Chapter Twenty-eight
October 25 Almost Midnight
Louisburg Square
Boston, Massachusetts
His wife, Judge Julia Wright, snuggled in his arms. Even after decades of marriage, she still found comfort in the last moments before they fell asleep. She was warm under their dual control electric blankets. She wore her pink flannel pajamas while he slept in a T-shirt and jockey shorts.
“With any luck, no one will ever know. Besides, I can always quit, set up my own law office.”
“I’d hate to see you go out with a scandal.”
“Me, too, but I’ve already been castigated for being too easy on delinquents.” Julia was proud of her handling of kids. Sure, there were kids that were hopeless. Whatever had gone wrong would not only stay wrong but probably get worse.
She preferred to think of those kids she saved. The ones she sentenced to work at Angell Memorial Hospital. Helping with animals had softened many. Others were apprenticed into trades. Some were now married with kids of their own. She was invited to their weddings and the kids’ baptisms.
Five kids were sentenced to learn to read and Judge Wright made sure that the kids were assigned to a volunteer teacher, one that she had helped 10 years before.
The Globe had a field day with that. Fortunately, they only found out about two of her projects. One kid never learned, two graduated from college. Two ended up as apprentice electricians.
She worked with farmers in the western part of the state. Kids who had never been out of the slums took to the farm life after the initial shock. She made regular visits to make sure they weren’t being abused. Even if she was considered a bleeding-heart liberal, she was also a realist and could see through the many lies told by people.
It was through her bleeding heart that she met her husband, who headed the Big Brothers of Massachusetts when she was still a law student. They both had been lobbying for improved juvenile facilities. For Julia, it had been easy. The State House was almost around the corner from Suffolk Law School. It was easy to slip out between classes and go talk to a legislator over this or that law that was being considered.
Their marriage had been a good one even if it never produced a wanted child. He came not from money, but his folks were Boston Brahams. They would never have been able to live on Beacon Hill in a Bulfinch house had it not been handed down through generations. His work in Boston real estate left them more than comfortable but far from rich.
Julia considered herself lucky. Being raised in Southie where, despite not having much money, families were everything. She had laughed when Colin Powell talked about the neighbors being watchful of kids. It was so true. She knew if she got in trouble at school, it was nothing compared to what she faced at home. Hiding the trouble from her family was about as possible as going back in time to the Revolutionary War.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Jason asked.
Julia did.
“Four little girls may, notice I said may, have been working to kill a boy at the same school. He was a year older. They made a dubious story about writing a non-existent play. Only the drama teacher knew nothing about it.”
“What do you think?”
“I need more information.”
Jackson Wright squeezed his wife. “So, what you going to do?”
“I’m going to order a psych evaluation of all four girls.”
“Patrick Kelly?”
“There’s a list of shrinks I really trust, not the ones that are paid to say what the defendants want. Patrick? I can’t help it. I still him think of the little boy who cried every time I had to put alcohol on his different bruises.”
“Not fair to him.”
“But it covers my ass better. When I get that report, I hope I need to know what to do.” She reached over her husband to put out his light on the nightstand before turning over. Jason Wright turned to spoon her. He fell asleep quickly. It took Julia a couple of hours
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