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She’d won consideration, at least. For Tabitha’s sake, that pleased him.
“We need evidence that will lead to a warrant,” he began.
“You want me to get Jason’s DNA?” Mallory was frowning. “I don’t think—”
“No way,” Braden interjected, shaking his head. “That would—”
“No,” Johnny interrupted, looking at both of them. Tabitha had done her part and it was his turn. Feeling as though her quest lay on his shoulders now, he said, “Any DNA you collect could be disallowed in court,” he said. “Collecting it without Matt’s knowledge could also put you in legal jeopardy.” And he truly cared about that. “When we get DNA, it needs to come with the proper chain of evidence. And Tabitha and I want it to be very clear to both of you that we have no intention of involving you in anything that would create a threat to either one of you or your businesses.”
He turned to Tabitha who was nodding profusely.
His task was to protect—all of them. He could do that.
“So what do you need from me?” Mallory asked again.
Tabitha’s sudden clutching of his knee under the table derailed his thoughts. But only for a second. “We need information,” he said. “You’ve already told us his last name, Jamison. That’s a good start. Anything else you might notice, any conversation that could be pertinent.” He nodded at Braden. As one of the trainer’s clients, he could be a great help, too.
“It’s not like Jason’s going to be able to tell me much,” Mallory said before Braden could comment. “He was only a year old when he came to us. He’s just now starting to talk in complete sentences.”
Tabitha jolted beside him, sitting up straighter. She’d let go of his knee, but her leg pressed against his.
“When you first met him, what words was he saying?” she asked.
Mallory shook her head slowly. “I can’t remember anything specific, although I might’ve made some notes in his file. I have fifteen one-and two-year-olds, most of them since soon after birth. We split them up into two classes of seven, based on a number of parameters. Because Jason was a year old when he came in, I would’ve jotted down a few points so I could track his developmental progress to know where to place him.”
Pulling a folded sheet out of her purse, Tabitha passed it to Mallory. “I copied these out of his baby book. These are the words he was saying a year ago, along with what they meant.”
Johnny wished he’d been privy to that information. He’d involved her in every aspect of the Angel’s Food Truck part of their enterprise from logo design to—
Emotions that had no place in his life dropped into the current meeting. He gave them the boot.
Mallory still had her head bent, studying the handwritten, slightly worn piece of unfolded notebook paper. He’d get it into a page protector when she finished. Have it ready for next time.
If there was a next time.
“Sha sha,” she said. “I remember Jason saying that, looking up at me like he wanted something and I couldn’t figure out what it was.”
For real? Johnny stared, seeing the worn sheet as possible evidence now.
“It’s a pretty common sound, isn’t it?” Braden’s tone wasn’t unkind or even unfriendly. His practicality spoke to Johnny, bringing him out of the weird funk he’d begun to sink into.
“Yeah,” Mallory said. “A lot of the sounds babies make when they’re learning to talk are similar. You say here that he said it every time you passed a hamburger joint he recognized. He wanted French fries.”
Johnny felt Tabitha’s trembling knee against his. He wanted to look her in the eye. To connect, give her strength. But her entire focus was on Mallory.
“He loved them,” she said.
“I remember sha sha in particular because his eyes were so serious when he said it, which made me think he was used to having that word understood. I asked Matt about it that night and he told me Jason was asking for potatoes.”
French fries were one form of potatoes. Babies all made similar sounds. And yet...
Sha sha used by two babies for the same vegetable prepared differently would sway some members of a jury. Or a judge.
“This is the kind of stuff we need,” Johnny said. “Or anything Matt might inadvertently say that the police can take to a judge, along with all the other similarities, to request a warrant for DNA samples.”
“You want me to record my conversations with Matt?” Mallory asked.
Johnny shook his head before Braden could object—which, judging by the instant frown that had appeared on his face, he’d been about to do. Johnny didn’t blame him. “Absolutely do not record any conversations,” he said. “California is a two-party consent state, meaning that, unlike many states, in California you need consent from all parties in a conversation before you can record it. You’d be breaking the law to do anything else so, please, do not even go there. You would not only not be helping us, but you’d be harming yourself.” He needed to be completely clear about this. To protect Tabitha, too. There could be no appearance that she was asking anyone to break the law on her behalf.
