“There’s no one else,” she said quickly.
Michael didn’t look convinced. “Talk to you later.”
Sara stared after him, very troubled.
* * *
“I remember my first years on the Court.” Ramsey was staring out the window, a smile working across his face.
He was seated across from Elizabeth Knight, the Court’s most junior associate. Elizabeth Knight was in her mid-forties, average height, with a slender body, and long black hair tied back in a harsh, unflattering bun. Her face possessed sharply edged features, and her skin was unlined, as though she never spent any time outdoors. Knight had quickly established a reputation as one of the most vocal questioners at oral argument and as one of the most hardworking of all the justices.
“I’m sure they’re still vivid.” Knight leaned back in her desk chair as she mentally checked off her work schedule for the rest of the day.
“It was quite a learning process.”
She stared at him. He was now looking directly at her, his large hands clasped behind his head.
“It took me five years just to figure out things, really,” Ramsey continued.
Knight managed not to smile. “Harold, you’re being much too modest. I’m sure you had it all figured out before you walked in the door.”
“Seriously, it does take time. And I had many fine examples with whom to work. Felix Abernathy, old Tom Parks. Respecting the experience of others is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s an indoctrination process we all go through. Though you certainly have progressed faster than most,” he quickly added. “Still, here, patience is a very cherished virtue indeed. You’ve been here only three years. I’ve called this place home for over twenty. I hope you understand my point.”
Knight hid a smile. “I understand you are a little perturbed that I led the way for U.S. v. Chance to be put on the docket at the end of the last term.”
Ramsey sat up straight. “Don’t believe everything you hear around here.”
“On the contrary, I’ve found the clerk grapevine to be extraordinarily accurate.”
Ramsey sat back once more. “Well, I have to admit that I was a little surprised about it. The case presents no unsettled question of law that requires our intervention. Need I say more?” He threw up his hands.
“In your opinion?”
A tinge of red eased across Ramsey’s face. “In the published opinions of this Court over the last fifty years. All I ask is that you accord the Court’s precedents the respect they deserve.”
“You’ll find no one who holds this institution in higher regard than I do.”
“Very happy to hear that.”
“And I’ll be delighted to entertain your thoughts further on the Chance case after we hear oral argument.”
Ramsey looked at her dully. “It will be a very short discussion, considering that it doesn’t take long to say yes or no. Bluntly speaking, at the end of the day, I’ll have at least five votes and you won’t.”
“Well, I convinced three other justices to vote to hear the case.”
Ramsey looked as though he might laugh. “You’ll quickly learn that the difference between votes to hear a case and votes to decide it is enormous. Rest assured, I will have the majority.”
Knight smiled pleasantly. “Your confidence is inspiring. That I can learn from.”
Ramsey rose to leave. “Then consider this other lesson: Small mistakes tend to lead to large ones. Ours is a lifetime appointment, and all you have is your reputation. Once it’s gone, it doesn’t come back.” Ramsey went to the door. “I wish you a productive day, Beth,” he said before leaving her.
CHAPTER THREE
* * *
Rufus?” Samuel Rider cautiously pressed the phone to his ear. “How did you track me down?”
“Ain’t many lawyers up these parts, Samuel,” Rufus Harms said.
“I’m not in the JAG anymore.”
“Being on the outside pays good, I guess.”
“Some days I miss the uniform,” Rider lied. He had been a terrified draftee, fortunately with a law degree in hand, and had chosen a safe role in the Judge Advocate General’s Office — or JAG — over toting a gun through the jungles of Vietnam as a pudgy, fear-soaked GI, a sure beacon for enemy fire.