Pushing Up Daisies (28 page)

Gigi walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Remember when Ming Li said that Jonathan knew his stepfather had fondled some child? Well, my mother told me how he knew. The woman who caught him lives right here in New York.”

“Gigi, that’s great! Where is she? Do you think she’ll come to court?”

Gigi shook her head. “That’s the bad news. She won’t talk to anyone about it. Apparently, she was the stepfather’s mistress, and it was her son he touched.”

“Do you know where she lives?”

“I can find out. My mother said the lady’s kept the same telephone number for years, so maybe she still lives in the same place.”

“What’s her name?”

“Louise Black.”

“Call your mother.”

Daisy pulled on her shoes and jeans and prepared herself mentally. While she empathized with what the woman had endured, Daisy had her own turmoil to deal with. “Oh, she’ll talk. She has to,” she muttered as she grabbed a jacket and her purse and headed to the kitchen.

“I got it,” Gigi said, then noticed how Daisy was dressed. “Where are you going looking like that?”

“We’re going to Louise Black’s house. Never mind what I have on. Let’s go.” Daisy pulled Gigi by her sleeve.

Daisy pulled into the driveway of the quaint brick house in Jamaica Estates. She looked at the illuminated address and sighed. She was in the right place, but with the exception of the porch light, the house was dark. She shrugged. She had no time to think about etiquette.

“You can stay here if you want,” she said to Gigi, who looked reluctant. Daisy walked up the sidewalk that led to the front door and rang the bell, then pounded the metal knocker against the door.

Gigi came up slowly behind her. “Are you sure about this?”

“Who is it?” an older woman’s voice asked from inside.

“Daisy Parker,” Daisy replied firmly, as if her name would be recognized.

She saw a hand pull the curtain back, followed by a face peeking out. “You must have the wrong house. I don’t know anyone by that name.”

Daisy stood on her tiptoes. “I’m looking for a Ms. Louise Black. I’m Elaine Mitchell’s niece,” Daisy lied, using Gigi’s mother’s name. She felt Gigi bump her.

Daisy stepped back when she heard the front door unlock. She held her breath as it eased open to reveal a small, shadowy figure on the other side.

“Elaine Mitchell, you say?”

“Yes, ma’am. Are you Ms. Black?”

The front door opened all the way. “Yes, I am.” Louise Black, in rollers and a sheer bed cap, eyed Daisy and Gigi. “Y’all two young ladies alone?”

Daisy nodded.

“Who are you?” Ms. Black asked, turning to Gigi.

“I’m Elaine’s daughter, Gigi Mitchell.”

A smile spread across the older woman’s face. She looked soft and trusting. “Well, I’ll say. Elaine Mitchell, hunh? Y’all come on in, then. It’s too late for two young women to be out alone.” She held the door open, and Daisy and Gigi stepped inside the dark house.

Ms. Black closed and bolted the door, then turned on a lamp. “Have a seat. Is there anything I can get you? Y’all alright? It’s pretty late. I was just starting to drift off.”

Daisy took a seat on the plastic-covered furniture. “No, I’m not alright, Ms. Black. My son’s been taken away.”

“Oh, my. That’s too bad. But I don’t understand why you’re here.”

“My son is in the home of Elwyn Cane.”

Ms. Black gasped and shook her head. She couldn’t look Daisy in the eye. “I still don’t know—”

“Yes, you do,” Daisy said, raising her voice. “I already know what he did to your son. Help me, so he won’t do it to mine.”

“Please, Ms. Black,” Gigi begged.

Vehemently, Ms. Black shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Why? Why would you allow a little boy to go through what your son went through? My son, Jay, is only nine years old.”

“No!” Ms. Black said, rising. “You can leave now. You’ve over-stayed your welcome.”

Daisy jumped up and grabbed Ms. Black by the shoulders. “You’re going to help me—”

“What the hell is going on in here?” A man’s voice came from behind, and Daisy felt her feet leave the ground.

Before she knew it she was airborne, her body slamming against the wall. She looked up into a large man’s angry face. “I’m sorry,” she said as Gigi helped her to her feet. “I didn’t mean…Ms. Black, I’m so sorry. But I need your help.” Daisy tried to look around the man.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked.

Gigi jumped in front of Daisy and explained the situation in one breath. “She’s only trying to save her son,” she explained.

“I need all the help I can get,” Daisy said. “And if it takes you throwing me into another wall, then so be it. But I won’t leave until—”

“Oh, yes, you will, if I want you to. But I’m not going to throw you out.” The man’s expression softened. “I’m going to give you what you want. It’s not up to Mother to help you. You need me. My name is Thomas…I’m the one Elwyn
tried
to molest.”

They sat down and talked. Thomas insisted that he be allowed to testify before Daisy even had a chance to ask. Relief coursed through her when he told her to give him the date and time, and he’d be the first to enter the courtroom.

Just as she was about to get into the tub, Daisy’s phone rang. The night had been long, and she hadn’t slept a wink, thinking about Thomas’s agreement to go to court.

“Hello?” she answered irritably.

“Daisy,” Kenneth Burgess said, “I got your message about Thomas Black, and I called and spoke to him. He’s coming in tomorrow. More good news: we’ve got to be in court two weeks from Tuesday, at ten
A
.
M
. Meet me in my office at nine.”

W
earing a black designer suit and an air of confidence, Daisy strutted into the courtroom. She knew she looked good dressed to the nines, and she topped off the look with a huge smile.
If only they knew my whole ensemble came out of Ming Li’s closet.
As she strutted alongside Kenneth Burgess to their table at the front of the courtroom, she locked eyes with Mrs. Stevens, who was sitting next to Elwyn Cane.

Daisy sat down, then turned to wave at Ming Li and Gigi. She was glad that they were there to support her. She smiled at Ms. Christine, who had flown in for the big day and was seated next to Adonis. Then she mouthed,
Thank you,
to Thomas Black. After everyone had settled in, Daisy searched the court for Jay. She didn’t see him.

“Where’s Jay?” she asked Kenneth.

“In the back, in the judge’s chambers. There’s going to be a lot of things said that he doesn’t need to hear. Don’t worry.” Kenneth patted her hand. “He’ll be out to testify.”

The judge entered the courtroom and called for order. Daisy sat patiently as the case was introduced, silently praying that whoever had looked out for her before would continue to do so.

She sat back and crossed her legs when Mrs. Stevens’s attorney asked the court to grant the Stevenses custody of Jay. He was Jonathan’s son. In their eyes, and in the eyes of the law, as they interpreted it, Daisy didn’t have a right to a child that was neither hers nor her deceased boyfriend’s.

Kenneth patted her hand. “We have this in the bag,” he whispered. “Watch what we spring on them.” He winked, adding, “I’ve been saving this for last—you don’t know anything about it.” She realized he was trying to reassure her, but he’d confused her instead.

“Do you mean ‘the last resort’?”

Kenneth nodded and patted his briefcase.

The Stevenses’ lawyer closed with how much they’d be able to provide financially for Jay, topping it off with a list of the colleges they could afford. Daisy looked around. There must have been some mistake. They didn’t call anyone to testify on their character or suitability as parents.
I guess they do believe that their money talks.

Kenneth asked permission for counsel to approach the bench. Daisy couldn’t hear what was going on, but she could tell from the Stevenses’ lawyer’s expression that whatever it was, he wasn’t too happy about it. She heard him ask the judge not to admit it as evidence. Then the judge said loudly, “This is not criminal court. It’s not only my job, but the state’s job, to make sure that the child is in the best care.”

Daisy sat back and watched Kenneth work. He called Camille to the stand first. She testified that she’d witnessed Jay being mistreated. Camille then gave her credentials as a doctor of psychiatry and urged the court not to let Jay wind up in an office like hers later on in life because the wrong decision had been made. She looked at Daisy and smiled, then pointed to her. “She’s his mother, the one he belongs with.”

Mrs. Tompkins testified next. She reaffirmed what Camille had said. “And I should know,” she added, “because I’m a supervisor for Social Services. I’ve been a social worker for twenty years.”

The Stevenses’ lawyer had no questions.

Daisy looked at Mrs. Stevens, who shot her a dirty look. Daisy continued to stare, until she won the stare-down. No way was she going to let some old, stuck-up, no-good grandmother intimidate her. She could show her what to do with her money. She’d raised Jay almost his entire life, and they were the ones who were after
her
son, not the other way around.

Jasper’s stepfather sat up and glared at her. Daisy winked at him politely and turned her head. She wouldn’t give Chester-Chester the Child Molester a chance to ogle her. It was bad enough that he’d treated Jonathan coldly because he’d heard a rumor of his secret, but he had treated Jay the same way. Daisy admitted that the only reason the man was still breathing was because he hadn’t touched Jay.
I’m not your wife,
Daisy thought.
I’d kill you dead first.

“Any other witnesses?” the judge asked Kenneth.

Ming Li stood.

“Yes, four,” Kenneth replied, and accompanied Ming Li to the stand.

Ming Li told her story. Guilt washed over the Stevenses. Their once brown complexions turned gray.

“And Jonathan told you this directly?”

“Yes,” Ming Li said as tears ran down her face. “And he cried when he told me.”

The court fell silent.

The judge stared at the Stevenses’ lawyer as if urging him to speak out in defense of his clients. But he didn’t. He sat stiff as a corpse.

Kenneth paused, running his fingers through his hair as if thinking. “Your Honor, I’d like to call someone to the stand that can testify against the Stevens household. Rather, against one Mr. Elwyn Cane, the step-grandfather of the child. Mr. Thomas Black, please come forward.”

As Thomas walked toward the front of the courtroom, Daisy watched as uneasiness and guilt unmasked Elwyn. He shifted in his seat and dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief. She smiled when she saw him whisper in his wife’s ear and quickly walk out.

Thomas was sworn in. Without hesitation, he told how Elwyn had attempted to fondle him on several occasions, but he’d always managed to escape. Pain and anger rose in his voice when he said that Elwyn had threatened to kill him if he ever uttered a word. Relief filled his voice when he explained how his mother had caught Elwyn red-handed, trying to pull Thomas’s pants down.

The court stirred, and the judge called for Elwyn Cane, who was nowhere to be found.

The Stevenses’ attorney kept his eyes on the floor and never cross-examined.

Kenneth maintained his professionalism. “Your Honor, I’d like to call Dr. Berkley from DNA Labs of America.”

Dr. Berkley approached the stand and was sworn in.

“Dr. Berkley, this is the birth certificate that the state has on file for Jonathan Jasper Stevens, affectionately referred to as Jay. It states here that Jonathan Stevens is his father. However,” Kenneth said, holding up the lab report, “this is the DNA lab report from your company, the result of a DNA test performed on Jasper Stevens and Jonathan Jasper Stevens. Could you explain this to the court?” He handed the report to Dr. Berkley.

Dr. Berkley put on her glasses and studied the document in her hand. “Oh, sure. I remember this case, because it was the first of its kind at our facilities. We tested it three times just to be sure.”

“Yes, Doctor?”

“Well, there was no way to genetically determine who fathered Jonathan Jasper Stevens, because the potential fathers are identical twins and, therefore, have identical genes.”

The judge sat up and stared at the doctor. “Can you repeat that?”

“Sure. There’s no way to prove who fathered the child in question. While the birth certificate lists one brother as the father, the DNA test states that the other brother is the father. Even if both men were alive, there’d be no possible way to prove conclusively who fathered the child.”

“So,” Kenneth said, “let me make sure this is clear. You’re saying that either man could be Jay’s father—that both men could legally be his father?”

“Well, it’s not for me to determine the legal status of the child. But both Jasper and Jonathan are his fathers genetically, because we can’t tell them apart by their DNA.”

“Thank you, Doctor. That will be all.”

A smile appeared on the judge’s face. “Well, that’s a first for me too. I assume there’ll be no cross-examination?” He looked at the Stevenses’ lawyer, who declined. “Well, then, let’s take a five-minute recess.”

Daisy sat at the table feeling victorious, even though the court hadn’t yet ruled in her favor. She patted Kenneth’s hand in appreciation.

“Here,” he said, sliding a blank envelope in front of her. “I forgot to give this to you. It came to my office yesterday sealed in a package addressed to me. That’s why it’s blank. Open it,” he urged.

Daisy opened the envelope. As she carefully unfolded the papers, her mouth dropped. “Oh, no!” she breathed in disbelief as she stared at the insurance policy in her hand. She’d never thought about Jasper’s 401(k) and death benefits from work.

Kenneth smiled. “Oh, yes.”

Daisy’s ears were ringing. Jay was set for life. “I’m so happy that Jasper did this for him.” She hugged Kenneth.

Kenneth patted her on the back and whispered, “Look on the next page…see what he did for you.”

Daisy swallowed and turned the page. “Oh,
shit!”
she said out loud at the sight of all the numbers. She looked around and saw that everyone was staring at her, but she didn’t care. Tears ran down her face, and she closed her eyes, smiling.
Thank you, Jesus. Thank you.

“Sometimes these things take time to clear. That’s what took so long,” Kenneth chuckled, squeezing her hand. “And ‘the last resort’ that Jasper wrote about is a video tape. While you can’t view it—neither can I—Jasper assured me it could save Jay if it ever was needed. Would’ve told you sooner, but I couldn’t.”

The bailiff told both Kenneth and the Stevenses’ attorney that the judge would like to see them in the viewing room.

Daisy sat as patiently as she could, but it took everything she had in her not to jump up and shout for joy. But she was sad too, thinking of all that she’d had to go through, most of which would have been avoidable had she and Jay received their money sooner. But a person had to suffer to grow, she admitted to herself. She wouldn’t be half the woman she was today if she hadn’t.

Kenneth hummed on his way back to the table. The other lawyer kept his eyes downcast as he walked.

The judge returned to the bench and banged the gavel, announcing that court was back in session. “Ladies and gentlemen, I want you all on your best behavior. Jay is coming out to testify, and he’s nervous. He’s a good kid, and I can see why everyone wants him.”

Daisy composed herself. She couldn’t wait to tell Jay that his father hadn’t forgotten him, that even though he was gone, he’d still managed to make sure that Jay was taken care of. She looked over at Mrs. Stevens and held up her papers.
Take that, bitch. He doesn’t need your money.

Jay emerged from the judge’s chambers. Daisy smiled at him as their eyes met.
It’s going to be okay,
she mouthed.

He nodded and said, “I know.”

“What did you say?” the judge asked him.

“My mom told me that it’s going to be okay, and I said I know.”

The judged smiled. “Your mom’s right.”

Once Jay was sworn in, he took a seat and kept his eyes on Daisy. Tears were still running down her face, but for a different reason now. She hated that Jay had to sit on the stand and testify. He was too young to go through something like that. But according to the court, he was old enough to express his wants and tell the truth.

Daisy kept her eyes on her lap while he spoke. She didn’t want the judge to think that she was influencing his answers. When Kenneth asked Jay how the Stevenses were treating him, Daisy’s eyes shot up.

“Okay, I guess.” Jay shrugged. “I don’t really know them, and they don’t really know me. Sometimes I feel like I’m in the way. But my nanny likes me.”

Daisy winced.

“What about your mom—Daisy? How does she treat you?”

Jay looked at her and smiled. “Are you kidding? My mom’s the best. We do everything together. She knows all about me, and she doesn’t make me eat oatmeal. I still have to eat broccoli and stuff like that, but not oatmeal. When I got to visit her, she even took me to see my dad’s grave. Grandma Stevens wouldn’t.”

Kenneth approached the witness stand and leaned casually against it. “Jay, I’m going to ask you an important question, okay? I know you’re an honest boy, and I want you to tell me the truth. There is no wrong answer. It’s no trick question, and no one’s going to get mad at you. Who would you like to live with? Your grandparents, or your—”

“My mom!” Jay interrupted him. “She said she’d never leave me, and I promised her that I’d never leave her. And I don’t lie to my mom.”

Daisy nodded, blinking back her tears.
Yes, baby.