“I didn’t see it on the news, I read it in the newspaper.” Sam’s gaze shifted from Mike to Jim. “I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding.”
“Totally.” Jim waved his hand. “As we were saying, this boot is a real innovation for adolescent sports medicine, and the customization colors make it fun to wear instead of a chore.”
Sam slipped the brochure into his pocket. “Good to know, but I better be moving on.”
“Call me.”
“Will do,” Sam said over his shoulder, followed by his colleagues, and when they were out of earshot, Jim turned to Mike, incredulous.
“What the hell was that about? Is that what you were arrested for?”
“No, something else. But I didn’t do it.”
Jim pursed his lips. “You were arrested for assault, and you also hit a photographer?”
“No, that’s what I’m saying, I didn’t do it. I was just at the police station, in connection with Sara’s murder.”
“You hit somebody in front of the police station? While you’re on bail for another assault?” Jim looked at him like he was nuts. “When did this happen? The second time, I mean.”
“Yesterday.”
“Mike.” Jim lowered his voice. “We can’t have that if you’re gonna sell this thing, and it won’t go over with Lyon, at all. He always says, business is all about reputation.”
“I know, it’ll blow over.”
“Okay, but today is a problem.” Jim glanced around. “What if someone else recognizes you? The TV news will probably run it again, they always massage that crap. Mike, sorry, but I think it’s better if you go.”
“Really?”
“Just until this cools down. I don’t need to answer to Lyon.” Jim met his eyes, pained. “Sorry buddy, you understand. It’s only for now.”
“Sure,” Mike said, wishing he could take another pill.
Later, Mike drove home through the freezing rain, lost in thought. He hated the prospect of selling boots at trade shows, if he could practice again. Maybe if he moved to Connecticut, he could put his old life behind him and start a second chapter. Bob and Danielle could visit him, and maybe it was time for him to go his own way with Emily. Still, on the other hand, it would hurt Emily to live far from Danielle and Bob. They were her only family, and vice versa. Mike wasn’t ready to make a decision yet, and there was no reason to rush into anything.
He pulled into the driveway and cut the ignition. He got out of the car and hustled through the rain to the house, but as soon as he opened the front door, he knew something was wrong. A muffled weeping came from the kitchen, and it sounded like Danielle. He closed the door behind him and hurried to the threshold. Bob was standing in the kitchen across from Danielle, as if they’d been fighting.
Mike froze. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Oh, my.” Danielle grabbed a paper towel and dabbed her eyes. “You’re home early.”
“I can go upstairs. I didn’t mean to intrude. Where’s Emily? Is she asleep?”
Bob gestured to Danielle, his manner chilly. “Honey, go check on the baby. Make that call, too.”
“Okay.” Danielle hurried past Mike, averting her eyes. “Excuse me.”
“Sure.” Mike stepped aside to let her pass, confused. “I can check on Emily. What’s going on, what call?”
“I have some papers for you.” Bob went to his messenger bag on the chair, opened it, and slid out a stack of legal pleadings, bound with light blue binders.
Mike’s heart sank. “Pat MacFarland is suing me, huh?”
“No. We’re asking you to leave.” Bob handed him the thick stack of papers. “And we’re keeping Emily.”
Chapter Fifty-nine
“I don’t understand.” Mike took the papers, stunned.
“The papers are the judge’s order that approves our custody agreement.”
“What custody agreement?” Mike asked, reeling.
“You remember.” Bob’s gaze remained even, his tone calm and professional. “The one you signed before you went away.”
Mike’s mouth dropped open. “That agreement was for while I was deployed.”
“No.” Bob shook his head, curtly. “The agreement gives us custody of Emily for as long as necessary. It doesn’t terminate when your deployment does.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Mike shot back, bewildered and angry. “Emily is my daughter.”
“Legally, we have custody of her.”
“What? This can’t be legal.”
“It is completely.”
“It can’t be!”
“Get a lawyer. It is.”
“But you’re my lawyer!” Mike threw the papers on the table. “Are you kidding me? You know damn well what we meant!”
“Lower your voice.” Bob put up a hand. “I will discuss this with you only if you stay calm. Danielle called the police. They were expecting us later but the station is only five blocks away. Leave or I’ll have you arrested for trespassing.”
“What?” Mike exploded. “I live here! My daughter lives here!”
“You live here only as long as you have our permission. Now, we want you to leave. Your knapsack is packed and in the closet.” Bob pointed outside the kitchen. “Take it and go, please.”
“I’m not going anywhere without Emily.” Mike edged backwards, incredulous.
“Yes, you are.” Bob’s blue eyes hardened like ice. “You can’t give her a good home. You can’t even stay awake long enough to babysit. She could’ve been killed.”
“Go to hell!” Mike turned away, bolted for the staircase, and bounded upstairs.
“Mike!” Bob hurried after him. “The police are on their way. You’re only making it worse for yourself.”
“Emily, Emily!” Mike reached the second floor, rushed to Emily’s bedroom, and twisted the doorknob, but it was locked. “Danielle, let me in!”
“Mike, get out!” Bob stalked down the hall toward him. “Leave. If you don’t go now, you’ll be arrested.”
“Emily!” Mike yelled, and Emily started crying inside the bedroom, which broke his heart. “Emily, don’t cry! It’s Daddy! I love you!”
Emily wailed harder.
“Danielle, open this door!” Mike wrenched on the doorknob, and the door rattled noisily.
Danielle yelled, “Mike, stop! You’re upsetting her. Stop it!”
“I’m her father, I love her!” Mike pounded on the door. “Danielle, let me in! She’s my child! She belongs to me!”
“Mike!” Bob gripped Mike’s shoulder and pulled him back, sending pain like an electric shock zinging up and down his arm. “Stop it, no!”
“Let me go!” Mike torqued his body out of Bob’s grasp.
“Mike, stop!” Bob grabbed for Mike, but Mike shoved him back.
“How dare you? She’s my daughter! You can’t take her from me!”
“No!” Bob staggered backwards, falling against the wall. Police sirens sounded nearby.
Danielle screamed, “Bob, Bob!”
“I’m not leaving without my daughter!” Mike yelled to Bob, who was getting up, rubbing his head. “She’s mine, not yours!”
Danielle yelled, “Mike, stop it! You’re scaring her! Is Bob okay?”
“Open this door!” Mike wrenched the doorknob back and forth, despite the pain. “Danielle, let me have Emily!”
“Mike, no please!” Danielle called back, sobbing. “Please, stop!”
“Danielle!” Mike couldn’t give up without a fight. Something told him if he left without Emily, he’d never get her back. The thought shook him to his very foundations. “Danielle, please!”
Bob got to his feet and went running down the stairs. Sirens blared closer, on the street. “Danielle, don’t open the door! Be right back!”
“Danielle, please!” Mike pounded the door again. “I’m begging you. Let me have her. I love her. She’s mine. I’ll take care of her, I promise. I’ll make it better, you’ll see. She’s all I have.
”
“No! Go away!” Danielle shouted back, and there was a commotion downstairs as Bob ran out the door, hollering to the police.
“Danielle!” Mike wrenched the door. He was running out of time. “Danielle, please! This isn’t right it! She’s mine!”
“Give up, Mike! Go, you’re making her cry!”
“Dr. Scanlon!” came a shout from downstairs. “This is the police, Dr. Scanlon!”
“Emily, I love you!” Mike yelled one last time, as they came charging up the stairs.
Chapter Sixty
Mike drove away from the house, distraught. His heart thundered in his chest, and he was sweating. His stump and shoulders screamed in protest. He tried to catch his breath. He felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He didn’t know how Bob and Danielle could do such a thing. He hadn’t seen it coming.
I didn’t see this coming, I didn’t see.
Mike flashed on Chatty, after the attack. The donkey. The grandfather. The grenade. The orange-red blast explosion blinded him. The boom reverberated against his eardrums. He put up his hand, shielding his eyes. A car horn blared, and Mike slammed on the brake and veered right, almost crashing into a fire hydrant. Other horns sounded, behind him.
He steered straight, fed the car gas, then pulled over to the curb, heartsick. He slumped in the seat, watching the rain run down the windshield. Emily was gone. The legal papers were in his backpack. He couldn’t believe what had happened. He would have trusted Bob and Danielle with his life. He had. Emily was his life.
He reached into his knapsack and pulled out his laptop. He opened it up, turned it on, and waited for it to boot up on battery power, his mind racing. The laptop screen came up, and he scrolled to find a wireless connection. A list popped onto the screen, and he clicked a few networks until he found one that let him join, then navigated to Google and started typing.
He had to get Emily back.
He had a vow to keep.
Chapter Sixty-one
“How can this be legal?” Mike sat in a chair across from his new lawyer, Stephanie Bergen. She was supposed to be one of the best family lawyers in the area, and he was lucky she’d had a cancellation. “This has to be a kidnapping. She’s my child, not theirs.”
“Give me one more minute, please.” Stephanie was reading through his legal papers. She was about his age, but only five foot one, with thick auburn hair cut to her chin and a runner’s wiry body. She had a large office, with legal books and journals that filled walnut shelves. The wall above a flowery couch was devoted to diplomas and awards, and next to her neat walnut desk was a curtained window. Outside, the rain was freezing to snow, flying past the panes in icy flurries.
“All right, I’m finished.” Stephanie looked up, brushing her bangs away from sharp green eyes. “I’ll answer your question, then you can fill me in on the facts.”
“I thought the parents always have the rights to the child. So what the hell is going on?”
“Because of this agreement, Bob and Danielle have full legal and physical custody of Emily, and we—”
“I don’t have legal custody of my own child?”
“No.” Stephanie shook her head, and her thick gold earrings wiggled back and forth. “You signed the agreement, giving them custody.”
“It was supposed to be temporary!”
“Stay calm.” Stephanie paused. “That’s our argument and your intent, but the agreement doesn’t say it’s temporary. On the contrary, it provides specifically that they have custody for as long as necessary—”
“It says temporary in the title.”
“Yes, but the agreement itself has no term, and the judge’s order isn’t temporary.”
“What judge?” Mike threw up his hand. “When did they go see a judge? How can they do that without me?”
“They didn’t. Your brother-in-law filed the agreement you signed, and the judge approved it, so it obtained the force of law. If family members agree to a custody arrangement, a court will approve it, if it’s reasonable.” The light from a Chinese lamp on Stephanie’s desk made her jade green suit look flashy. “The agreement is still in effect, and the status quo is that they have custody, per a judge’s order. That’s why the police enforced it. You should’ve had a lawyer when you signed.”
“I did. Bob was my lawyer. I trusted him.”
“Bob represented his own interests. I never would’ve let a client of mine sign an agreement like this. We need to schedule an emergency hearing to transfer custody back to you, as her father, and the way—”
“So I have to go to court to get her back? I’ll get her back, right?”
“One thing at a time.” Stephanie held up a hand. “We have to go to court, and I don’t know if you’ll get her back.”
“It’s not automatic? I’m the father.”
“No, it’s not automatic—”
“That’s crazy!”
“Please, stop interrupting me.” Stephanie smiled in a way that was polite, if not warm. “I know you’re upset, but you need to control yourself.”
“I still can’t believe this is legal.”
“It is.”
“But it’s not fair. It’s not justice.”
Stephanie shot him a knowing look. “The law isn’t always just, unfortunately.”
“But it should be. Isn’t justice the point of law?”
“Let’s stay on track.” Stephanie glanced at her oversized watch. “Now, as I was saying, the agreement doesn’t provide visitation for you on any regular schedule, so you have no legal rights vis-à-vis your daughter.”
Oh my God, Mike thought but didn’t say. He was trying to control himself.
“I’ll call the court and ask for an emergency hearing. It should only take a day, so keep your schedule clear. Now, in answer to your question, the fact that you are the child’s parent gives you the presumption of custody, but that presumption can be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence.” Stephanie’s tone turned professorial. “The legal standard is what’s in Emily’s best interests, and the judge will consider sixteen statutory factors in making his decision, which all go to who can provide the more loving, stable, and nurturing home. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“You have no home and no job. Is that correct?” Stephanie’s gaze dropped to his stump, then back up again, without apparent reaction.
“Yes, but I’ve only been back a few days.”
“That’s undoubtedly why he threw you out so quickly. He wants to get to court before you get your feet under you.”
“I can’t believe he would do that.”
“He just did.”
“It doesn’t seem real.” Mike ran his hand through his hair. “I never would’ve expected this. She’s my wife’s sister. They’re family.”
“It is real, and the sooner you realize it, the better.” Stephanie folded her hands over the papers, regarding him for a moment, with a frown. “Sometimes you pick your fights, and sometimes they pick you. Litigation is just another kind of war, and a custody fight is toughest of all. Lock and load, Mike.”
Mike blinked. It was the way she said his name. It kind of woke him up.
“Now I’d like you to explain to me what’s been going on since you got home.” Stephanie turned her chair to face her laptop. “Can you do that for me, calmly?”
“Sure.” Mike told her everything from Chloe’s pregnancy, Sara’s murder, the time he fell asleep while he was babysitting, then about the arrest and the reasons he’d hit Pat MacFarland and the photographer. It poured out all of a piece, and he hadn’t realized until he told it that he’d been screwing up left and right, burning bridges behind him.
“Well, that should do it.” Stephanie turned from the screen and lifted an eyebrow, a faint red line against her pale skin. “I won’t sugarcoat this. I’m worried about our case, and my first worry is your drug use.”
“It’s for pain. I’m only a month post my revision surgery, and it’s not like I’m sitting aro
und, elevating it.”
“So it’s pain medication for your injury. Are you taking a prescribed dose?”
Mike hesitated.
“Level with me. I can’t represent you properly unless you tell me the truth. Are you taking a prescribed dose or are you taking a dose in excess?”
“In excess, but I can wean myself off.”
“Start right now. I want you to testify that you’re taking a prescribed dose, and I want you to be telling the truth.” Stephanie picked up a pen and legal pad, then began to write. “I’m giving you a Things To Do list. Number one, I’m writing down the name of a place you need to call, an outpatient program for substance abuse.”
Mike recoiled. “I don’t need a program.”
“I want you to call this place anyway. We’re going to get Emily back by showing that you have a willingness to work on your problems and are doing so.” Stephanie paused, pen in hand. “You need to be randomly drug tested, from here on out. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”
“No.”
“You may even be tested at the hearing tomorrow.”
“In court?”
“Yes. Who prescribed your meds?”
Mike’s mouth went dry. “I self-prescribed.”
“What? How? That’s serious.”
Mike explained his scheme and his hidden stash of pills, and Stephanie frowned.
“Is it possible that Bob and Danielle found those pills?”
“Yes, they weren’t in my knapsack, which they packed.”
“We’ll have to deal with that.” Stephanie started writing again. “Number two, you need to find a nice apartment, furnished. Local. Call TopTrees down the street, I saw they have some. If you can’t get it furnished, rent the furniture, right now. I’m writing down the name of a furniture rental, and they deliver twenty-four hours, all my dads use it. The place doesn’t have to be expensive, but it has to be family-friendly, with bedrooms for you and Emily. You follow?”
“Yes.”