Page 99 of To Die For

“Not really, no.”

“No, they never mentioned him, or no, you don’t recall what they said?” asked Mehan in a gentle voice.

Odom glanced over at Devine. He nodded his head and looked reassuringly at her.

“My mom liked him. But I don’t think my dad liked my uncle very much, so I guess maybe that’s why he wasn’t, you know, around.”

“Do you know why your father disliked your uncle?”

Odom hesitated and then said in a soft voice, “No, I don’t.”

“Were your uncle’s legal issues ever mentioned by your parents?”

Odom shook her head, prompting the judge to tell her she had to verbalize her answer for the court reporter.

“No, they never talked about that stuff, at least not with me.”

Mehan nodded. “All right, Betsy. Now, since this will impact you most of all, I want to hear from you about this guardianship petition sought by your uncle. Do you want Mr. Glass to be your guardian?”

“I… I don’t think I have any other family.”

“Granted, that is the case, but you still have the right to make your wishes known to the court.” She glanced at Glass. “Like whether you desire Mr. Glass to be your guardian.”

“Where will we live?” asked Odom.

“Since he is no longer subject to prosecution, at least for the time being, I would imagine he can live wherever he chooses. But where doyouwant to live?”

Odom shrugged and bit her lip. “I… don’t know. I’ve just lived with my parents in some… places. I’ve never been, like, on a plane, or out of the country or stuff.”

“Duly noted. So, is it your desire to have Mr. Glass become your guardian and live near here, or somewhere of his choosing?”

Glass whispered urgently into his lawyer’s ear. The man rose and said, “Your Honor, pardon the interruption, but just to be extremely transparent, my client will agree to maintain his home wherever his niece wants. Whether it’s here or somewhere else. It’s up to her and he will strictly abide by her wishes.”

Devine stared at Glass. He did not look confident now. He just watched his niece anxiously and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together in what looked to be a sign of stress.

“All right, thank you, counsel. And this court will hold him to that,” she added firmly. Mehan turned back to Odom. “Given that, Miss Odom, do you or do you not desire Mr. Glass to be your temporary guardian? For your information, if you do, and guardianship is granted to him, it is only valid for sixty days. During that time Mr. Glass is entitled to petition the court for permanent guardianship and any other available legal rights, including adoption.”

Everyone stared up at Odom, while she looked only at her hands.

“Betsy? Miss Odom?” prompted the judge. “I know this is very difficult, and if you’re not prepared to provide an answer now, that is perfectly—”

Odom straightened up, looked at the judge, and announced, “I want Travis Devine to be my guardian.”

CHAPTER

46

DEVINE, WALKER, AND SAXBY WEREout in the hallway of the courthouse.

Saxby said, “Okay, I thought Glass’s head was going to explode in there.”

Devine glanced over at where Odom was sitting on a bench with her headphones on. She had not uttered a word after making her startling statement in court. She had her sketchpad out and was using a pencil to draw something.

Mehan, obviously bewildered by this development, had demanded to know who Travis Devine was, forcing Devine to make an impromptu sworn statement to the court. The flustered judge had then ordered the court adjourned, after stating that the status quo—namely Odom’s being in the custody of the FBI—would remain in place while this was sorted out.

Glass and his lawyer had left the courtroom immediately. Glass had not even looked at Odom, but he had aimed a vicious glare at Devine.

Saxby said, “Nancy Fine is pissed off beyond belief. She was leading the RICO prosecution against Glass.”

---