Chapter 17 - The Hearing
The custody hearing was scheduled for Monday morning. Mom wore a simple navy dress and sat beside her attorney, while Arthur waited in the second row. I was allowed to attend with a court advocate.
Dad arrived with Lang. He wore a gray suit and the same calm expression he used at parent-teacher meetings. When he saw me, he smiled as if nothing had happened.
I looked away.
His attorney argued that Mom had become paranoid after discovering routine business disagreements. He said the kitchen incident was exaggerated and that the old phone call showed she had planned to involve Arthur from the start.
Mom's lawyer presented the medical report, the deputy's footage, and the messages Dad had sent after being released. The judge watched the kitchen video in silence.
Then the judge asked Dad why he had tried to contact Mom at the safe house.
"To reconcile," he said.
"Why use a stolen vehicle to deliver the message?"
Dad blinked. "I don't know anything about a stolen vehicle."
The judge turned to Lang. "Did you advise Mr. Cole to contact his wife while a protective order was active?"
Lang rose. "I did not."
Investigator Brooks handed the clerk a sealed envelope. It contained a call log showing Lang's phone had contacted the driver of the van twice that morning.
Lang's confidence slipped.
The judge denied Dad's custody request and ordered him to stay away from Mom and me. She also referred the evidence of witness intimidation to the prosecutor.
Dad turned toward me as the bailiff escorted him out.
"You'll regret choosing them," he said.
I wanted to shrink into my chair.
Instead, I met his eyes.
"I didn't choose them. I chose to be safe."
For the first time, he had no answer.
Outside the courthouse, Arthur received a message from Investigator Brooks.
May you like
Pike had agreed to cooperate.
He wanted to talk about the warehouse fire—and he wanted immunity.
