Chapter 44

CHAPTER 44

W HEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE hotel, Devine made introductions with Beth Walker and Saxby and Odom. Saxby at first had seemed leery about a local police officer in the mix, but Walker’s cordial manner soon put her at ease.

“What happened to your face, Devine?” asked Saxby. “It’s all bruised and scratched. And you’re moving a little stiff. Please don’t tell me someone else tried to kill you?”

Devine glanced at Walker before saying, “Just a little blowup. No big deal.”

Walker hiked her eyebrows at this comment, but then she turned to Odom. “I’m so sorry about your parents, Betsy.”

“Thanks,” Odom said curtly.

Devine said, “You ready to meet with your uncle?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

He noted that she had on new clothes, presumably from her shopping trip with Saxby. He could tell that the pair seemed to have reached a truce of sorts; at least their manner toward each other appeared relaxed and amiable.

“And the court hearing?” asked Devine.

“Agent Saxby sort of walked me through what it will be like. I’m just going to tell the truth if I have to say anything.”

“Always a good idea,” observed Walker.

“And have you decided on your uncle being your guardian?” asked Devine.

She didn’t answer him, but simply put on her new coat and headed to the door.

They drove over to the Four Seasons in Walker’s car. They were met at the entrance by Glass’s majordomo, Dennis Hastings. He was dressed in a suit, but with a tie this time.

Devine had to vouch for Walker’s presence, and although Hastings didn’t like the notion of a cop and an FBI agent meeting the boss, Devine made it clear that it was all or none.

Hastings phoned Glass about it, and a minute later he nodded at Devine. “Let’s go.”

As they were heading up in the elevator car, Devine turned to Hastings and said, “So what’d you do last night? Anything fun?”

Hastings shrugged. “Room service and a movie. You?”

“Same. What movie did you watch?”

“It was so bad, I forgot. You?”

“I forget the name, too, but I know it opened with a house blowing up.”

Walker caught his eye but said nothing.

Hastings said, “Really? Sounds like something I’d watch. You know, exciting .”

“Yeah, I bet.”

“Anybody die?” asked Hastings.

“Somebody always dies,” replied Devine curtly.

They were escorted down the hall and had to pass by the security team at the entrance to the presidential suite. Danny Glass was sitting in the same chair as last time. Only now he had on a dark blue suit with a striped tie for his court appearance. Hastings had, once more, taken his clothing choice from his boss, Devine observed.

Devine also noted that Odom looked around in awe at the luxurious space and the sweeping views out over the water.

Think and Grow Rich. He could almost see the wheels spinning in her head.

Glass rose, greeted and embraced Odom, and then was introduced by Devine to Saxby and Walker.

Glass smiled. “I’ve never felt so safe in my life with so many cops and federal agents around. Coffee, tea, water?”

They all declined.

“So what do we talk about?” began Saxby, looking directly at Glass.

“You a smoker?” he asked.

“How’d you guess? The sweet aroma on my clothes?”

“No, you just have that certain look. But this is a nonsmoking room in case you start getting itchy.”

“That’s okay. I don’t think this meeting will take all that long.”

Glass glanced at Odom. “So why does the FBI have my niece in your custody? As her guardian to be, I have the right to know. Because once I am appointed her guardian, she will be coming to live with me.”

“We’ll answer that question when and if the court grants your petition,” said Saxby.

“I like to plan ahead for the inevitable,” countered Glass.

“So do I,” said Saxby. “But I hate to go spouting off willy-nilly if I don’t have to.”

Glass sat and motioned for them all to do the same. “Okay, I’m told that this hearing is pretty much perfunctory, with all the high-priced attorneys present and everybody represented, but that a decision on my emergency guardianship petition could be rendered today.”

“Are you planning to make a statement to the court?” said Devine.

“If the judge has any questions, I’ll be more than happy to answer them.”

“Including questions about your RICO prosecutions for eighty-six felonies?” said Saxby.

Glass glanced sharply at Odom, apparently to see her reaction to this. The girl just sat there with her gaze on the floor. Glass looked back at Saxby. “My lawyers have told me that in this country one is innocent until proven guilty. Maybe you heard something like that in FBI school. So, right now, I’m as pure as the Pope. But I look forward to my day in court and telling my side of things.”

“But a family court judge will take the charges into consideration nonetheless, because the only concern is the welfare of the child,” pointed out Saxby. “Not whether you can beat the case leveled against you.”

“ Qué será, será ,” Glass said dismissively. “So moving forward, I really need to know that if I am granted guardianship, the FBI will release Betsy into my custody. Otherwise, what’s the point of the hearing if the judge decides in my favor? I still won’t have Betsy.”

“As I said, we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.”

Glass shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” Glass clicked his fingers and a dark-suited man came into the room. He was tall and cadaverous with thinning hair and a pointy chin. His eyes were light gray, his mouth shaped into a smirk. He walked over and handed a blue-backed packet of documents to Saxby. He said, “I’m one of Mr. Glass’s attorneys. The FBI is hereby served.” He paused and grinned. “Always wanted to say that.”

Saxby didn’t bother to look at the papers. “Served with what exactly? From the smell of it, maybe… horseshit?”

Odom snorted at that, and Walker raised a hand to her face to hide the smile.

The cadaver said stiffly, “It’s a petition to show cause regarding the FBI holding Betsy Odom pretty much hostage. Regardless of whether Mr. Glass is appointed guardian or not, as her sole remaining blood relative, he has a vested interest in, and standing to insist, that the FBI offer clear and convincing evidence as to why Miss Odom is subject to continued physical detainment.”

“I’ll be sure to alert DOJ,” said Saxby casually, though Devine could tell the woman had been caught off guard by this. They all had.

“Be sure you do,” said the lawyer. “I doubt the Justice Department wants a default judgment entered against them. With egg on face, jobs and federal careers tumble,” he added snidely.

“Well, at least on our side, they don’t end up in the river with chains and cement blocks for screwing up,” Saxby countered. “So, make sure you don’t mess up, and give your boss a reason to tumble your career. And you .”

The lawyer’s smirk vanished, he gave his boss a tremulous glance, and then he quietly removed himself from the room.

Devine looked at Glass. “So this was the reason for the meeting? To serve papers and talk tough?”

“That and I wanted to see my niece again. And to assure her and you that I have her best interests at heart. And that I will do everything in my power to keep her happy, healthy, and safe.”

Odom glanced up at this and locked gazes with her uncle.

To Devine, the girl seemed supremely confused, and it was no wonder. He was, too.

“Is there anything else?” asked Saxby. “Or are we done here?”

“Unless Betsy has something to say?” said Glass.

They all looked at her.

Devine wondered if she was going to bring up her parents being cremated at Glass’s instruction, and ask the other questions she had told them she had. But Odom merely shook her head and gazed down at her shoes. They left Glass sitting there.

Back in the car Saxby said, “Well, I have to hand it to the guy, that was slickly done.”

“You’ll need to provide the legal papers to the DOJ,” said Walker.

“Really? And here I was going to use them to light my cigarettes.”

An embarrassed Walker said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Devine barely listened to this exchange. He was focusing on Odom, who sat next to him in the rear seat. He had never seen her this withdrawn.

He nudged her arm. “You okay?”

She looked over at him. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“You don’t seem it. And you didn’t ask your uncle any of your questions.”

Walker and Saxby stopped talking and glanced in the rearview mirror at them.

“I know. I just… didn’t.” She paused. “Do… do I really have to get up and talk in court?”

“Well, if the judge has some questions for you to answer,” replied Devine.

“If I want to live with my uncle, you mean?”

Saxby said, “Betsy, the judge wants to get an understanding of you and your uncle’s relationship, whether your living with him is the right thing for you , which is the only thing that matters.”

“But what if I just say that it is? That that’s what I want?”

Saxby turned around in the seat and looked at her. “Then that will carry great weight with the judge. But since you’re a minor, it will not be definitive.”

“What does that mean?” Odom asked sharply.

“It means the judge can consider other things.”

“Like my uncle being a criminal?” she said heatedly.

“An alleged criminal,” corrected Saxby. “But yes, she can consider that. Family court judges have great latitude in what they can take into account when placing minors with adults.”

A clearly frustrated Odom blurted out, “But what if she says I can’t live with my uncle? What happens to me then? I can’t just stay in a crummy hotel with you until I’m eighteen, can I?”

“No, you can’t,” conceded Saxby.

“So, what then?”

“The judge can appoint another guardian.”

“Who? I don’t have any other relatives that I know of.”

Saxby said, “Whoever they appoint might only be temporary.”

“And then what?” demanded Odom, drilling her with an angry stare. “I go to somebody else? And then another stranger and then another?”

Saxby said, “I don’t know. I just don’t know, Betsy.”

Mirroring what she had once told Devine, Odom snapped, “You don’t know much.”

They drove on in silence.