Page 81 of Finding Home

Aubrey

“Ralph is the best guy I know. A real stand-up guy.”

This is the testimony of Ralph Beaumont’s third character witness of the morning—another ride-or-die of Ralph’s who made the trip to LA from Prairie Springs for the hearing. The first guy knew Ralph from church; the second guy was his much older brother; and this third guy worked with Ralph on the police force for years.

It’s been easy for me to tell all three witnesses are full of shit. Hopefully, the judge—a no-nonsense Black woman in a black robe—can easily see that, too, since she’s the one who’ll be making the decision today. Thankfully, the judge blocked all cameras and the public from attending this hearing, so only people directly involved are in attendance. Except, of course, that the little girl at the center of this firestorm isn’t here today. Raine is safely tucked away in a small room down the hall, blissfully coloring or watching a cartoon with my mother and a social worker.

For the past fifteen minutes or so, Caleb’s attorney, Paula, has been cross-examining Ralph’s third characterwitness, the same way she did his first two. “Ralph promised you financial gain, in exchange for your favorable testimony today, didn’t he?” Paula asks with narrowed eyes and a chest full of confidence.

“No, ma’am,” the guy says. “I’m here because Ralph’s a good friend of mine, and it’s my firm belief the child should be with her grandfather.”

It’s the same exchange, basically, Paula had with Ralph’s first two character witnesses, and I don’t believe this third guy any more than the others. I glance at Caleb sitting next to me at our table, and, not surprisingly, he looks as disdainful as I feel. Except, in Caleb’s case, his disdain is manifesting as downright rage. Indeed, Caleb looks like a volcano on the cusp of erupting.

I covertly tap Caleb’s arm, prompting him to look at me. When our eyes meet, I nonverbally remind him, once again, to stop glaring at the witness like he wants to murder him. Both our attorneys instructed us to maintain neutral expressions throughout Ralph’s entire presentation this morning, no matter how outlandish the lies might be; and in response to my silent tongue lashing, Caleb somehow manages to erase the glower from his face. Sitting this close to him, however, I can still plainly see the homicidal blaze in his green eyes.

“No more questions,” Paula says in an unbothered, clipped voice. She’s damned impressive. Through her questioning, she’s established that none of Ralph’s character witnesses has any idea about his fitness as a father, because none of them, even Ralph’s own brother, witnessed Ralph interacting with his daughter, Claudia, except on a few, brief occasions in Prairie Springs, many years ago. Even better, Paula also established none of the men has ever witnessed Ralph interacting with or even speaking abouthis grandchild, the tiny human at the center of this custody dispute.

As Paula resumes her seat at our table on the other side of Caleb, I write on the notepad between Caleb and me,The judge isn’t buying his BS.

Caleb glances at the judge before quickly scribbling back,I hope you’re right.

“Next witness?” the judge asks Ralph’s lawyer.

“Ralph Beaumont, your honor.”

A shiver runs down my spine as Ralph settles into the hot seat. All I want to do is squeeze Caleb’s hand underneath the table to release my anxiety, but I can’t do that. According to our attorneys, Caleb and I can’t let the judge see us being too handsy or familiar today, because that might make her think Caleb’s somehow manipulated my “doe-eyed” testimony. That’s the phrase Paula used about me:doe-eyed.

After some preliminary questioning, Ralph says, “I didn’t even know I had a granddaughter until the police in Seattle called me about my daughter’s tragic death.”

LIAR, I write on the notepad between Caleb and me. Our lawyers warned us Ralph would lie, lie,lietoday. But still, hearing him doing it makes my blood boil inside my veins. In truth, Claudia’s entire family found out, early on, about her accidental pregnancy, and Ralph and his side of the family cruelly disowned Claudia for being an unwed mother. Only Claudia’s mother supported her pregnant daughter, along with me and my parents. But even then, Claudia’s mother could only openly support Claudia, without the need to sneak around, once Caleb’s monthly deposit enabled her to get her away from her abusive husband for good.

After a few introductory matters, Ralph’s lawyerfinally asks him the question I’ve been dying to know since Claudia’s death: “How did you come find out Mr. Baumgarten is your granddaughter’s biological father?”

“As next of kin,” Ralph replies, “I went to my daughter’s house after her death to gather her personal affects.” He points at me. “That kidnapper had already taken my grandchild to Montana by then, so I?—”

“Mr. Beaumont,” the judge snaps. “Just give us the facts without embellishment or accusation. We’re here to decide what’s in the best interest of the child, not to settle personal scores or vendettas.”

Ralph’s blue eyes blaze with fury. From what I know of this demonic man, he’s not a guy who reacts well to being scolded by anyone, but especially not by a woman. Somehow, though, perhaps by reminding himself of the substantial windfall he stands to gain if he wins today, Ralph grits out, “Yes, ma’am.”

“Yourhonor,” the judge corrects.

Anger is wafting off Ralph’s frame like a vapor. But he replies evenly, “Yes, your honor.”

On the notepad, Caleb scribbles,Judge = badass.

After reading Caleb’s note, I don’t dare look at him. Instead, I write back,She takes zero shit. Hopefully, that will turn out to be a great thing for us, since Ralph is nothing if not full of shit.

“What was the question, again?” Ralph asks his lawyer. And when the guy repeats it, Ralph leans into the microphone and says, “While I was going through my daughter’s stuff, I came across a confidential settlement agreement between Claudia and Caleb Baumgarten. That’s how I found out. That’s when I contacted Caleb with a fair proposal for me to take custody of my granddaughter and for Caleb to work with me the same way he’d alwaysworked with my daughter. But to my shock, he rejected my good-will proposal and instead decided to go to Prairie Springs to buddy up withher—thekidnapper.” He glares angrily at me for emphasis.

The judge reprimands Ralph for his word choice again and warns him he’s on thin ice; and he begrudgingly corrects himself.

For another thirty minutes, Ralph continues spewing all manner of bullshit, including stories about his close bond with Claudia as a child and his desperate desire to give his granddaughter a similarly loving, stable, and safe childhood. “My granddaughter should be with blood family,” Ralph insists, shooting daggers at me. “Not with an unrelated opportunist who doesn’t care about her, beyond the child support payments.” He shoots daggers at Caleb. “And certainly not with a drunk, drug-addicted rockstar who only stepped up after he realized hiring a nanny would be cheaper than paying proper child support to a family member—someone with decades of experience as a parent, I should add, unlike both of them.” Now, he glares at Caleb and me as a collective.

I shift in my seat, wanting to scream bloody murder. To stand up, flail my arms, and shriek at the judge that this monster is a liar, pedophile, rapist, and wife beater. I fist both hands tightly in my lap, trying to control myself; and when I steal a glimpse of Caleb, it’s clear he’s experiencing a similar struggle. Although in Caleb’s case, he probably wants to leap up there and do something so violent to Ralph, it’d make the slap he gave Trent in Billings look like a love pat.

Finally, it’s Paula’s turn to cross-examine Ralph; and the minute she rises and stares down her prey, it’s clear she intends to rip this motherfucker to shreds.

Get him, Paula,Caleb writes on the notepad.

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