“How important is her testimony?”
“If she tells the truth—the whole truth about how she and Michael set me up—that could tip the scales in our favor. The judge would really have to wonder whether it’s in Simon’s best interests to be raised by Michael, no matter what the guardian says. Michael could even wind up in prison.” Hez sucked in a breath through his teeth. “But without Martine’s testimony, we’ll probably lose Simon.”
Savannah paused the walk and clung to his hand. “What are our options? Can we force Martine to testify? He’s her dad, not a spouse. Though it might be a challenge to find her.”
“Finding her is the easy part. I have a strong suspicion she’s in France, staying in or near her mother’s village in the Burgundy region. She spent summers there after her parents divorced and her mom moved back across the pond.”
“Out in plain sight? What if Michael sends one of his goons to silence her?”
“He’s unlikely to do that. She’s proven she’s afraid of him and will do whatever he says. As long as he doesn’t get a whiff of any disobedience, he’ll leave her alone.”
Savannah started toward her office again. Her afternoon would be full of meetings with faculty about changes for next year. It was nearly lunchtime, and students sat on the soft carpet of grass with their snacks and meals. “Can we subpoena her to testify?”
“No.” Hez paused at the pond until Boo Radley crossed the path to slide into the water. “It’s virtually impossible for an American court to force someone in France to testify. As long as she stays there and doesn’t agree to testify, she and her father are perfectly safe. I can hire a PI to verify she’s at her mother’s, then try to talk her into coming back willingly.”
Savannah shook her head. “You have too much to handle here. I’ll go. Maybe I can appeal to her softer side.” She leveled a stern glance at him. “And your track record with her stinks. You still see the girl you used to know instead of the calculating woman she is now.”
His cheeks flushed. “I don’t like it, babe. Michael could get wind of it and send one of his goons after you.”
“I’ll say I’m going to London about some funding or business of some kind. It will seem normal to the university. But I’ll fly to Paris instead and take the train. Do you remember the name of the town?”
“No, but I can find out.” He sounded resigned.
A three-day trip when she had so much on her plate wasn’t ideal, but Savannah felt a surge of energy at the thought of facing Martine at last.
Hez wished he could be a fly on the wall during Savannah’s meeting with Martine. Then he started to picture the conversation and changed his mind. His name would come up a lot, and the context might not always be positive. Still, he wished he could be there. If anything happened to Savannah in his absence, he’d never forgive himself.
He did his best to focus on the paperwork and emails in front of him. He was keeping an eye on Savannah’s inbox as well as his, and he was amazed at how much she had to do. There were emails about the renovations of Legare Hall and the campus chapel, draft graduation schedules, and dozens of other items to sift through. There was even a lengthy complaint about Boo Radley, who had allegedly eaten a professor’s cat. Hez very much doubted that Boo could even catch a cat, but the professor was adamant and verbose. The cat hadn’t been home for two days and Boo seemed fatter than usual. Therefore, Boo must have eaten the cat. Hez looked up the professor and was relieved that he wasn’t on the law faculty.
Hez’s email pinged with a message from Scott. The titlewas “Guardian’s Report” and the first line was “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
Hez groaned as he opened the email and groaned again as he read the report. The guardian recommended that Michael’s adoption petition be granted and that he get full custody of Simon, with Savannah and Hez getting visitation rights on holidays and birthdays. The guardian came across as thorough and unbiased, which made things worse. She had met Simon multiple times, observed him when he was with Michael and when he was with Savannah, and interviewed all three of the potential adopters.
She didn’t criticize Savannah or Hez, but she pointed out that they both had full-time jobs and couldn’t always be home for Simon. The report also mentioned Hez’s work with the Justice Chamber, which had already put Simon in danger. By contrast, Michael had a flexible schedule and could be home whenever Simon was. Michael also had an assortment of young relatives with whom Simon was already bonding. And no one had ever pulled a gun on Michael in Simon’s presence.
The guardian noted that Hez and Savannah had raised concerns about Michael’s purported criminal connections, but she observed that those hadn’t been proven. Simon’s opinion was no help—he loved his grandfather and his aunt and uncle.
Hez tried to think of a way the report could have been worse for him and Savannah. He failed.
A sharp rap at his door jolted him out of his funk. “Come in.”
The door opened and Ed, Dominga, and Toni entered, all smiling. Ed spoke first. “You know how you said you didn’t have any work for us? I told Jimmy, and he said you must begetting sloppy because there was an obvious loose end from the Hornbrook thing.”
“Oh, really.” Hez swiveled in his chair. “Did he say what it was?”
Dominga nodded. “We never figured out who was blackmailing James Hornbrook.”
Hez frowned. “He’s right. We should give that a shot.”
Toni’s smile broadened. “We already did. Jimmy hired us as externs for the job and paid our expenses. He said not to tell you because you’d want TGU to pay for it.”
“He’s right about that too—but tell me what you found. You’ve all got grins as big as a gator’s.”
Ed pulled a binder out of his backpack. “It took some digging by Bruno, but we managed to pinpoint the location of the MacBook used by the extortionist.” He pulled out a sheet of paper and laid it on Hez’s desk. “That’s where it is—or at least was.”
Hez looked down at a map with a circle drawn around a house. His ears roared and he felt lightheaded. “This... this is Michael Willard’s home.”
Ed’s expression sobered. “It is. He was behind this all along. I don’t understand it, though. Why would he blackmail Hornbrook and then stage a commando raid to kill him?”
