“No. She raised him. She’s the reason he’s like he is. He’s never had to be responsible for any of his actions in his entire life. She’s enabled him to become what he is and defended him to any who found fault with him. She knew Darcie was his, and wanted nothing to do with her — ever. Right after he first went to prison, I called her, begging for any type of help at all. She told me that I should have been smarter than to get pregnant and hung up on me. If she wants Darcie now, it’s because she’s going to give her to Frederick so he can threaten me and keep me from speaking the truth. He wants me to say I’m guilty so he never has to be responsible for killing that man. He knows as long as he has Darcie and I know her safety is on the line, I won’t defend myself.”
Ms. Autry sighed, understanding totally what Talie was saying. “Her ties to Darcie are going to be proven in court. I can’t stop that. The only option is if you have family somewhere that would be willing to be her legal guardian immediately. They can refuse to give a sample of Darcie’s DNA. Frederick’s mother can fight it, but it will take time. I’m hoping to have evidence against Frederick before that happens,” Ms. Autry said.
Talie sat there for a moment, her hands now in her lap as tears streamed silently down her face. She took a deep breath and looked up at Ms. Autry. “Can I send her to Missouri? Will you get her there for me?”
“Are they your family?” Ms. Autry asked.
Talie shook her head while she said yes.
Ms. Autry’s eyes narrowed and she canted her head to the side as she regarded Talie.
“They were going to be my family. Until Frederick was released and no one bothered to tell me in advance so I could have a chance to get out of here. Had I known, I’d have run so fast, so far…. It doesn’t matter now. I hesitated for too long, and I’m here because of it. Please. I’ll write out a letter giving them custody. I’ll sign it. You can have it notarized. Please, just get her to him. I know he’ll take care of her until I can be with her again.”
“It’s risky. The judge may not be happy with it,” Ms. Autry said.
“I’ll take that chance,” Talie said. “You’re my lawyer. Attorney-Client privilege, right? You can’t tell them anything we discuss,” Talie said.
“To an extent, correct. I cannot tell them if you incriminate yourself, or give me any information that may incriminate you in any way without your permission. I can only present your case on your behalf.”
“Fine. He was going to be her stepfather. He’ll take her. I know he will. I met his friend, too. His mother was traveling with them. She was so kind, and I’ve gotten to know her as well. I had to tell him to stop calling me. It was driving Frederick insane. But I’m sure he’ll take her if I explain everything. We spent a lot of time talking and getting to know each other. He’s a good person.”
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Ms. Autry asked.
“Yes. He’ll keep her safe. I was planning to go live in Missouri near them. He’s a good man. He loves us both. I was just so scared to take another chance with another man. I hesitated too long. I should have taken the jump, and I wouldn’t be sitting here now, paying for someone else’s crimes,” Talie admitted.
“Alright,” Ms. Autry said. She opened her briefcase and took out several sheets of plain white paper and a pen. “Here you go,” she said, handing the sheets of paper and the pen to Talie.
Ms. Autry sat there patiently while Talie wrote out a detailed letter and folded it, and set it aside. Then she watched as Talie took up another sheet of paper and wrote clearly, and concisely, her intention to give a Roman Lyakhov permanent custody of her daughter, Darcie Davis. She signed it, dated it and slid it over toward Ms. Autry.
Ms. Autry signed it and dated it as witness to it. “Okay. I’ll get it notarized as soon as I leave here. I’ll arrange for her to be sent to Missouri. What do you want me to do if he doesn’t want the responsibility?”
“He will. He’ll take her,” Talie said.
“And if he doesn’t?”
Talie looked down at the remaining sheets of paper in front of her. She started writing on one of them. She wrote word for word the same thing she’d written on the first, only instead of Roman’s name, she’d written Constance Vega. “If for any reason Roman can’t take her, Constance will. But I know it won’t come to that. Roman will take her,” Talie said. “And this is a letter for Roman. It explains everything. Please give him this, too.”
“Okay,” Ms. Autry said, taking the documents and sliding them safely into her briefcase. “It’s going to take me about a week to get all these documents in order and filed. First though, I'm going to have these documents notarized, and draw up the legal documentation he’ll need to sign to accept guardianship of Darcie. I’ll draw up an additional set for Constance, just in case. Then based on Roman Lyakhov becoming Darcie’s legal guardian, I’m going to remove her from the state children’s home, and drive her to Missouri myself as her legal representative, appointed by her mother. I’ll let you know when I’m ready, but when I go, you won’t see me for a few days. If you don’t hear from me for two or three days, afterward, don’t panic. I’ll be in touch as soon as this is settled. Until then, just sit tight. I’ll be by on visiting days, and if anyone you don’t want to speak to tries to pay you a visit, tell the guards you’ve been advised by me not to speak to anyone without me present.”
Talie nodded rapidly. “Okay, I understand. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We still have a lot of work to do to get Darcie out of the orphanage, and you out of this damn place and away from the bastard that lets you sit here.”
Chapter 23
Riley stepped out onto the front porch and lifted the tree from the pile of towels he’d wrapped the trunk in to try to get most of the moisture off it. He’d had it in a bucket of water until just a little while ago. He shook it hard, sending drops of moisture flying. “You got the tree stand ready, baby?” he yelled.
“Sure, sweetheart,” Lucas shouted back.
“I was talking to Maia,” Riley answered.
“Well, she’s checking the gumbo, so I’m baby at the moment,” Lucas called out.
“Damn smart-assed males. Why do I end up with all of them?” Riley muttered under his breath. He shook the tree again, and lifted it as he turned and walked back through the door, holding it up a few feet off the ground. “Is the tree stand ready?” Riley asked.
“Yes, it is,” Lucas said, grinning at Riley as he stood from a squatting position and moved back out of the way.
Riley walked over to the stand, and between himself and Lucas, with Lazarus supervising, they got the tree securely in its stand, and placed exactly where Maia had told Lazarus to be sure they put it.
“Is that where she wants it?” Riley asked.
Cristie sat on the floor playing with Roman and Sebastian. She looked up from the big, plastic blocks she was snapping together to form a huge chain. “Mama said she wants it out of the way, but between the fireplace and windows so it can be seen from the porch, but not block her view of all the other lights.”