“We didn’t say you asked Eric to write the story,” Fisk interrupted. “We just think you’re the one that gave him the information.”

“I didn’t say word one to him. Believe me, I’ve been extremely careful about what I’ve said around everyone, Eric especially.”

“But you did tell Eric that Blake is retiring, didn’t you?”

Ben bit the inside of his cheek. Lungen continued, “Don’t bullshit us, Ben. My friend at the Herald said there’s a story running tomorrow about Blake stepping down. The Herald wouldn’t run it without a solid source, and Eric fingered you.”

Crossing his arms to look confident, Ben knew he was losing control. “I admit I told him about Blake. I told him we’d be releasing the information later this week. But I didn’t tell him about-”

“You admit that you purposely leaked information from this Court about Blake, and yet you expect us to believe you about Maxwell?” Lungen asked.

“You know there’s a difference,” Ben said. “The Blake thing was common knowledge. It was hardly confidential information. What you’re talking about with Maxwell is on a totally different level.”

“That’s exactly our point,” Lungen said. “Now, would you like to start over?”

Determined not to show his frustration, Ben said, “Look, I swear, I don’t know anything about Maxwell. If I did, do you really think I’d be sitting here, talking to you? If I leaked the decision to Maxwell, I’d be on a beach in Greece right now, counting my ten-million-dollar fee.”

“Ben, let me tell you what we think. We agree you probably didn’t leak anything to Eric. That’d be stupid, and frankly, we expect better from you. You probably didn’t personally leak any information to Maxwell, either. As you said, if you did, you wouldn’t need to work anymore. Our fear, however, is that you may’ve heard something from your co-clerk, or from a clerk in another office, about someone else leaking information. You casually mention this to Eric, or maybe he overhears it, and suddenly we have a major scandal on our hands. At this point, though, the only person we do have is you.”

“I’m telling you: I have no idea of anyone, including myself, leaking information from this Court.”

“What about Blake’s resignation?”

“You know what I mean-substantial information concerning legal decisions. When I first started at the Court, I explained to my roommates that I knew all the information in advance. But they never cared-not even Eric. The only way I can figure it is that Eric created this hypothetical situation to get published. Ask your friend at the Herald. You said they wouldn’t run the Blake resignation story unless they had a good source. What was the source for Eric’s story about Maxwell?”

Lungen was silent.

“Eric wouldn’t name his source, would he?” Ben asked. “You obviously asked your friend.”

“No,” said Lungen, looking away.

“So you didn’t know it was me, but you still grilled me just to be sure?” Ben asked, shaking his head.

“Ben, the Herald may not know the source, but they definitely believe Eric has one. If that story ran, there’s got to be some truth behind it.”

“Weren’t you ever told not to believe everything you read?”

“Don’t be a smart-ass,” Lungen said. “Until I’m sure what happened, this isn’t a closed issue.”

“Well, until you’re sure what happened, I’m out of here.” Ben stood to leave.

“I’m not playing around,” Lungen warned, standing. “If you think you’re so innocent-”

“I am innocent.”

“Would you be willing to take a lie detector test to back that up?”

Pausing, Ben knew there was only one answer that would satisfy Lungen. In his most confident tone, he answered, “If that’s what it takes.”

“You should realize one thing,” Fisk interrupted. “Even if we believe you, there’s no reason to assume the rest of the world will. Carl’s friend at the Herald said they received calls from every major newspaper about Eric’s story. They didn’t realize what they were getting into when they ran that sucker.”

“Why don’t you demand a retraction?” Ben asked.

“We demanded one first thing this morning,” Lungen explained. “Apparently, since the article only suggests the possibility of a leak, the paper doesn’t care that it’s unsubstantiated.”

“Do you think other papers will pick it up?”

“Now you know what we’re worried about,” Lungen said. “From what we hear, the press won’t touch the story until they have a source. It doesn’t have to be a good source. It can be a janitor, a secretary, a clerk, anyone. But as soon as they get a source, they’ll tear whoever’s responsible apart. To be honest, they may never get a source. But you never know. Some cafeteria worker might be pissed at how tight her hairnet is, and the next thing we know, she’s on the evening news telling the world how she overheard someone talking to someone else.

“For the next few weeks, although it may not get much play in the press, I’ll guarantee you that every journalism grad in town will be digging around this place hoping to blow it wide open. And if I were you, I’d be worried, because thanks to your roommate, the easiest person to finger in this disaster is you.”

“Thanks,” Ben said wryly, struggling to suppress his anxiety. “Can I go now?”

“I’m serious.”

“I understand,” Ben said, moving to the door.

“One more thing before you leave,” Fisk said. “If you are going to confront Eric about his story, I’d appreciate it if you could come back here tomorrow morning, in case anything new pops up.”

“We’ll see,” Ben said, sidestepping him and edging out the door.

After Ben left the room, Lungen looked to Fisk. “What’d you think?”

“You know how I feel,” Fisk said. “I hate clerks. They all think because they were picked to work at the Supreme Court, their shit doesn’t stink anymore.”

“That’s very helpful,” Lungen said. “Now what’d you think of Ben?”

“I got what I expected. He’s obviously a bright kid, and I think he laid it out pretty well. He’s not dumb enough to help Eric write that story, but that doesn’t mean Eric is full of shit either. Why? What was your take?”

“I’m not sure. I wish Ben was a bit more nervous.”

“He was definitely calm,” Fisk agreed. “So he’s either telling the truth, or he’s one of the best bullshit artists I’ve ever seen.”

“I really think he was as surprised by the article as we were. And my friend at the Herald said they grilled Eric for a source. He never came close to naming one, though.”

Pausing for a moment, Fisk finally said, “I don’t like these kids.”

“Fisk, you don’t like anyone who’s smarter than you.”

“I’m dead serious about this. I say that no matter what happens, we watch this guy very carefully.”

Chapter 7

WHEN OBER RETURNED HOME, HE WAS surprised to see Nathan and Eric sitting silently on the large blue couch. “Where’s Ben?” he asked, looking at his watch. “I thought you guys were going to blows at eight.”

“He must be stuck at the office,” Nathan surmised, looking up at Ober. “Did you get a haircut?”

“Absolutely,” Ober said, running his fingers through his blond hair. “You guys have to go to this barber. A guy in my office recommended him-he cuts all these senators’ hair. He once cut Jimmy Carter’s hair. Anyway, his name is Murray Simone, King of Hair.” Brushing his neck to remove some remnant clippings, he continued, “Naturally, I made up the ‘King of Hair’ part-his name’s just Murray Simone.”

“We get the idea,” Nathan said, immediately annoyed by the hair talk. “Finish the story.”

“So I go into the abode of Murray Simone, King of Hair, and I tell him that I like the top long and the sides short, and how I hate it when the top’s short. He surveys the terrain, and then he looks into the mirror and says to me, ‘What I’m gonna do for you is I’m gonna give you a short haircut, WITH ATTITUDE!’” Laughing at the mention of Murray’s words, Ober almost knocked himself over. “How funny is that? ‘I’m gonna give you a short haircut, WITH ATTITUDE.’” Touching his hair, he continued, “So what do you think? Did Murray Simone, King of Hair, give me attitude? I think so.” Looking at himself in the glass of a nearby picture frame, Ober said, “I have ATTITUDE!”