Marked Man

20

I have a big red file folder that I keep for special occasions. Sometimes it’s full of documents, sometimes it’s empty, but either way what’s inside is not as essential as the file folder itself. I clutch it close to my breast as if it contained nuclear launch codes, or the phone number of a decent Chinese restaurant, or anything else important enough to belong in a big red file folder.

“What’s in the file?” said Beth as we waited in the hallway of family court for Theresa Wellman.

“Just some information Phil Skink unearthed.”

“Did he get anything on Bradley Hewitt?”

“He’s working on it.”

“Then what’s in the file?”

“Oh, look,” I said. “Here comes our client.”

Theresa Wellman, with her hair done and her dress subdued, approached us warily.

“Are we going on with it today?” she said.

“Of course we are,” said Beth. “Now you’ve got the firm of Derringer and Carl on your side. Bucking the odds is what we do. You’re the first witness. Are you ready?”

“Oh, I’m ready. I love my daughter more than anything in the world. I just want to see her and hug her and take her home.”

“I’m going to be asking you the questions, Theresa,” I said. “There might be some things you don’t expect.”

“Like what?” she said.

“Stuff about your past and how things are going now.”

“What things?”

“It’s best if we do it all in court. You don’t want to seem rehearsed. But whatever happens, Theresa, you have to trust that I’m doing what I can to help you.”

She eyed the big red file folder I held at my chest, bit the bottom corner of her lip. “Why should I trust you?”

“Who else do you have?”

“It will be fine, Theresa,” said Beth. “As long as you can convince the judge that you’ve really changed, we have a great shot for some sort of joint custody.”

“Can we trust the judge?”

“Judge Sistine is impeccably fair and absolutely fearless,” I said. “She might be wrong, but never for the wrong reasons.”

“Just tell the truth,” said Beth. “If the judge thinks you’re hiding anything, it can really hurt your cause.”

“Okay. I’ll try.”

“Trying isn’t good enough,” I said. “Whatever happens in there, it’s okay to show your anger, it’s okay to show your sadness, it’s okay to show the whole gamut of your emotions, but tell the truth.”

“And you think the truth will get me back my daughter?”

“It’s the only thing that can,” I said.

There was a bustle in the hallway as a small crowd came our way. It was led by a tall gray man in an expensive suit. He was accompanied by a lovely younger woman who held on to his arm, three men with dark suits and briefcases, and a perfectly coiffed man swathed in sharkskin. This last I had dealt with before. His name was Arthur Gullicksen, and the material of his suit was entirely appropriate.

“Victor?” he said as he approached. “I’m surprised to see you here. I thought Beth was handling this case.”

“She’s my partner,” I said, “which means we work together on everything. She asked me to help, and so here I am.”

“That’s just fine,” said Gullicksen, letting his gaze stray from my eyes to the big red file folder. “Have you met Bradley Hewitt?”

“No, I haven’t,” I said.

After Gullicksen made the introductions, the tall gray man said, “I’ve heard about you, Mr. Carl.” His voice was incredibly deep and rich, almost as rich as his suit.

“Nothing bad, I hope.”

“So many of us, I suppose, hope in vain,” he said. He didn’t smile as he said it, and yet his expression wasn’t unkind. It was as if all of us were together in an unpleasant situation that was not of our own making, all of us but one. When he turned his gaze upon Theresa, something shifted in his expression. Theresa seemed to wilt under his attention, until she turned and fled into the courtroom.

“She just wants to be able to spend time with Belle,” said Beth.

“You think that’s best for my daughter?” said Hewitt.

“A girl needs her mother,” said Beth.

“But not that mother,” said Bradley Hewitt.

“Do you have a second, Victor?” said Gullicksen.

I glanced at Beth, who nodded me on, and so Gullicksen and I huddled at the far end of the hallway, out of earshot of the rest of the crowd.

“You know, of course, that this is a mistake,” he said. “I could understand a motion like this coming from Beth. She has a reputation for not worrying about political realities, but I’m surprised to see you involved.”

“We are representing a woman who simply wants to live with her daughter again. What political reality am I missing?”

“Mr. Hewitt is an intriguing man, with connections to the highest levels of government.”

“And he used that power to force a mother to give up her child.”

“He used that power to protect his daughter from a woman who didn’t know how to care for her. All your client wants now is the money that comes with custody. Be aware that my client will continue to protect his daughter by any means necessary.”

“Is that a threat? Because I’ve been expecting one, Arthur, from the moment I got involved.”

“Not a threat at all, Victor,” said Gullicksen. “Just a friendly piece of advice. Mr. Hewitt is willing to allow supervised visitations for your client.”

“She already turned that down. We want joint custody, fifty-fifty.”

“Too bad. I hate to keep a mother from at least seeing her child. What’s in the file you so carefully clutch to your chest?”

“Oh, odds and ends,” I said.

“I have a red file folder of my own. It’s a neat trick. I couldn’t help noticing that you’re involved in a highly sensitive case involving a fugitive and a painting. I hope nothing that happens here will in any way interfere with your efforts on behalf of your other client.”

“Now, that does sound like a threat.”

“As I said, Mr. Hewitt has much influence and many friends. Including Mr. Spurlock of the Randolph Trust.”

“Let’s keep our focus on a mother trying to regain her daughter.”

“Okay, Victor, then I must ask. What do you really know about Theresa Wellman?”

“She had a rough patch,” I said, “but she says she’s changed.”

“Is that what she says?” Gullicksen smiled at me like I had just told an amusing little anecdote. “Tell me, Victor, when did you start believing in the Easter Bunny?”