compensation case she was working on was as dry as dust and the heat made it hard to concentrate. Tracy was taking a sip from a diet Coke she had purchased more for the ice than the drink when Arnold Pope stormed in. His face was florid and he glowered at Tracy. With his bristly flattop and heavy jowls, he reminded her of a maddened bulldog.
'Did you talk to a woman named Bricker about me?' Pope demanded.
Tracy was frightened by the sudden verbal assault, but she refused to show it.
'I don't appreciate your yelling at me, Justice Pope,' she said firmly as she stood to confront the judge.
'And I don't appreciate a clerk talking about me behind my back, young lady.'
'What is this about?' Tracy asked, fighting to keep her tone even.
'I just had a visit from Detective Heidi Bricker of Salem PD.
She said someone accused me of making a pass at Laura Rizzatti in the library. She wouldn't tell me who'd made the accusation, but only three of us were there. Did you think I wouldn't figure out who was slandering me?'
'I told Detective Bricker what I saw.'
'You never saw me make a pass at Laura Rizzatti, because that never happened. Now, I want you to call her and tell her you lied.'
'I'll do no such thing,' Tracy answered angrily.
'Listen, young lady, you're just starting your legal career. You don't want to make enemies. Either you call that detective OF . . .
'Is something wrong?' Justice Griffen asked from the doorway. He was wearing a short-sleeve white shirt. His top button was open and his red-and-yellow paisley-print tie was loosened.
The heat had dampened his hair and it fell across his forehead.
From a distance, he could have been mistaken for one of the clerks.
Pope whirled around. 'This is between Miss Cavanaugh and me, he said.
'Oh? I thought I heard you threatening her.'
'I don't care what you think, Griffen. I'm not going to stand still while this girl makes false accusations about me behind my back.'
'Calm down, Arnold. Whatever happened between you and Ms. Cavanaugh, this is no way to deal with it. All the clerks can hear you yelling at her.'
Pope's shoulders hunched. He looked like he was going to say something to Griffen, then he changed his mind and turned back to Tracy.
'I expect you to make that call. Then I'll expect an apology.'
Pope pushed past Griffen and stormed down the hall and out of the clerks' area. As soon as the door slammed, Griffen asked, 'Are you okay?'
Tracy nodded, afraid that the judge would see how frightened she was if she spoke.
'What was that about?'
Tracy hesitated.
'Please,' Griffen said. 'I want to help.'
'I told something to the police. Something about Justice Pope and Laura. That's why he was upset.'
'What happened between them?'
'I . . . I really shouldn't say. I don't have anything more than suspicions. Maybe I was wrong to tell the police in the first place.'
'Tracy, I feel terrible about what happened to Laura. If you know something, you have to tell me.'
Tracy hesitated, not certain if she should go on.
'What is it, Tracy?'
'I think Justice Pope was bothering Laura.'
'In what way?'
'Sexually. I... There was an incident in the library. I couldn't hear what Justice Pope said but it looked like he was making a pass at her.
When I asked Laura what happened, she wouldn't come out and accuse him, but she was very upset. Laura was disturbed a lot recently. She looked like she wasn't sleeping and she was very jumpy.'
'And you think that was because Arnold was bothering her?'
'I don't know.'
Griffen considered what Tracy had told him. Then he closed the door to her office and sat down.
'I'm going to tell you something in confidence. You'll have to promise never to discuss this with anyone.'
'Of course.'
'We've had trouble with Arnold Pope since he came on the court. Justice Kamsky was highly respected. He was not only brilliant, he was very practical. I can't tell you how many times he was able to break a deadlock among the justices with his insights.
'When Pope beat Ted in the election we were crushed. Ted was not only the court's finest justice but a dear friend to us all.
Still, we tried to treat Pope as a colleague. We bent over backward to be fair to him. But the man's been a disaster. And one of the worst problems we've had has been his relations with women.
'Stuart had a long talk with Pope about his conduct after we received complaints from a secretary and a woman clerk. We all hoped he learned his lesson, but it appears he hasn't.'
'What are you going to do?'
'I'll discuss what you've told me with Stuart, but I don't think there's anything we can do. You're our only witness and you can't say what really happened. But it helps us to know that there's still a problem.
'I hope you understand why you can't talk about this. The image of the court is very important. People have to believe that they are receiving justice when we decide matters. It's the public's acceptance of our decision- making authority that maintains the rule of the law. Any scandal weakens the public's image of what we do.'
'I've already told the police.'
'Of course. You had to. And I appreciate your candor with me.'
Now it was Griffen's turn to pause. He looked uncomfortable.
'You were Laura's friend, weren't you?'
'I'd like to think that, but Laura was tough to get to know.'
'Oh?' Griffen said, surprised. 'I had the impression you two were close.'
'Not really. We were the only woman clerks, so we gravitated toward each other, but Laura didn't make friends easily. She came over to my house a few times for dinner and I was at her place once, but she never let her hair down with me.' Tracy paused, remembering Laura's last message.
'I think she wanted to that night. I think she was desperate for a friend. I wish . . .'
Tracy let the thought trail off. Griffen leaned forward.
'Alice told me about the call. Don't blame yourself. There's nothing you could have done.'
'I know that, but it doesn't make me feel any better.'
'Laura was a tough person to befriend. I try to get to know my clerks.
We go fishing or hiking a few times during the year. You know, do something that has nothing to do with law. Laura always had some excuse. I tried to draw her out, but our relationship stayed strictly professional. Still, recently I also had the feeling that something was troubling her. She seemed on the verge of confiding in me a few times, then she would back off. When I heard she'd been killed . . . I don't know . . . I guess I felt I'd failed her in some way. I was hoping she'd told you what was troubling her.'
'You should take your own advice. If I'm not allowed to blame myself, how can you feel guilty?'
Griffen smiled. He looked tired. 'It's always easier to give advice than to take it. I liked Laura. She seemed to be very decent. I wish she trusted me more. Maybe she would have told me what was bothering her and I could have helped.'
'She trusted you a lot, Judge. She was your biggest fan. She looked up to 'you.'
'That's nice to know.'
Justice Griffen stood up. Before he left, he said, 'You should know that your reputation among the justices is excellent. You aren't only the best clerk we've had this term but one of the finest lawyers I've worked with since I started on the court. I'm sure you'll make an excellent attorney.' Tracy blushed.
