“Whatever you want,” Eric said. “It’s your life.”

When Ben returned to work the next day, he immediately searched for the card from the floral bouquet. Ripping up the tiny note, Ben thought about what to do with the basket. He didn’t want to keep it around, but was afraid that if he threw it away, Lisa would be even more curious. He eventually put the bouquet on top of one of the file cabinets. That way, he could decorate the office and say the flowers were from his mother.

Even without the flowers, Ben’s desk was still covered with paper. Amid the piles of cert petitions were drafts of forthcoming decisions. Each set of documents was enclosed in a brown folder marked “Confidential-Justice Hollis’s Chambers Only.” Although there was nothing to prevent anyone from opening a folder, Hollis was convinced that the moral consequences would deter potential peekers. Each folder was also labeled with a yellow Post-it, which Ben and Lisa used to identify the status of a document. Not a single opinion went to Hollis until both were satisfied with its content. Quickly scanning the Post-its, Ben was surprised to see one marked “First Draft-Kramer decision.”

Lisa entered the office. “Morning, sick boy. How’re you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” Holding the Kramer folder in his hand, he said, “You didn’t have to do this. I was assigned the first draft.”

“I know, but you were sick, and I had some free time on my hands, so I figured-”

“You didn’t have to write a full extra opinion, though. You have enough to do.”

“Forget about it,” Lisa said. “I wanted to help you. I did it. It’s done. Be grateful.”

Waiting until Lisa sat at her desk, Ben smiled. “Thank you.”

At noon, Lisa and Ben walked down to Union Station for lunch. After years of languishing in ruin, the station was once again a tourist haven. Under the linked barrel-vaulted ceilings, between the statues and columns and sculptures and archways, more than a hundred upscale shops had popped up, along with a multiplex movie theater and, of course, a food court. Every time he walked through, it made Ben sick.

Lisa and Ben skirted the massive groups of tourists and grabbed a table in the corner of the food court. “Are you okay?” Lisa asked, watching Ben pick at his french fries.

“I’m fine. There’s just something I have to tell you.”

“Wait a minute. If you’re about to tell me you’re in love with me, I may vomit.”

“It’s not that,” Ben said. “You wish it was that.” Wiping his hands with a napkin, he asked, “Remember Rick? Hollis’s old clerk?” Lisa nodded. “About three weeks ago I casually told Rick the outcome of the CMI case. A few days later, you know what happened-Maxwell risked all his money on a legal victory. When I tried to find Rick, he’d disappeared.” Lisa’s mouth dropped open. “Rick Fagen was never a clerk for the Supreme Court. The number he gave me is disconnected; he’s moved out of his apartment building; he’s gone.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Lisa said, her sandwich still in her hand. “Why the hell did you tell him the decision?”

“We were just bullshitting about it one day,” Ben said defensively. “He said he was curious about it and I told him. Every time we needed advice he helped us. I couldn’t say no.”

“But you’re never supposed to let out a decision,” Lisa said, raising her voice.

“Listen, I screwed up. I know it,” Ben said. “But he totally suckered me in. Believe me, you would’ve done the same thing. It was a perfect setup.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“Lisa, calm down. I told you this because I trust you. You won’t say anything, will you?”

Lisa put down her sandwich and looked at her co-clerk. “This is serious stuff, Ben. We can’t just sit on this.”

“I know. But until I can prove it was Rick, I want to keep this low profile. Nathan is having the State Department run a search on him, and Eric is asking his newspaper contacts for info about the apartment building where Rick lived.”

“We should tell Hollis.”

“I’m not telling Hollis,” Ben insisted. He leaned toward Lisa. “Believe me, I was up all night about this. If I go to Hollis, I’m fired. Even if I meant no harm, I violated the ethics code. If I’m fired, my whole life is over.”

After a long pause, Lisa asked, “Why did you tell me this?”

“Because I didn’t want to see you get hurt, too. I don’t know if Rick’s targeting every clerk or if I’m his one and only Sucker of the Year. I don’t expect you to lie for me, and I never want to get you into trouble. I wanted you to know because you’re my friend.”

Lisa was silent for a minute. “So those flowers you got yesterday-they weren’t from your mom, were they?”

“They were from Rick. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I just…”

“Did you check the basket for bugs?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know-bugs, listening devices.”

“You don’t think-”

“Let’s get out of here,” Lisa said, pushing her chair away from the table and grabbing her bag.

The two clerks ran up the escalator and dashed out of Union Station. Watching them from the opposite corner of the food court, Rick leaned back in his chair. “Where are they going?” he asked.

“I couldn’t hear,” Rick’s associate said as he approached the table. “But did you see the panic on their faces? They don’t know where to run.”

Rick smiled. “The funny thing is, it’s only going to get worse.”

Racing down First Street, Ben and Lisa didn’t say a word until they returned to the Court. “Hey, guys,” Nancy said as they marched past her desk. “How was lunch?”

“Good,” Ben said.

“Fine,” Lisa said.

They darted into their office and slammed the door behind them. They headed straight for the file cabinet, where Ben grabbed the large wicker basket. When he put it on the sofa, they rolled up their sleeves and methodically ripped the enormous bouquet apart. Flower by flower, they crushed every corolla and scrutinized every stem. Twenty-two roses, fourteen irises, eleven lilies, and four stems of freesias later, the sofa, as well as half of the office floor, was covered with the picked-apart remains of a previously well-organized floral arrangement. They found nothing. “It has to be in here,” Lisa said. “There’s no other reason to send flowers.”

“Maybe he just wanted me to worry,” Ben suggested. “Or maybe he’s playing with my mind.”

As Lisa wiped off the sofa, Ben reexamined the pile of flowers. For fifteen minutes, they repeated their inspection of each individual bloom. Then they ripped apart the basket itself. Again, nothing.

“Damn,” Ben said, pushing the pulpy mess from the sofa. “It’s impossible.”

“I don’t think we missed anything.”

Ben leaned back on the sofa. “Of course we didn’t miss anything. We just wasted our time.”

“It’s okay. You know we had to do this. I mean, what if we really did find something?”

“But we didn’t,” Ben said, nervously picking at the sofa’s worn fabric. “We can’t find anything.”

Lisa lightly put her hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay to be scared about this.”

“It’s just that my life-”

“I know what’s at stake,” Lisa said. “And this is more than you should have to deal with. But we’ll get you through it.”

“I don’t want you to get involved. I only told you to warn you.”

“Too late, baby,” Lisa chided, her hand still on Ben’s shoulder. “Now, are we going to sit here all day or are we going to try to find this guy?”

Looking at his co-clerk, Ben forced a smile. “You’re a good friend, Lisa Marie. If I go to jail, I’m taking you with me.”

Later in the week, Ben, Lisa, and Ober waited for Nathan to return from work. In the living room of Ben’s house, Ben and Ober sat on the large blue couch, while Lisa sat alone on the love seat, her feet up on the cushions. “I don’t understand it,” Lisa said. “It’s almost nine o’clock. Where the hell is he?”