by Natalie Ann
“Since four, but that’s about normal for me. I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself and made some coffee, and I also whipped up a French toast bake. It will be done in a couple of minutes.”
She patted his chest and let out a sigh. “Are you for real?”
“Temper and all.”
She cocked a brow. “Why are you bringing that up?”
“I’ll show you.”
She followed him into her kitchen where he’d set up a laptop and a tablet on her table. “Where did that come from?”
“The Airbnb I’m renting is only three blocks away, so I went home and got it. Which is where I got the ingredients for breakfast. You have no food.”
“I have the basics.”
He laughed as he pulled out a chair, offering it to her while he stood behind. “What I’m going to show you is disturbing, but I want you to know that it’s been doctored, and I can prove it because I have the original video.”
“Okay.” She took a sip of her coffee, which had a rich almond and mocha flavor. “Oh, my God. This isn’t my coffee.”
“Nope. Yours tastes and smells like tar.”
“Aren’t you ex-Army? Don’t you guys like things that way?”
“Only when I have to,” he said, reaching around her and pressing a key. “Just remember, this isn’t how it went down.”
An image of him, Kari, and another man came on the screen. He and the man seem to have words.
“Is there sound?” she asked.
“No, but there is on mine.”
A few seconds into the video, Kari steps between the two men. Alston puts his arm in front of her and shoves her to the side. She points her finger at him, and then he shoves her to the ground. The video stopped.
“Makes me look like an asshole.”
“It sure does.”
“This is my version taken from a buddy of mine by the name of Jack that was at the bar that night. He was taping as a favor to me.”
“Why?”
“You’ll see when you watch mine. It was two nights before I was deployed, and it is in part why Kari and I couldn’t be together. The other man is the guy she was dating before me, and it turns out, she was sleeping with both of us at the same time. That’s why I wanted the paternity test before I came running home to claim my daughter. I didn’t want to fall in love with a kid that wasn’t mine.”
“Makes perfect sense to me.”
He clicked on another file, and a new video appeared. “Of course, it still shows I have a wicked temper, especially with the sound on, but I think you should hear it.” He clicked the sound icon. “I’ll get your breakfast while you watch.”
“Are you sure you want to do this man?” a voice asked.
“Damn fucking right I do. She told me she was going to be with her sick aunt. Instead, she’s here with some asshole sucking face. I’m being deployed in two days. She couldn’t wait and then write a dear fucking John letter,” Alston said.
“Dude, you’ve had close to one too many, and you’re angry. We know how you get.”
“And that’s why you’re taking the video.” Alston slammed his beer on the table and stomped over to the bar where Kari and the other man stood.
“Hello, Kari. How’s your aunt?” Alston asked.
“What the hell?” Kari whipped her head around. “I thought you hated coming into the city. Why are you here?”
“My buddies talked me into it,” Alston said, looping his arm around her.
“Hey. Get your hands off my girl,” the other guy said.
Alston laughed. “So, you’re fucking him too.”
The other guy poked Alston in the chest. “Watch it, asshole. That’s no way to talk to a lady.”
“Watch it? You’re not going to ask her if what I’m saying is true?”
The other man glanced between Kari and Alston.
“Because just last night, I had her pushed up against my—”
Kari stepped between the two men, her back to Alston. “Don’t listen to him, babe. He’s crazy. I told you about him.”
“The jerk you were seeing last year?” the other guy asked.
“That’s bullshit,” Alston said. “We just met a couple of weeks ago.” He put his hand on Kari’s shoulder, turning her to face him. “Feel free to keep lying to the poor bastard if you want, but you and I are done. Good luck with her.”
“Is what he’s saying true?” the other man asked, taking hold of Kari and shaking her.
“Hey, that’s not necessary.” Alston raised his arm, shoving it between the other man and Kari.
“Stay the fuck out of this,” the other man said.
“As long as you keep your hands to yourself and off her,” Alston said.
Wow. Jackie glanced over the laptop. A man with a temper who just got cheated on is defending the woman who wronged him.
Of course, the other guy was manhandling her, so someone should step in.
The other guy shoved Kari so hard she fell to the floor.
“You fucking asshole,” Alston said as he cocked his arm and swung, his fist landing smack in the middle of the other man’s face, sending him backward toward the bar, holding his nose.
That’s when whoever was holding the video must have tucked his phone into his pocket or something because she couldn’t see anything, and all she heard was chaos as people continued to shout obscenities.
“Is that the incident Kari tried to use for a restraining order against you when you first had the paternity test?”
“That’s the one.” He closed the computer and shoved it aside before setting the biggest, fluffiest egg-filled sour dough bread lined with cinnamon and powdered sugar with a dollop of butter and heaping amounts of what smelled like real maple syrup. “If I hadn’t planned on telling you last night shouldn’t be repeated, I’d be saying, you were so gonna get laid tonight.”
He set his own plate down and let out a slight chuckle. “Yeah. Probably not the smartest thing either of us have done, but I have no regrets. I hope you don’t. And for the record, I’d be up for round two.”
“Why don’t we talk about that after all this is over.” She shoved a large piece of French toast in her mouth. It practically melted the second it hit her taste buds. “Why are you showing me both of those videos?”
“Because Kari just did two things with the version that has been doctored. First, she posted it on fucking Facebook. Second, she sent it to the lawyers and the judge.”
“Fuck.” Jackie jumped to her feet and raced to the family room to find her tablet, which she’d left on the small desk in the corner. She picked it up and tapped the email icon. Sure enough, she had emails from both lawyers regarding a video and a second email from Carol regarding a forensic video analysis. There were also five other emails regarding information she’d asked for about Kari. Slowly, she made her way back to the kitchen. “I’ve got to get to my office.” And she planned on making her first unannounced visit to Kari’s house.
“Now?”
She nodded. “In all fairness, that video really doesn’t do much damage one way or the other, but they are trying to show a pattern of behavior when it comes to you.”
He leaned against the island counter with his hands on his hips. “I didn’t push her. I did hit him, and he did deserve it.”
“When asked, don’t ever say that. But not even my point. It’s your temper. Remember, they’re lawyers. They have a side, and it’s their job to make their clients smell like roses. You and Kari are battling each other in court. The gloves are off, and the punches are being thrown. But I’m not a lawyer, and I’m not fighting anyone. I’m here to decide what is in the best interest of the child. You have to understand how different that is. The judge will hear each side and will read my report, and then he will make his judgment based off that.” She pointed toward the computer. “Most of my recommendation will come from present interactions, but I can’t ignore that video which is why I want to get ahead of it.”
“What does that mean?”
She closed the gap between them and set the tablet on the counter. “You’re going to have to trust me.”
“This is probably going to put me in the doghouse, and it’s not that I don’t trust you, because I do, it’s that I don’t trust the system. And I sure as fuck don’t trust Kari. She doesn’t fight fair.”
God, she wished she could ease his mind, but she’d crossed way too many lines as it was by sleeping with him, and she was going to cross that line again if he was willing. “I get it. I do.” She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his strong body. “I will deny this if you repeat it, but I’m on your side.”
***
Jackie stepped from her vehicle in front of the address Kari had given in an up-and-coming neighborhood. Kari lived in a duplex, which looked like it was recently renovated with its shiny white paint and light-green shutters with quaint flower boxes under the windows. Tiny little purple, yellow, and red blossoms sprouted from the moist dirt. Jackie climbed the porch stairs and rang the doorbell.
It took about a minute before Kari peeked her head out the door. “Oh, Doctor Monroe. What are you doing here?”
“I thought it would be good for me to get one of the court mandated unannounced visits out of the way.”
“Have you dropped in on Alston yet?”
Oh boy, was that a loaded question. “This isn’t about him, but about me seeing where you and Coralie live and how you interact. I want to get to know your relationship with your daughter. Please remember, I have only your daughter’s best interest at heart.”
“Yeah, you keep saying that, but if it were true, you wouldn’t let that monster near her,” Kari said.
“May I come in?” Jackie wasn’t going to give that comment legs.
“This isn’t a good time. Honestly, Coralie isn’t feeling well at all. I was going to call the doctor and make an appointment to bring her in.”
“It’s not a good idea to turn me away. I will have to put that in the report, and the judge will view the action negatively.”
Kari narrowed her eyes. “I was up half the night, and my house is a mess.”
“I’m not here to judge your housekeeping.”
Kari pulled open the door and stepped aside. “How long will this take?”
“I won’t be here longer than a half hour.” Jackie stepped into the foyer and peeked into the other room where she saw a pack ’n play and little Coralie lying in it with her bottle in one hand and her foot in the other. “Mind giving me a tour?” The house certainly didn’t look dirty, and the only thing that seemed messy were the toys lying about the floor, but that was typical of any home with kids.
And there was the bowl of chips with a saltshaker next to it, which was weird, but some people liked their chips extra salty. But at nin in the morning?
To each their own.
“There are three apartments in the house. Two upstairs and I have the entire lower level.” Kari fiddled with her shirt, pulling it down toward her jean shorts before bending over and lifting Coralie out of the playpen. The little girl dropped her bottle and tucked her face in her mother’s neck. She gave Jackie a slight smile and reached her pudgy little hand out.
“Hey, you,” Jackie said, touching her forehead. She didn’t feel warm, but her cheeks were rosy.
Could be teething.
“Not feeling well?” Jackie asked, patting the child’s back.
Coralie snuggled against her mother’s chest.
Kari was a slender girl, with shoulder-length dark hair. Her file said before she’d become pregnant and gave birth to Coralie, she worked as a teacher’s assistant, but since then, she’d taken an extended leave of absence, without pay.
So, why didn’t she want Alston’s money? She flat out told the judge she wanted nothing from him and especially didn’t want him in her life, or her daughters.
The bedrooms were off the family room, and they shared one bathroom, which seemed to be the only one in the house. Jackie stepped into what she assumed was the baby’s room, but she soon realized that baby and mom slept in the same space. Not uncommon.
“Are you sharing a bed? Or does Coralie sleep in the crib?”
“I try to keep her in the crib, which used to be in her room, but since she’s been so sick the last few months, we both sleep better if she’s in here. Last night, she slept in the bed with me because she was so traumatized from her visit with Alston.”
“Really. How so?” Jackie stepped into the bathroom, which was exceptionally clean. She reached out to open the medicine cabinet.
“Hey. Do you always go poking through people’s things?”
“Actually, it’s kind of my job.” She pointed to the doors under the sink. “Why isn’t that babyproofed?”
Kari made a huffing noise. “There is nothing under there. I store all cleaning products in the kitchen, which is completely babyproofed.”
Feeling the need for due diligence, she opened the cabinets and drawers where she found diaper rash cream, other ointments, some pill bottles that she couldn’t read the labels for, and other medicines, but nothing jumped out at her as troublesome.
Only every instinct in her body told her something was wrong. Coralie seemed way off this morning. More subdued. Of course, the poor girl was tired and not feeling well, but still. She didn’t seem herself.
“It looks like Coralie is asleep. Why don’t we sit down and talk for a bit? I’d really like to hear about what happened with Coralie after her visit with Alston and myself.” Jackie felt the need to insert herself into the visit mostly because she wanted Kari to know that Coralie was never left alone with Alston. That was a key point in whatever she felt was so traumatizing.
“Fine,” Kari said with a sharp tone.
Jackie dealt with a lot of resentful and defensive parents, and she’d learned those that pushed back the hardest were almost always hiding something. Of course, she really needed to check some of her suspicions at the door and remain impartial.
Her client was Coralie.
Not Alston.
Jackie made herself comfortable on the chair by the dining area, leaving the sofa for Kari, who was taking her time putting Coralie down. Jackie pulled out a pad and a pen and glanced around the room, taking in as much as she could. There were family pictures on the back wall and baby books on the coffee table.
Kari marched back into the family room. “I honestly don’t like having my privacy invaded like this. It’s even worse when I did nothing wrong and Alston has done everything wrong. Add in all the added stress of having a sick baby.”
“What have the doctors said about her illnesses?”
“The doctors don’t know. It’s so frustrating. But she’s in pain, and she’s been getting stomach viruses all the time. I’m going to demand to see a specialist today, but I guess I have to wait a little while longer to see the doctor because of this inconvenience.” Kari plopped herself on the sofa and folded her arms across her chest.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened after the visit, and then I’ll get out of your hair.”
“She seemed fine when I left your office, but when we stopped at my friend’s house, she freaked out when her husband, who’s around her all the time, went to pick her up. I mean screamed bloody murder. She was almost inconsolable. She’s always been shy around men, but it’s been really bad since Alston has come into our lives. I swear, she remembers what that man did to her.”
Jackie looked forward to the next visit with Alston because she suspected Coralie was going to be just fine. “I know this is difficult, but—”
“You don’t know anything. Are we done now?”
Jackie tucked her belongings back in her oversized purse and stood, smoothing down the front of her slacks. “I can’t say this enough. I’m not the—”
“Enemy.” Kari waved her hand out in front of her. “But you are because you’ve already recommended to the courts that Alston be allowed to spend time alone with Coralie. You
might as well beat her yourself.”
“I take offense to that statement.” Jackie cleared her throat. She had every intention of putting this in her report. “I’ll see you tomorrow and to save any issues with you and Alston bumping into each, we will do the pickup and drop-off in the lobby. That way you don’t have to park if you don’t want to. Half hour before scheduled visit and half hour after.”
“I’m meeting with my lawyer today to discuss what I can do to stop this madness. I think you’re being exceptionally reckless with my daughter and so does my attorney.”
Jackie wanted to laugh. Erik Jameson was a young, hungry lawyer. This wasn’t her first time working a custody case with him, and while he could be aggressive to win for his client, he wouldn’t toss around the word reckless when talking about Jackie. “Make sure you give Erik my best. I have a meeting with him tomorrow right after Coralie’s visit with her father. I really appreciate your time. I’ll see myself out.”
Chapter Seven
Jackie pulled up every medical file she could get her hands on when it came to Coralie, and so far she didn’t like the picture her mind had begun to paint.
A knock at the door startled her, and she sloshed her coffee.
“Sorry,” Eileen Ambrose said as she waltzed into Jackie’s office with two other hospital employees.
“No worries.” Jackie stood and waved to the chairs she’d arranged around her desk. “Thank you all for coming up.”
“My pleasure,” Eileen said. “This is Doctor James Elliott and Rod Briggs, an RN in the pediatric unit who also swings in two of our urgent care facilities. Both have seen and treated Coralie.”
“I’ve actually seen her on three separate occasions,” Rod said. “Twice at the urgent care unit and once here at the hospital. It was tough because we couldn’t find a cause for the stomach pain, vomiting, or diarrhea. We pumped her full of fluids, and by the time we discharged her, she was fine.”
“How would you describe Kari, the mom?” Jackie asked.
The nurse let out a puff of air. “If you asked me that question after the first two times I treated her daughter, I would have said she was just a scared mom who was really worried about her little girl. But this last time, which was when she brought her into urgent care stating Coralie had a seizure, the child presented with severe dehydration. She’d had a lot of diarrhea again, and I asked the mom about salt intake. She got very agitated and made a comment about how too much salt is bad for anyone, and she doesn’t put salt on anything and that her child is fed only fresh organic foods that she makes herself. She made it a whole thing.”
