Free Allegiance by Kermit Roosevelt

are no confirmation hearings for us, no background checks; the Justices just bring in whomever they want. So now we’re at war and the brass gets antsy, they ask Hoover to send some guys out. See who you’re meeting with.”
    The lights are up now. We are totally alone in the balcony. In the theater below a uniformed usher sweeps candy wrappers down the aisle. “You really think the FBI would be worried about me?”
    I didn’t intend a comparison, but Gressman evidently perceives one.Something flashes in his eyes. “Right,” he says. “I’m a pinko from Brooklyn, but you. Why would anyone check you out? Maybe they just want to know where you got that suit.”
    There is a sharpness in his tone that I cannot account for. “There’s a man in town,” I say.
    â€œOf course there is.” Whatever it was passes across his face again and is gone. “Look, it’s not you. I expect they watch everyone for a bit. It’s just that you noticed.”
    â€œMaybe,” I say. “But would they go in my apartment?” I explain about the footprint.
    Gressman considers for a moment. “Interesting.” He taps two fingers on his lips. “I don’t know. But then again, how do you know how long the print’s been there? Maybe it’s from months ago.”
    I close my eyes, trying to remember. It’s true; I can’t swear I saw the floor clean before. Maybe when the manager carried out that folded mattress . . . “But what if it’s not?”
    â€œWell, it could be someone else. Lots of people would love to know what’s going on inside the Court. There’s plenty of money to be made if you know how cases are coming out.”
    â€œThere is?” I have a hard time seeing how to turn a profit on Constitutional interpretation.
    â€œSure,” says Gressman. “You know what’s going to happen to some corporation, you can trade its stock. The boring business cases, that’s where the money is. And there have been leaks. Sometimes Drew Pearson predicts results in the paper. Maybe they’re trying to see if you leave confidential memos in restaurants.”
    â€œI’m very careful with Court papers,” I say.
    â€œLooking for leaks,” he says. “You know, if that’s what it is, it might be worth trying to catch them.”
    â€œHow?”
    â€œI’ve got an idea. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”
    â€œOkay.” I pause a moment. “Hey, why do you do that thing with the doors?”
    â€œThe welcoming committee? Just to take the starch out. Show you you’re no better than the rest of us.”
    â€œAnd why would I think I was?”
    â€œWhy, indeed?” The bitterness is back. “I can tell you, your pal Haynes took it pretty hard.”
    â€œPhil? Oh, he’s okay.”
    â€œSo you think. I have another tip for you. Figure out who your friends are.”
    â€œPhil Haynes is a good guy.”
    â€œBecause he went to school with you?”
    â€œNo, he didn’t. But we know some of the same people.”
    â€œOh, well, in that case.” Gressman shakes his head. “You may not know him as well as you think.” He claps me on the shoulder and stands up. “Come on. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

CHAPTER 10
    I SIP MY coffee. It is bitter and growing cold, but I find I like it anyway. It helps me stay focused during the cert work, which has grown less terrifying and correspondingly more boring. Still, there’s a reassuring rhythm, like the repetitive strokes of a squash practice. Reading petition after petition, like hitting shot after shot against the wall, knowing that nothing about them will ever change, but I might slowly grow to better fit that world.
    â€œHave a nice time in Philadelphia?” Phil Haynes is at my door, jaunty in his boater.
    â€œYeah,” I say. “That was a good idea. But