Charlotte arched a brow. “And what do our humble offices tell you about us?”
“That you are going to do an excellent job for me. I have chosen wisely.”
* * *
Angie had to hustle to make it to the courthouse by eleven. Her meeting with Cross had gone longer than she’d expected. However, the meeting, which could have been an awkward mess, had been oddly relaxed. Cross gave off an easy vibe that had her dismissing initial concerns about him. She’d worked hard not to be like her father, and it seemed Cross had done the same.
Hauling her overstuffed briefcase, she dashed up the front steps, her high heels clicking on the brick steps as she hurried through the front door. A quick pass through the metal detector and she was hustling toward the domestic court. The hallways were crowded today, full of lawyers in dark suits, and clients in all manner of dress from ragged jeans to their Sunday best.
Angie hoped it would be the latter for her and Lulu today. It would be nice to see her legal training help out the “little guy” for once.
She searched the hallways hoping that Lulu would be waiting for her in the lobby. Her initial sweep did not reveal Lulu’s blond spiky hair. Annoyance took root, and on reflex she checked her watch. Two minutes past eleven. Lulu could be running a little late, just as she had been.
Too much nervous energy raced through Angie, making it impossible for her just to sit and wait. Her fingers tightened around her briefcase, and her toe tapped the marble floor. Minutes passed as her gaze swept the hallway again.
This time she searched more closely, remembering she’d told Lulu to change her hair. But a second and third search did not reveal the young woman. Angie called Lulu’s cell number and was annoyed when it went straight to voice mail. She left a curt message and snapped the phone closed.
Angie checked her watch at eleven-fifteen and again at eleven-thirty. Their hearing was scheduled for twelve, and their critical prep time was vanishing. Another call to Lulu’s phone landed her again in voice mail.
“Damn it,” she muttered.
Angie moved through the crowds to the elevator, hoping now that Lulu had somehow gotten mixed up and had gone to the courtroom on the second floor. As she rode the elevator up, her blood pressure rose. “This should not be so complicated. This should be easy.”
But people like Lulu often made simple events complicated. They missed appointments, took drugs knowing a court-ordered test was imminent, or shouted out the wrong statement to the judge.
Angie pressed a trembling hand to her forehead, willing the impending headache away. When the doors dinged open she stepped out into a less-crowded hallway and searched for her wayward client. Again, no Lulu.
This time Angie took a seat outside the domestic courtroom so that she could glance through the files. At least she could be familiar with the case.
However, the case file did not give her much hope. Lulu had been arrested for drug possession not once as she’d said but three times since the birth of her son. She’d also been picked up for solicitation six months ago, and she’d missed two visitations with her son.
Angie called Eva, but the call went to voice mail. She was about to curse the recording but remembered Eva had advanced calculus and wouldn’t be out of class until after two. “Why do I do this to myself?”
Angie sighed and let her head tip back against the cold wall. Even if Lulu waltzed in here right now, looking like a saint, the facts in the file would be hard to overcome.
She checked her watch. Five minutes to twelve. Anger knotted her stomach, and she would dearly have loved just to get up and walk out of here.
And she would have if Eva hadn’t asked this favor of her. Instead she dashed down the stairs hoping that Lulu had arrived. She hadn’t.
Angie had to sprint back up the stairs to reach the courtroom by twelve sharp. Breathless, she moved into the courtroom and took her place on the plaintiff’s side. To her right she glanced at an older-looking woman who shared Lulu’s sharp features and expressive eyes. The woman had to be Lulu’s mother. Instead of staring ahead, the woman searched the room, her eyes expectant, not angry.
“The next case on the docket is Sweet versus Sweet.” The bailiff’s voice cut through the courtroom.
Lulu’s mother rose, as did a young man in a dark suit who sat beside her.
The judge peered over his glasses, glaring down at the mother. Immediately, his gaze swept the room in search of Lulu. “Where is the plaintiff?” He glanced at his paperwork. “Lulu Sweet.”
Angie stood.
The judge was going to chew her ass out for her client’s absence. She’d been chewed out before and had developed a thick skin. But it irritated her that she was now defending a woman who had duped her.
“Does Ms. Sweet have representation?”
Angie rose. “Angie Carlson here, sir, representing Ms. Sweet.”
Judge Odom cocked a bushy brow. “This isn’t your usual turf is it, Ms. Carlson?”
“No, Your Honor.” Her voice was clear and strong. “But I am the counsel for Ms. Sweet.”
He shrugged. “So where is your client, Ms. Carlson?”
“She has not yet arrived at the courthouse.”
“She’s a no-show?”
Angie’s gaze remained on the judge. The last thing she wanted to do was show him any ounce of disrespect. “So far, she has not arrived.”
The other attorney cleared his throat. “We all knew this was a critical hearing, Your Honor. The fact that Ms. Sweet is late speaks volumes about her commitment to her son. I move that you award full custody to my client.”
Angie straightened. “Your Honor, I move for a continuance so that I can find out what has befallen my client. She understood the importance of this court date and was anxious to be present.”
“And yet she is not here,” the other counselor said. “She has a history of drug use and arrest.”
“We haven’t proved either is behind today’s absence,” Angie countered. She shared the counselor’s fears, but she couldn’t let her own concerns sway the fact that she was here to argue for Lulu. Later, when she got her hands on the girl, she’d sort out this mess, but for now she was about damage control.
“Do you know where your client is, Ms. Carlson?” Judge Odom said.
“I’m sure if you just give her a little more time.” Angie hoped for a miracle now. Come on, Lulu, drag your butt through those doors and give the judge a valid explanation.
But no Lulu appeared, and the seconds ticked as Angie stared at the judge.
“Where is your client, Ms. Carlson?” Impatience nipped at the words.
“I don’t know.”
“When did you last speak with her?”
“Yesterday. She was quite anxious to be here.”
The judge sighed. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” He glanced at the other attorney. “You have Ms. Sweet’s mother here today.”
“Right at my side, Your Honor.”
“And she is willing to take the child?”
“Yes, sir. She is most anxious to give the child a stable home.”
Angie glanced at the woman, and this time really looked at her. Her frame was fragile, and her shoulders stooped. She was older than Angie would have expected— perhaps in her mid-sixties, suggesting that Lulu had been a late-in-life baby. Mrs. Sweet’s skin was pale, and her bony hands were riddled with blue veins. She hardly looked strong enough to lift the baby, let alone raise him. Eva had hinted that she was sick.
“Mrs. Sweet, are you willing to take the minor child, David?” the judge asked.
“Yes, sir.” Her voice held a surprising strength and clearness that Angie had to admire. The woman might not have wanted this curveball life had tossed her, but she was doing her best to handle it.
The judge glanced again at Angie. “Give me something, Ms. Carlson.”
She’d have talked her way through this if it was a corporate client. She possessed dozens of tricks up her sleeve to d
rag out a hearing. But this wasn’t a merger or an acquisition. It was a child. And the mother had missed her chance to parent him. “I can’t.”
He nodded. “Let the record show that Ms. Lulu Sweet did not appear in court and that I award custody to Mrs. Vivian Sweet.” He pounded his gavel on the bench. “Next case.”
Angie turned and left the courtroom, her stomach churning with anger. What an utter waste of time and energy.
She’d just reached the elevator when she heard her name. Mrs. Sweet moved toward her. Her attorney remained by the courtroom door, watching but not approaching.
“Ms. Carlson, may I have a moment of your time?” Vivian Sweet’s voice had lost the power and now sounded weak and defeated.
“Mrs. Sweet.”
“Thank you for trying to help my Lulu.”
Angie had expected an attack, not thanks. She nodded stiffly, not sure what to say.
“Lulu wants to straighten out, and I really hoped this last go-around she would. The last few weeks have felt so hopeful. I hoped she’d win today.”
“That seems surprising.”
“I don’t want to be in this battle with my daughter. I want her to get her act together and raise David. But though there have been glimmers of success, even weeks of it, a baby needs more. He needs his mother all the time, not just when she feels like being a mother.”
Angie leaned toward the woman. “Yesterday she seemed very determined to be here. I believed her.”
“And she believed herself. She wants to do it right, but every time she gets close she stumbles.”
Genuine regret coated the words. “I’m sorry.”
Mrs. Sweet raised her chin as if pity was the last thing she wanted. “If you see Lulu, tell her that I love her. And that David is doing fine.”
“Are you doing fine?” It was an inappropriate question, and one Mrs. Sweet shouldn’t have answered.
Her eyes darkened with worry before she seemed to brush it aside. “I’m fine. I have to be for David.”
“Mrs. Sweet.” The other attorney was clearly unhappy that his client had chosen to talk to opposing counsel.