Mike James pulled up in front of the Franklin house with just three minutes to spare. Grabbing his briefcase, he headed for the door where he knocked, and waited for someone to answer. After waiting several minutes, he knocked again, harder this time. The door was jerked open and before him stood the woman he had brought home the previous afternoon. Looking much the same as she did before, with blotchy skin, matted hair, and blood-shot eyes fighting to remain in focus, she took a drink from what was scotch by the smell and slurred, "If your a bill collector, you're shit outta luck." Mike, determined to get the business over with said, "Mrs. Franklin, I'm Mike James, the attorney who got you released from the police station yesterday, we have an appointment to talk about your daughter, Lynnell, remember?" She looked off into the distance as if she could strain and see into the past before saying, "Yeah, I remember, you said that she hired you to get me out?" That's correct ma'am. May I come in?" Sarah Franklin shrugged her shoulders and stepped aside to allow Mike to enter her home.
Mike
entered the darkened living room of a typical 60's suburban home. It was dark
inside. As his eyes adjusted to the low light, what he saw sickened him. The
house was filthy, it smelled of booze, garbage, dirty laundry, and other
unidentified odors that made his stomach churn. Roaches crawled on the floors,
walls and furniture. The remains of a meal slowly petrified on crusty plates, on
the dining room table. "Well, you wanted in to talk, start talking. Where
is my daughter? What's that little bitch done now?" Mike reluctantly set
his briefcase on the floor and said, "Mrs. Franklin, I represent a
gentleman who would like to give you a new start at life. My client would like
to give you the chance you never had to make something of yourself. You could
start over, even a new name if you want it. All your bills would be paid, you
would get job training in what ever field you are qualified for.
I'm
offering you a whole new life, Mrs. Franklin." Mike stopped to catch his
breath, figuring that there would be some response to his offer. When there was
none, he continued, "In return for giving you this opportunity, you must
voluntarily enter and successfully complete a resident drug and alcohol program.
In order for you to do that, a legal guardian must be assigned for your minor
daughter, Lynnell.
"So
that's it!" she shrieked "Some pervert wants my daughter. Am I
right?" Mike was taken back by this sudden outburst but gritted his teeth
and said, "Ma'am, my client is far from a pervert. Let me tell you a little
bit about him
if
I may?" Sarah looked at him the anger in her eyes temporarily erasing the
effects of the scotch. "Go ahead, I'm listening." Mike proceeded to
give a short synopsis of Paul's life, particularly the death of his wife and
daughter in the freak avalanche, his slide into alcohol and drug abuse from
despair, and his long struggle to free himself from addiction. Mike continued
with his recovery triumphs and concluded with the lottery win and how it had
freed him to go on with his life. At the mention of the lottery win, Sarah's
eyes lit with greed. "How much money did you say he won?" she asked.
"I didn't say, Mrs. Franklin, but it was a considerable amount. The actual
total is not mine to disclose, I'm sorry." Sarah sat back an the couch and
said, "I want to see my daughter." "I"m afraid that's
impossible, she's not anywhere nearby," he replied. Sarah sat for a moment
then said, "Well then, if I can't see
her,
can I at least talk to her?" Mike thought for a moment, knowing that a
decision had to be made finally said, "Yes, that can be arranged. I'll
contact my client and set up a
phone call for tomorrow, will that do?" he asked. She nodded her head yes
and took another swallow from the rapidly emptying glass of scotch. "Yeah,
you set it up for tomorrow morning and make it early, I've got a lot to
do." Mike agreed and thanked her for her time and said he would return in
the morning. Gathering his briefcase in silence, he rapidly departed the house,
entered the car and sped away in the direction of his
hotel.
When Mike returned to his hotel room, he stripped off his suit, put it in a
laundry bag and called the front desk to have it picked up for cleaning. He then
headed for the bathroom to wash the memory of the meeting from his body and
mind. Mike knew he had to call Paul as soon as possible so he finished his
shower and returned to the bedroom. After dressing, he placed the call.
"Hello"
Paul said when he picked up the phone. "Paul, it's Mike. I'm still in
Cleveland and I owe you an apology guy. I've met with the girl's mother and I
don't blame her for leaving. Jesus man, you would not believe what it was like.
The kid deserves better than that. I've never been so disgusted with another
human in my life. To top it off, I feel even more strongly that there is
something about this woman that I just can't put my finger on." "Okay
Mike, I get the picture, now what did she say?" Paul asked. "Well
Paul, she wants to talk to the girl, and from the look in her eyes, she's going
to want a lot of money." "Mike," said Paul, "Give me the
hotel number and your room number, I'll have to get back to you on that talking
to her daughter. I want to discuss it with Lynnell first." Mike took a deep
breath and added, "Paul, you've got
to
convince her to talk to her mother. I don't think the woman will play ball if
she doesn't." Paul thought for a moment and said,, "If you say so
Mike, after all, your the man on the spot." Mike replied,, "I told her
I would set up the call for tomorrow morning. I hope I did the right thing, I
had to wing it and made a decision. I know how important this is to you and, if
it helps, I'm all for it now that I've met her mother." "Okay Mike,
I'll get back to you in a couple of hours. I want to break this to Lynnell
slowly. Stay by the phone, Mike. Thanks for the call; I think you did the right
thing, Bye Mike."
With
the phone call out of the way, Mike hooked his laptop to the phone again and
accessed the Web. After checking his messages, he updated his billing to reflect
the day's activities and sent an E-mail to his secretary informing her that he
would be out of town at least two more days. After shutting down his laptop, he
reconnected his phone which began ringing as soon as it was reconnected. Picking
up the receiver, Mike barely had time to say hello when there was a knock on the
door. "Who is it?" he called out. "Room Service," was the
response. Without asking who was on the line, Mike said, "Hold on
please." set the phone on the bed and went to the door. After letting the
bellman in and instructing him to set dinner on the table, he returned to the
phone. "Sorry to keep you waiting," "That's okay Mike, it's me,
Paul. I've talked Lynnell into making the call to her mother but she wants you
to promise to keep her whereabouts a secret. I told her you would talk to her
first." Mike had a pretty good idea what Paul's young lady friend wanted so
he replied, "Fine with me Paul. Put her on now. But explain to her that my
dinner just arrived and I don't mean to be rude, but I'm going to eat while I
talk." "I'm sorry Mike, I forgot the time difference; go ahead and eat
I'll call back in half an hour. Bye." Mike looked at the receiver and shook
his head. Paul had hung up before he could say a word; that was weird enough to
cause some concern for his friend.
Mike
ate dinner quickly and pushed the cart into the hall adding the laundry bag with
his suit to the top of the cart. As Mike was closing the door, the phone rang.
Mike picked it up before it rang a second time. "Mike, it's Paul. I'm sorry
about interrupting your dinner earlier. I was just so pumped up from getting
Lynnell to agree to the call that I let my exuberance cloud my better
judgment" explained Paul when he heard Mike pick up the receiver. Sarcasm
dripping from his voice, Mike replied, "I bet that's becoming a regular
thing for you." Paul groaned and replied, "Ouch! Low blow Mike, no
fair." Mike laughed saying, "Let's get the details of the call worked
out, shall we? Put the girl on the line." "Whatever you say Mike, it's
your call." Paul replied and handed the phone to Lynnell.
"Hello?
Mr. James, First off I want to thank you for what
you're
doing for me." "That's quite all right young lady, besides I'm being
well paid for my efforts."
"Paul
said that my mother wants to talk to me. Could you tell if she was drunk?"
"If
she wasn't Lynnell, I'm afraid she was well on the way to being there."
"Yeah,
I figured as much. I'm willing to talk to her but I don't want he to know where
I am or how to contact me, okay?"
"No
problem Lynnell, we will be using cell phones to avoid caller I.D. and
numbers
easily traced by the phone company. Will that do?" "That's perfect Mr.
James, Thanks."
"In
the morning, when Paul hands you the phone, I don't want you to say anything
until you hear your mother's voice, understand? By the way; she wants it to be
early in the morning so expect to be talking to her before she has a chance to
get drunk; about 6:15 your time. Okay?"
"Yes
sir, and thanks again," Lynnell replied and handed the phone to Paul. After
a moment of silence, Paul's voice came through the receiver, "Okay Mike,
I'm back on the line," Paul said
after taking the phone. "Okay Paul, this is how I want to handle the call.
I've got my satellite phone with me so, at 6:15 tomorrow morning, call that
number and give the phone to Lynnell. Be sure to use your cell phone for the
call, it will bypass most of the phone companies records, okay?" "Your
calling the shots, Mike, but I sure wish it was at a reasonable hour." Paul
replied. "Me too guy, but I want that woman at a disadvantage; sober,"
Mike said with a laugh and continued, "I'm sure they will want some privacy
for the call so I intend to step outside while they talk. Why don't you do the
same?" Paul agreed and after some small talk, they both hung up. Mike was
feeling very positive about how the call would come out. Deciding to have a
drink to celebrate, he picked up his jacket and headed down to the lounge for a
drink. At 1:30 on a weekday morning, most bars in Cleveland are pretty slow and
the hotel bar was no exception. Mike looked around as he entered, seeing no one
else in the bar, he walked to the same table he had sat at the evening before
and sat down to watch the big screen T.V. which was turned to CNN. "Can I
get you a cocktail, sir?" the waitress asked. When Mike looked up, Debbie
the cocktail waitress from the night before was standing by his table. "oh,
hello Debbie. I'll have a vodka sour please." Mike said as he looked into
her eyes. Debbie looked back at him and smiling said, "one vodka sour
coming up." She turned and with hips swaying, headed for the bar to order
the drink. Mike turned his attention back to the T.V. and watched the news.
Several minutes later, Debbie returned to the table with his drink. Glancing
around to see if anyone was watching her, she leaned over Mike's shoulder
and
placed the drink on the table. Mike turned to look at her and his face collided
with her left breast, just as she had planned. Mike was startled by her
closeness and instinctively drew back. Debbie's upper torso followed him for
just a moment, long enough for him to realize that the contact was no accident.
He looked up at the waitress, a quizzical look on his face. Debbie,
understanding the silent question, looked Mike in the eyes,
smiled at him and said, "Mind if I join you?" as she looked
around and indicated with her hand that the bar was empty. Mike smiled and
indicated the chair across from him. Debbie ignored the offered chair and sat in
the chair next to him. "You certainly work long hours," Mike said,
trying to start a conversation. "I worked over a few hours; the other girl
went home sick," she explained, "You keep some pretty long hours
yourself," she added. Mike took a sip of his drink and said, "I'm
usually home in bed by now but I just finished some business and decided to have
a drink before bed." "What a coincidence, I was thinking about having
a drink before I go to bed too," she replied. Mike, quick on the uptake,
offered to buy one for her. Debbie thanked him and went to the bar to get
herself a drink. When she had returned with her drink and sat back down, her
chair was noticeably closer to Mike. She looked at Mike and raising her glass to
look over the rim at Mike said, "I get off at 2," she looked quickly
down into her glass and took a drink. "Mike sighed and said, "And I
have to get up at 6. It hardly seems worth the effort to try to sleep."
Debbie lowered her glass and replied in a half-whispered voice, "Why try to
sleep? I can think of some better things to do than sleep," and slid her
hand beneath the table and squeezed his thigh. Mike turned in his chair so his
knee slipped between her thighs and said, "I bet you could show me some
better things," and slid his hand from the table to her knee. "I'd
certainly like to try," Debbie replied as she slightly opened her legs
causing Mike's hand to move up to her thigh. Mike looked at her and leaned
forward sliding his hand up the inside of her thigh until to his surprise, he
reached the top of her stocking and the garter that held it up. "You don't
beat around the bush, do you?" he asked. Scooting her hips forward slightly
and opening her legs even more, Debbie looked at Mike and said, "This late
at night, what's the point. You know what I want and I know what you want. Why
play games?" Mike casually glanced around the bar. Seeing that it was still
empty, and the bartender was at the other end with his back to them, leaned
forward and slid his hand the rest of the way up her leg. Mike started to get up
and half way to his feet, lowered his face to hers, and kissed her quickly but
passionately sliding his tongue into her mouth and sucking hers into his. He
quickly broke the kiss and said, "Room 2112 if you're still interested when
you get off." Cupping her crotch in his hand, he gave a gentle squeeze and
rose from the table. Mike opened his wallet and taking out a fifty, dropped it
on the table. "For the drinks," he said as he turned and walked out of
the bar.
Mike
returned upstairs to his room. Not expecting the waitress to show up, he got
undressed and got into bed. Before he turned out the light, Mike picked up the
phone and asked the desk clerk to give him a six a.m. wake-up call. After the
clerk repeated the time back to him, he hung up and turned out
the
light. Mike drifted into a light sleep very quickly. Before he could drop off
into a deep slumber, a soft insistent knocking brought him back to wakefulness.
Mike threw off the covers
and
started for the door only to stop and grab his robe from the end of the bed.
Mike opened the door and Debbie stepped into his arms, wrapping her own about
his neck, she used her body to force him deeper into the room. She let go with
one arm and reaching behind her, closed the door. When she finally let go of his
neck, she sighed and said, "Looks like I found the right room." Mike
slid his hands down her back until he was cupping her buttocks. With a sudden
show of strength, he lifted her off the floor and turning to the bed gently laid
her down.
The
phone's insistent ringing finally woke Mike from a deep slumber. Picking up the
receiver, he heard a disgustingly chipper voice say, "Good morning Mr.
James, this is your six a. m. wake up call." Mike growled a nearly
unintelligible thank-you to the operator and hanging up the phone, turned to
wake
up his bedmate. There was no one there and the bed looked as if there hadn't
been any one there but him all night. Puzzled, he got out of bed and looked
around the room. His robe was neatly folded on the foot of the bed and the trash
can that should have contained evidence of his bedroom gymnastics was empty too.
Mike began to consider that it had been a dream, a very vivid dream, but just a
dream, as he walked to the bathroom to take a morning shower. After starting the
water, Mike looked at the mirror and smiled, written in lipstick on the mirror
was a phone number and the words "OFF TODAY. CALL ME." and the imprint
of Debbiels lips on the glass. Mike's mood was instantly lifted. He jumped in
the shower and finished quickly. When he was dressed, he headed for the lobby
and breakfast.
After
several cups of coffee, Mike ordered his meal and began scanning the paper he
had found outside his room. When he had finished eating, he checked his watch
and calculated he had time for one more cup of coffee before he had to leave for
the meeting with Mrs. Franklin. At 7:30, he paid for his
meal
and grabbing his briefcase, headed to the hotel garage
to
get his rental car and began the drive to suburban Cleveland. As he turned the
corner on to Mrs. Franklin's street, he checked his watch and noted he still had
10 minutes before the phone call. Pulling to the curb several houses short of
his destination, he took out his cell phone and dialed Paul's number. After the
fourth ring Paul, gasping for breath, answered. "It's me," Mike said.
"I just wanted to make sure Lynnell was ready to make the call."
"We're ready on this end," Paul replied, "You still want her to
call at 6:15?" "That's right, 6:15 your time. I'm just down the street
from the house," Mike answered. Looking towards the house, he saw a man in
work clothes emerge, get into a pick-up truck parked at the curb, and with a
squeal of the tires, drove away. "Looks like she had a busy night, a man
just left the house so I imagine she's already awake. Wish Lynnell good luck for
me Paul, I won't be able to in front of her mother." "Will do Mike.
Let's have dinner when you
get
back to town," Paul replied and hung up the phone. Mike touched the
disconnect button and eased the car down the street to Mrs. Franklin's house and
parked.
Before
he could walk to the door, Mrs. Franklin emerged, looking if anything worse than
she did the day before. "Good morning Mr. James. When can I talk to my
daughter?" She inquired as he stepped on the porch. Looking at his watch,
Mike replied, "She should be calling in about five minutes.
In
the mean time, on behalf of my client, I want you to know that he will be very
generous in showing his appreciation for your cooperation. Shall we step
inside?" Mrs. Franklin stepped aside for Mike to enter and waiting for him
to pass her said, "Indeed he will, More generous than you can
imagine." Mike quickly looked back over his shoulder and shuddered at the
malevolent gleam of greed he saw in her eyes. She followed him into the house
and closed the door behind her Sarah Franklin was nobodies' fool. She politely
offered him coffee which he politely refused. They stood awkwardly in silence
for several minutes until the chirping of his phone broke the tension.
Mike
answered, greeted Lynnell, and handing the phone to Mrs. Franklin said,
"I'll wait on the porch so you can speak in private." He turned and
went outside to speculate on how much money the woman would want.
"Hello,
Lynnell? Are you there?"
"Yes
mother, I'm here and before you say anything, I'm not coming home."
"Listen
you little bitch, you will come home or I'll have that pervert you're with
arrested for rape."
Startled
by her mother's agressiveness, Lynnell paused before continuing. "No you
won't mother because if you try, you'll never see me again and I'll tell anyone
and everyone about your drunkenness and drug use. I'll tell them all about your
little deliveries for your drug dealing boyfriend and how he would beat me up
after you passed out. Then I'll have Mr. James file a petition for parental
divorce in open court so that all of Cleveland will know what a shitty mother
you are and how fucked up my life was because of you."
Frightened
by the cold anger and pure hatred in her daughter's voice, Sarah Blustered and
said, "You wouldn't dare!"
Yes
I would mother. I've got a real chance to live a happy life here and I'm not
going to let you or anyone else screw me out of it. Paul is a wonderful man,
he's saved my life twice, he's kind, gentle, very moral, a talented artist and
on top of that he's rich too. So sign the papers mother and cooperate with Mr.
James and get a lot of money or refuse and I'll make your life a living hell
even worse than it is now. It's your choice." Sarah Franklin screeched into
the phone, "You little monster, that's blackmail. You can't do this to me.
I"m your mother for God's sake, doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"Not
any more it doesn't. Now give the phone to Mr. James and tell him you'll sign
the papers and take whatever he offers you), of Sarah began sobbing into the
phone, "oh baby, what have I done to turn you against me? Where did it all
begin to go wrong?" "Mother, you know what happened and when. It
started when daddy left us. You know the expression of crawling into a bottle
and never coming out? Well, you dove in and fought to stay
there.
Everytime I tried to help you, you pushed me away and got your help in liquid
form. It's over mother, I'll never let you do that to me again. Now, will you
sign the damn papers?"
Sarah
Franklin knew that she was beaten. Sobbing into the phone, she agreed to sign
the papers granting Paul guardianship of her daughter. "Thank you mother,
good-bye," said Lynnell just before she pushed the disconnect button on the
phone. Mike, standing outside the door, had heard bits and pieces of the
conversation and was waiting, back to the door when Sarah Franklin walked
outside. "I'll sign the papers, Mr. James," she sobbed as she handed
the phone back to Mike.
Taking
the phone from Sarah, Mike walked back into the house and got the papers from
his briefcase. Sarah had followed him in and had sat down on the couch, tears
still coursing down her cheeks. Mike explained what each page said and what it
obligated Paul to do for Lynnell. When he got to the pages concerning Sarah, he
made sure that she knew that she had to accompany him to Lynnell's school,
doctor's office and finally to a judge to have the agreement entered into the
court record. Mike then informed her of what she would be receiving in return
for her cooperation. When Sarah heard that it all depended on her successful
completion of a resident substance abuse program, she finally broke down and
began sobbing uncontrollably.
Mike
felt no pity for the woman. Instead, he pressed his advantage as hard as he
dared. Telling her that they had to get Lynnell's records that morning, he sent
her to her room to clean up and get dressed. While she was gone, Mike
stepped outside and called David Bloodworth's office to inform
him of
his
success. The message was taken by a secretary who assured him that David would
be informed as soon as possible. He
then called the number that Debbie had left on his mirror.
When she answered, he told her that he would be busy most of the day but
wanted her to join him for dinner that evening. She agreed and made arrangements
to meet him in a bar not far from the hotel. By the time he had finished the
call, Sarah Franklin was coming out of her room. It was obvious that she had
made an effort to improve her appearance but it had done little to erase years
of drug and alcohol abuse. The rest of the morning was spent running from one
office to another, filling out forms and signing for records. When they had
everything he needed except for the judge's signature, Mike took Sarah to lunch
at a nice restaurant not far from the court house. As they were eating, Mike
noticed that Sarah was rubbing her eyes frequently and asked if something was
wrong. Sarah, still upset with the whole situation, bitterly replied,
"Everything is just fucking wonderful. You're here stealing my daughter
from me for another man and you wonder if anything is wrong." Mike was not
about to be put off by her crudeness. once again he asked if anything was wrong,
this time specifically asking about her eyes. Sarah sighed and said, "My
contacts are killing me. Do you mind if I take them out?" Mike softened and
said that he didn't mind especially if they were hurting her. Sarah opened her
purse and taking out a contact lens case, bent forward and with a twitch of her
fingers, removed her contacts and raised her head. Mike was stunned. He was
looking into the deepest violet colored eyes he had ever seen. When the
realization of where he had seen eyes like hers dawned on him, he drew back in
horror and began to question her about her family. That was when he found out
that all the women in her family had violet eyes as far back as could be traced.
When he asked her how many of her female relatives were still living, Sarah
answered, "Two or three. Lynnell for one then me and possibly my sister if
she is still alive." Mike asked about the sister and found out that the
girl had run away from home more than 25 years before and had never been heard
from again. When they had finished eating, Sarah excused herself and left the
table. While she was gone, Mike took out his cell phone and called David's
office again. The secretary told him that they had been trying to reach him for
an hour and that he had an appointment with judge Grabner in less than twenty
minutes. Mike thanked the secretary and turned off the phone. When Sarah
returned to the table, he told her that they had one more stop to make at the
court house and that it was such a warm day, they would walk if it was all right
with her. Sarah agreed and the left the restaurant together and headed for the
court house visible in the distance.
When
they arrived, they were met in the foyer by David Bloodworth. Mike introduced
him as the attorney who would be handling her affairs while she was in recovery.
Sarah politely said hello and they proceeded to the judge's chambers. on the
way, David coached her on how to answer the judge's questions. Both attorneys
were called in to see the judge before Sarah was called in. When she was called,
Sarah went in and sat in a chair by the judge's desk where she was questioned
closely about the reason for the guardianship. After stammering and stalling for
several minutes, Sarah in a final act of defiance, broke down and told the judge
about the whole agreement. Mike and David could only look at each other during
the woman's tirade. When Sarah had finished, the judge asked her to step outside
for a few minutes so she could speak with the attorneys. Sarah rose to leave and
when she opened the door, she turned to Mike and stuck out her tongue out at
him; it didn't go unnoticed by the judge.
When
the door had closed behind Sarah, the judge spoke, "Well gentlemen do you
have anything to say about her accusations?" Both men said yes and took
turns presenting the facts to the judge as each knew them. When they had both
finished, the judge sat back in her chair and after a moments reflection said,
"Counselors, I'm going to grant the guardianship of the minor child,"
the judge riffled through the papers until she came to the name "Lynnell to
Mr. Brown on the condition that the court be kept informed of the child's
location and regular reports from the Colorado Department of Human
Services," she signed the papers and asked them to call Mrs. Franklin back
in the room and to stay outside. When they had switched places with Sarah and
the door was closed, the judge told Sarah that she was granting custody to Mr.
Brown until such time as she completed the drug and alcohol abuse programs as
outlined in the paperwork she had signed. The judge made very sure that Sarah
understood that the judge would review the case when she had completed treatment
and that if the home situation had improved, she would rescind the guardianship
and return her daughter to her. Sarah said that she understood and thanked the
judge for her kindness, taking the papers with her as she left the judge's
chambers. When she stood before both of them she said, "I want you to
realize that this is just temporary and that I'll have my daughter back before
you know it," Sarah gave them both an acid smile and dropping the papers in
Mike's lap, said "Good bye gentlemen. I'll make my own way home thank
you," and walked out of the office closing the door behind her.
Mike spent the rest of the afternoon in David's office making arraignments for fund transfers, appointments of power of attorney for Paul and the transfer of twenty five thousand dollars to David's personal account for services rendered and retainer for future legal matters. When they had finished, Mike said good-bye and headed for the hotel to change for dinner and a victory celebration he intended to have with Debbie whether she knew it or not. When he reached the hotel, Mike called Paul to give him the good news. After telling Paul all about the day's events, he told Paul that he would be home in a day or two, that there were still a few loose ends to tie up and hung up the phone. Mike then called the front desk and asked for a wake-up call for six p.m. rolled over and immediately dropped into a deep sleep.