Ch 1 The Thing About J.J.
Mark McCormick watched as the police cars pulled out of the driveway. He kept his eye on the one with J.J. Beale in the back seat until it was gone. He tried to sort through his feelings regarding the other ex con, but was having a bit of trouble deciding how he felt. After Hardcastle had grabbed the $20 back from him, he had shoved his hands in his pockets and headed toward the beach.
Hardcastle had been comparing him to Beale, almost from the moment he got the phone call about Beale's prison escape, and Mark had always seemed to come up lacking. But, as smart as Beale was supposed to be, he was the one under arrest and Mark was here, living in the Gatehouse, and working with Hardcastle. Clearly, Mark had a better life. He was the winner in this quasi game. Then why did he feel so down? Hardcastle had asked him if he was jealous, and maybe he was, just a little, because Beale had been chosen first. "If Beale hadn't screwed up, I wouldn't be here at all," he thought.
But there was more to it, the judge thought Beale was a genius. "Hardcastle wishes Beale was here, not me," he thought sadly. "So does Sarah."
"Well, that doesn't do them any good, because what they've got is me!" he thought angrily, "whether they like it or not."