Phillip Margolin - Supreme Justice

Dana approached the general store through a narrow alley. When she arrived at the end of the alley, she could see Bergstrom sitting in his car. Ten minutes later, headlight beams illuminated the street. Bergstrom got out of his car when a nondescript Buick pulled into the lot a space away from his car. Dana activated the video camera and the mike when Dennis Masterson got out of the passenger side of the car. She began to listen.

“Why the meeting?” Bergstrom asked.

“They operated on the woman I placed on the Court. The word I get is that she’ll be able to talk soon.”

“Has she given the cops any information so far?”

“No, but she’s been out of it since she was injured.”

“Is this someone you’ve worked with before?”

Masterson nodded.

“Then she knows the drill.”

“She killed a Supreme Court justice. No one will show her mercy. People are unpredictable when they’re facing death and are given a way of avoiding it.”

“Maybe so, but what do you want me to do about it?”

“You can get to her, silence her.”

Bergstrom laughed. “Are you nuts? She’ll have an army guarding her.”

“You’re the only one I can count on to do this.”

“Then you’re in trouble. I don’t do suicide missions.”

“You don’t understand. She can put us in prison.”

“Correction, Dennis. She can put you in prison. She doesn’t know me.”

Masterson stared hard at Bergstrom. “We sink or swim together, Tom.”

Bergstrom sighed. “I thought you would say something like that.”

What happened next happened so fast that Dana wasn’t certain of what she’d seen until she viewed the DVD. Bergstrom hit Masterson in the throat with the rigid fingers of his left hand, stunning him. At the same time, he whipped out a gun with his right hand and fired through the passenger window, killing Masterson’s driver. After shooting the driver a second time, Bergstrom fired a third shot between Masterson’s eyes. When he was certain both men were dead, The Swede dropped the weapon next to Masterson’s car, took off his gloves, and drove away.

For a moment, Dana toyed with the idea of following Bergstrom and taking him out. But the plan was far too dangerous, considering what she’d just seen. Dana backed into the shadows in the alley and checked the DVD. She’d turn it over to Keith Evans and let him get the credit for catching the man who’d killed one of the most powerful men in the country.

Brad Miller walked into the chambers of Justice Moss and found her slumped in her chair, looking exhausted. He wasn’t surprised. A normal term of the Court was demanding. Any case the justices decided affected not only the litigants but thousands of people who were not participants in the case. Just think Roe v. Wade or Miranda v. Arizona. When you added murder to the equation, it was easy to see why the justice’s nerves were frayed.

Two weeks had passed since the fight in the judge’s chambers that had resulted in Millard Price’s death. That incident had to share top billing with the murder of ex-CIA director Dennis Masterson. When Exposed broke its story about the involvement of the Two Amigos in the China Sea affair, no other news story had a chance of stealing a headline.

“You wanted to see me?” Brad said.

“Sit.”

Brad took the chair Justice Moss indicated.

“I just got back from the cert conference. The vote to grant cert in Sarah Woodruff’s case was unanimous. From the way everyone was talking, there’s an excellent chance that we’re going to send Sarah Woodruff’s case back for a new trial.”

“That’s terrific!”

“It’s not official yet that we’re granting cert, so keep this between us, but I thought you and Dana Cutler had a right to know.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re owed a lot more than a heads-up about the outcome of a case, Brad. Sarah Woodruff and I owe our lives to you.”

Brad didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.

The judge closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her eyelids. When she opened her eyes, she sighed.

“I’ve always known that I was getting old, but I haven’t felt old until this term. I don’t know how much longer I can take the pace.”

“You’re not thinking of quitting, are you?” Brad asked, tamping down the alarm he felt at the possibility that the Court could be deprived of a great legal mind.

“There’s a strong possibility that I won’t be back next term.”

“Don’t quit. You say that Dana and I saved Sarah Woodruff, but that’s not entirely correct. If you hadn’t stood up for her, she would be facing execution. You’re a hero to me and a lot of other people. And I don’t mean just because of Woodruff.”

Moss smiled. “That’s touching, Brad, and I’m not going to make any rash decisions, but I don’t think I could take another term like this.”

Brad laughed. “If that’s what you’re worried about, you’re going to be on this court for a long time. I can’t imagine that there will ever be another term of the United States Supreme Court like this one.”

Brad, Ginny, Dana, and Jake were in a festive mood when they met for dinner at Michelangelo’s, an Italian restaurant a few blocks from the offices of Exposed where Patrick Gorman ran a tab. The bill was being picked up by Gorman to show his appreciation for everyone’s help in breaking a political scandal as big as the Farrington affair. He was already talking about a second Pulitzer, but what made him really giddy was the new advertising revenue from large corporations that used to use his newspaper to collect parakeet droppings.

“I have an important announcement,” Brad said as soon as they’d made their wine selection. “Now this is hush-hush until tomorrow. Justice Moss just told me this in confidence an hour ago. So I need your blood oath that you’ll keep it between us.” Brad looked directly at Dana. “No spilling the beans to Mr. Gorman. Swear?”

Dana forced herself to look solemn and crossed her heart.

“So, give,” Ginny said.

“They’re granting cert in Woodruff, and her read is that the case will probably go back for a new trial.”

Everyone applauded.

“The judge thinks there’s a majority who want to rule that a defendant’s need for exculpatory evidence trumps concerns of national security in a case where the defendant is facing the death penalty. Of course, a lot can happen between now and when the case is decided.”

“I wonder if the DA will try Sarah again,” Ginny said.

“It’ll be a tough case to win with all the doubt that the evidence about the China Sea will cast over the State’s case,” Dana said.

“And there will be all sorts of adverse publicity about the CIA smuggling drugs and Masterson trying to kill Supreme Court justices to hush up what happened,” Jake said. “If I was the defense attorney, I’d argue that people who would kill a judge on our high court would think nothing of killing that guy Finley.”

“An argument I’m sure Mary Garrett is crafting as we speak,” Dana said.

Ginny cleared her throat. “Mr. Miller isn’t the only person with breaking news. I know a thing or two also.”

“Give,” Jake said.

“Tomorrow, Audrey Stewart is going to take her name out of consideration for a spot on the Court for…”

Instead of finishing her sentence, Ginny gestured to her friends.

“Health reasons,” they said in unison, before breaking into laughter.

“How did you guess?” Ginny asked with a cynical smile.

“I can’t believe President Gaylord nominated Stewart in the first place,” Brad said. “There were so many other worthwhile candidates.”

“Yeah, but none of them had Dennis Masterson backing them,” Ginny said. “There were rumors around the office about a late-night visit by Masterson to the White House. I’m guessing a lot of dirty secrets died with our senior partner.”