Chapter 12

Leslie and Melanie Miles were waiting at Lynn’s office along with the pair from court that Brock didn’t recognize. They were introduced as Steve and Lisa Walsh, Suzy’s foster parents.

“Is this a bad time to ask for a loan,” Mel joked when Brock got out of the car. “Or maybe you could just buy me a car.”

Brock smiled and gave her a quick hug.

“After Lynn takes her fees, I’ll be lucky to have enough money to buy you a Matchbox car,” he joked right back. But he put his arm around Lynn to let her know he was kidding.

Lynn was smiling to end all smiles--right up to the time the Channel 4 news van pulled into her parking lot.

“Inside,” she urged. “Brock has said enough for one day.”

“Ah, Lynn,” he complained. “I was just getting warmed up. I have a whole list of insults to hurl yet.”

The group migrated to Lynn’s inner sanctum and began discussing Suzy’s case. She was conspicuous by her absence.

“Don’t you think Suzy should be here while we discuss her future?” Brock asked no one in particular. “I mean, it seems to me she has a vested interest in things.”

The Walshes looked out the window.

“I think Susan will be happy so long as she is away from her parents and away from this town,” Lisa said. “Her Aunt Brenda tried to visit her a few days ago at the school but the principal wouldn’t let her in. I think she plans to be there today to file for custody of her niece.

“Susan was adamant about not going to Las Vegas. She has a lot of faith in you, Brock. She said you would have a plan. I hope you do because the family court judge is notorious for giving children to blood relatives.”

Brock looked at Lynn and shrugged.

“It would have been nice to know this a little earlier,” he said. “Off the top of my head I can think of two ways to go about this. First is to allege her aunt’s complicity in the plot. After all, she signed as a witness to Suzy’s statement. But that implicates Suzy as well.

“The second is to get a material witness warrant from the judge we just left. It will keep Suzy from leaving the state. Do we know for sure that Brenda Simpson is still a resident of Nevada? If she is, that will go a long way toward keeping her here. The judge can even award temporary custody to either the Walshes or Leslie until after the trial. I have no doubt in my mind that if Brenda Simpson gets custody of Suzy, we’ll never see her again. Well, at least not until she turns 18 and can leave.”

Brock turned to ask Lynn’s opinion but she was already on her cell phone.

“Marcia, it’s Lynn Collingwood,” she said into the receiver. “I need a material witness warrant drawn up quickly for Susan Simpson. We have every indication that her aunt plans to spirit her outside our jurisdiction and we’ll need her for the civil case and you’ll need her for the criminal trial. Her custody case starts in three hours. Will that be enough time? Judge Kerwin will sign it, I’m sure. I’ll call his clerk right after I’m off with you.”

Two minutes later Lynn was off the phone and back in the conversation.

“You need to get Suzy from school immediately,” she told the Walshes. “Take Brock with you if you need to. From what I know of the Simpson family I wouldn’t put much past them.”

Lisa Walsh smiled brilliantly.

“It seems Susan’s trust wasn’t misplaced,” she said. “I had my doubts but I was wrong.”

Melanie beamed.

“It never pays to underestimate Brock Miller,” she said with glee. “Ask my mom or sister if you don’t believe me.”

Getting Suzy from school wasn’t as difficult as anyone thought it might be. Brock had no interest in visiting Lafayette High School again but he went along in case Steve ran into any problems. He waited in the parking lot while Steve retrieved Suzy.

Suzy was practically overjoyed at seeing Brock and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek when he got out and allowed her to sit in front. On the way to the courthouse, Steve filled her in on the details of what was happening.

“I’m not sure I can testify against my parents,” she said sadly. “I mean they’re shits but they’re still my mom and dad. Do you think it will come to that, Jordan?”

Brock sighed.

“First, you’ve got to quit calling me that,” he said tersely. “Second, it might. If it does, you’ll have to answer the questions that are posed to you. The criminal prosecution is out of my hands. I’m not a plaintiff in the case so I have no grounds to ask questions or seek favors. But for now it was just a convenient way to keep you from having to go with your aunt.

“It’s my understanding that Judge Kerwin is going to forbid you from leaving the state. That will keep your aunt from getting custody. We’re also going to allege that your aunt was part of the coverup. Right now we have no solid evidence that doesn’t implicate you, too. So alleging is all we do. But you can’t run from things this time, Suzy. If push comes to shove you’re going to have to stand up this time. Don’t kid yourself that everything is going to go away.”

Brock knew it wasn’t what Suzy wanted to hear but it was exactly what she needed to hear. If she was prepared for the worst she could accept anything better.

“I’m going to suggest that you finish out the school term with us,” Steve said and continued to speak over Suzy’s protests. “I’ve been through this a lot more times than I care to count. It will make the transition to a new school easier if you do it at the semester. If you transfer now you’ll have only a week or two of the grading period left before marks are due. It could hurt your semester grades if you mess up a quiz or something and the teacher has only four or five grades to average.”

Suzy looked to Brock for support but she found none.

“I’m outside of my element,” he said. “Mr. Walsh is right. He knows a lot more about this sort of thing than anyone. Certainly more than I do. I would follow his recommendations if I were you.”

In the end, most of the preparations were for naught. Judge Kerwin cut out the middle man and assumed control of the case. He wouldn’t even listen to Brenda Simpson’s attorney when he made the case for custody and granted temporary guardianship to Steve and Lisa Walsh through January 15th.

Permanent guardianship would be determined at a hearing on that date. He refused to sever the Simpsons’ parental ties until after the January hearing and then would hold his ruling in abeyance until after their criminal trial which was still months away.

“I thought you said she’d be back in Corbly by December 1st,” Leslie spat at Brock when they left the courtroom.

He simply shrugged.

“I was wrong,” he stated. “But I think you’ll agree that the situation she is in now is better than one that would allow her parents to pull the strings. If we had gone your route Brenda Simpson would already have guardianship and Suzy would be in Las Vegas or God knows where.

“Really, Leslie, don’t be pissy because you didn’t get exactly what you wanted. It’s still better than the alternative you proposed. Suzy will be fine. She said she enjoys living with the Walshes and they seem to take pretty good care of her. So get off your high horse.”