Louise headbutted Tess’s hand and worked her entire back along its length. Tess gave the cat the attention she craved. At least somebody was getting attention tonight.
“And somehow, scope of duty became a delicious dinner burger, the most captivating cheerleader routine by a middle-aged woman I could have ever imagined, and a plannedmeetingat a high school play with that sexy twerking cheerleader.”
Not to be outmaneuvered, Thelma crawled into her lap, and Louise climbed over Thelma and plopped down too. Her hands were free, so Tess reached for another swallow of her wine.
“Well, girls, that’s the story of the end of my workday. And then there’s the story of my life. I want what I can’t have, I don’t seem to be in control of much, and I’ve taken on more duties in my professional life at a time I was realizing that I need to get some balance in a life with a personal side limited mostly to you two tabbies.”
Thelma crawled out from under Louise and jumped off the couch. Louise meowed and followed, both furballs indicating it was bedtime.
Tess finished the glass of wine and returned it to the kitchen. She wondered if Bree was thinking about their next scheduled meeting.She had two weeks to convince herself that a meeting should have nothing to do with her heart. She wondered if Bree had crawled into bed yet, and she wondered if Bree was going to have as much difficulty sleeping as she was. She hoped so.
Chapter Eleven
A few days after she and Tess had gone to Maria’s Café, Bree was home relaxing after work when her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but it was a San Francisco area code and she decided to pick up.
“This is Bree O’Brian speaking.”
“Hi, Bree. This is Ned Donahue. I don’t know if you remember me from law school.”
“Sure, I remember you. How are you doing?”
“I’m great. First, let me congratulate you. I hear you’ve gone from partner in an LA law firm to an appointment by the governor to a judgeship in the Corazon County Superior Court. I’m now an investigator for the Commission on Judicial Performance—the CJP.”
Bree’s stomach clenched. She had no idea what he could want with her. She remained silent, anxious to hear why Ned had contacted her.
“Shall I explain why I called, and then you can feel free to ask questions?”
“Sure.” Bree was relieved that Ned hadn’t hesitated in getting right to the point of his call.
She’d heard of this commission. It was the state oversight body for judges that was responsible for investigating complaints of judicial misconduct and judicial incapacity—likely bad news if they were interested in you. Her stomach roiled again, and her chest tightened. God, she’d just started this job—she couldn’t be in the CJP’s crosshairs, could she? Then shecalmed down because this wasn’t the way a complaint against her would be handled.
Ned continued. “We only act on complaints, and there have been complaints of misconduct pertaining to the Corazon County Superior Court. I’m not going to prejudice you with the specifics. We’re in a confidential phase right now, a preliminary investigation. We have limited resources, and I’m the lead of a small investigative team. I’ve decided it might be helpful to reach out to you because I know you.”
The information disturbed Bree, but she waited without comment. She didn’t want to say anything until he told her more about the point of this call. How she fit in.
“The Commission has authorized this preliminary investigation to determine if there’s any merit to the complaints we’ve received,” Ned said. “And you’ve just been appointed to fill the seventh seat on the Corazon County Superior Court. What we want from you is for you to simply keep your eyes and ears open. You can contact me if you see something you think I should be aware of. Anything that seems unusual, strikes you as an indication something might not be quite right. Pass it along. That’s all I’m asking.”
Her internal alarm bells sounded. What the hell had she walked into?
“At least tell me that I didn’t receive this judicial appointment so that I could get settled in and then fill this role for you.”
Ned chuckled. “Absolutely not. The investigation was opened after you were appointed. You earned the appointment on your own merits.” Ned allowed his words to register with Bree in the face of all he’d disclosed. “I know you’re not involved because you weren’t even in the position when the complaints started coming in—that’s why I decided to talk with you. I’m short-staffed, and that aside, you’ll be in a unique position.”
Bree felt a wave of relief that with all this troubling news, at least she’d earned her new position. Then it hit her that maybe Tess was involved in some way—the shooting. And what about the other night’s incident at the café?
“So, you aren’t going to tell me about the nature of the complaints?” she asked.
“No, I think it’s better if you don’t try to focus on anyone specifically, or even any specific activity. Any involved judge will only be notified if the complaint moves forward to formal proceedings, and that depends on what our preliminary investigation finds. I want your unbiased observations, so I’m giving you no names—my team will follow up if justified.” Ned stopped and cleared his throat. Bree sensed he was going to tell her something he considered crucial. “I can’t stress enough that our work is confidential, so you have to promise me that you’ll adhere to that.”
She wanted to know just what she might be getting herself into. She knew that keeping something like this from Tess could become an issue between them later. Her feelings for Tess were growing, so this was a dual-edged sword.
“I have some comments and questions before I agree to anything,” Bree said.
“Fair enough. Go ahead.”
“First, there’s one judge I need to mention. Theresa Fairchild. I need to disclose to you that I met her up at Lake Tahoe before I took the bench. I didn’t know who she was when we were in Tahoe.” There was no way that Bree was going to disclose the intimate details of her time with Tess. She didn’t owe Ned those. But she had to tell him that their relationship wasn’t strictly professional, no matter their intentions. “We’ve become fairly close. I need to know how she might be involved in your investigation.” She let that hang between them, waiting to see what Ned would say.
Ned sighed. “Is this a deal-breaker?”
