Supreme Justice

Chapter Fifty-seven

Justice Moss called Brad minutes after his alarm went off to tell him that she wanted him in her chambers as soon as he got in. The judge hadn’t told him why she wanted to meet, but Brad remembered that the justices were in conference later in the morning to decide the fate of petitions for writs of certiorari. He wondered if Woodruff was among the petitions that would be discussed.

When Brad arrived at the Court, Harriet was already at her desk.

“I’m off to see the Wizard,” Brad said, in case someone needed him.

Harriet grunted but didn’t look up from her monitor.

Until the attempt on her life, Felicia Moss had been one of the more spirited justices, and the energy with which she attacked her job had made Brad forget her age. This morning, she was slumped in her chair looking every bit like a woman in her seventies.

“We’re discussing the petitions for cert this morning,” the judge said as soon as Brad shut the door. “I’ve asked Millard to meet with me before the conference starts.”

“Why are you doing that?” Brad asked, worried that he knew what his boss was going to answer.

“I’m going to confront him. I want you to be here because you know everything our investigation uncovered.”

“You’re making a mistake, Judge. I don’t think it’s wise to meet with Justice Price. What if we’re right and he was involved in the plot to kill you?”

“Do you remember when Millard visited me the morning after the attack?”

Brad nodded.

“He was very upset, and I don’t think he was faking. Millard is involved in some way in the Woodruff matter; the papers your fiancée discovered prove he created the Cayman Island company, and I’m convinced his opposition to Woodruff’s cert petition has nothing to do with its merits. But I can’t believe he would be part of a plan to murder me.”

“I met with Keith last night and brought him up to speed. He knows everything I know. Let’s bring him into the meeting.”

“Millard won’t talk freely with an FBI agent in the room.”

“What makes you think he’ll talk with me here?”

“I plan on having you step out as soon as you tell Millard what you know.”

“You’re going to be alone with him? He’s a big man, Judge. He could kill you.”

“I don’t think he’ll try to hurt me, but we’ll soon know how good a judge I am of human nature.”

Air traffic control had instructed the pilot of the plane carrying Daphne Haggard to let the detective off before any other passenger. Keith’s credentials had gotten him through security, and he was waiting at the end of the gangway when the bleary-eyed redhead walked into the boarding area pulling her carry-on behind her.

“Detective Haggard, I’m Keith Evans, a special agent with the FBI. How was your flight?”

“As good as a red-eye can be.”

“Do you have any more baggage?”

“No, this is it.”

“Do you want some coffee or something to eat?”

“I don’t think you’ll want to waste time eating when you hear what I have to say. To tell the truth, I was afraid I wouldn’t be taken seriously.”

Keith smiled. “I’m the agent in charge of the investigation into the attempted murder of Justice Moss, and I can assure you that an easy way to get my attention is for a homicide detective to leave a message stating that she thinks a Supreme Court clerk is an impostor. So, what makes you think one of the clerks isn’t who they’re supposed to be?”

On the way to the parking garage, Daphne filled in Evans on the discovery of the missing thigh and how the victim was identified.

“What did you do after you talked to the dean and the student?” Keith asked.

“I called the Supreme Court. They told me that Harriet Lezak is clerking for Justice Moss. The problem is that pieces of Lezak are also in the Inverness city morgue.”

“Have you tried a DNA match?”

“I’m on that. We sent a tissue sample to NamUs right away so they could run it through their database, but that takes three months or more, unless it’s a priority case.”

“This case will jump to the top of the list as soon as I get a chance to call Texas. What about using Lezak’s tissue or saliva for the test?”

“I’m trying to run down something to use for a comparison. So far I haven’t had any luck. Lezak is an orphan, so there’s no family to contact. She did have her own apartment just off campus, but it was cleaned when she moved out, and it’s been rented for months.”

“Do any of her friends have something of hers with DNA on it?”

“Everyone says she was also a loner with no real friends. One student saw her walking around campus with a woman whose description fits the woman Gayle Blake saw her with. He also thought there was a strong resemblance. But I have no leads on the identity of the woman.”

“Do you think the woman who was seen with Lezak is the person who took her place?”

“That’s what I’m guessing, but it’s just a guess at this point.”

“Did you bring Lezak’s school file? I’d like to see it.”

“It’s in my bag,” Daphne said.

“What about a picture?” he asked. “Do you have a photograph? I’ve talked to Lezak. I’ll know right away if the person in the photo is the woman who’s clerking for Justice Moss.”

“There’s one in her file. I’ll get it out when we’re in the car.”

“This is terrific police work,” Keith told Haggard. “Exceptional, but personally I hope you’ve made a terrible mistake.”

“That makes two of us,” Haggard said, “but I don’t think I have.”

Millard Price was smiling when he entered Justice Moss’s chambers. Brad decided that the justice hadn’t guessed why the judge wanted to talk to him, or he was a very good actor.

“What’s up?” Price asked.

“Sit down, Millard. Brad and I have something to tell you.”

Price looked back and forth between the justice and her clerk. Both looked somber. Price stopped smiling and took a seat across from his fellow justice.

“What’s going on, Felicia?”

“I know why you’ve been so upset about Sarah Woodruff’s petition for cert,” Moss told him.

“Woodruff? What makes you think I’m upset about that case?”

“If you’re not worried that we’ll grant cert, you should be,” the judge said. “Once the case becomes a topic of discussion in the national media, someone is going to dig up the goods on TA Enterprises, the hashish-smuggling operation, and the five dead men on the China Sea.”

“I’m really not sure what you’re getting at. From what I’ve read in the record, there’s no proof that there was hashish on the ship or any dead bodies.”

“There is proof that you were involved in establishing the shell corporation that bought the ship.”

The judge turned to Brad. “Show Justice Price the pictures of the file.”

Price looked angry when he finished studying the blowups Brad had made from the photos on Ginny’s phone.

“Where did you get these?” he asked. “These documents are in a client’s file in my old firm. They’re confidential. Anyone who took these is guilty of theft.”

Moss focused her gaze on her judicial brother. “And you’re guilty of a conflict of interest, Millard. Did you help buy that ship for the CIA? If you did, why didn’t you recuse yourself?”

“What I did or did not do in my capacity as an attorney for a client of Rankin Lusk is privileged information.”

Justice Moss leaned toward Price. When she spoke, there was steel in her voice and a hint of the menace she must have radiated during her days on the street.

“Brad is going to tell you everything we know about the China Sea so you can decide how you wish to proceed. If you don’t recuse yourself from the case, I will repeat in conference everything Brad will tell you, and I’ll let the justices decide how to deal with you.”

Brad’s voice shook as he told Justice Price-without naming Dana or Ginny-what had been uncovered about Woodruff’s case. Price maintained a blank expression during the narrative. If they’d been expecting Price to break down and confess, Justice Moss and her clerk were disappointed.

“I haven’t heard anything but guesswork and hearsay,” Price said when Brad was finished. “You’d never get any of that admitted in court.”

“Our conferences are not courts of law, Millard,” Felicia said quietly. “The hearsay rule doesn’t apply. But common sense does, and I believe that our brethren will be as upset with you as I am when they know what happened on that ship and the attempts that you and your school friend made to cover it up-attempts that may have included an attempt on my life.

“Tell me, Millard, what will you do if a member of the House of Representatives begins impeachment proceedings? How will you and Dennis Masterson cover up what you did when the government and the press put this sordid episode under a microscope.”

The smug look disappeared from Price’s face, and Brad could tell that he finally understood his position.

“Thank you for your help, Brad. Why don’t you leave me and Justice Price so we can continue this discussion?”

Brad was torn. He wanted nothing more to do with the China Sea, but he didn’t want to leave his boss with a man who might try to kill her. Moss saw his indecision. She smiled.

“I’ll be fine, Brad. Please go. And tell Carrie I don’t want to be interrupted.”

Brad stepped out and gave Carrie the message. He rounded the corner and was about to step into his office when his cell phone vibrated. He looked down to check the caller ID and almost ran into Harriet Lezak.

“Sorry,” Brad said.

“No problem.”

Harriet headed down the hall.

“Hey, Keith,” Brad said.

“Don’t react. Just say yes or no. Is Harriet Lezak with you?”

“No. She just left our office. Why?”

“She’s an impostor. The real Harriet Lezak has been dead for months.”

“Jesus!”

“I’m pulling into the Court garage. I’ll be upstairs in a few minutes.”

As Brad disconnected, he remembered that Justice Moss and Justice Price were alone and Harriet had been heading in the direction of the judge’s chambers. He sprinted back. Carrie had been sitting at her desk moments ago, but he didn’t see her. Then he saw a foot jutting out past her desk. He walked around it and found the judge’s secretary sprawled on the floor. He knelt quickly and felt for a pulse. As soon as he found one, Brad rushed to the door of Justice Moss’s chambers and yanked it open. Harriet was standing in the middle of the room, pointing a gun at Price and Moss. She turned her head toward Brad, and Justice Price launched himself across the room with the determination he’d shown decades earlier on the gridiron. Harriet turned back and fired. Price staggered but he was close enough to wrap Lezak in a bear hug. His momentum sent them crashing to the floor. When they hit, Harriet’s right arm was pinned to her side and the gun was pointed down her leg. Price held her so tightly that she couldn’t turn the barrel toward him.

Brad scanned the room for a weapon and grabbed a heavy ceremonial gavel that had been given to Justice Moss by the NAACP. Price and Lezak were thrashing around on the floor. The justice was bleeding badly and he was weakening. Lezak got some space between their bodies and started to sit up. Brad smashed the gavel on her skull. Blood poured from her scalp. She turned her head toward Brad and he whipped the gavel into her face with so much force that the head of it flew off.

Lezak slumped back, but she still held the gun. Brad stamped on her wrist and her hand opened. As he kicked the gun away, Lezak grabbed his ankle and whipped it up. Brad toppled over. Lezak heaved Price off her. Brad got to his knees. Lezak turned to face him. The handle of the gavel was jagged where the head had snapped off. Brad didn’t hesitate. He plunged the jagged edge into Lezak’s neck. Blood spurted out and her hands flew to the wound just as the door flew open and Keith Evans ran in, followed by two members of the Supreme Court police force and a redheaded woman Brad had never seen before.