Page 16 of A Walking Shadow

“May I come in?”

“Absolutely, since you come bearing caffeine.” Sasha gestured for her to take a seat.

Ellie smiled and extended one of the mugs toward her. “Fair warning, I asked Jake for a black coffee for you, but he insisted you need to try this. He said to tell you to taste it before you pass judgment.”

Sasha took the cup and gave it a suspicious sniff. “What is it?”

“It’s an homage to autumn,” Ellie told her.

That sounded like a poem. She had nothing against poems. But she didn’t really care to drink one.

“Which means?”

“Sorry. He said you have to taste it before I tell you what it is.”

She huffed and took a cautious sip. The coffee was rich and strong, but not acidic and, darn, if it didn’t taste like autumn, slightly spicy. “It’s pretty good. What is it?”

“Jake said it’s a triple ristretto macchiato dusted with brown sugar and cinnamon. Whateverthatis.”

“Basically, it’s a stronger, less bitter, espresso triple shot with a dot of steamed, foamed milk. And apparently, Jake felt compelled to dress it up to make it sweet and spicy.”

“So you like it?” Ellie gave her a hopeful look.

“Sure. Wanna why tell me why you’re here with a bribe?”

Ellie screwed up her face. “Well, I asked Naya the best way to break bad news to you, and she said to come bearing coffee and chocolate.” She slipped her hand into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a dark chocolate bar.

Sasha squinted at the wrapper. She knew that brand. “You justhappento have 80% dark chocolate on your person, Ellie?”

“No. This is from Naya’s private stash.”

Sasha cocked her head. “Naya doesn’t like dark chocolate. She thinks it’s too bitter.”

“She does,” Ellie agreed. “But she has this private stash on hand for you. It’s in a box labeled ‘emergency Sasha chocolate.’ She said she uses it the way that lion tamers use raw meat.”

“Delightful and so flattering,” Sasha said dryly.

“Does that mean you don’t want it?”

“Hand it over.”

Ellie snorted and pressed the bar into Sasha’s hand. Sasha unwrapped the bar, broke off a square and let it melt on her tongue for a beat. Then she washed it down with a sip of her ristretto, savoring the richness while she waited for Ellie to gear herself up to tell her whatever it was she’d come to say. But Ellie seemed unable to get the words out.

So Sasha took a guess. “Is this about Gray Simmons? Did you find something that hurts us?”

“No. My memo’s almost finished. He’s not really a member of CEO—more of a hanger-on. Seems he got involved after his divorce. He’s really bitter about being ordered to pay spousal support. Professionally, he’s had a string of warnings from judges in several courts about making frivolous arguments and two referrals to the disciplinary board.”

“Perfect. When we get in front of a judge, we can use his history of overreaching.”

“About that …,” Ellie trailed off.

The bubble of optimism rising in Sasha’s chest deflated.

“Yeah?”

“We’ve been assigned to a judge.”

“Who is it?”

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