There was a picture that had sat on her desk for years, one that she'd never bothered to move before, until now. And that was only because she was holding it, and staring down at it. The picture was rather old, of her, and of Claire…and of Jack, who'd inadvertently found himself in it, because Anna had been aiming the camera in the general direction of herself and Claire, without realizing that he was behind them. He'd seen the picture later, though, and had insisted on a copy of it. For all Anna knew, he still had it.
But she'd been avoiding him ever since the end of the last trial, and for once it was because she wanted to. He'd tried to call, too, and she knew it, but she'd ignored the messages that her secretary had given her. Whether it was still guilt or not was yet to be figured out. And honestly, Anna wasn't too sure she wanted to.
"You look like you've swallowed a lemon." Anna looked up to find Kaye Henshall standing in her office doorway. She sighed.
"Do I really?" she asked, and then, "There's coffee if you want any."
Kaye grinned. "Thanks, I could use some. Trevor's about to drive me up the damn wall."
"Going up against ADA Novak again?"
"I really wish he'd learn not to piss her off, but then again, I'm not surprised he does."
Anna laughed, and felt like it was the first time she had in weeks. "Well, it's a living, at least."
"Very true," said Kaye, and then, "How's your case coming?"
"Well, I'm not dealing with McCoy this time, so I suppose it's all good." She felt guilty for saying this. After all, she still considered Jack to be a friend of hers and here she was, avoiding him. She sighed. "Actually, it's not."
Kaye took a sip from the coffee mug she'd filled and came to sit down. "What happened?" she asked.
Anna motioned to the picture on her desk. "You remember Claire Kincaid, don't you?" she asked in reply.
"Well, sure, we all went through law school together," said Kaye, "What about her?"
"She and McCoy were…seeing each other, and then she was in a car wreck, and she died, and Jack and I…"
"Tell me you didn't sleep with him."
"What? No! I haven't…" Anna trailed off and sighed. "We're just friends. At least, I think we are. I don't know. It's been an on and off sort of thing ever since Claire died, and I think I might've just screwed it all up."
Kaye looked at her with raised eyebrows. "What'd you do?"
"Nothing. At least, nothing on my own. We were out walking, and some guy pushed me, and the next thing I know, Jack and I are kissing, and then…" Anna trailed off again and shook her head. "This is why I'm glad I'm up against Carver, if and when this case of mine goes to trial."
"You can't avoid him forever," Kaye remarked, "Sooner or later, you're going to have to face him."
"You will have to drag me kicking and screaming…literally."
"Melnick's looking for a meeting." Connie walked into Jack's office, holding a blue folded form. "She wants to get the confession thrown out."
"She'll have a hard time of it," said Jack, "No coercion, no police brutality, they read him his rights…"
"She's claiming emotional distress," said Connie dryly. "You ask me, it's a load of crap."
"You know defense attorneys, they'll do anything to get their clients off the hook."
"She's also claiming that this one know something that will help us nail the others."
"Is she now?" Jack looked up, finally, from his desk and sighed. "Any idea what it might be?"
"I suppose that's what the meeting's for," Connie replied. "You feeling all right?"
"I'm fine," Jack said dryly, "Why?"
"Just wondering," came the reply. "Should I tell Melnick we'll meet, or no?"
"We'll meet," said Jack, absently, looking back down at the papers on his desk. "But tell her if her client gives us the runaround, it's over."
"Will do," said Connie. She moved to leave the office and turned back as she reached the door. "You get a hold of Flynn yet?"
Jack shook his head. "I think she might actually be avoiding me," he said. "Probably something I said."
"You men will never learn," Connie said mildly. "Keep talking. She's gotta talk to you sooner or later."
"You don't know Anna. The last person she decided not to talk to still hasn't heard from her."
Connie gave him an amused look and left the office, closing the door behind her. Jack leaned forward in his chair, suddenly not in the mood to work anymore. The last person Anna had decided not to talk to had been Claire. Then again, had Claire still been around, she and Anna certainly would have spoken before now; as Claire had once put it, the two of them could only avoid each other for so long before it got boring.
It was going on eleven years now. As for Anna not talking to him, well, a new trial was already beginning and it had already been at least ten days. Suddenly frustrated, he reached for the phone and dialed the one number that Anna usually answered. It went to voicemail.
"You've managed to find me. It's a miracle. Since I'm not answering, I'm either in a trial or a meeting, so leave a message and I'll get back to you."
There was a beeping sound. Jack rolled his eyes. "Your sarcasm will never cease to amaze me, Anna," he said dryly. "Just call me back when you get this. We really need to talk."
Sitting in her office, Anna eyed her cell phone as it finally stopped ringing, having been determined not to answer it when she saw who it was. A few seconds later, the phone buzzed.
She had a new voicemail.