'He won't give DNA,' I said.
Cary's brows shot up. 'Are you sure about that?'
'Absolutely,' I said, breaking into a grin. 'Is that good?'
Cary leaned back in his chair and laughed. 'That's better than good. It's wonderful, Paige. If Sandford's client refuses to submit DNA, he has no case. I'll see to it.'
'Thank you.'
'Don't thank me yet,' he said. 'You haven't seen my bill.'
He laughed loudly, as if unaware this was a very old joke, but I was in the mood to be generous, so I laughed along. We spent the next thirty minutes discussing the case. Then we wrapped it up and prepared for the meeting with Leah and Sandford. I hadn't told them Cary was representing me. They thought they were coming for a private conference with me.
I do love surprises.
I was sitting in the meeting room, alone, when Lacey ushered in Sandford and Leah on the dot of eleven o'clock. Cary had agreed to wait a few minutes before joining us.
Leah fairly bounced in, like a kid on Christmas morning. Sandford followed, trying-but not very hard-to conceal a self-satisfied smirk.
'Do you have the papers?' I asked, injecting a quaver into my voice.
'Of course.' Sandford slid them across the table to me.
For a few minutes, I stared down at the pages that Would relinquish my custody rights to Savannah. I inhaled deeply.
'I know this is tough,' Leah said, her voice stuffed with gloating sarcasm. 'But it's for the best, Paige. It really is.'
Another couple minutes of staring at the pages, replete with tortured sighs. Then I said, 'I can't do this.'
'Yes, you can,' Sandford said.
'No, really, I can't.' I shoved the papers back to him, with a grin to mirror his. 'I'm not giving her up.'
'What?' Leah said.
'Oh, it was a clever plan, I'll give you that. Threaten me with exposure and make sure the Elders hear about it. If I don't cave, they'll force me. Well, you underestimated the Coven. With their support, I'm fighting this petition.'
The look on their faces was a memory to cherish forever.
'And what does Margaret Levine say about this?' Leah asked.
'You want to know?' I asked. I lifted the phone. 'Call her. I'm sure you have the number. Call all the Elders. Ask them if they support me.'
'This is bullshit.' Leah aimed a glare at Sandford, as if it was his fault.
'No,' I said. 'It's not bullshit. I assure you, I understand that this is a serious legal matter and, as such, I'm treating it very seriously. To that end, I've hired legal representation.'
I walked to the door and waved in Cary, who'd been waiting in the hall.
'I believe you've met Mr. Cary,' I said.
Their jaws dropped. Okay, they didn't actually drop, like in the cartoons, but you get the idea.
'But he's a-' Leah began before stopping herself.
'A damn fine lawyer,' I said. 'And I'm so glad he's agreed to represent me.'
'Thank you, Paige.' Cary's smile held a bit more personal warmth than I liked, but I was too happy to care. 'Now, let's get straight to the heart of the matter. About the DNA test. May I assume your client is willing to submit to one immediately?'
Sandford blanched. 'Our-my client is a… a very busy man. His business interests make it quite impossible to leave Los Angeles at the moment.'
'Otherwise he'd be here now,' I said. 'Hmmm, doesn't that seem odd? He's so interested in gaining custody of his daughter, but can't find a few days to fly out and meet her.'
'He could provide the sample in California,' Cary said. 'Our firm may be small, but we have contacts in San Francisco. I'm sure they'd be happy to oversee the testing.'
'My client does not wish to submit to DNA testing.'
'No DNA, no case,' Cary said.
Sandford glared at me.
'Checkmate,' I said. And grinned.
When Sandford and Leah left, Cary turned to me and smiled.
'That went well, don't you think?'
I grinned. 'Better than well. It was perfect. Thank you so much.'
'With any luck, it's all over. I can't imagine them pursuing the case without DNA.' He checked his watch. 'Do you have time for coffee? We can discuss the final details before my next appointment.'
'Details? But if it's over…?'
'We hope it is, but we need to cover every contingency, Paige. I'll let Lacey know we're leaving.'
Chapter 6
CARY AND I WALKED TO MELINDA'S BAKERY ON STATE STREET. Even by my jaded big-city standards, Melinda's was a first-rate bakery. The coffee alone almost made living in East Falls bearable. And the scones? If I ever persuaded the Elders to let us move, I'd be making weekly runs to East Falls for Melinda's raisin scones.
I would have preferred a window table, but Cary selected one near the back. Admittedly, even the main street of East Falls has little to offer in the way of people-watching and, since we were discussing confidential legal matters, I understood why Cary picked a more private seating arrangement.
When we sat down, he pointed at my scone. 'I'm glad to see you're not one of those girls who's always on a diet. I like women who aren't afraid to look like women.'
'Uh-huh.'
'The girls these days, dieting until they're so thin you can't tell if they're a boy or a girl. You're different. You always look so-' His gaze dropped to my chest. '-put together. It's so nice to see a young woman who still wears skirts and dresses.'
'So you think they'll drop the case?'
Cary added three creamers to his coffee and stirred it before answering.
'Reasonably certain,' he said. 'There are a few more things I need to do.'
'Like what?'
'Paperwork. Even in the simplest case, there's always paperwork.' He sipped his coffee. 'Now, I suppose you want to hear how much this is going to cost you.'
I smiled. 'Well, I can't say I want to hear it, but I should. Do you have an estimate?'
He pulled out his legal pad, ripped off the top sheet and started tallying figures on a clean page. As the list grew, my eyes widened. When he wrote a total at the bottom, I choked on a mouthful of coffee.
'Is that-Please tell me there's a decimal missing,' I said.
'Legal expertise doesn't come cheap, Paige.'
'I know that. I have legal work done for my business all the time, but my bills don't look like that.' I pulled the legal pad toward me and flipped it around. 'What's this? Nine billable hours accrued? We only met today, from ten until-' I checked my watch.'-eleven-forty.'
'I did need to review your case last night, Paige.'
'You reviewed it this morning. In front of me. Remember?'
'Yes, but last night I was researching similar cases.'
