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  “I see.” Stephanie folded her arms. “Dr. Scanlon, when you return to work, would you consider employing Mrs. Ridgeway to take care of Emily at your home, to afford your daughter continuity of care and ease her transition?”

  “Yes, that would be one of the options I would consider, for Emily’s sake.”

  “Thank you.” Stephanie picked up some papers from counsel table and distributed them to Judge Shield and Franklin before she strode to Mike and handed him a sheaf. “Dr. Scanlon, please identify these papers for the court.”

  “They’re papers that they gave me after I was charged with simple assault in Wilberg, two days ago, as a result of a fistfight with a former neighbor.”

  “How did you plead?”

  “Not guilty.” Mike avoided Bob’s eye, though he would have loved to have seen him squirm, since the not-guilty plea was his idea.

  “Have you ever before been charged with assault or any other criminal offense?”

  “No.”

  “Can you explain to the court the reason for this fistfight?”

  Franklin popped up. “Objection, relevance, Your Honor.”

  Stephanie whirled around. “Mr. Franklin, if you’re prepared to stipulate that criminal charges for assault are irrelevant to this proceeding, I’ll withdraw the question and move on.”

  Franklin frowned. “No, I won’t. It’s clearly relevant under Section 5329.”

  Judge Shield leaned forward, his black sleeves billowing over the dais. “Then what’s the basis for your objection, Mr. Franklin? Is it relevant or not? You can’t have it both ways.”

  Franklin stepped forward, holding the papers. “Your Honor, the fact of the assault charge is relevant, but the reason for the assault is not.”

  Stephanie turned to the judge. “That’s a distinction without a difference, Your Honor. Why not hear why it happened? There’s no jury present, and I trust Your Honor can accord the testimony the weight it deserves.”

  Judge Shield nodded. “Objection overruled.” He motioned to Mike. “Please answer, Dr. Scanlon.”

  “Briefly, the fistfight was over my late wife, because I found email that suggested my former neighbor had engaged in an affair with her while I was away.” Mike hated to admit being cuckolded in open court, but Stephanie said it was the way to go.

  “Dr. Scanlon, moving on, why were you at the Clifton police station on Sunday afternoon?”

  “I believed I had information that could help solve the murder of Sara Hambera. She was a dear friend of my late wife’s and mine.”

  Judge Shield clucked. “My condolences. It’s a tragic case, tragic.”

  Stephanie waited a moment, then asked, “Dr. Scanlon, did you turn over such information to the police?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Did you seek to claim the reward?”

  “No.”

  “When you left the Clifton police station, what happened between you and the press?”

  “There was a crowd of reporters standing in my way, so when I tried to go forward, I hit a camera.”

  “Did you hit or strike anyone?”

  “No, I don’t think so, and if I did, it wasn’t intentional, though it might have appeared that way, the way it was edited on the TV news.”

  “Finally, Dr. Scanlon, last Sunday morning, when you were home alone with Emily, you fell asleep with her, after reading books to her on the living room floor. Why?”

  “I hadn’t slept well the night before, and one of the side effects of my pain medication is drowsiness. I have since decreased my dosage and that won’t happen again.”

  Judge Shield lifted a gray eyebrow. “Dr. Scanlon, would you agree to random drug testing, should custody be restored to you today?”

  “Yes, of course. Your Honor.”

  Judge Shields blinked. “Anything further, Ms. Bergen?”

  “Nothing, Your Honor. I may call for rebuttal, if need be.” Stephanie sat down without looking at Mike.

  Judge Shield motioned to Franklin. “Counsel, do you wish to cross-examine?”

  Chapter Sixty-seven

  “I’ll cross-examine.” Jason Franklin stood up with a manila envelope in his hands and approached the court clerk. “Your Honor, I wish to move into evidence three bottles of Oxycontin, thirty pills each, at ten milligrams a pill, as Respondents’ Exhibits A, B, and C.”

  Mike told himself to stay calm. Stephanie had prepared him for how to handle it if the pills came to light. She hadn’t wanted to ask him about them on the stand, if Bob and Danielle hadn’t found them. Her expression remained impassive as Franklin slid the bottles from the envelope and handed them to the court clerk, who labeled them with exhibit stickers, then gave them back to Franklin. The lawyer showed them to the judge.

  “Admitted,” Judge Shield ruled, scrutinizing the bottles and handing them back. “Let the record so reflect.”

  “Your Honor, may I approach the witness?” Franklin asked, but didn’t wait for an answer as he strode to the witness box and placed the pill bottles on the rail.

  Mike blinked, remembering Stephanie’s advice. Wait for the question. Say nothing more than the answer.

  “Dr. Scanlon, do you recognize the three bottles of Oxycontin, entered as Respondents’ Exhibits A through C?”

  “Yes.”

  “They belong to you, don’t they?”

  “Yes.”

  “You hid them under the mattress in your bedroom in my clients’ home, did you not?”

  “Yes.” Mike felt his face flush with shame, and Judge Shield glanced over, sucking in his cheeks.

  Franklin continued, “They’re for your personal consumption, are they not?”

  “Yes.”

  Franklin picked up a bottle. “You’re aware that Oxycontin is an opiate, a controlled substance as addictive as heroin, are you not?”

  “Yes.”

  “Dr. Scanlon, you obtained these drugs through fraudulent means, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.” Mike couldn’t avoid seeing Bob frown in disapproval.

  “Dr. Scanlon, you’re aware that obtaining controlled substances through fraudulent means violates state law, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you also aware that these admissions in court could subject you to prosecution under the Controlled Substances Act, should this matter be referred to the District Attorney?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re also aware that obtaining controlled substances through fraudulent means violates the medical canons of ethics?”

  “Yes.” Mike spotted Danielle, shaking her head sadly.

  “Dr. Scanlon, didn’t you accomplish this by writing the prescriptions, fraudulently pretending to be the patient, and picking them up yourself?”

  “Yes.” Mike saw the orange-red flash of an explosion, but it vanished into thin air.

  “Dr. Scanlon, aren’t you admitting to this court that you fabricated the prescriptions and made up the names—” Franklin held up the bottles and read aloud—“Phil DeMaria, Adam Goldstein, and John Jacobs?”

  Mike startled to hear the names echoing in the courtroom, like the Final Roll Call transported to this very spot, and he felt sick to his stomach. “I didn’t make up the names.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “The names are men who served with me in Afghanistan. They were killed in action, by a grenade.” Mike realized he’d said too much when he saw Franklin’s eyes widen slightly.

  “I see.” Franklin picked up the bottles, reading them again. “When did the explosion occur that killed Philip DeMaria, Adam Goldstein, and John…”

  Mike missed the end of the question, because he was back at the memorial service. Before his eyes were the four rifles, bayonet-down, driven into the frozen earth. He heard the reading, name after name, of the men who would never answer. DeMaria? Philip De Maria? Major Philip DeMaria, Jr.?

  “Dr. Scanlon? Please answer the question.”

  “I forget the question.” Mike came out of his reverie to
spot Stephanie watching him with concern.

  Franklin shook his head. “I withdraw it. Instead, I’ll ask, Dr. Scanlon, are you suffering distress over the loss of these men?”

  Stephanie stood up. “Objection, relevance.”

  Franklin faced Judge Shield. “Your Honor, under section 5328, subsection 15, the mental condition of Dr. Scanlon is very much at issue, as is his drug use, under section 5328, subsection 14. I am certainly entitled to explore the extent to which he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

  Stephanie stepped forward. “Your Honor, it hasn’t been established that Dr. Scanlon is suffering from PTSD, and he testified that he is seeking counseling, in any event.”

  Franklin shook has head. “Your Honor, it is our position that Dr. Scanlon is in denial over the extent to which he is suffering from PTSD, and that he has misrepresented to this court the extent of his drug addiction.”

  “Objection, Your Honor.” Stephanie raised her voice. “Dr. Scanlon has explained that he takes painkillers as a post-operative amputee. Would counsel prefer he bite a bullet?”

  “Counsel, please.” Judge Shield raised a hand, as if to silence quarreling children. “Mr. Franklin, I’ll allow it, but keep it short.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor.” Franklin turned to the witness stand, his smile fading. “Dr. Scanlon, don’t you still grieve your friends who died in action?”

  “Yes.” Mike clenched his jaw.

  “Don’t you suffer flashbacks?”

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t you feel depressed or sad, at times?”

  “Yes.”

  “Angry?”

  Mike was actually starting to feel angry. “Only when called for.”

  Stephanie rose. “Your Honor, is this keeping it short? Also, if counsel wants an expert opinion, he should have brought an expert.”

  Franklin turned to Judge Shield. “Your Honor, I’ll move on.” He returned to Mike. “After Emily almost fell down the steps, didn’t you tell my client, Danielle Ridgeway, that Oxycontin was the reason you fell asleep?”

  Mike should have seen this coming. Danielle must have told Franklin everything. “Yes.”

  “Isn’t it true that Danielle also told you she was worried about your drug dependence?”

  Stephanie rose again. “Continuing objection, Your Honor.”

  Judge Shield turned to Mike. “Please answer, Dr. Scanlon.”

  “Yes.”

  “Dr. Scanlon, didn’t you tell Danielle you would not be weaning yourself off your drugs anytime soon?”

  Mike swallowed hard. “Yes, but that was before.”

  Franklin turned away, then seemed to think better of it, and faced Mike. “Dr. Scanlon, when did you call the outpatient drug clinic?”

  “This morning.”

  “So, just in time for court. That was hardly a coincidence, was it?”

  Stephanie half rose. “Objection, relevance. Dr. Scanlon has been home for less than a week.”

  Franklin scoffed, at Stephanie. “That’s not an objection, that’s testimony.”

  “Counsel, please.” Judge Shield straightened up. “Mr. Franklin, I’m interested in Emily’s best interests going forward, in the future.”

  Mike could have hugged the judge. Stephanie fiddled with her right earring, which she’d told him was her signal that things were going well.

  Franklin set down the pill bottles. “Dr. Scanlon, isn’t it true that you have been upset by the revelation that your late wife was unfaithful to you?”

  “Yes.” Mike felt his face get hot.

  “You were jealous, were you not?”

  Stephanie rose. “Objection, relevance, Your Honor.”

  Franklin faced the judge. “Allow me a question or two, Your Honor, and the relevance will become clear.”

  Judge Shield pursed his lips. “Fair enough, objection overruled. I’ll wait and see.”

  Franklin turned back to Mike. “Dr. Scanlon, you became convinced that your wife’s lover was also the killer of her best friend, Sara Hambera?”

  “Yes.”

  “And didn’t you tell my clients that you were obsessed with finding out who killed Sara Hambera and slept with your wife?”

  “Yes.” Mike regretted his words when Franklin smiled, as if he’d scored.

  “Moving on, Dr. Scanlon, you volunteered for the second tour of duty with the Army, isn’t that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “You chose to stay in the Army for a second tour, rather than come home to your daughter?”

  Stephanie half rose. “Objection, relevance, Your Honor. Also, this is hardly moving forward, and Dr. Scanlon has already testified to this point.”

  Franklin turned to the judge. “I’ll modify my question, Your Honor.” He faced Mike again. “Dr. Scanlon, when you decided to renew your contract for a second tour, you had absolute confidence in the high quality of the care that my clients would continue to provide Emily, isn’t that true?”

  “Yes.”

  “Isn’t it also true that my clients have provided Emily with a loving, stable, and happy home?”

  “Yes.”

  “Isn’t it true that Emily is happy in their care?”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “Isn’t it true that Emily loves my clients, and they love her, as if she were their own child?”

  Mike’s mouth went dry. “Yes, but I’m her father and I love her, too.”

  Franklin turned away and faced the judge. “Your Honor, I have no further questions.”

  Stephanie stood up. “I have no redirect, Your Honor. May we take a break before Mr. Franklin begins his case-in-chief?”

  “Make it snappy,” Judge Shield answered, with a nod.

  Chapter Sixty-eight

  Stephanie steered Mike from the courtroom, down the hall, and through a door marked Attorney Conference Room, which was a small room with an old mahogany table and a few hard chairs. She closed the door behind them and turned to Mike, her eyes alive with animation. “Listen, you were terrific! You did great! Way to go!”

  “Really?” Mike felt shaky, and his stump throbbed like it was on fire. He pulled up a chair and sat down. “What did I do right?”

  “Everything.” Stephanie began to pace, too excited to sit down. “Props to your genius lawyer, because our trial strategy worked beautifully. Your direct examination went so well that Franklin had nothing left. Couldn’t you tell that? He ran out of gas!”

  “You really think it went well?” Mike had been too busy doing it to assess it, and the stakes were so high.

  “Yes, the very best it could have gone. I was worried about your cross, but Franklin didn’t hurt you at all.”

  “Good.” Mike exhaled, relieved. “Now what happens?”

  “Franklin will put on his case. He’ll have Bob and Danielle testify, and he’s going to rely on the fact that they’ve had Emily all this time and have provided a good home for her.”

  “That sounds good for them though, doesn’t it?”

  “No, if that’s all they got, they lose. Remember, you have the presumption as a parent. If it’s a borderline case, then you win.”

  “Wow, really?” Mike felt dazed and happy. “So am I done now?”

  “No, remember, the procedure. After Bob and Danielle testify, I may ask you to get back up on the stand, if they’ve hurt you.” Stephanie’s expression grew serious. “Just do the same great job you did before, and tell the truth.”

  “Will do.”

  “Now, when they testify, don’t react if something bothers you or makes you angry. Hang tough. Good to go?”

  “Yes,” Mike told her, bracing himself.

  Chapter Sixty-nine

  Mike didn’t have to know Bob to see that he wasn’t happy in the witness stand, sitting upright with a frown and jerking his chin repeatedly out of his cutaway collar.

  Franklin cleared his throat. “Mr. Ridgeway, where are you employed and for how long have you worked there?”

  �
�I’m self-employed in a limited liability corporation, a law firm called The Ridgeway Group. We practice general business law in Erwin and have for almost fifteen years. I employ twenty-one people and intend to hire two new associates this year.”

  “Mr. Ridgeway, please tell the court how you and your wife Danielle came to take Emily into your home.”

  “Well, my wife’s younger sister passed away while Mike was on his first tour, and we were the only family Emily had. We were her only babysitters, too, and we love her and she loves us.” Bob’s expression relaxed, but not enough to smile. “My wife Danielle quit her job as my office administrator to stay home with Emily full-time, and Dr. Scanlon was more than happy to have us take her on.”

  Mike shifted in the chair. Bob’s casual tone made it sound like he didn’t care, and looking back, he had to admit Emily wasn’t uppermost in his mind after Chloe died, especially when he found the booze. His arm throbbed.

  “Mr. Ridgeway, did there come a time when Dr. Scanlon formally agreed that you and Danielle should have legal and physical custody of Emily for as long as necessary?”

  “Objection, Your Honor,” Stephanie said, without getting up. “That calls for speculation about my client’s intent.”

  “Your Honor, I’ll withdraw that question and save you the trouble of ruling.” Franklin reached for some papers on the table and brought them to the court clerk, who labeled them and handed them back. “I’d like to move into evidence as Respondents’ Exhibit D, the custody agreement between the parties.”

  “Granted.” Judge Shield flipped through some papers on the dais. “The agreement was attached as an exhibit to your brief, and I’m familiar with it, so proceed.”

  Franklin took the agreement to Bob. “Mr. Ridgeway, you’re familiar with this, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, it was drafted by someone in my office, modeled after a form she found. We practice business law, not family law. I know that Dr. Scanlon thinks I wrote it, but I didn’t.”

  Mike blinked, surprised. He’d thought Bob drafted it to screw him, but maybe he hadn’t.

  “Mr. Ridgeway, the agreement clearly provides that you and Danielle will have custody of Emily for ‘as long as necessary.’ What was meant by that?”