"Alright," Melnick sighed once she and Paul Robinette had made themselves comfortable on the rod iron bench that sat a few feet from the cab stand. "Sam and Olivet have been working on a case for the last few months and he seems to think she's the next Anna Freud."

"That doesn't explain why he thinks you should talk to Liz. Unless…you're not defense counsel in the case… are you?"

"Hardly. Even if I didn't have a judgeship waiting for me, I'm not about to start playing fast and loose with my marriage by becoming one of Sam's professional adversaries. Sam knows I've been anxious about the judgeship. He's been pressing me to talk to his new best friend about it. He thought maybe talking to a professional would help calm me down."

"You? Anxious? We've known each other, what? Twenty years? I've seen you indignant, enraged and always outspoken. But anxious? Anxious is a new look for you, Danielle."

"Not as new as playing comedian is for you and by the way Paul," she continued as her companion's smile blossomed into a full-blown grin. "You're no Chris Rock."

"Point taken, counselor," Robinette conceded as a genuine note of concern crept into his voice. "It's just that you usually take to a challenge the way a duck takes to water. I suppose it's natural you'd have some misgivings, though. After so many years on the defense side of the aisle, it would be unrealistic to expect you to make the transition from zealous advocate to impartial voice of reason overnight."

"You didn't seem to have any problem transitioning when you made the move to private practice," Melnick thoughtfully noted.

"I was still in the role of the persuader, the advocate. What you're doing goes beyond changing which side of a case you're arguing," Robinette explained as he gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze. "I'd say what you're doing is akin to breaking in a new pair of shoes. No matter how much you wanted them, you're not really going to be comfortable until you've had your feet in them for a while."

"Thanks, Paul. Maybe Sam should have tried sending me to Jimmy Choo instead of Liz Olivet," Melnick answered with a chuckle.

"So, am I right to assume Sam doesn't know about the Merritt case?"

"He didn't until recently. Sam didn't realize that Olivet and Beth Logan were one in the same, until she gave her tribute to Ben."

Robinette nodded in understanding.

"That explains why Sam looked like he'd seen a ghost when Liz introduced herself."

"He did?"

"He did. I was sitting next to him, remember? I turned to shoot you a glance because I haven't forgotten the reason for the bad blood between you and Liz. I wasn't sure if you knew she was speaking, and I was concerned about both of you.

"It was obvious you were disturbed. I thought I knew why. Nonetheless, Sam's reaction was a mystery to me, until now. But now that Sam knows who Liz is, it seems unlikely he'll bring up the idea of you seeing her again."

"Sam enjoys having a harmonious home front; he leaves the proverbial fireworks at work."

"Which makes me wonder why you are trying to seek Liz out?"

"Because I'm not about to let her get away with playing Sam for a fool. He may not have known who she was, but Olivet isn't stupid. She had to have known I was Sam's wife. Yet she was willing to play dumb and encouraged him to set up a meeting with me? I want to know why."

While Robinette found it hard to believe Elizabeth Logan would engage in the petty antics that Melnick was accusing her of, he knew the former defense attorney well enough to know that playing devil's advocate with her would be a losing battle, especially over something she was already so adamant about.

"Even if you're right, do you really think she would want to dig up the past now? You and I both know what that case cost Liz."

Impulsively, Melnick opened her mouth to inform Robinette that he had no idea what that case had cost her. She sincerely doubted that the former prosecutor had any idea of the humiliation…as well as the guilt…learning the extent of Alexander Merritt's crimes had heaped on her, not to mention the ordeal that followed when Olivet had slapped her with a civil suit.

But almost in the same moment, she slammed her lips back together. No, Robinette had only been privy to the wreckage of that case, as it pertained to Elizabeth Olivet.

Olivet had been on retainer to the DA's office at the time, so both Stone and Robinette would have heard via the office grapevine (if not from the psychologist herself ) that Olivet had asked to suspend her work for the DA's office immediately after the guilty verdict had been subject to a trial order of dismissal by presiding Judge Keith Silver.

By the time it came out that Merritt had attacked numerous women, Adam Schiff had allowed Olivet to significantly cut back on her work for the DA's office. Once Schiff had pressured Ben Stone to use Olivet's rape to discredit her testimony for the defense in another case later that same year, the number of cases Olivet was called into consult on could have been counted on one hand.

"Danielle?"

Melnick turned her gaze back to Robinette and let out a sigh.

"What I think is that we've kept Shambala waiting long enough," she remarked as she stood up and shifted her gaze to the dwindling line at the cab stand.

"So, you're willing to let this thing with Liz go," Robinette skeptically countered, not surprised to see Melnick ignore his question as she continued to stride towards the line of cabs.