Then she thought,
No, I would have remembered picking up that first drink.
And the first thing she’d have wanted when she got up was a hair of the dog that had bit her.
He’s playing mind games. Trying to make me think I’m crazy.
Realizing anew what she was up against, Noelle was flooded with despair. In this battle against Goliath she didn’t even have a slingshot. How could she expect to win?
Mary glanced at her in concern. ‘Want me to pull over? You look a little green about the gills.’
‘No, I’m fine. I just need a little air.’ She rolled down the window. She was feeling anything
but
fine, but what was the use of explaining? Her mother couldn’t begin to understand. Noelle was certain there had never been a time when Mary had felt this desperate over
her.
With the breeze playing over her face, she felt her nausea begin to subside. But the stone of panic in her throat refused to budge. What if it wasn’t as simple as hiring a lawyer? What if she couldn’t get Emma back today … or even tomorrow?
It was unthinkable.
‘You’ll like Lacey.’ Her mother’s voice drifted toward her as if from a distance. ‘I haven’t seen her since high school, but even back then she stuck up for herself and didn’t take crap from anyone. Not even when she was painted as the town Jezebel.’
‘Is it true she was seduced by a family friend?’
Mary chuckled. ‘She swore it was as much her idea as his, but I think she only said it to shock her dad.’ She slowed as they passed the Clover Patch nursery school, buttoned up tight for the weekend. ‘As I remember it, Mr Buxton wasn’t exactly the live-and-let-live type. Suffice it to say Lacey was sent to live with an aunt and uncle in Buffalo. I haven’t seen her since, but when I heard she’d become a lawyer I wasn’t surprised.’
‘I just hope she’ll take my case.’ Noelle peered cautiously at her mother. ‘You believe me, don’t you? About last night?’
They were making their way up Chatham Hill, past the Brass Lantern antique barn and Ferris Realty. Mary flicked her a glance and said firmly, ‘On my way here, I’ll admit I had my doubts. But not anymore.’
Noelle felt a welcome flash of relief. Not counting Nana, that gave her at least one ally. With any luck she’d soon have another. The thought prompted her to reach for her purse. She’d thrown on some sweats but neglected to comb her hair. If she didn’t make herself presentable, Lacey would think she was some kind of nutcase.
Her mother, on the other hand, was perfectly turned out as always in cream slacks and peach-colored shell, a matching sweater knotted artfully about her shoulders. Noelle braced herself for the inevitable comparison. People were always commenting that she and her mother looked more like sisters, but what they really meant was that Mary was prettier and more stylish.
‘I just can’t help thinking about all those people last night, what
they
must have thought.’ In the mirrored compact she held up to her face, Noelle’s eyes were swollen and bruised-looking. ‘Not that I care as far as
I’m
concerned. But if this goes to court
‘I’m sure the thought occurred to Robert as well,’ Mary observed dryly.
‘Remember when you warned me that marrying him would be the biggest mistake of my life?’
‘Nothing would have made me happier than to have been proven wrong.’
‘But you
were
right. Even so, I never imagined he’d go as far as this to actually
perjure
himself.’ Noelle clicked the compact shut and shoved it back in her purse.
‘Suppose he didn’t have to lie. Suppose this judge owed him a favor of some kind.’
Noelle felt renewed respect for her mother. Mary sometimes acted as if she’d never set foot in a small town, much less been raised in one, yet she was clearly no stranger to how things worked around here.
‘Everyone in Burns Lake owes him
something.’
Noelle was so inured to it by now she might have been commenting on the color of the sky. ‘It’s not just the subcontractors who bid on his jobs. He cuts deals on rents. He loans money. He even gets people elected. So, no, it wouldn’t surprise me if this judge has a hand in Robert’s pocket in some way.’ She sank back, overwhelmed by the thought of what she was up against.
‘Let’s see what Lacey has to say.’
Mary pulled up in front of a modest ranch house painted a dark tan trimmed in green. Its shutters had begun to peel, and the older-model Datsun parked in the driveway clearly had some miles on it. If Lacy was any kind of a big-deal attorney, it certainly didn’t show. Noelle felt a flicker of apprehension as she made her way up the path, noting the unkempt grass and pyracantha hedge in need of clipping.
A wave of dizziness swept over her, and when her mother tucked an arm through hers, she leaned into her gratefully.
Like a drunk nursing a hangover.
Those days weren’t so long past that she didn’t remember what it felt like to negotiate her way through the morning with a head stuffed full of oily rags about to catch fire. The memory caused her to straighten and pull away. Mary, misunderstanding, darted her a faintly hurt look.
Step on a crack, break your mother’s back,
Noelle thought.
As a child, how many cracks had she cautiously stepped over? Oddly enough, it wasn’t the thought of protecting her mother from harm; she’d known deep down that was just a silly superstition. Maybe what she’d been guarding was the fragility of the relationship itself. She’d hardly ever seen her mother, and on the rare occasions she was home, Mary never seemed to have much time for her.
Noelle didn’t want Emma growing up that way. Living from one precious morsel to the next. Waiting for the magical day when the two of them could be together
all
the time, instead of just here and there. And what would
she
do without Emma?
Except for Nana, she’s all I have.
At the front door, noting the frayed welcome mat and cardboard boxes stacked at one end of the porch, she turned nervously to Mary. ‘How did she seem over the phone?’
‘Like I’d gotten her out of bed. And I can almost guarantee she wasn’t alone.’ Mary flashed her a crooked smile. ‘I guess some things never change.’
Yet the woman who answered the bell wasn’t at all what Noelle had expected. She’d imagined a bosomy blonde in a flowing silk robe, a sort of a cut-rate Mae West. But Lacey Buxton was petite and freckle-faced, with cropped dark hair threaded with gray and brown eyes that crinkled at the corners when she smiled. In her jeans and navy-striped T-shirt, she looked more like a PTA mom than a hotshot divorce attorney.
‘Hi, you two. Come on in.’ She cocked her head to peer around them, letting out a piercing whistle. ‘Samantha! Here, girl! You leave that poor old cat alone!’ The voice booming out of that compact little body caught Noelle by surprise; it was the bellow of a stevedore.
A huge, hairy beast hurtled past them into the house, and as Lacey led the way into the cluttered living room, the dog bounded up onto the sofa, muddy paws and all. Lacey didn’t appear to notice. She was too busy eyeing Mary.
‘Don’t tell me … you have a painting stored in your attic, right?’
Mary rolled her eyes. ‘I appreciate the compliment. Especially since I was the only one in our class who graduated a year late with stretch marks.’
The impish attorney laughed, turning to Noelle. ‘And you must be Mary’s daughter. Goodness, it doesn’t seem possible. I remember you when you were just a tiny baby.’ She stuck out her hand. No mention of their looking like sisters? Chalk one up for Lacey.
Noelle awarded another point for the businesslike firmness of her handshake. ‘Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice.’
Lacey shot her a rueful smile. ‘Sorry it has to under such lousy circumstances. We’ll get to that in a minute. Have a seat, if you can find one. What can I get you to drink? Coffee, tea? That’s about it, I’m afraid. I moved in exactly one week ago, and as you can see, I haven’t gotten around to organizing things.’
Noelle struggled against the urge to shout,
Are you out of your mind? My daughter is being held hostage, and I’m supposed to sit around making small talk?
Mustering a smile, she murmured, ‘A cup of tea would be nice.’
‘Coffee for me,’ Mary said.
Moments later Lacey yelled from the kitchen in her timber-rattling stevedore’s voice, ‘Mary, I hear you have your own PR firm in the big bad city. Me? Twenty-eight years in Cincinnati—don’t ask, it’s a long story!—and I still couldn’t seem to shake the small-town dust from my shoes. When my mother died and left me this house, I figured it was a sign from God that I should move back and try to make a go of it.’
‘Sorry to hear about your mother,’ Mary told her when Lacey reappeared a few minutes later, carrying a slightly dented metal tray on which three steaming mugs rocked preciously. ‘What about your father—is he still alive?’
‘Depends on how you define living. He’s in a nursing home and most of the time pretty out of it.’ Regardless of any bad blood between them, Lacey looked genuinely regretful. ‘How about your folks?’
‘Dad passed away when Noelle was little,’ Mary told her. ‘My mother’s still going strong, though.’ She made no mention of Nana’s being ill. Noelle wondered if she had any idea just
how
sick Nana was.
With a child-size sneaker, Lacey shoved her mutt aside to make room on the sofa. Plopping onto the seat-sprung cushion sprinkled with dog hair, she leaned forward, planting her elbows on her knees and directing her frank gaze at Noelle.
‘Okay, let’s have it. I know you didn’t come here to listen to a lot of class reunion talk, so why don’t you take a deep breath and start at the beginning?’
She sounded so warmly sympathetic, and at the same time so reassuringly businesslike, that Noelle had to fight to keep from dissolving into tears. ‘It’s my daughter. She’s five. Her name’s Emma.’ She swallowed hard. ‘My husband and I—we separated a few weeks ago. I thought we could be civilized about it. But last night he came and got her while I—while I was asleep.’ Noelle held back from revealing every gory detail; it would sound too outlandish. She’d wait until Lacey decided whether or not to take the case. ‘Now he claims to have some kind of court order giving him temporary custody. I didn’t know you could do such a thing without both parties present.’
Lacey nodded thoughtfully. ‘It’s called an ex parte hearing. And it’s used only in extreme circumstances, when a child is deemed to be at immediate risk.’
Noelle stiffened. ‘I’m a good mother, Ms Buxton. I would never do
anything
to harm my child.’
‘Call me Lacey, please.’ She smiled reassuringly. ‘Look, I’ll be straight with you. I don’t know you from Adam, but I remember your husband from when we were in school together.’ She exchanged a knowing glance with Mary. ‘He had a habit of getting his way back then, too.’
‘The question is, Can you help me?’
Noelle sucked in a deep breath. What if Lacey refused? Where would she turn? As she glanced about at the boxes still to be unpacked and the books piled on every surface, it struck her that should anyone who knew her walk in just now, it would be assumed that she, Noelle, whose house had always been scrupulously neat, was the more together of the two. Yet here she sat, with her heart knocking like an engine on overload, hoping the woman who occupied this messy house, with its muddy paw prints and sofa covered in dog hair, would find a way to rescue her.
She watched anxiously as Lacey sipped her coffee, wearing a faraway look, as if weighing all the negatives of going up against a man as powerful as Robert. At last she set her mug down on the coffee table with a decisive thunk.
‘I’m forty-seven. I’ve been busting my hump for almost as long as you’ve been alive. All I wanted was some peace and quiet, a nice little family practice. If I take this case, it’ll be the Christians against the lions.’ She glared at no one in particular, then abruptly threw up her hands. ‘On the other hand, no one ever accused me of playing it safe.’
Noelle let out a ragged breath. ‘Does that mean you’ll take my case?’
Lacey abruptly turned to Mary. ‘Remember Buck, Robert’s older brother?’
Mary frowned. ‘Wasn’t he killed in some kind of accident?’
‘His car went off the road into a ravine. He died instantly.’ Lacey shook her head sadly at the memory. ‘He was nineteen. Helluva way to go, huh?’ Before Noelle could ask what Robert’s dead brother had to do with any of this, Lacey explained, ‘We used to date, back in high school when he was a senior and I was a lowly freshman. Nice guy. Only the way his parents acted, you’d have thought I was the Whore of Babylon. Christ, we never even
slept
together. We only went out for a couple of months, but with all the pressure that was brought to bear I’m surprised Buck didn’t break it off sooner.’
Noelle could well imagine it. Look how long it had taken Robert’s parents to warm to
her.
Even after nearly nine years it was more like a deep thaw. Lately, though, Gertrude had seemed more kindly disposed toward her.
Probably because I’m the mother of her only grandchild.
The woman absolutely adored Emma.
‘My in-laws hardly ever talk about Buck,’ she confided. ‘I guess it’s still too painful.’
‘The point is,’ Lacey went on, ‘I know firsthand what the Van Dorens are like. I know what I’d be going up against.’ She looked hard at Noelle, her brown-eyed gaze frank and unwavering. ‘I should have my head examined, but yeah, I’ll take the case.’ She held up a hand. ‘Before you go thanking me, though, I should warn you: It won’t be simple. It won’t be cheap either. I don’t even have to look into it to know that much.’
Noelle wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or alarmed. ‘So what happens next?’
‘First thing tomorrow morning I make some calls. Who’s your husband’s lawyer?’ Lacey reached for the pen and yellow legal pad on the coffee table.
‘Brett Jordan, of Jordan, Torrance and Sanders,’ Noelle told her. ‘But he only uses them for real estate transfers, that kind of thing.’