While Justice Sleeps(14)

    “Why didn’t you think she was Justice Wynn’s companion?” The question came from Major Vance, the first time he’d broken his silence.

She shrugged. “He wouldn’t do that. Bring in his girlfriend as an employee. It’s unseemly.”

“Unseemly.”

The statement, intended as a question, bore no tone of query. Still, Avery understood the man meant to ask for explanation. Too shaken to resist, she explained, “He despises nepotism, favoritism, and poor utility. Unless his girlfriend was the best legal secretary in the country, he wouldn’t give her a job. Plus, he’d probably break up with her first.”

With an impenetrable look at the agent, the Chief agreed. “Very discerning.”

“He’s an honorable man. That’s why everyone got so angry. You can argue with him, but you can never question his logic or his values.” Not the man she knew. The man who now lay in a netherworld, unable to do what he loved most.

When the silence dragged on, she ventured, “Ma’am, is there something I can do for you? For the Court?”

Another look passed between the Chief and Major Vance. Avery waited.

“I know this is a lot to take in at once.” The Chief focused on her, eyes narrowing in decision. “Howard has a special fondness for you.”

Avery drew her hands free. “What do you mean?”

A smile curved the Chief’s mouth. “He thinks quite highly of you. Finds you ‘bearably brilliant.’ High praise, indeed, from Howard.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Avery swallowed the lump that rose in her throat. Ducking her head, she blinked back unexpected tears. Twice in one day, she thought dismally. Keep this up, and she’d be a fountain by lunch.

Justice Wynn would ream her out if he caught— It struck her then. The oddity of it all. “I appreciate you calling me in here, Chief. But why tell me alone? Why not me and Matt together?”

“Because this concerns you directly.” Major Vance came from the window and stood in front of them, before it ever registered with Avery that he’d moved. He loomed over the two women on the sofa, his hard blue eyes boring into them.

    She’d seen men like him around DC, usually where important people gathered. But his type didn’t frighten her. Massive and deadly existed in darker places than the military. She cocked her head. “What else is there?”

“Justice Wynn left this for you.” From behind him, he proffered a slim white envelope whose seal had been slit. Major Vance spoke before Avery could protest the breach. “A precaution, Ms. Keene. We had to verify the contents.”

Knowing how Wynn valued privacy and hated the intrusion of government, Avery was tempted to argue, but curiosity pulled at her. She tipped over the envelope and caught the folded sheets of white in her lap. Lifting the first, she scanned the contents, eyes growing wide with disbelief.

After a third read-through, she let the pages fall to her lap, and one slithered off to land on the thick red carpet beneath her feet. She turned to the Chief Justice. “You can’t be serious.”

“It was his wish. Is his wish.”

Avery struggled to comprehend the contents. “He has a child. A wife. A family. I’m just a clerk. I don’t understand.”

“Neither do we, Ms. Keene. Which is why we wanted to speak with you,” Major Vance explained. “Did you have any knowledge of these documents?”

Scooping up the fallen pages, she forced her voice to be polite. “No, I’ve never seen them before.” This had to be a mistake. A colossal misunderstanding. But her legal eye told her the pages were authentic, the decision real. She pivoted back to the Chief. “I didn’t know he was going to do this, I swear.”

Vance continued, “And you have never had a conversation with Justice Howard Wynn about this? Not even in passing?”

His incredulity bit at her temper, and she twisted her head to glare at him. “For the last time, no.”

Avery got to her feet, annoyance supplanting the shock that still trembled her knees. She’d never been more or less than Justice Wynn’s clerk, and she’d be damned if she’d let some Homeland Security thug imply otherwise. In elementary school, she’d beaten up kids for lesser insults.

    She pushed past the agent and crossed to the mahogany-paneled door. Pages clutched tightly, she turned to the Chief, ignoring Vance. “I swear to you, I had no idea that Justice Wynn had given me his power of attorney and named me his legal guardian. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to work.”





FIVE


“I’m not finished,” Vance commanded. “Sit down.”

Remaining stubbornly upright, Avery countered, “I’ve got a memo to write.”

“This isn’t a request, Ms. Keene.”

Sensing the rising mutiny, layered over shock, Chief Justice Roseborough intervened. “Avery, Major Vance is doing his job—investigating the circumstances of Justice Wynn assigning you his power of attorney. He intended no insult. Please, sit.”

Vance restrained a sneer. Intended no insult? Clearly, he’d intended that and more. This girl had complicated what seemed like a godsend to the president—his nemesis on the Supreme Court in a coma. “I have a few more questions, Ms. Keene.”