Blowout

that I simply didn’t see because I was in a rush to get to one of my stores.”
    “No, Mrs. Califano, don’t blame yourself. I need you here with me, now.”
    Margaret drew a deep breath. “Yes, of course you’re right. I’m sorry.”
    “It’s all right. Now, did your husband tell you why he was going to the Supreme Court Building last night?”
    “No, he didn’t. And I didn’t ask. Everyone knew he went there whenever the spirit moved him. Even Anna knew, didn’t you?”
    Anna nodded. “Oh yes. It was Stewart’s refuge.”
    Margaret said, “He told me once that it was the only place he could hear himself think.” Her voice quavered. She quickly lowered her head and sipped more tea. Then she straightened her shoulders. “If he was studying something specific, I don’t know what it would have been. Perhaps in their weekly Friday meeting, a minority of Justices wanted to grant a cert. that Stewart didn’t believed warranted a hearing.”
    “A cert.?” Savich’s eyebrow went up.
    “I’m sorry. A cert., as it’s called, stands for certiorari . It’s a formal request that the Court hear a case. If four Justices vote to grant the petition, then the case is scheduled for argument. If the four votes aren’t there, the cert. is denied.” She studied the dark stain of tea in the bottom of her cup. “As I said, it’s possible. As to anything else on his mind, I couldn’t say. When he walked through the front door, he might be brooding, but he wouldn’t speak of it, if it was work-related.”
    “Were you and Justice Califano having any personal problems, Mrs. Califano?”
    Callie hissed quietly through her teeth, but Margaret merely patted her arm. “No, Agent Savich, no problems. Yes, we disagreed sometimes like every married couple does, but in the nine years we’ve been married, I’ve never thought about killing him. Surely you don’t think our personal life had anything to do with this. Terrorists, or some sort of extremists, must have killed Stewart.”
    Sherlock said, “Did he express any concerns about terrorists?”
    “No, he didn’t. Stewart was quite moderate, not at all controversial. To the best of my knowledge he didn’t overly offend either side. That’s why it would be so strange if some sort of fringe madman did kill him. Why, for heaven’s sake? Why not Chief Justice Abrams? Why not Justice Alto-Thorpe, who’s far to the left, or Justice Alden Spiros, who’s far to the right? Both held very strong opinions on all the hot-button issues, like abortion, the death penalty, affirmative action, that sort of thing. That makes more sense, doesn’t it?”
    “Perhaps it does,” Savich said.
    Ben Raven said, “Did he ever speak to you about someone he was having a conflict with? Someone he didn’t approve of? Someone who hated him?”
    “Detective Raven, Stewart was a very private man. His best friend was Justice Sumner Wallace. Perhaps he would know if there was something troubling Stewart or if he was having a major problem with someone, particularly someone out of his past.” She fanned her hands in front of her. “Everyone pictures the Justices sitting around a big mahogany table, wearing their robes, sober and stately, spouting big words and discussing esoteric legal precedents. The truth is they spend very little time together. They usually work alone, reading, or meeting with their law clerks.
    “Their weekly meetings are Wednesday and Friday, and it always sounded to me like it was all business. That doesn’t mean, naturally, that they don’t argue and yell and be furious with each other when they’re in conference. No one but the Justices are allowed in that conference room on Fridays, so they can be rancorous without fear of anyone gossiping or leaking information to the media.
    “Politics plays a bigger role than Stewart liked. Every Justice has an agenda very strongly colored by his or her political beliefs, more so now than say thirty years ago, before Watergate.
    “Stewart would laugh about some of the really nasty comments everyone knew would not be written down. There’s still a tinge of sexism among some of the Justices—remember we’re talking about nine people who are all from the older generation—even though the men try to control their feelings, for example, if one of the female Justices has disagreed strongly with them. Also, both Democrat and Republican Justices have historically selected men as law clerks. Even today, out of the