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Mrs Wallace led the hallway Every wall, every surface, was covered with Art Deco art and artifacts from the 1930s Their footsteps sounded loud on the oak floors, echoing up to the twelve-foot ceiling

"Suain, as if there were siine" She paused a moment, drew herself up, knocked on a door at the end of the hall, and ihed, walked into the glooht, and in the center of that circle sat an older ht, his hands clasped between his legs, eyes staring straight ahead

"Justice Wallace," Ben said as he walked to the e out "I’m Detective Ben Raven from the Metro Police I’d like to speak to you, sir"

Justice Wallace slowly turned his head to look up at Ben Then he looked beyond hi here? Why are you with this police officer?"

"I’m not here as a reporter, sir I’m here as part of my stepfather’s family"

Slowly, Justice Wallace rose, walked to Callie, and took her in his ar as an ox, she thought as she hugged hihtly "Steas a fine"Dear God, I will htly

Callie wanted to cry; it was odd, but what held her back was the thought that this man had actually made a pass at her mother, the wife of another Justice as supposed to be his best friend So sheif he was bitterly sorry now for what he’d done

After a few htened His shoulders went back His bearing was once again that of a Justice of the Supre and in control

He turned to Ben "Won’t you sit down, Detective? Beth, would you please get us coffee?"

Callie didn’t want any coffee, but Mrs Wallace had already turned away

"Why are you here, Detective? Where is the FBI? As you sae already have two federal uard us From a murder attempt or to protect us from the media, I don’t know Do you?"

"I would say both, sir," Ben said "As for the FBI, they’ll be here to talk to you, Justice Wallace I’ether by the Bureau I really appreciate you seeing ive me about Justice Califano would be helpful"

Justice Wallace sighed "So ned to keep us safe How could this have happened? In the Supre, the bedrock of the rule of law in our nation, the syovernht, a lot aret Califano Ben decided there was no reason for him not to tell hio outside for a sht back in It was after ht, quiet, and unfortunately he succeeded" It was a lousy excuse, Ben knew, but it was the truth "Justice Wallace, I understand you were Justice Califano’s closest friend Did you notice anything different about hi the past week? Did Justice Califano appear distracted, perhaps worried about so?"

"No, not at all Stewart appeared the sahout the week as well I knew he didn’t want to revisit the death penalty in the upcoain, neither did I"

"Why would that be, sir?"

"He believed it wasn’t a good case for the anti-death-penalty people to use since this sixteen-year-old boy had murdered three people in a particularly brutalthe ruling they’dhiain a plurality There was lots ofI don’t knohat Steould have ended up deciding to do"

"But you don’t believe he was in the Supreme Court Library to think about this particular case?"

"It’s possible Whenever Steanted to be alone to think, to study a case or a contentious issue like this one, he went to the library He si those thousands of books that give us the roots of e are as a people They helped focus hisof his work"