He was shaking his head. “Come on. You’re exaggerating. Nobody produced a scrap of evidence proving Gina was roughed up by Austin. And you’re not going to make me believe he’d hit that little girl.”
“I’m not going to be able to make you believe anything except what you want to believe,” Elizabeth said bitterly. “You’ve convinced yourself that Austin’s okay. Odd, since you probably don’t even particularly like him. At least, I didn’t see much evidence of strong male bonding between the two of you during the two days I’ve had to observe. Your attitude is so typical. You won’t let yourself think that a fellow lawyer, a well-educated contemporary from a privileged background could be a cruel, vindictive, violent creep, will you?”
“Not without something more than the word of two—”
“Lesbians?”
Again, he was shaking his head. “Ah, I don’t believe that.”
“Then why did you insinuate it to Judge Hetherington?”
“I’m a lawyer. I use whatever tactics I can to benefit my client.”
She stood up, nearly tipping the coffee over. “I never could understand why anybody would want to be a lawyer and you’ve reassured me about my instincts.”
Ryan touched her hand. “Wait, wait a minute, Ms. Walker.” The look she gave him was so furious that he fell back. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t approach you to stir things up worse than they are between Austin and Gina. Believe it or not, I’m trying to do some good here.”
“How, in God’s name, are you trying to do good?” she asked, genuinely baffled.
“I need your help in trying to get Gina and Austin to work something out for the sake of the kid…for Jesse’s sake. And I don’t think it’s going to happen if it’s left to them.”
“I can promise that Gina is more than willing to do whatever it takes to work out something for Jesse’s sake. She loves her child more than life itself.”
“And Austin doesn’t, is that what you’re saying?”
“If the shoe fits.” She wadded up her soaked napkin and tossed it and her unfinished cappuccino into the trash. “And now, if you’ll excuse me…”
He caught up with her just as she stepped outside into bright sunshine. “Don’t you even want to try?”
She put a hand up to shade her eyes and stared at him. “Excuse me, but it’s difficult for me to believe that you’re thinking of Jesse and Gina, Mr. Paxton. The only way this could have been worse is if Austin had been given full custody of Jesse. Then she really would have been lost to us. This way, Austin will still be in her life and in Gina’s, I’m sorry to say.”
“Ryan.”
She blinked. “What?”
“I’m Ryan, not Mr. Paxton.”
“Look,” she said, drawing a weary breath and digging for her car keys, “the only two people who are relevant in this…this agreement that the judge has decreed are Gina and Austin. And nothing you or I can do is going to affect that. I don’t quite understand why you felt comfortable leaving your client with Gina and Maude, but without you they may be able to work something out. Maude is smart and coolheaded and even Austin must respect her.”
“Yeah, and it would be nice if Maude was in there with them. Unfortunately, when they booted me out, they booted her out, too.”
Keys forgotten, Elizabeth stared at him. “What do you mean they booted her out?”
“Just what I said. She—” He stopped abruptly as a sporty BMW stopped at curbside, brakes squealing. The driver was a woman. “Damn it all,” Ryan muttered as she got out of the car and looked over the top of the car at him.
“Where the hell have you been?” she growled, snatching sunglasses from her face. “Why do you have that damn cell phone if you aren’t going to bother answering it?” She was halfway around the front of the car now. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours, Ryan. Damn it! You’re impossible. You’re—you’re—”
“Excuse me a moment,” Ryan said to Elizabeth in a grim tone, adding, “Don’t go away. I still want to talk to you.” He intercepted the furious woman, catching her by the arm just as she stepped up on the sidewalk. But even though he turned to shield their conversation, the woman was oblivious to an audience.
“You’re taking her, Ryan. This time, I’ve simply had it. She can come live with you. I’m tired of fighting it. We’ll see how you cope if she’s with you 24/7.”
“Calm down, for God’s sake, Diane. The whole world can hear you!”
“It’s too damn bad you can’t hear me, Ryan.” She shoved her sunglasses back on her face and turned away, lips trembling. “Oh, hell, I know I’m wasting my time.” She drew in a shaky breath. “I’ve been trying to reach you since early this morning.”
“I’ve been in court. Which is why my cell phone was off. What’s going on?”
“It’s Jennifer, of course.”
Ryan looked at the ground as though taking a moment to count to ten. “What now, Diane?”
“She’s really done it this time, Ryan. She stole a car. Can you believe that?”
“What!”
“It gets worse. She had an accident.”
Ryan’s attitude went instantly from shock to concern. “Is she hurt?” He looked at the car as if expecting to see Jennifer. “Where is she?”
“She’s not hurt. She’s at your house. I dropped her there and told her I was going to find you.” She pressed a hand to her lips. “She’s in serious trouble, Ryan.”
“Are the police involved?”
“I haven’t called anybody yet.” She pushed her hair back and looked directly at him again. “She left the scene. She hit somebody who was biking in Hermann Park. There was no other car involved. And then she—she just drove off, Ryan.” Diane spread her hands in a gesture of pure bafflement.
“Jesus Christ.” He leaned against the car, then turned to see Elizabeth watching. Straightening, he caught Diane’s arm and moved out of earshot. “Go back to my house and wait for me there. I’ll clear up what I’ve got going here and be there within an hour. Don’t talk to anybody else about this. I’ll do that when I get home.”
“I called the hospitals to try to get some information about the—the victim,” Diane said hesitantly. Her face was tight with strain. “No luck. I—I didn’t call the police to see if he was—”
“I’ll handle it.” Ryan reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “Try not to worry, Di.” His jaw went rigid. “And tell Jennifer—” He stopped, waited a moment or two as if reconsidering. “Tell her to sit tight and we’ll talk when I get there.”
Diane’s face was bleak as she met his eyes. “I can’t believe she did this, Ryan.”
“Yeah, she’s out of control. We’ve both seen it coming.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“You’re going to have to take her. She needs a stronger hand, Ryan.” She pushed a hand through her hair wearily. “I’m just at the end of my rope.”
“It’s okay,” he said, nodding. “We’ll work something out. Go back now and stay with her. She shouldn’t be left alone too long under the circumstances.”
She