He sounded embarrassed, as he should.
“I’m having stomach troubles, deputy. I don’t know what’s wrong with Nancy, the way she overreacts.”
“Yes, ma’am. The, uh—the chair blocking the door—there isn’t any threat I should be aware of?”
“The threat is Nancy. She won’t leave me in peace to use the bathroom.”
He chuckled. “Got it. Sorry to disturb you.”
“Close the office door on your way out. And tell her to stay away until I call her.”
“Will do, ma’am. Feel better.”
Five minutes later, they resumed the docket meeting. The atmosphere was thick with subtext. Nancy eyed her suspiciously. The law clerks seemed nervous. Kathryn was distracted, plotting her escape route in her mind. If she wanted to leave tonight, there were arrangements to make. She needed the gun, her documents, a way to obscure her identity. She should leave as soon as possible, not wait until she got home hours from now. But if she walked out of chambers midafternoon, they’d notice. They’d start looking for her, and the first place they’d go was the town house. It wouldn’t work. She needed to put events in motion now. Madison could get the items she needed. Put everything in the car. But that wouldn’t work, either. Charlie knew about Madison. And he’d be looking for Kathryn’s car. She’d have to figure out an alternate standin, other transportation. She needed to slip out the judge’s exit and be gone before Nancy realized.
But when the meeting broke up, they were waiting for her. Nancy ushered the law clerks out, turning to Kathryn with a smug look in her eye.
“There’s been an addition to your schedule, Judge. The detective and defense attorney on the Pe?a case would like a word.”
“I’m afraid that’s not convenient.”
“Oh, but they’re already here. It won’t take much time,” she said, waving them in, closing the door behind them.
Ray and Charlie took seats in the guest chairs just vacated by her law clerks.
“Before we get down to business, I need to know—who’s this Mrs. Katz who called you from a blocked number?” Charlie said.
A blocked number. Thank God.
“It’s a private medical matter.”
“I’m not aware of any medical issues you have, Kathy.”
“You’re not. And I plan to keep it that way.”
“We wouldn’t be concerned,” Ray said in a conciliatory tone, “if not for the federal investigation. Be reasonable, honey. Give us some details to put our minds at rest.”
She crossed her arms and clenched her jaw.
“If you insist. Mrs. Katz is the receptionist in my gynecologist’s office. I’m having unusually heavy periods. It might be fibroids. It might be uterine cancer. It might just be menopause. They need to do an ultrasound. She was calling to schedule that. Satisfied?”
“Uterine cancer,” Ray said, looking genuinely upset. “You don’t think—”
“I don’t know.”
He put up his hands. “That’s good enough for me. You do what you need to do to take care of yourself.”
“I want to know why she called from a blocked number,” Charlie said.
“You’d have to ask her that.”
“Fine. Give me her digits.”
“You’re seriously asking for the phone number of my gynecologist’s office? Don’t you know already? You follow me everywhere.”
“C’mon, we’re family here, Charlie. The kid came clean with us about the feds. Stop busting her chops.”
“She came clean because I caught her in a lie, Ray.”
“So you asked about the call, and she gave a reasonable explanation having to do with—uh, lady’s business. I know Kathy. She wouldn’t make that up if it wasn’t true. Now, let’s move on to the matter at hand, okay? Douglas Kessler.”
“What about Doug?” Kathryn said.
“He’s a fucking snitch, that’s what,” Charlie said.
“You know that for a fact?”
“We think he’s working for them, but we need proof,” Ray said, “which is where you come in. Tomorrow night is the Pro Bono League reception. The likes of me don’t get invited to a thing like that. But you do. And so does Kessler. We want you to approach him there and set a trap.”
“How?”
“Get him alone in a corner and bring up Greco. Explain that Lee and Martin hauled you down to DC for an interview, you’re very worried, yada yada, does he know anything. In other words, smoke him out. Charlie’s got a guy inside the phone company who’ll be monitoring Kessler’s phone in real time. If we’re right, he’ll turn around and rat you out to Brooke Lee, and we’ll see it happen. Then we’ll know for sure what we’re dealing with.”