The judge said nothing.
Mercer looked at him.
"Your Honor, the slap was never the operation."
He paused.
"It was the cover."
The judge slowly looked toward the television monitor.
The morning footage was still playing.
The slap.
The shouting.
The crowd.
The camera.
The judge understood.
Someone had needed him distracted.
They had needed security distracted.
They had needed the media distracted.
And they had needed the courthouse talking about one thing.
A police officer assaulting a Black judge.
Meanwhile, someone else could move quietly through the building.
The judge stood.
"Who entered my chambers?"
Mercer didn't answer.
The judge looked at him.
"Who?"
Mercer lowered his voice.
"Someone you trust."
The room went silent.
The judge thought of Emily.
He immediately dismissed the thought.
Then he thought of the chief clerk.
The judicial administrator.
The IT administrator.
The evidence custodian.
The marshal.
He had trusted all of them.
Mercer looked at him.
"That's why they chose this case."
"What do you mean?"
"Because the evidence doesn't just expose Calder."
"What does it expose?"
Mercer smiled.
"It exposes everyone who helped him."
The judge stared at him.
"Who is Calder?"
Mercer looked surprised.
"You really don't know."
"Tell me."
"Calder wasn't the source."
The judge waited.
"He was the buyer."
The room became completely silent.
Mercer continued.
"The information came from inside the government."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"No."
Mercer leaned forward.
"I know who delivered it."
"Who?"
Mercer looked toward the door.
Then back at the judge.
"Your security administrator."
The judge froze.
"David Mercer?"
"Yes."
The judge's mind raced.
David Mercer.
The person who controlled temporary accounts.
The person who had access to scheduling.
The person who could access security cameras.
The person who had created the temporary account.
The person whose credentials had been used to manipulate the system.
His brother had been outside the courthouse.
Lieutenant Harris had issued the false warning.
Officer Dawson had been used as the public face.
And Exhibit B contained communications connected to Calder.
The pieces were beginning to fit.
But one piece still didn't.
"Why would David need you?"
Daniel Mercer looked at him.
"Because I was supposed to remove Exhibit B."
The judge stared.
"From where?"
"Your chambers."
"When?"
"Before you arrived."
The judge's eyes narrowed.
"But you didn't."
"No."
"Why?"
Mercer smiled faintly.
"Because I changed my mind."
"Why?"
"Because I saw your face."
The judge stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
Mercer leaned back.
"I realized you were the first person in years who might actually look at the evidence instead of the paperwork."
The judge said nothing.
Mercer continued.
"That's why I came here."
"To help me?"
"No."
"Then why?"
"To warn you."
The judge watched him carefully.
"About what?"
Mercer looked directly at him.
"Don't trust the people who tell you the investigation is over."
He stood.
The marshals moved closer.
The judge raised a hand.
"Wait."
Mercer stopped.
The judge asked one final question.
"Who is above David?"
Mercer hesitated.
Then he gave the answer.
"Someone whose name is already on your calendar."
The judge's face tightened.
"Who?"
Mercer smiled.
"The person you were scheduled to meet at 2 p.m."
He walked toward the door.
The judge looked at Emily.
"Who am I meeting at two?"
She checked the calendar.
Her face went pale.
She slowly looked up.
"Deputy Attorney General Richard Cole."
The judge stared at her.
Cole was one of the highest-ranking federal officials involved in the Calder matter.
He was also the man who had personally requested the judge's appointment to the case.
The same man who had called the judge two nights earlier.
The same man who had told him that the Calder trial was "too important to allow procedural distractions."
The judge looked at the clock.
1:42 p.m.
Eighteen minutes.
He closed his eyes.
The entire morning had been designed to lead him here.
The slap.
The camera.
The security alert.
The delayed hearing.
The altered schedule.
The missing visitor.
The accessed chambers.
The threatened defense attorney.
The sealed exhibit.
And now the meeting at two.
He opened his eyes.
"Cancel the meeting."
Emily nodded.
Then the courthouse alarm began to ring.
Every door on the floor locked at once.
Lights flickered.
The security system went dark.
Emily gasped.
The judge looked toward the hallway.
Somewhere below them, a door slammed.
Then another.
The marshal reached for his radio.
Nothing.
No signal.
The judge looked at the sealed container.
Exhibit B.
A red light appeared on the evidence cabinet.
The lock had been activated remotely.
Someone was trying to open it.
The judge stepped toward the container.
"Nobody touches that."
The marshal moved in front of him.
Then the lights came back.
The alarm stopped.
The entire building went silent.
A message appeared on the judge's computer screen.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED.
The judge stared at it.
Then another message appeared.
2:00 PM.
DON'T BE IN YOUR CHAMBERS.
He looked at the clock.