Chapter 8: The Morning He Didn't Expect
Gerald Fitch's office was on the fourth floor of a building that smelled of old carpet and good coffee.
He was already at his desk when they arrived, jacket off, reading glasses on, a yellow legal pad in front of him.
He examined the documents for forty minutes without speaking.
Arthur and Claire sat across from him and waited.
Finally Gerald set down the last page and took off his glasses.
"The notarized letter alone is significant," he said.
"Combined with the bank records and whatever is on that drive, this is not a family court matter anymore.
This is a federal matter." He tapped the folder.
"I'm going to need to bring in a colleague — a former federal prosecutor.
She handles financial crjme.
I've worked with her before.
She's good and she's discreet."
"How quickly can you move on the custody order?" Arthur asked.
"I filed the emergency injunction forty minutes ago," Gerald said.
"I called in a favor.
The judge who signed Mercer's order is going to have some questions to answer — the timeline on that filing is irregular enough that I believe it was pushed through with outside pressure.
That's a separate problem for someone else, but it helps our position." He looked at Arthur over his glasses.
"The injunction freezes the custody order pending a full hearing.
Mercer cannot remove those children from the hospital or from your care until the hearing is resolved."
Arthur let out a slow breath.
"Sarah agreed to the surgery," he said.
"She's scheduled for this morning."
Gerald nodded.
"Good.
That's the right decision." He paused.
"Arthur — Mercer sent someone to that storage facility tonight.
That's not the behavior of a man who believes he has the legal upper hand.
That's the behavior of a man who is afraid of what's in those folders."
"He should be," Claire said quietly.
Gerald almost smiled.
"Yes.
He should be." He closed the folder.
"Go back to the hospital.
Be there when she comes out of surgery.
I'll handle the rest from here."
They got back to the hospital at twenty minutes past five in the morning.
Leo was awake in the family waiting room, sitting upright in a chair with Maisie asleep against his shoulder.
He looked up when Arthur came through the door.
"They took her in an hour ago," Leo said.
Arthur sat down beside him.
"She's in good hands."
Leo nodded.
He looked straight ahead for a moment.
"Is the man going to be able to take us?"
"No," Arthur said.
"He's not."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure."
Leo looked at him sideways.
"How?"
"Because your mother was smarter than he knew," Arthur said.
"She kept everything.
And now the right people have it."
Leo was quiet for a moment.
Then he said: "She always said that someday it would matter.
All those copies she made.
She said — just in case." He looked down at his sister's sleeping face.
"I didn't know what she meant until tonight."
Arthur put his hand on the boy's shoulder.
They sat together in the quiet waiting room while the sun came up outside the window, and Maisie slept, and somewhere down the corridor, Sarah Harrison's heart was being repaired.
At half past eight, Dr.
Reeves came through the double doors.
She was still in her surgical clothes.
She looked tired in the way that people look tired when something has gone well and the tension is only just releasing.
"She's out," Dr.
Reeves said.
"It went well.
She'll be in recovery for a few hours, but the procedure was successful."
Leo made a sound that was not quite a word.
Maisie woke up, looked around, and said: "Is Mommy okay?"
"Yes," Arthur said.
"Mommy is okay."
Maisie considered this, then leaned back against Leo and closed her eyes again.
Arthur stood up and shook Dr.
Reeves's hand.
He could not find the right words, so he simply said: "Thank you."
"She's strong," Dr.
Reeves said.
"She held on longer than most people would have."
Arthur looked at the double doors.
"Yes," he said.
"She has."
At ten past nine, Arthur's phone rang.
It was Gerald.
"The injunction was upheld," Gerald said.
"And my colleague made some calls this morning.
The financial records on that drive — Arthur, it's significant.
She's already been in contact with the relevant federal office.
This is moving faster than I expected."
"And Mercer?"
A pause.
"His attorney called me forty minutes ago.
He wants to negotiate."
Arthur looked at Leo, who was watching him carefully.
"Tell him," Arthur said, "that the time for negotiation was last night.
We're past that now."
He ended the call.
Leo raised an eyebrow.
"What did they say?"
"They want to make a deal," Arthur said.
"Are you going to?"
Arthur picked up his coat from the chair.
"No."
Leo almost smiled.
May you like
It was the first time Arthur had seen anything close to it.
"Good," the boy said.
