James's eyes flicked toward the window, tracking Margaret's movement with the precision of a prosecutor assessing evidence. His expression shifted instantly—the careful blankness of a man trained to hide everything that mattered. He lifted his coffee cup to his lips, a gesture so mundane it could have belonged to anyone in the shop.

Kelly forced her hands to remain steady on the table. The envelope sat between them, small enough to be innocuous, large enough to destroy them both. She turned a page in her notebook with deliberate casualness, as though she'd been reading case law the entire time, as though James Wagner was simply another professional contact she occasionally consulted with.

Margaret paused at the coffee shop window. Through the glass, Kelly could see her former colleague's face—sharp, intelligent, the kind of woman who noticed things other people missed. Margaret had always been ambitious, always watching the office politics with the focus of a chess player studying the board. If she connected Kelly and James, if she understood the nature of these meetings, everything would collapse.

James set down his cup with measured control. "The discovery process will be thorough," he said, his voice pitched perfectly for casual professional conversation—loud enough to be heard by the barista, soft enough to sound private. "Your clients deserve a complete examination of the evidence."

It was a message wrapped in legalese, a way of saying he would help without saying anything that could be repeated in court or quoted back to him later. Kelly understood the careful architecture of their deception, the way they'd learned to communicate in a language that sounded like work.

Margaret stepped away from the window, continuing down Maple Street. Kelly's breath came out slowly, carefully controlled. The danger had passed, but it had been close enough to feel real—close enough to remind her that every moment they spent in this coffee shop was a moment they were building a case against themselves.

James stood, gathering his coat with the unhurried movements of someone simply finishing his break. "The preliminary hearing will be significant," he said, addressing the room as much as Kelly. "I look forward to seeing your arguments."

It sounded like a threat and a promise wrapped together.