uses a number of aliases. Jeri Crosby’s father was murdered twenty years earlier in a case that remains unsolved and that has grown stone cold. But Jeri has a suspect whom she has become obsessed with and has stalked for two decades. Along the way, she has discovered other victims.
Suspicions are easy enough, but proof seems impossible. The man is brilliant, patient, and always one step ahead of law enforcement. He is the most cunning of all serial killers. He knows forensics, police procedure, and most important: he knows the law.
He is a judge, in Florida — under Lacy’s jurisdiction.
He has a list, with the names of his victims and targets, all unsuspecting people unlucky enough to have crossed his path and wronged him in some way. How can Lacy pursue him, without becoming the next name on his list?
The Judge’s List is by any measure John Grisham’s most surprising, chilling novel yet.
“He did. He was very patient, very calculating. He knew all of his victims, and he stalked them until the right moment. We’ll never know the details because Bannick destroyed everything before he killed himself. Records, notes, hard drives, everything. He knew the FBI was finally closing in. He was extremely thorough, quite brilliant actually. The FBI is impressed.”
They absorbed this in disbelief and said nothing. After a long pause, Chief Turnbull said, “You mentioned method.”
“They were all the same, with one exception. A blow to the head, then strangulation with a rope. The same type of rope every time, secured with a seldom-used tie-off called the double clove hitch. It’s sometimes used by sailors.”
“His calling card.”
“Yes, his calling card, which is not unusual. The FBI profilers believe he had no desire to get caught but wanted someone to know of his work. They also believe he had some type of a death wish, thus the suicide.”
“How’d he kill himself?” Roger asked.
“Drug overdose. We’re not sure of the drug because there was no autopsy, at his instructions. One was not really needed. The FBI examined his thumbs and fingers, but they were too damaged to yield any prints.”
“My father was killed by a judge?” Guff asked.
“That’s what we believe, yes, but it will never be proven.”
“And he will never be exposed?”
“The thumb print was left behind in the Biloxi murders. The sheriff there plans to meet with the victims’ families and decide what to do. There is a chance they will release the information that the murders have been solved and that Bannick was the killer.”
“I certainly hope so,” Roger said.
“But no prosecution?” Guff asked.
“No. He’s dead and I seriously doubt they will try to convict him in absentia. The sheriff believes the families, at least one of them, will not want to pursue the matter. Any prosecution will be complicated, if not impossible, because Bannick will not be around to confront his accusers.”
Jane Kronke gritted her teeth and said, “I don’t know what to say. Are we supposed to be relieved, or angry, or what?”
Lacy shrugged and said, “I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”
Guff said, “But there will be no report, no news, nothing to let the public know that our father was killed by this guy. Right?”
“I can’t control what you might say to a reporter, but, without more evidence, I’m not sure anything can be printed. It might be problematic to accuse a dead man with insufficient proof.”
Another long pause as they struggled to make sense of it. Roger finally asked, “These other victims, who were they?”
“People from his past, people who had aggrieved him in some way. A law school professor, a lawyer who screwed him out of a fee, a couple of old girlfriends, a former client who filed a complaint, a reporter who exposed a shady land deal. A scoutmaster. We believe that Bannick was sexually abused by his scoutmaster when he was twelve or so. Maybe that’s where it all started. We’ll never know.”
Guff shook his head in exasperation, stood, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and walked around the deck.
Jane asked, “If he was so brilliant, how did you catch him?”
“We didn’t. The police didn’t. Chief here can attest to the fact that there was almost no evidence left behind.”
“So how?”
“Well, it’s a long story, and an unbelievable one at that. I’ll skip the details and cut to the chase. His second victim, or at least the man who we think was number two, was Bannick’s professor at law school. He has a daughter who became obsessed with her father’s murder. Eventually she became suspicious of Bannick, and she stalked him for twenty years. When she became convinced, and when she mustered the courage, she brought the case to us. We didn’t want it, but we had no choice. It didn’t take long to get the FBI involved.”
“Please tell her we say thanks,” Jane said.
“I will. She’s quite remarkable.”
“We’d like to meet her one day,” Roger said.
“Maybe, who knows. But she is quite timid.”
The chief said, “Well, she solved the case that we couldn’t. Sounds like the FBI should hire her.”
“They would love to. Look, I’m sorry to deliver this news, but I thought you would want to know. You have my phone number if you have any questions.”
Guff said, “Oh, I’m sure we’ll have a thousand questions.”
“Anytime, but I can’t promise all the answers.”
Lacy was ready to go. They thanked her again and again, and walked her to the car where Allie was waiting.
Late in the afternoon, the resort was hopping with music from the bars, a rowdy volleyball game in the sand, kids splashing in the pool. A reggae band tuned up under some palm trees. Sailboats crisscrossed the crystal blue water in the distance.
Lacy had enough of the sun and wanted to go for a walk. At the point, they happened upon a wedding being organized around a small chapel on the sand. Guests were arriving and sipping champagne.
“What a lovely chapel,” she said. “Not a bad place for a wedding.”
“It’s nice,” Allie said.
“I have it reserved for September the twenty-seventh. Are you busy that day?”
“Uh, well, I don’t know. Why?”
“You can be so slow at times. That’s the day we’re getting married. Right here. I’ve already paid the deposit.”
He took her hand and pulled her closer. “What about the proposal and all that?”
“I just proposed. Evidently, you couldn’t do it. And I’ll take that ring now.”
He laughed and kissed her. “Why don’t you just go ahead and buy one yourself since you’re taking charge?”
“I’ve thought about it, but that’s left for you. And I like oval diamonds.”
“Okay. I’ll get right on it. Anything else I should know?”
“Yes. I picked that date because it gives us four months to wrap up our careers and begin our new life. I’m quitting. You’re quitting. It’s either me or the FBI.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
He laughed, kissed her again, and then laughed some more. “I’ll stick with you.”
“Good answer.”
“And I’m sure the honeymoon is planned.”
“It is. We’re leaving for a month. We’ll start on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, bum around there, take trains to Portofino, Nice, southern France, maybe end up in Paris. We’ll play it by ear and decide as we go.”
“I like it. And when we come back?”
“If we come back, then we’ll figure out the next chapter.”
A barefoot groomsman in Bermuda shorts, pink shirt, and bow tie walked over with two glasses of champagne and said, “Join the party. We need more guests.”
They took the champagne, found seats in the back row, and felt right at home watching two complete strangers exchange vows.
Lacy was already taking notes on how she would do things differently.
Author’s Note
When last seen in The Whistler, Lacy Stoltz was recovering from injuries and struggling with her future. I’ve thought a lot about her since then and always wanted to bring her back for one more adventure. I could not, however, find a story that would equal such a dramatic success as her first, until I found a judge who’s also a murderer.
You gotta love fiction.
As I point out in one of the few accurate parts of the book, every state has its own way of dealing with complaints against judges. In Florida, the Judicial Qualifications Commission has been doing a fine job since 1968. The Board on Judicial Conduct does not exist.
Many thanks to Mike Linden, Jim Lamb, Tim Heaphy, Lauren Powlovich, Neal Kassell, Mike Holleman, Nicholas Daniel, Bobby Moak, Wes Blank, and Talmage Boston.