Page 19

CHAPTER 19

When it rained, it poured.

That's the thought that was in Rhea's head as she drove into Richmond the next day.

She felt horrible about calling Joshua to see if he could find someone on short notice to take her place on shift.

When Keely had called her just before lunch, it had been a welcome distraction. Which made her feel horrible. The custody fight wasn't something she was happy about, but she didn't know how she was going to get through a day-long shift with Brody while her heart was breaking.

Now, she could head to Richmond and attend court with Keely and find out what was really going on with Charles' family.

Joshua had assured her that it wasn't a problem to cover her shift.

He knew that this was for her court case, and he was very kind to help her.

She'd already arranged for Kay to pick up Chip and take him to the house where Bea would make sure that he was fine until she got back.

Bea had tried to corner her as she left the house to drive to Richmond and Rhea had managed to get out the door without a meaningful conversation.

Bea had lived a long life and had a shrewd eye.

She knew something was up, but Rhea couldn't stop to deal with it at the moment.

She had to do what was right for Chip. No matter how much she cared for Brody and everyone else around her in Fallport, Chip was the one depending on her.

And she was going to do what she needed to.

She hoped that they'd get some real answers in court today. Keely had explained what the hearing would cover.

The Russel's lawyer would have to say what they were planning to do and detail their challenges to her custody.

She was only looking forward to it in the way that Keely had talked about. Once they knew their plans, they could formulate the best way to defend against it. Keely had always suggested a more proactive method. Counter suing to block any rights they had to Chip until he was an adult. Then, he could make up his own mind.

She wished that she could keep them away from Chip forever, but that wasn't possible.

Rhea would just have to do what she could for now and face the rest of it later.

When she pulled into the parking lot for the court building, she took a moment to pull herself together.

A soft knock at her window turned her head and she saw Keely standing by her car. A strange look on her face. Keely stepped back and Rhea got out of the car. "What's wrong?"

Keely shook her head. "I'm not sure if something is wrong but it's very... strange."

Rhea leaned against her car, wrapping her arms around body trying to hold herself together. "What is it?"

"Their attorney filed a petition today to be released from the case."

"Released?"

Keely looked as confused as Rhea felt.

"It happens every so often," she explained. "Attorneys take a case and they start working on it only to find that what their clients have represented to them isn't the truth. Or something else happens. Like a dispute over money."

"Money." Rhea nodded. "They never had money that I could see. Well, except for the money that Charles gave them. Maybe they couldn't pay the attorney?"

Keely nodded. "That might be the case. Still, I know about their attorney through connections I have and he's not a guy that I'd work with no matter how much I stood to gain. He strikes me as an opportunist."

Rhea shrugged. "Then he might have fit in well with what I know about them." She looked across the parking lot and sighed. "So what does that mean for the case."

"Well," Keely crossed one leg over the other and sighed, "the judge pushed back the hearing as the client, Margo Russell-"

"Charles' mother."

Keely nodded. "She wasn't available, and this judge is very concerned about the appeals court overturning his cases. So he errs on the side of caution more than I'd like. "So we go in and we wait to see what the judge does. If he allows the attorney to withdraw that’s one thing. From there we take the next step after that..."

Rhea felt her whole body start to ache. "So do I stay?"

Keely smiled at her. "If you can, please stay. No matter what happens this afternoon, we can meet afterwards and go over plans to fight this and I'd like to go over more details about the counter suit I'd like to file."

Rhea looked at her phone. She knew that Chip was safe and with people who care for him. "Yes. I'll stay. I'd like to set all of our pieces on the board and get this settled as soon as we can so Chip and I can put this behind us."

Rhea felt Keely rub her hand on Rheas' arm.

"Let's go inside and find a quiet place to sit. The bailiff is going to call me when the case is going to be called."

Rhea followed her inside.

* * *

Chip skipped up to the front door, full to the brim with excitement and lots of stories. He'd barely hit the porch when the door opened up. "Aunt Bea! I'm home!!"

Aunt Bea leaned down for a kiss and chuckled when she got that kiss and a big, squeezing hug. "Welcome home, sweetheart."

He wiped his shoes off on the rug and stepped inside, taking his bag into his room and setting it down before he turned around and almost vaulted into the kitchen. "You know, I feel like having some cookies, Aunt Bea! Do we have any cookies?"

Playing her best role every, Bea clapped her hands together. "We do, in fact, have cookies!"

Chip nodded, pondering the world’s deep issues...

Not really.

He pondered his next question. "And, do we have milk?"

It was Bea's turn to wonder over the answer and with an impish smile, she answered. "Why yes, we do have milk!"

As Chip's eyes sparkled with joy, Bea picked up a tin from the counter. "Why don't you take this tin outside, and I'll bring out two glasses of cold milk?"

"Super cool!"

Chip took the tin from her hands and skipped to the back door.

Bea had shown him how to open the door carefully and he took great care not to slam it open, but the hardest part was closing it with the tin in his hand, so he lifted his foot and slid it closed.

Chip set the tin on the table and turned around to help his aunt with the glasses and napkins.

* * *

Standing outside the gate to the backyard, Margo Russell stood next to her nephew, Blake. "Now you remember what to do?"

Blake sighed and shook his head. "I got it, Aunt Maggie."

She hissed at him. "It's Margo. You know I hate it when you call me Maggie."

He shrugged. "Whatever. So I grab the kid and put him in the car. Meet you at the gas station on the highway and then I'm done, right?"

"Yes, yes," she sighed, agitated. "You hand him off and then you're done."

"With my money, right?"

She tensed up at that moment.

Blake narrowed his eyes at her. "I get my money when you get the kid, right?"

They stared at each other, neither backing down.

Until she broke, glaring at him as if one look could reduce him to ash. "You'll get your damn money."

He grinned at her. "That's what I wanted to hear."

* * *

Rhea sat in the gallery of the court room waiting for her case to be called. Keely was outside in the hallway making some calls.

In her purse, her phone buzzed silently, and she looked around to see if anyone was looking.

She wasn't planning to use her phone to make a call. So she wouldn't be breaking any rules.

Pulling it out she looked at the opening screen.

A few calls, missed of course.

Brody.

A few messages, Brody as well.

The messages she could look at, but she wasn't sure she should.

But her curiosity got the better of her.

brODY: Joshua is working the shift with me. Hope you're okay.

brODY: Joshua said that you had something to do with the court case. Is there anything I can do to help?

brODY: If you're in court and can't talk. Just know I love you.

Rhea's breath caught in her throat.

She was tempted to answer back and tell him to leave her alone but that was stupid.

He didn't deserve to be hurt, and she had to talk to Joshua about changing shifts. It would be easier if they weren't working twenty-four hour shifts together. She could handle seeing him during the hand-off from shift to shift.

She could smile at him and say the normal. 'How are you?' 'How is the family?'

And Bea could continue to go to the Armstrongs’ Sunday dinners.

She just couldn't see Brody like that.

Especially if he started dating someone else.

She might not be the right person for him, but she didn't want to see him with anyone else.

That would cut her down to the bone.

Another message came in while she was sitting there.

brODY: When you get a minute, please call me. I feel like I'm missing something.

She smiled.

He was sweet.

And she felt horrible.

Because she loved him.

She hadn't told him about her feelings and now she wouldn't.

There was no reason to make things harder.

She didn't even feel all that upset with his mother.

She was just watching out for her son. And she'd only said some of the concerns that Rhea had had earlier. Concerns that she'd ignored when she'd-

"Next case!" The bailiff stood up and read off the paper in front of her. "Russell V Russell. Contested Custody."

Rhea stood up and turned her head to see the double doors swing open.

Keely walked in, her strides eating up the space between them.

Rhea followed her progress with her eyes and followed her to the table on right as soon as they walked past the bar.

Keely pulled out a chair and gestured to it.

"Stand here, okay."

Rhea nodded and stood beside her attorney.

The bailiff looked at Keely who nodded.

He then walked out into the hallway and through the closed door, Rhea could hear him calling the case in one direction and then the other.

When the bailiff returned, he was followed by a man in a suit who looked like he'd slept in it, or at the very least, had his coat balled up and shoved into a tight corner.

As the man walked past the bar he looked over at their table. "Keely. It's good to see you again."

Rhea watched as Keely turned toward the man and said one short sentence. "Mister Pohl."

The man chuckled and stepped behind the other table and sat down heavily in the table. "Nice... Just perfect."

The bailiff was back behind his desk. "All Rise."

The other attorney grumbled something under his breath as the judge stepped into the room and settled behind her desk.

"Go ahead and sit down."

Rhea's heart was in her chest as the judge began to speak.

"Mister Pohl?"

"Yes, Your Honor?"

"Where are your clients?"

"Well," he cleared his throat and stood up, "I believe you are in receipt of my motion to have myself be removed from his case."

The judge looked over at Keely. "Do you have anything you'd like to say about the motion?"

Keely stood, the picture of grace. "No, your honor. If Mister Pohl does not wish to represent his clients further in this matter, that would be fine with me. Given the fact that the plaintiffs in this matter haven't seen fit to show up to the court, I move to dismiss this matter, with prejudice, Your Honor."

The judge sat back in her chair and looked at both tables with a mild expression. "Mister Pohl, I take it that you informed your clients of your motion to quit?"

He nodded and gave the judge a meek smile. "Yes, Your Honor. I have, leaving them several messages yesterday and today. I only came today to make sure that I was removed from this case."

The judge sat forward leaning her forearms on the desk. "You came today because you didn't want to be in contempt of court. Don't flatter yourself that this is some kind of altruistic action on your part."

Rhea looked up and saw Keely's mouth tip up at the corner.

"Do your clients understand that I take a grim view of anyone wasting the court's time?"

Mister Pohl shifted from one foot to the other and leaned on the tabletop. "I did inform them, Your Honor. This is just one of the reasons that I am unable to continue representing them in this matter."

The look on the judge's face was unreadable at first.

Then she smiled and Rhea felt a cold shiver go through her.

Keely was fighting a smile as the judge turned to her.

"Miss Dawes?" She looked at Rhea. "Miss Russell?"

Rhea was on her feet nodded at the judge. "Yes, Your Honor?"

"This is in regards to the custody of your son?"

She nodded. "Yes, Your Honor."

The judge turned her head in the direction of the other table. "Mister Pohl, until your clients make an appearance, I will not remove you from this case."

Mister Pohl lowered his chin toward his chest and cleared his throat. "Yes, Your Honor."

"But I can do something. She looked over at her clerk who was smiling at her desk. "This case is dismissed, with out prejudice."

Rhea saw the judge look at her. "I'm sorry, Miss Russell. I can't quite dismiss this completely, but if your husband's family shows this much concern for your son's care, I'm sure you'll be able to remedy this soon."

"Okay." The judge looked at the room. "I think we're done here."

"All rise!"

The judge walked out nodding at the bailiff who held the door for her.

Keely turned to look at her. "Okay. Now, let's talk about that other issue. Let's go get something to eat."

All Rhea could do was nod, she was still stunned.

* * *

Bea was sitting in the late afternoon sun playing with the tray of bubble liquid that she'd set up.

Together with Chip, she'd bent old wire hangers into different shapes, and they were waving the wire frames in the air, creating bubbles that floated in the air.

With Chip's laughter ringing in her ears she almost didn't notice the metallic click of the latch on the gate behind her.

But she did see Chip's expression change from delight to shock.

Bea swung around and stared in shock. "This isn't your yard, young man. Turn around and leave."

The young man had an almost beard and a sweat stained shirt.

"You leave now and I won't have to call the police."

Bea had no intention of letting him go without reporting him, but she'd never say it out loud. At the moment she had to get him away from Chip.

"Well?" She put her hands on her hips. "Go away!"

The man sneered at her. "What are you going to do about it, bitch?" He reached for Chip and Bea tried to move between them and ended up being knocked to the ground.

"Aunt Bea!" Chip started toward her, and she reached out. "Run, Chip! Go!"

Chip looked up at the man and started to run for the sliding door.

He was grabbed by the back of his shirt and hauled up into the man's arms.

"Lemme go!"

Chip was kicking and his hands were clawing at the young man's arms.

Bea tried to get up, but the man kicked her in the stomach as he went out through the gate.

The last sight she had of Chip was crying and reaching for her.

The world went black.