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“If he gets me a lawyer, a good one, I’ll say I signed it. If not…” She lets the implication trail off.
“You think you can blackmail your father?”
“I wouldn’t call it that.” She taps at the page through the glass. “We’d just be helping each other out.”
“Have you spoken to your parents in the last eight years since you left?” I ask, lowering the document back to the table.
“Never had reason to ’till now.”
“I don’t imagine your father is feeling too kindly toward you for taking off with his grandson.”
“He’ll get over it to get what he wants.”
“Don’t be naïve,” I say bluntly. “Your father isn’t going to be bribed into getting you a high-end defense attorney. Your signature on the custody agreement has already been verified by a handwriting expert, so either you signed it unknowingly or it’s a good forgery. Whichever, your father doesn’t need you.”
Her colorless complexion reddens.
“That’s the reality, Joyce. You don’t have anything to bargain with.”
“Fuck him. I have the truth.”
“Then tell me what it is.”
“And get dick-all? Naw.” She flicks her hand at me. “I don’t give something for nothing.”
“Fair enough.” I leverage an angle of my own. “Look at it this way, you took Dwayde from your parents for a reason. They claim you demanded $100,000 in exchange for custody and it’s only when they refused to pay that you took off with him. But that’s not true, is it?”
“Whatever you say, lady.”
“I have a theory that you didn’t leave with Dwayde because of the money. You took him as payback.”
“Is your theory gonna get me out of this piss hole?” She sneers.
“No. But if you know something about your parents that would make them unfit guardians, then you’d prevent them from getting Dwayde back. I think you want that.”
“I want out of here more. Think I’ll take my chances with ole Charlie.”
“A losing proposition, Joyce. Your father is too clever and arrogant to be outmaneuvered. If you have something on him that he wants to keep quiet, he’ll feed you lies and promises to stop the truth from surfacing while he fights for custody. But in three weeks, after he’s used you up and the case is over, he will have what he wants, Dwayde. And you’ll still be right where you are, in here.”
“Fuck you.” She snaps out the two words like a whip. “You don’t know shit.”
“Oh, but I do. And more importantly, you’ve had enough experience with your father to know I’m right. But if you don’t mind getting played...” Calling her bluff, I start packing up my papers.
She studies me, her eyes shifting in their sockets, the kinetic energy pouring off her in frenzied waves. “You trying to trick me.”
“No tricks or gimmicks, Joyce. I’ve been completely honest. Our motives might be different, but our goal is the same. I don’t want your parents to get custody of Dwayde and you don’t want that either.”
“You think you got me figured out?”
I stop packing. “Look at where you are, Joyce. Look at your life. I sense you lost your power to them. This is your chance to take it back.”
“Like you care about me.”
“I’m not pretending to care about you. I’m telling you how it is. The choice is yours. If you won’t help me, I’ll find another way to keep Dwayde from them.”
“You really think you can beat ole Charlie?”
“I’m going to fight like hell to.”
