Chapter 12

Heath woke to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He quickly slid out of the bed, leaving Debbie sleeping. When he looked, he saw the call was from an unknown number. Calling back, Heath learned the person he called was actually the Notary that Bernie had arranged for him. “Mr. Gladstone, I was told you might need my services today. I have an opening in an hour, if that is convenient for you.”

Heath looked at the time on his phone. He could shower and have the man meet him at the API offices, and be back in time to make sure that Debbie had a healthy lunch. Then he could spend the afternoon shopping with her. “That sounds perfect. Can you meet me at the API office, then?”

“I will be glad to do so. I’ll bill your lawyer, then?”

“What’s your fee? I’ll have it with me when we meet.”

“I’m simply witnessing a couple of signatures. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“The charge is fifty dollars, since I will come to you.”

“Great, could you have a receipt for me?”

“I can. I will see you at eleven then, at the API offices.” The man gave the address which Heath confirmed.

Once the call was done, Heath called down to the front desk to see if the form was in the office center. The guy at the desk told him there was a fax for him, and that they would have someone bring it up.

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll stop and pick it up on my way out. Thank you.”

He hung up and grabbed clothes and went into the bathroom to shower. When he came out, Debbie was still curled up sleeping. He went over and kissed her cheek, then quickly wrote a note telling her he went to take care of the business he’d told her about and would be back soon. He suggested she rest and get a bath if she woke before he returned.

Then he placed the note on the pillow he’d used so she’d see it, and he left the suite to deal with Nick.

When he arrived at the paranormal team office, a little balding man in a tweed suit with a bowtie was sitting in a car out front. Heath knocked on his window and the man rolled it down. “You the Notary?”

“Yes. Mr. Gladstone?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Julius Gardner at your service.”

“Mr. Gardner, I am going to be asking a man to sign away his parental rights here. He’s a bit of an asshole, and I want to put a touch of fear in him. So I’ll double your fee if you will just answer any question I ask you with ‘yes I believe that’s correct’.”

“To get double my fee, all I have to do is say ‘yes, I believe that’s correct’?”

Heath nodded. “Yes, that’s all.”

The man smiled. “I can do that.”

Heath clapped the guy on the shoulder. “Great, let’s go get a signature.”

Madison Cox greeted the two of them as they walked into the API offices. “Heath Gladstone, what brings you to our offices? We already found your phantom.”

He smiled. The spunky woman had been the researcher who had spoken with him about Grandpa Harold and the lore surrounding him. He hadn’t had a personal encounter, so he hadn’t appeared on camera. “Madison, good to see you again. We’re actually here to see Nick. I was told he’d be here today.”

She nodded. “Yeah, he’s in the editing room working on cleaning up some footage for a show. I can go get him if you want.”

“Would it be okay for us to just go see him there? This is kind of personal, and I don’t want to cause rumors or office gossip.”

Madison cocked her head to the side as she looked between Heath and Mr. Gardner. “I don’t see why you couldn’t. It’s the third door on the left.”

“Thanks, you’re a sweetheart.”

She smiled, and Heath led the way to the door she indicated. He knocked before opening it. “Hey Nick, you got a few seconds.”

Nicolas Nash looked up, startled to see him standing there. “She sent the boyfriend, I see.”

Heath glared at the slime ball. “Actually, I’m her husband now, and she doesn’t know I’m here.”

“So, when she couldn’t trap me, she went after you. Well, good luck with that.”

“Make one more negative comment about my wife, and we are going to have a problem, Nash.”

“Whatever. What do you want?”

Just wanted to inform you that there is no need to worry about your child. I’ll make sure he or she is looked after.

“I’ll tell you what I told that Bi ... Debs, there is no way to prove that kid’s mine.”

Heath stepped close and smiled. “See, I’m not as innocent as my wife is, Nash. I know for a fact that if she lists you on the birth certificate and sues for child support, the court will force a DNA test and then we’ll have proof. You’ll be responsible for paying child support for the next eighteen years. Isn’t that right, Mr. Gardner?”

Heath looked at the man in the bowtie. The notary cleared his throat. “Yes, I believe that’s correct.”

Nash looked at the little man. “Who are you?”

Before the man could say anything, Heath spoke up. “Mr. Gardner there is my legal representative.”

“You got a lawyer involved in this?”

Heath smiled a steely smile at the cameraman. “I did. I’ll do anything to see my wife and her child taken care of. So, I hope you like having half your wages garnished. Unless...”

Just as he knew Nick would, he jumped on the loophole. “Unless what?”

“As I understand it, you can sign away your parental rights to someone else. Then, the law cannot hold you liable for any legal or financial responsibility for the child.” Heath looked at the notary again. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Gardner?”

The man nodded. “Yes, I believe that’s correct.”

“You want me to sign a paper saying I don’t want the kid? Glad to.”

“I thought you might be.” Heath handed Nick the termination of parental rights form that turned his parental rights over to Heath.

Nick looked it over. “This says I’m giving you my rights as a parent.”

Heath nodded. “That’s right. Do you have a problem with that?”

The scum shook his head. “Nah, I was just curious why you’d take another man’s bastard.”

Heath bit his tongue and grabbed the seams of his jeans to keep from pummeling this worthless excuse for a man. “What do you care?”

“I don’t. You want to be a chump, ain’t no skin off my nose.” He scrawled his signature in the appropriate space. “Satisfied?”

“Mr. Gardner needs to see your ID to confirm your identity, and that will be that.”

“Sure.” Nick pulled out his wallet and handed the Notary his ID. The little man sat his briefcase on the work desk beside the document, looked at Nick’s ID, and then opened the case and pulled out a stamp and used it to stamp the document, then he signed it himself and handed the form to Heath. “Will there be anything else, Mr. Gladstone?”