Leopard's Baby

Olivia, Tammy, and Tammy’s lawyer, Justin Dombrosky, arrived at the courthouse. Dombrosky, early forties, was medium height, balding, wore what hair he had in a buzz cut, and had the build of a runner, which he was.

Tammy had brooded at home, growing more and more despondent, until her mother came home. After learning the details of the sequence of events leading up to Brendan being taken, Olivia urged her daughter to go somewhere and let off some steam. Tammy drove to a national forest about an hour from their home, parked, hiked about twenty miles into the forest, stripped, stuffed her clothes into a backpack, and changed. The leopard carried the backpack high into a tree, wedged it between a thick branch and the trunk, and descended to the ground. For the next ten days the leopard roamed the forest. There was ample prey population for her to feed.

Leopards are primarily nocturnal, and she usually, but not always, stayed hidden during the day. In spite of that, she was spotted a few times. Rumors abounded about a mysterious black cougar in the park. Park rangers warned people to stay away because cougars, usually very secretive and elusive, could be dangerous, especially if cornered. Nevertheless the park was flooded with people anxious to see if the rumor was true. One person was able to snap a photo, but it was too fuzzy to tell exactly what it was a picture of. A zoologist examined the photo and said it looked more like a Jaguar than a cougar, especially since it was black. A Jaguar could be melanistic, i.e. have a black coat. A black mountain lion–another name for a cougar–has never been seen. Nobody suspected a leopard, which is not native to the western hemisphere. Twice the leopard was shot at. Once she was hit, but the bullet was not silver so it didn’t penetrate. Once a person, wearing dark clothes, was shot by another, who thought he was shooting at the cougar or jaguar or whatever it was. Fortunately the victim survived and was able to fully recover.

At the end of the tenth day, after sundown, the leopard returned to the tree where Tammy’s clothes were stored and retrieved the backpack. The leopard changed. It was the longest period of time Tammy had remained exclusively in leopard form.

Aware that the leopard was being hunted, possibly by trigger-happy individuals, Tammy stayed hidden until daylight. She made her way back to her car and returned home. Being a leopard for ten days had been cathartic, but it wasn’t long before her melancholy returned. The situation remained unchanged except that Olivia was denied access to see her grandson. A few days later it was time for the hearing.

The bailiff called the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court to order, Judge Carlton Newhouse presiding. Newhouse strode to the bench. He was in his early fifties, short, and slender. The word was he wanted to be appointed to the federal bench, something Senator Roberts could make happen.

After some preliminaries were taken care of, Covington was invited to present his case on behalf of Senator and Mrs. Roberts. Covington said that since both parties contesting the custody of the baby were named Roberts, for clarity sake he would like to refer to them by first name. Dombrosky agreed and Newhouse granted Covington’s request.

Covington took three sheaves of papers from his briefcase. Each was about thirty pages. He handed one of them to Newhouse, a second to Dombrosky, and kept the third for himself. Dombrosky read the title, glanced at Tammy, and immediately began to leaf through the document.

“Your honor, this is a copy of a prenuptial agreement signed by Tamara Sandar, the mother of the child in question,” Covington said. “Sandar is her maiden name.”

“Objection, your honor,” Dombrosky said as he rose to his feet. “This is the first time I’ve seen this. I’ve had no time look it over.”

“It’s straightforward, your honor,” Covington said. “I thought Tamara had a copy and would’ve shown it to her attorney.”

“I’ll grant a thirty minute recess for Mr. Dombrosky to examine the agreement,” Newhouse said and banged his gavel.

Tammy looked over Dombrosky’s shoulder as he went over the document. When the judge returned to the bench Tammy shot to her feet and yelled, “I never signed this piece of garbage! They wanted me to but I wouldn’t do it! This is a forgery!”

“Mr. Dombrosky control your client,” Newhouse ordered. “She will have ample opportunity to question the authenticity of the document. Further outbursts will be dealt with harshly.”

“I apologize to the court, your honor,” Dombrosky said as he rose to his feet. He grasped both Tammy’s upper arms and attempted to push her back to her chair. She resisted at first, but then sat. In a low tone he said to her, “Keep cool. Jumping up like that doesn’t help. It just pisses off the judge. Why didn’t you tell me about this before? It’s always bad if your attorney is taken by surprise.”

“They tried to get me to sign it before the marriage, but I wouldn’t,” Tammy said vehemently. “I ripped it up. I don’t have a copy. I should’ve figured the bitch would try something like this.”

“Mr. Dombrosky see that your conversations with your client do not disturb the court,” Newhouse said. “Continue Mr. Covington.”

“As you can see the document is quite extensive,” Covington said, making no attempt to hide his gratification at the judge’s admonition to his adversary. “There are three elements I want to emphasize right now. On page fifteen it says any issue would be brought up in the Anglican Church. Tamara broke that part of the agreement by having the baby circumcised in a ritual Jewish ceremony. On page twenty-eight it says that should the marriage between the late Brendan Roberts and Tamara Sandar end, Tamara would be entitled to a stipend of $100,000 per annum until she remarried. Since Tamara did not follow through on the religious aspect, Curtis and Jennifer did not feel obligated to give her the money.”

“I told them I didn’t want any of their money,” Tammy said loud enough to be heard by the judge. He glared at her and indicated that Covington should continue.

“On page twenty-two the document stipulates that should the marriage end, for any reason, Curtis and Jennifer would be sole guardians of any issue,” Covington said, waving the page above his head. “This is the key point. We will show Tamara would be an unfit mother in any case, but this item alone should be enough to end this case immediately.”

“The court will decide that, Mr. Covington,” Newhouse said. “Call your first witness.”

“For my first witness, I call as an expert witness, Stanley Moore.”

Moore, a man in his late sixties, was a former FBI forensics agent who was recognized as an expert with regard to fingerprints and handwriting. He now ran his own consulting company. Covington gave Moore’s academic credentials, listed several papers he had authored or co-authored, and read off a long list of accolades he’d received attesting to his expertise. Dombrosky chose not to challenge him. Moore stated that Tammy’s fingerprints were found in numerous locations throughout the original thirty page document, and that the signature at the end was Tammy’s.

Before beginning the cross-examination Dombrosky asked Tammy how her fingerprints could be on the document if she never signed it.

“I don’t know,” Tammy said. “I signed a one-page document relinquishing any monetary claim on the Roberts’s estate. Maybe someone lifted my prints off that and placed them on this one. Maybe they hired an expert forger for my signature. All I can say is I did not sign that fucking prenup.”

Dombrosky got to his feet. He approached Moore and said, “Tamara’s fingerprints and signature can be found in numerous places. In your expert opinion is it possible to lift prints off one item and place them on another?”

“Yes,” Moore replied. “In theory.”

“And we all know forging signatures is something frequently carried out,” Dombrosky said.

Moore admitted that it was.

On redirect, Covington asked Moore how likely the fingerprint and signature situation was.

“Very unlikely,” Moore stated. “A person with enough talent might forge the signature, but fingerprints are a different story. I’d say there’s no more than a one in a thousand chance it could be done in such a way it would fool someone with my experience. Probably a lot less. I’ve seen it attempted. Never successfully.”

“This is total bullshit!” Tammy yelled, half rising from her seat. “I never signed that document and they know it. They’re rich enough to hire someone to do anything they want.”

Newhouse banged his gavel and said, “Tamara, this is your last warning. One more such outburst and I’ll hold you in contempt. Your next witness, Mr. Covington.”

Before calling his next witness Covington asked permission to enter three videos into evidence. The first video was of Olivia stopping the man who tried to attack Congresswoman Desiree Martinez in the department store. Covington made a point of how she was able to bodily pick up the man and throw him down even though he was considerably larger than she. The second video showed Tammy, in her sixth month of pregnancy, with some help from Olivia, thwarting a bank robbery. The third showed Tammy trying to enter the Roberts home on the day Brendan was taken by the sheriff. Covington called Jennifer to the witness stand.

“Your grandson has been in your custody for the past two weeks,” Covington stated. “Is that correct?”

“Yes. He’s a delight.”

“Where is he right now?”

“He’s at my home. We have full-time nurses with him twenty-four hours a day. That’s their sole job. He’s well taken care of.”

“What condition was he in when you got him?”

“Excellent.”

“So Tamara took good care of him?”

“I’m sure she did. There are six females in her household, seven if you count her eleven-year-old sister. If she found it necessary there were a lot of people who could help her.”

“Do you think she cares about her son?”

“I have no doubt she’s cares deeply for him.”

What’s going on? Tammy thought. She’s praising me to the hilt. I thought they were going to try and prove I’m an unfit mother. Tammy leaned over and whispered the question to Dombrosky.

“They’re anticipating our testimony,” Dombrosky said softy in her ear. “They know they won’t be able to claim neglect or any such thing.”

In the meantime Covington asked, “What condition is he in now.”

“He’s a fine, healthy, happy baby. It was a little rough for the first couple of days. He didn’t understand where his mother had gone. And we all know mother’s milk is better for a newborn, but now he’s thriving on formula, as have millions of other babies.”

Tammy emitted a growl heard throughout the courtroom. Newhouse glared at her, raised his gavel, but then put it down and gestured for Covington to continue.

“While the baby was under the care of Tamara, were you allowed to see him?”

“Supervised access only,” Jennifer said. Her nostrils flared and she clenched her jaw, obviously in anger. “It was humiliating. I’m not just some riffraff off the street. I’m a senator’s wife. People kept asking me about him. I wanted to show him off to my friends. Tamara wouldn’t allow it.”

“Are you asking for custody out of vindictiveness?”

“Absolutely not. The bottom line is what’s best for the child. I could endure being treated shabbily if I thought Brendan would be better off with her than with me, but that’s not the case.”

“Have you allowed Tamara or any member of her family access since you were awarded temporary custody?”

“She hasn’t!” Tammy yelled once more getting to her feet and ignoring Dombrosky tugging on her arm. “You just admitted he’d be better off with mother’s milk. I could’ve come in and fed him! You wouldn’t allow me to do so. You wouldn’t let my mother in either. She’s his grandmother just like you are.”

“I warned you before, Tamara,” Newhouse said as he banged his gavel. “I find you in contempt of court. Your specific penalty will be determined at the end of this hearing. Please continue Mr. Covington.”

Tammy’s anger intensified. She felt the tingling which sometimes precipitated a change in form. Though still seething she retook her seat and tried to calm herself.

Covington repeated his question. “I didn’t allow them access because I thought it would be confusing for the child,” Jennifer said. “He was getting use to a new environment.”

Covington rubbed his palms together and grinned wickedly. “Other than the fact that Tamara agreed to give up custody in the prenuptial agreement, why do you think the child is better off with you?”

“In a nutshell, she’s dangerous and would put him in danger,” Jennifer said heatedly. She slid forward on her chair and thrust her head forward. “You saw those videos. The reaction of both Tamara and her mother to any provocation is violence. She threw one of the men I had guarding my home several feet. Fortunately he wasn’t seriously hurt, but he could have been. In her rage she might have injured several of my security men. She threatened my family, and you also, Mr. Covington. It was very generous of you not to press charges. She’s very proficient at inflicting bodily injury. My son told me how she beat up three thugs who tried to mug them. My daughter told me she actually killed the men who kidnapped them last summer. For a brief time she was a CIA agent. Her mother was a Secret Service agent. Their physical prowess was undoubtedly an asset for that type of vocation, but for raising a child it’s a detriment. During the memorial service for my son–her husband–she admitted she was the likely target of the terrorist who killed him. It scares me silly to think some other terrorist, or perhaps some person she’s harmed by her reckless tendencies, would attack her and my grandson would be ‘collateral damage.’ I believe that’s the term used when a bystander is killed or injured in a violent confrontation.”

“Would you allow Tamara to have supervised access to her son?” Covington asked. “After all, she allowed you supervised access.”

“I won’t rule it out completely,” Jennifer replied after a pause. “The prenuptial agreement leaves it solely to my discretion. There’s a difference between us. I’m not violent. She is. You saw her outbursts in court just today. I’d be afraid she’d grab the child and run. Her mother might do the same. I don’t know if my security people could stop either of them without injuring the baby. If she or her mother got away with him and they were living on the run, who knows what kind of life he’d have. I’d have to be very sure she could control her tendencies before I’d grant access.”

Dombrosky had no questions for Jennifer. The judge called for the proceedings to be recessed until the following day.

“They’ve cut us off at the knees,” Dombrosky said as he, Tammy, and Olivia left the courtroom. “They’ve already stipulated you took good care of the baby, which is a significant part of our case. We’ll still reaffirm it, but our primary hope is the general reluctance of family courts to take a child away from his natural mother unless it can be shown the child was mistreated. Getting around that prenup is going to be tough. Really tough. Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

Tammy’s rage boiled over. She spun Dombrosky around so he was facing her. She pushed him against the wall, put her face inches from his, and said through clenched teeth, “I already told you. I. Did. Not. Sign. The fucking agreement! You don’t believe me. What fucking good are you? I’d expect my own lawyer to be on my side.”

Olivia stepped between Dombrosky and Tammy, grasped Tammy by the arms, moved her away from the lawyer, and said, “Tammy, calm down. He is on our side and he’s not the cause of our problems.” To Dombrosky she said, “My daughter didn’t mean to blame you, Justin. The prospect of losing a child causes anguish in any mother. You were just a convenient target.”

“I understand,” Dombrosky said, though he kept a wary eye on Tammy. “You’ll be on the stand tomorrow morning. This evening I have to work on my summation.”

***

“I told you my man could take care of the authentication problem,” Covington gloated. He and Jennifer were being driven back to the Roberts house in her chauffeured limousine. “Even that pompous blowhard Moore was fooled.”

“Yes, you did a great job, Merritt,” Jennifer said as she leaned over and put her hand on his arm. “It’s worth every penny we paid. And, of course, you’ll be richly rewarded as well.”

“We’ll cinch things tomorrow when I recall you to the stand. You’ll be ready?”

“I’ll know what to say. I’ll do anything to keep my grandson.”

“Don’t get too complacent,” Covington warned. “It’s a sure thing you’ll be awarded custody, based, if nothing else, on the prenup. It didn’t hurt at all that the bitch kept throwing fits. Once the hearing ends, however, they could still try to get the baby.”

“I’m aware of that,” Jennifer said. She leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes, and smiled. “I’m almost looking forward to it. Armed guards will be on the alert all the time. If she gets killed making a kidnapping attempt, my problems would be over.”