Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

D EVINE WENT TO HIS HOTEL, showered, peeled off his soiled clothes, and put on fresh ones. His jacket with the bloodstain removed was back from the hotel laundry so he put that on. Then he took an Uber to Odom’s hotel. He had phoned Saxby before heading over.

“Betsy’s been asking about you all day,” the FBI agent had told him on the phone. “What the hell is going on?”

“I’ll tell you when I get there.”

Saxby opened the door at his knock. Odom was waiting on the couch. She jumped up when Devine walked in.

Odom said, “I’m so glad you’re here, Travis. The hearing is tomorrow, and like I said, my uncle wants to meet with me before.”

He looked at Saxby. “The Bureau okay with that?”

“Yes. But I’m coming along, too. To see Glass and attend the court hearing.”

Devine held up Odom’s binder. “Stopped at your home last night and found this.”

“My journal!” said Odom.

“Yeah.” When she reached for it, he held it back. “One thing.”

“What?” she said fearfully, as though she knew what was coming.

He opened it to the last page. “You apparently had doubts about your uncle before your parents died. How come?”

Saxby read off the line and then looked in confusion at Odom. “Betsy?” she said.

Odom snatched the binder and plunked herself down on the couch, crossing one leg defiantly over the other. “What!?”

“What do you have to say about that?” asked Saxby.

“About what?” she shot back.

Devine sat at the other end of the couch. “By those words, you were trying to make up your mind about your uncle. So someone must have told you something about him.”

Odom fingered the binder and wouldn’t look at him.

Devine finally glanced at Saxby. “When and where tomorrow?”

“We meet Glass at nine at his hotel. The court hearing is at eleven at the King County Superior Court. It’s right here in downtown Seattle.”

“But the Odoms resided in Kittitas County,” noted Devine.

Saxby said, “Yes, but there was an agreement among the parties that the case would be transferred here. Kittitas didn’t want a media circus, what with Glass being involved. And DOJ didn’t want Glass traveling out there. Just all around easier to do it here.”

“Okay.” He looked over to catch Odom staring at him but then she quickly looked away.

“So how will the hearing run?” he asked.

Saxby said, “The judge will probably take testimony from at least Betsy and maybe Glass. The lawyers may have motions or statements to make. We’ll just have to play it by ear.”

“You said DOJ will contest Glass’s petition for the emergency guardianship?” asked Devine.

“They absolutely will,” replied Saxby.

“And I have no say?” exclaimed Odom.

“You have a lot of say, actually,” noted Saxby. “But you’re also only twelve and so the law says you need others to help you with this.”

“No, I don’t! I just want everybody to leave me the hell alone.”

“Including your uncle?” asked Devine. “And have you decided if he’s good or bad?”

She made an ugly face and looked away.

Devine turned to Saxby. “I went to Ricketts yesterday. I phoned Betsy from there.”

“What did you find out?” said Saxby.

Devine glanced nervously at Odom but decided to say it. “I was told that Danny Glass had Dwayne and Alice’s remains cremated.”

“What?” barked Saxby.

Devine looked at Odom. The girl’s mouth was hanging open and she didn’t even look like she was breathing.

He said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. It was… just awkward trying to do it over the phone.”

She closed her mouth and glanced away.

“And there’s something else that happened out there,” said Devine. “Two men did their best to kill me.”

A stunned Saxby said, “What happened?”

He gave them a short sketch of the night’s events. “I think they’re dead, but I can’t be sure. They had backup so I had to get the hell out of there.” He added, “Seattle PD is going over my car now, checking the blood and bullet holes and such.” He glanced again at Odom, who looked like she might be sick.

“Were you injured?” asked Saxby.

He rubbed the back of his head. “Just where one of the guys decided to use my head and his gun to play Whac-A-Mole.”

“Good God,” said Saxby.

“Why… why would they want to hurt you?” asked Odom.

“Maybe because I’m trying to find out who killed your parents and someone doesn’t want that.”

“You really think they didn’t die from an overdose?” said Saxby.

“No. Too much weird stuff going on. And the folks in Ricketts were about as unhelpful as they could be.” He paused. “So, Betsy, you wanted to see me?”

She set her binder aside and composed herself. “Like I said, my uncle wants to meet with me. And I want you to be there.”

“I thought you’d made up your mind that you wanted him to adopt you. So, why do I need to come with you?”

“I’d just feel better if you did,” she said, not meeting his eye.

For a moment Devine thought the girl was actually going to say what was really on her mind. But then she grabbed her binder, rose, and went to her bedroom and shut the door.

In a low voice Devine said, “Has she mentioned anything to you about Glass?”

“Not specifically, no. But there’s something bothering her, I just don’t know what. And she’s unlikely to confide in me. She seems to trust you better. So I think it’s up to you to crack the code with her.”

“Me? Look, you’ve got kids. I don’t know how to handle this stuff.”

Saxby gave him a weary smile. “Being a parent doesn’t make you an expert, Devine. It just allows you to better understand your severe shortcomings on a daily basis, because your kids just relish reminding you of them in both large and small ways. As they get older, the shortcomings just get bigger until, presto, you’re no longer a moron but instead transform into a genius from whom they want all sorts of advice. I’m actually anxiously waiting for that last stage to kick in. Now, Betsy seemed to want to tell you something. And what you found in her journal clearly shows that her doubts about her uncle predated her parents’ deaths. We just need to find out why, but we obviously don’t have much time. For all I know, the judge could rule on the emergency guardianship petition tomorrow.”

“Shit, seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. It’s why they call it emergency .”

“So how do we do that?”

“You mean how do you do it since she can’t stand me.”

“But—”

“I didn’t tell you everything about me, Devine. I am the mother of two boys, like I said. But I’m also the mother of a twelve-year-old girl.”

“You’re kidding me.”

She took out her wallet and showed him a picture of her and a young girl. Saxby was clearly forcing a smile, and the girl looked like she wanted to strangle her mother.

“This is Dana.”

“Why in the hell didn’t you tell me that before?” demanded Devine.

“Because I didn’t have to tell you anything to begin with, and I still confided too much as it was.”

“So what do I do? How do I get through to her?” asked Devine. He felt embarrassed about pleading for help, but right now he needed it. Guns and fighting and blowing stuff up, and how to read a balance sheet and a P&L statement, he knew a lot about. Twelve-year-old females not so much.

“She’s been asking to go to a bookstore. There’s one close by. Take her there. Let her shop, buy her a cookie and whatever cool drink she wants, and then sit there until she decides she wants to talk.”

“And you’re sure she will?”

“I’m not sure of anything, Devine. She’s a twelve-year-old girl. Nobody can figure them out.”