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 she calmed 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?”
Bree didn’t hesitate. Tess came before any CJP investigation. “Yes.”
“You know she was shot in the courthouse parking lot one night, over a year ago, and that the shooter was never identified?” Ned asked before he added, “I don’t think you’re in any danger, but you need to stay alert for your own safety too.”
“I know about her shooting,” Bree replied.
“Well, I can’t elaborate because I don’t know how it might fit into this investigation, but I can tell you that I’m confident that she’s not involved in any nefarious way.
” Bree let out a sigh of relief at Ned’s words before he continued.
She wouldn’t have believed that Tess was guilty of anything in a complaint, but she was glad to hear that Ned didn’t believe so either.
“I don’t see an issue with you interacting with her as long as you keep our ongoing work confidential. Is that good enough?”
“Okay. But in addition, speaking of nighttime parking lot events, I was alone and approached a few nights ago in a café parking lot by a guy who tried to hand me a bag, to welcome me to town,” Bree replied.
“He was careful to be vague, but I strongly suspect it was cash. He clearly knew I’m new to town.
I reported it to Tess—that’s Judge Fairchild—and as presiding judge, she reported it and wrote up a report. ”
“Whoa. No slacking on your part.”
“I’m not happy about it,” Bree replied.
“I need to tell you that we’re not cops or the criminal justice system.
Criminal acts not covered by judicial misconduct wouldn’t fall to the Commission.
” Ned paused and Bree waited for him to bring the conversation back to her incident and Tess’s.
“A shooting is a criminal act. So is bribery to influence a case. But we might uncover the details of the crime during the course of an investigation of judicial misconduct.”
Bree chuckled. “Are you trying to convince me that both Tess and I might get some answers if I sign on?”
“I can’t make promises, but you know that everyone is better off if there aren’t…
issues at your courthouse. Have you ever heard of the case, decades ago now, where well over a dozen judges were bribed for specific judicial outcomes?
That probe expanded to include law enforcement when there was evidence of criminal activity. ”
“We only have seven judges total, so smaller than that scope.” Not that Bree felt better with that declaration.
“Look, Bree. I know this isn’t easy. There are more people here than me working the complaints, so I’m hoping for some headway.
” Ned chuckled before he added, “In that case I just mentioned, there was a prosecutor who was recruited as part of a law enforcement team who posed as a corrupt attorney and helped their investigation by taping conversations on a recorder concealed in his cowboy boots.”
“It’s my lucky day—I don’t own a pair of cowboy boots.”
“We could get you a pair.”
Bree had to shake her head. She’d already admitted she needed an award for the mess her personal life was in with Tess.
And now this, her professional life. She hated to think she’d need to keep her role a secret from Tess, and that really bothered her, but if there was a chance that she could keep Tess from being hurt again, that mattered to her.
“Okay, Ned. I’m in.” She knew her tone probably didn’t convey the enthusiasm he might have preferred, but she was still processing all she’d just been told.
“I’m going to email you some phone numbers where you should be able to reach me almost any time, or you can leave a message. Thanks, Bree. We’ll talk soon.”
They hung up and Bree considered that Ned had just thrown dirt onto her hard-won new position that was supposed to be a bright spot in her life.