Page 120 of Soup Sandwich
“Your Honor, if I may.” Layla shoots to the front of the room, interrupting the judge. “I realize this is against every protocol you have, and I know I’m likely not your favorite person right now, but please, may I be heard? I have some evidence you need to see. I’d also like to express my own thoughts and opinions on Dr. Barrows as a father figure to Katy.”
The judge presses his lips together, even more displeased than he was two seconds ago, and part of me wants to grab her hand and shove her into a seat. I don’t though, because Layla is standing tall, beautiful, poised, and unflappable. The judge must see it too, because he pans a disgruntled hand in her direction as if reluctantly giving her the floor.
Lenox comes in and quietly sits beside Fallon, who is on the end. In unison, Grey, Ash, Zax, and I all twist our heads in his direction, questions clearly etched all over our faces. He ignores everyone except for me. I get a sly grin, but that’s it. All silent muscles and tattoos, that’s the only thing he gives me.
“Lenox?” I bark.
“Your girl is a fucking spitfire,” he says, still with that grin. “I dig her.”
Mr. Salucci is on his feet. “Your Honor—”
“Both attorneys, please approach.” The judge holds up his hand as both he and Tom join Layla up at the podium in front of the judge. I can’t hear what they’re saying. All I know is Layla is handing them each several pieces of paper, and the attorney for Willow’s parents is now arguing something and then Tom is jumping in, arguing equally as aggressively, if not more so.
“I’ll allow it,” the judge finally decrees. “This is relevant to the case.” They continue to argue, but my eyes are on Layla, who skips over to me and lands in the empty chair beside me, immediately taking my hand. I grip her fingers, squeezing them between mine.
“If you didn’t love me before, you’re going to worship at my altar in a second.”
“What is all this?” I question under my breath.
“So much juiciness.” Her eyes sparkle like a reporter who just nailed the big story and is about to bring down an evil empire.
“What did you do?” I question, going out of my mind.
She leans in and whispers in my ear, “Two things. The grandfather was found passed out drunk on the side of the road three days ago. It wasn’t a DUI. He was apparently walking home from whatever bar he was drinking in, and a cop picked him up. He became combative and belligerent, so the cop arrested him. He ended up sleeping it off in a jail cell overnight and then pled no contest to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and public intoxication in exchange for the report being expunged from his permanent record in thirty days if he completes twenty hours of community service. Evidently, he had to beg and plead for the thirty days because that’s far from standard procedure, but the judge there agreed for some reason.”
“We were supposed to appear in court for Katy’s hearing in five weeks.”
She bops my shoulder with her other hand. “Exactly. But since we’re here early, Lenox was able to find it.”
“How did you know to call Lenox?”
“You had mentioned the night you showed up at school that I would shudder if I knew all he was capable of with a computer, and the night we played basketball at Fallon and Grey’s place, Fallon told me about how she and Greyson got together and casually mentioned how Lenox was able to do some stuff for them. I figured it couldn’t hurt for him to dig a little.”
“Wow. Okay.” I’m utterly flummoxed. “You said two things though?”
She snorts out a laugh. “This is the best part. Mr. Ashlan, Katy’s grandfather, opened his mouth and told the judge that he needed his record expunged because he’s part of an ongoing custody battle for his granddaughter. By doing so, the court notified Mrs. Bible that the grandfather was arrested as she’s the court-appointed social services liaison. She received the email two days ago to her work email and deleted it. Not to mention, she didn’t follow up on this or make any sort of note about it in Katy’s file. All of this is illegal.”
“Why would she delete it?” I ask, unable to make sense of that. Before she can answer, both lawyers retake their seats and Tom leans into me.
“I assume Layla filled you in?” Tom asks, and I nod. “Good. It’s messy. The legal evidence presented about the grandparents is legitimate, as is the deleted email from Mrs. Bible’s work account since she works for the state. There is also no notation about any arrest in Katy’s file. It’s the other documents that the judge is deciding if he’ll allow or not since those were obtained by unknown means.”
I stop breathing. “What other documents?” I whisper to both him and Layla.
Layla leans back in and whispers in my ear. “Lenox discovered that Mrs. Bible has been in email communication with the Ashlans from her personal email. They promised Mrs. Bible ten percent of the life insurance policy and proceeds of your brother’s home if she would determine you to be an unfit parent and they won custody of Katy.”
“Mrs. Bible did this?” I cover my face with my hands, laughing incredulously into them. I never would have expected that. I assumed they were going to say she did this because she hates me—which I already knew and assumed. I never expected her to be accepting abribefrom Katy’s grandparents. Nothing from the way she dressed to the way she conducted herself ever gave off the impression she’d ever do that.
She was by the book—no pun intended.
“Yes. There’s other evidence—”
“Mrs. Bible,” the judge’s voice cuts Tom off sharply. “Would you care to explain why you deleted an email from Fallow County Court regarding the arrest of Mr. Ashlan and failed to make note of it in your case report for Katy Barrows?”
“Your Honor?” Mrs. Bible stands, visibly shaken, all the color draining from her face. “I’m not sure I understand your question. I came here today to testify about how Dr. Barrows is an unfit guardian for Katy Barrows.”
The judge nails her with a look that could freeze over hell. “And you have no financial stake in that?”
She shifts her weight, pushing up the bridge of her glasses that immediately slide back down the perch of her nose. “I… um… Your Honor, I’m not sure I—”