She’d confront the judge that afternoon, at the internship.
But when she got to chambers, Imani told her the judge had not come in that day.
“Where is she?” Madison said.
“I don’t know. Sean and I showed up as usual this morning, and chambers was dark. No judge, no Kelsey. No explanation. Just a note on my desk from Nancy saying court was canceled. Sean went home, but I’ve been here all day catching up on paperwork.”
“That’s weird.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“It’s kind of worrisome. Do you think she’s okay?”
“That’s not a subject I’m comfortable speculating about. Not here,” Imani said, turning back to her computer.
Unease settled in Madison’s chest as she considered why the judge might be absent. Not illness. More likely, arrest. Or fleeing the jurisdiction. Or, God forbid, kidnapping, or worse. And what did Imani mean, that she wouldn’t speculate here? They were alone in chambers. Did she think the place was bugged?
The afternoon crawled by, punctuated by the clacking of keyboards. At five, Imani shut down her computer.
“Well, I think I’ll head out.”
“Me too,” Madison said.
She wished she could get Imani talking. Whatever the law clerk knew, she wasn’t comfortable spilling here.
“Would you like to grab a drink? I’ve been dying to try that new martini bar. My treat.”
“Really? I heard that place is pricey.”
“It’s fine. I picked up a second job.”
“No kidding. Doing what?”
“Um, kind of like a personal assistant thing.”
“Is that wise with your workload?”
“I got tired of being broke.”
“I feel you. I remember those days.”
“I just got paid, and it’s burning a hole in my pocket. So let’s go.”
It was already dark, and the night air was frigid. They walked the few blocks to the bar, which was just past the T stop, talking about clothes and the weather. Imani hated winter and was planning to go back to Atlanta after the clerkship to work at a law firm.
“That day can’t come fast enough,” she said.
“That doesn’t sound like it’s about the weather. Are you unhappy with the clerkship?”
“Let’s have a drink first.”
The bar was jam-packed with lawyers and other people from the courthouse. Nobody wore ties anymore except in court, but this was still Boston, and there were a lot of conservative dark suits. They pushed their way up to the bar, where blue light shone out from shelves lined with crystal decanters, making it feel like the inside of an aquarium. A couple of thirtysomething guys gave up their seats to them and tried to buy them drinks. They shut them down and ordered Vespers, along with a cone of frites to share. The prices were hair-raising, but the martinis lived up to the hype, ice-cold with the whoosh of rocket fuel. Madison’s tolerance for alcohol was not the greatest, so she sipped carefully. Imani was not so cautious, and her eyes quickly took on a cocktail glaze. Time to start digging.
“You mentioned earlier you didn’t want to talk about the judge while we were in chambers. But nobody was around. I almost got the feeling you thought the place was bugged.”
“I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“Past who?”
“Nancy. That woman is a little dictator. Just look at how she treats you, limiting your computer usage like you’re gonna access porn or something. She thinks she runs the place, and who can blame her? Judge Conroy is so checked out.”
“Do you think it’s burnout? Teaching on top of her case load is a lot.”
“All I can say is, she’s changed drastically just in the past month. Even when she’s there, she’s not there. Maybe something happened. Maybe she suffers from depression. The reason doesn’t matter. There’s a power vacuum, and Nancy is taking advantage. She’s been telling us how to decide cases. Civil, criminal, you name it. And the judge allows it. That’s what I object to. She’s leaving her docket in the hands of someone who is not qualified. If Nancy knew what she was doing, that would be one thing. But she does things that don’t conform to the law.”
“You’re saying Nancy is deciding cases, and the outcomes are legally wrong?”
“Yes. Are you listening to me?”
“I hear you. It’s just hard to believe. Don’t the rulings get overturned on appeal?”
“Not everybody appeals when they lose, because of the time and expense involved. And when a ruling does get reversed, it’s bad for Judge Conroy’s reputation. A friend of mine clerks on the Court of Appeals, and she asked me just the other day what the hell is going on in our chambers. People have noticed. If Judge Conroy flames out, it reflects on us.”