“Delma Hawkins, the judge. You don’t remember asking me to investigate her?”
“Oh, yes. I’ve had so much on my mind.” She showed him to the leather couch.
“Getting info on a judge is like running up a hill backwards. But I found some very interesting puzzle pieces that don’t add up,” Eddie Ray said, reminding Trevelle again of why he was there.
Trevelle took the contents and splayed them on her desk. She read the first line, “Judge Delma Hawkins,” in bold black type at the top of the file. Trevelle combed over each uninteresting detail; born in Odessa, Texas. Graduated from Midlane High school in 1972. College at the University of Maryland. Law school at Columbus University. Clerk for the juvenile division of the Atlanta district attorney’s office.
Trevelle’s eyes ran over the mundane details until she landed on adoption papers filed in Atlanta on June 20, 1978, for Keisha Marie Hawkins. There was a second set of papers underneath. A birth certificate along with biological parents’ consent to adoption. Trevelle read the names carefully: Eugena Thompson and Kevin Smith.
She flipped the papers on both sides to blank sheets. “What’s so interesting about this? I need to know where they are, Eugena Thompson, Kevin Smith. No contact information, nothing?”
Eddie Ray leaned in and picked up the birth certificate. “First of all, this is phony. There was no birth on record at this hospital that matched the date, the names, or any part of it. In fact, Eugena Thompson seems to not exist at all. There’s plenty of Kevin Smiths but like I said it doesn’t matter because the birth certificate isn’t real.”
Trevelle paced with a knitted brow. “How can it be fake? Keisha exists. She was born somewhere.”
“She was born somewhere, but not in this hospital to these two people. The judge claimed her minor niece was the mother of the child and had signed over her parental rights. Notarized and everything, real official looking, but like I said, no Eugena Thompson was in that hospital, let alone giving birth to a little girl.”
“So you’re trying to tell me Judge Delma Hawkins either bought a child or stole one. If the birth certificate isn’t legal, neither is the adoption.”
Eddie Ray hunched his shoulders. “What is it you’re after? Maybe I can corner a better angle.”
“I ….” Being at a loss for words was hardly Trevelle’s MO. “I …. guess I was trying to find the girl’s biological parents so she’d feel some closure.”
“You said the young woman herself is a lawyer, I imagine she’s already delved into the proper channels, done a proper search. She probably knows exactly what I’ve just told you. Those two people don’t exist. I could definitely see how that would leave one feeling a bit empty inside, knowing her adoptive mother lied to her,” he said.
“Right. Exactly. She probably knows her mother has lied but doesn’t want to confront her for fear of ruining their relationship.” Trevelle tapped a finger on her cheek. “Doesn’t mean someone else can’t bring up the truth …. for her. Possibly impress upon the judge to confess, tell the child the truth for closure’s sake.”
“Don’t look at me.” Eddie Ray was on his feet, adjusting his snug sports coat. “I don’t deal with judges or anybody else who can have my ass back in a cell. I can’t be involved.”
Trevelle took in a deep long breath. “If a woman wants something done right, she knows she has to do it herself. All I need is one of those secret mics with a miniature tape recorder, something like that.”
Eddie Ray smirked. “You know taping someone without their knowledge is unlawful. We’re talking about a judge here. You’re too pretty to be in jail.” He stepped closer to Trevelle.
She put up her hand. “Don’t try to disrespect me or my husband under this roof.” They’d had a physical history, one she didn’t like to recall. He certainly was far from the desirable hunk of man he was a decade ago. “Just get me the equipment.” She strode around to the other side of her desk and pulled out her checkbook. She snatched off the payment. “The best equipment. I don’t want a single word lost in translation.”
“So in the midst of all this, you’re trying to help someone else. I’m impressed.” Eddie approved of the amount written on the check. “All for the good.”
Trevelle hadn’t bothered walking him out. He knew the way. Trevelle folded the life of Delma Hawkins closed. Eddie Ray was right, for the good. Finding the truth about Keisha’s biological parents would be a wonderful deed.
But there was something else she wanted more. It was time to see what this information was worth to Judge Delma Hawkins.
43
Venus
Mya and I had spent the morning at the park. The past few days, I’d found myself heading there even when I had every intention of going somewhere else, like the grocery store or the bank. Regardless of my destination, all roads led to the very spot where I’d first met Alverene and Ralph. Mya certainly didn’t mind. She came to expect a park visit. Most of the time they weren’t there. But this time they were. I held Ralph and fed him a bottle of juice while Alverene knitted and Mya played with the other kids.
I was getting attached. It was the perfect distraction from the mess I’d made with Airic. He was due back for another “visit” and the thought made me sick to my stomach.
I wasn’t expecting Jake to be home when I got there, let alone having a sit-down with Georgina in the center of the living room. Mya ran straight into Jake’s arms. He hugged and kissed her grinning face. “Hey, baby, what’d you do today?” He brushed a pat of sand off her butt. “Someone’s been at the park, huh?”
“How ya doing, Georgina?” I leaned toward her to give a hand shake. She surprised me reaching up putting her long slender arms around my shoulders for a sincere hug.
“You’re glowing. Either you’re happier than I’ve ever seen or you’ve been out getting some sun,” she said in a measured tone.
“Yeah, I got some sun,” I said. No denying it. My skin felt warm and tingly. My usual caramel-toned skin was three shades darker. But what she sensed was the joy that came of Ralph’s hands wrapped around my fingers. The weight of his thick feet pushing against my thighs. The sight of him, the touch and smell of baby scent lingering on my clothes and sealed in my nostrils. He’d grown so big over the last month. Holding him was as close to heaven as I thought I was ever going to get.
Jake busied himself taking off Mya’s shoes and socks. “Did you use sunscreen?” he asked abruptly. He brought my attention to the line distinctly marking where her skin was a deep bronze from the ankle up.
“Ah, no. We hadn’t really planned the park visit. But that’s what I wanted to tell you—”
“You have to use sunscreen. Dark skin is just as susceptible to sun damage as white skin, you know that.”
“She’s fine. Listen, I have to talk to you.”
“You’ve got to pay more attention to doing things right,” he said.
Georgina did her best to act unfazed. She kept her expression solemn. I on the other hand was no longer on my high. In fact I was headed for a crash landing. “Jake,” I said, without caring that Georgina was sitting in the room, “what do you think of adoption? A baby boy. He’s seven months old.”
“What?” he asked incredulously as if he hadn’t heard everything I’d just said.
Georgina’s mouth was open in shock. She glanced in Jake’s direction then back to me.
“I know … crazy, huh? The same age JJ would’ve been.” I licked my lips from the dry reception I’d just received. “I think it’d be great. We’ve got this huge big house and a hole in our souls that you could park the Titanic in. Doesn’t it just make sense? He’s such a good baby. Right now he’s in foster care.”
“I think I’ll go and let you two talk.”
“No, listen. Stay, Georgina. You being here is perfect. She should hear this, too.” I still had enough gumption to attempt a smile. “He’s seven months old. His name is Ralph.” I smiled bigger. The name still evoked visions of Ralph Cramden
in my head, Bang, zoom, to the moon, Alice, which couldn’t be further from his angelic face and big brown searching eyes. “You should see him, he’s so sweet. He has asthma, too.” As if that were a selling point. “I know you’re going to fall in love with him.”
Then to Georgina, “You could handle the adoption. We’ve already given you all our money anyway. What’s another legal item on the tally sheet going to cost us?”
Jake frowned, shaking his head. “All right, enough.”
“Let me say something,” Georgina interjected, “and then I’m going to leave so you two can discuss this privately. Adoption is difficult enough. There are a lot of rules and red tape that make it extremely complicated, which is why so many people go out of the country to adopt. I’m not saying you couldn’t qualify, but I want you to know it’s a tough system … especially when it comes to the investigative clearance. We still haven’t dealt with the reckless endangerment charge and the—”
I held up my hand. “I get it.”
Jake almost seemed relieved. He took in a short burst of air. “Well, all righty then.” He stood up to walk Georgina out.
Georgina touched my bare shoulder as she readied to leave. “We’ll figure something out. Let’s get through this first.” What she meant was, Let’s concentrate on keeping the child we already have. Forget about replacing the one who was gone.
If it were possible I would forget in an instant, erase the memory just so it wouldn’t hurt anymore. If it were that easy, I would. But it just wasn’t the case.
44
Line Two
“How was the party?” Hudson asked without making eye contact. She hadn’t mentioned anything about her pending doom, cryptic calls, or anonymous notes. She was all business and planned to keep it that way.
“It was very nice.”
He folded his arms over his chest like a jilted lover. “Just nice?”
“I said ‘very nice,’ get it right.” She looked up from her desk. “Hudson, try to put your professional hat on and stop all this nonsense. We’ve got work to do.”
“Right. Here you go, all set for your signature.” Hudson plopped the stack at the foot of her desk.
“Thank you.”
“Let me know if you need anything,” he said barely audibly before slipping out the door.
She cautiously peeked at the stack to make sure no blank envelopes fell out. No threatening packaging whatsoever. Just her usual. She did notice the file directly on top. She picked it up to see exactly what she knew was coming. An addendum to the complaint by Airic Fisher regarding Venus Johnston. The reckless endangerment charge was added to the tally sheet of criminal offenses. Minor as her misdemeanor charges were, it was a matter of record. She couldn’t very well side with the young woman with her new post on the line. In a way Delma was grateful to her for making the decision easy. Up to that point she’d wrestled with ambivalence.
Welcome to your chance at motherhood, Trevelle Doval.
Her phone beeped. Delma picked up the receiver. “Yes.”
“Judge Hawkins, you have a call on line one.”
“Oh Hudson, stop. Please.”
“Why, whatever are you referring to, your judgeship?”
Exasperated, she asked, “Who’s on the line?”
“Ms. Trevelle Doval, should I put her through?”
Delma wasn’t prepared for this. She swallowed hard. “No. Absolutely not. I’ve already held the personal contact meeting with her husband. I’m not about to talk to her. I can’t.”
“Judge Hawkins, I have already informed her of this detail. She says it’s regarding your daughter, Keisha.”
“Excuse me? She wants to talk about Keisha?” Delma spun in her chair.
Hudson didn’t respond. He stayed on the line in silence, waiting for instruction from his honorable lady.
Delma had already put the phone down, marched out of her chambers and up the hall to where Hudson sat in his cubicle leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. Delma reached over and snatched the phone out of his hand, startling him. She put the receiver close to her bosom, eliminating the possibility of sound travel. “You got about three seconds to take control of this situation or your ass is going to be looking for a job.”
“Ms. Doval, you were not ordered to meet with Judge Hawkins in this case and any further contact could jeopardize your husband’s custody matter and the outcome.” Hudson cut his eyes toward Delma. “Yes, I see. I’ll let her know. Thank you and have a nice day.” He hung up and had the sincere look of fear in his eyes. “She says she has some very interesting documents concerning an adoption in 1978. She says this issue will not reflect well on a judge’s reputation if these papers were to get out.”
“It’s been her all along.” Delma put her hands to her face, somewhat relieved, but still worried. “She’s been responsible for the calls, the note. So she knows about Keisha.”
“Shh,” Hudson corrected. “Coffee?” His eyes darted quickly to the door. “Let’s go.”
“We can’t go anywhere. We’ve got a case in ten minutes,” she whispered for no reason.
He pulled out his legal pad and started writing. Sounds like she did some serious digging and found Keisha’s adoption papers, that’s the secret, mystery solved. Hudson pointed a warning finger at Delma, then wrote, She knows nothing about who Keisha really is. You are not to meet with her. She doesn’t know anything and you’re not going to tell her. That’s where it ends.
Delma took the pen. I have to meet with her. I’m telling you, it’s been her all along. She shook her head. She scribbled fast, I don’t have a choice. If I don’t my whole life could end, I could go to jail for forging documents, Hudson. Court documents.
“All right, but I’m going to be right there by your side,” he said, taking her hand. “You’re not going without me.”
45
Trevelle
Trevelle liked the idea of cleaning house, taking care of business with one wide sweep of her elegant hand. She sipped on the hot tea and surveyed the small bistro for anyone who could witness or identify the two women. Besides herself and the sweet doe-eyed hostess, only one other customer, an older gentleman wearing a hat and hearing aid with all his attention focused on his newspaper, were present.
The café was conveniently a block away from the courthouse. No excuse for Judge Hawkins. Trevelle had flown in early and rented a car. She’d already been sitting for nearly two hours, OD’ing on green tea and packages of artificial sweetener. She wanted to get the meeting over with. Besides blackmailing a local judge she had other pressing business to attend to. Namely the whereabouts of her husband, who claimed to be at a fund-raiser on behalf of the Doval ministries. She had ways of checking. Especially since an overnight stay was part of his trip.
Two minutes and counting. Trevelle nervously twisted the heavy gold links of her diamond watch. She went over her plan to take her mind off the seconds ticking by. She repeated the threat in her head: Fraud and forgery by a member of the justice would lead to a heavy price, loss of your judgeship, loss of your reputation, and far more grave, a possibility of prison time.
The door of the bistro swung open. The woman looked like she’d been caught in a windstorm. She approached reeking of madness and elevated anger. It was game time.
Trevelle stood. “So glad you could make it.”
“Wouldn’t have missed this day for all the money in the world,” the judge retorted with surprising confidence. She slung her overstuffed bag across the back of the chair and plopped herself down. “Well now, how you enjoying our fair city? Little humid, but fall makes up for it. Sometimes you have to suffer to get to the good stuff, right?”
For a brief moment Trevelle felt confusion, she might even say fear if not for the fact that she’d banished the emotion from her terminology. Fear no man or woman, she repeated to herself. “Judge Hawkins, this isn’t a social call. I have two words for you, forged documents.”
“I have two words for you, bitch
please.”
Trevelle sat down, not so easily thwarted. “Your vulgarity is expected. Anyone who would lie to their own child about something as important as this, is capable of anything.” The copies of adoption papers and birth certificates appeared on the table. Trevelle pushed them toward her nemesis.
“I don’t know how you got your hands on sealed records, and I’m not really interested in what you’re selling. I came here with my own message. Stay away from my daughter. She doesn’t need to hear a single word from the likes of you about where she came from, or didn’t come from.” The judge leaned closer, so there’d be no misunderstanding, “People in glass houses should never throw stones and accusations, you hear what I’m saying? I know who you are, and where you come from.”
“Of course you know, the world knows and I made sure of that. But the only one who matters is my God, cherished and all knowing.” Finally, Trevelle felt her strength. There was silence between them, only it didn’t last long.
“You may have been forgiven by God, but he’s not the one presiding over your case, now is he?”
“You or no man can be my judge. God presides over all things.” Trevelle was hardly short of words, but she wanted to get to the point. Her past was not the issue at hand. No indeed, it was Ms. Delma Hawkins who was on trial here. “You forged documents, that much is clear. The question is why? Did you steal Keisha, buy her off the street? All I know is the ruse is up. Keisha deserves to know who her parents are, her real parents. You’ve lied to her long enough.”
“What kind of business is it of yours?” The judge raised her voice. “Let me tell you something, I am that child’s mother. I have been her mother since the day she was born … since the day I found—”
The older gentleman started having a coughing fit, slamming the table with his hand for assistance. The young hostess rushed to his side with a glass of water.
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