Miz Sara Finds an Unlikely Ally

Before he could respond, I went on. "I will, however, make a deal with you. I want you to go home and think about what's happened for the next two weeks. I want you to think about everything you asked Valerie to do, and ask yourself if what happened wasn't pretty much what you had originally wanted. I'd also like you to think about the situation if it had been reversed. How would you have felt if you had had a wonderful time and Valerie didn't. And finally, I want you to remember how this whole thing started in the first place."

"If, at the end of two weeks, you still want to end your marriage to Valerie, I'll reluctantly help you do that. But I want you to think it over very carefully and see if that's really what you want to happen."

With that, I stood up to let him know that our consultation was ended. He got up somewhat bemusedly, and I walked him out of my office and to the front door. I don't think he'd expected an attorney to refuse to take his case. I shook his hand and said, "Think carefully about what you really want, and call me in two weeks."

He mumbled his response and headed out to his car. As I watched him go, I thought to myself, "Why are some men so insecure, especially so many big ones?"

Cindy popped her head out of her office. "What was that all about, Ms. Sara?"

"Honey," I said with a smile, "I'm hoping you wouldn't understand if I told you."

As far as Martin Peterson's situation was concerned, over the next week everything remained unchanged. Despite her best efforts, Cindy was unable to find anything of significance about Jodie Peterson. Mrs. Peterson had moved to Atlanta from South Carolina and gotten her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Emory's Woodruff School of Nursing. She held a nurses license from the Georgia Board of Nursing and was currently employed at Grady Memorial Hospital. Beyond those basics, there was little additional information available.

Cindy was frustrated. She took to delivering our banking business by Martin's branch in order to check up on him. I think she was also hoping to see Justin again; she'd taken quite a shine to the youngster and Martin assured me the feeling was mutual.

Everything continued as normal until one afternoon when Martin burst in with a wild look on his face. "He's gone! Jodie has left and she's taken Justin with her!"

Cindy rushed out of her office, and together we helped him onto my settee.

"What happened, Martin?" Cindy burst out. "What happened to Justin?" She looked almost as shaken as he did.

"I was working at the bank this morning when a man came up to me and handed me these papers." As he spoke, Martin handed over an envelope with his name printed on it. "When I opened it, I saw it was a divorce petition from Jodie," he went on. "The minute I saw that, I thought about Justin, so I got in my car and drove straight over to the daycare center to get him. When I got there, they told me that Jodie had picked him up that morning."

He paused to catch his breath and Cindy handed him a glass of sweet ice tea. He took a sip and continued. "We hadn't talked about any change of plans that morning, so I tried to call Cindy on her cellphone, but it just went to voicemail. Then I tried to call her at the hospital, but they told me she'd quit her job! By then I was frantic, and I drove home to see if they might be there. When I got there, there was no one home. Then I noticed that all Jodie's things were gone too: her clothes, cosmetics, everything! Justin's clothes and some of his toys were also missing. I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I drove over here."

"Please help me, Miz Sara, I'm scared to death for Justin and I don't know what to do!"

The poor man was almost beside himself; Cindy stroked his arm and tried to get him to calm down. I picked up the divorce petition to see if it might shed any light on the subject.

"Oh, dear," I said when I got to the end of the petition.

"What is it?" both Martin and Cindy exclaimed.

"Your wife's divorce is being handled by an old opponent of mine, Rosa Brindisi," I said quietly.

Cindy gasped; she remembered our last encounter with Miz Rosa.

Rosa Brindisi is another attorney practicing family law in Atlanta. She has a colorful reputation: the media like to call her the "Atomic Italian" because they say "nothing is left standing when she hits the scene." She and I had crossed swords on several occasions; some people said we were rivals. I don't like to think in those terms because that's not the way the law works, but I also have to admit that I don't particularly care for Rosa's "take no prisoners" approach. The minute I saw her name on Martin's papers, I knew we were in for a tussle.

"All right, Martin, it's time for us to get busy. You and Cindy need to start contacting your credit card companies and canceling any cards held in both your name and Jodie's. You need to take all the steps we discussed when you first came to see me."

"While you're doing that," I went on, "I'm going to contact Rosa Brindisi and see if I can't meet with her. I need to find out where we stand as quickly as possible."

"But what about Justin?" Martin was quick to ask.

"I'm pretty sure you don't need to worry about him right now," I soothed. "It's pretty clear that what happened today was carefully planned. That means that Justin will be well taken care of for the time being. I just need to get together with Rosa to see when we can get you reunited with him."

It was clear that that wasn't what Martin wanted to hear, but I hoped my certainty would calm him. I just hoped my certainty was warranted.

When I called Rosa's office, she had already left for the day; however, her secretary was able to make an appointment for me the next morning. The young lady told me, "Miz Rosa said if you were to call to tell you she's looking forward to seeing you again."

"I don't like the sound of that," I thought to myself.

When I went to tell Martin and Cindy the news about Miz Rosa, I found them busy making phone calls and working on the web. In the old days, disentangling oneself from financial obligations could involve days of driving all over town. Today with a computer and a telephone they were able to get everything under control in an hour or two.

By then it was well past working hours, so I phoned out for some food and invited them to dine with me. I much prefer to cook a proper meal, but there was no time for such niceties that evening.

As we ate, we continued to talk about the events of the day. "I'm not surprised by Jodie filing for divorce," Martin reflected, "it's been coming on for a long time. But why would she move out like that? Why would she quit her job, and why would she take Justin?"

"I don't like to think the worst of people's motives, Martin," I answered, "but in this case I have a feeling she's trying to set you up for a very expensive financial settlement. Because she's left her job, she's now unemployed, which probably means she's angling for some hefty alimony. Moving out and taking Justin with her may be a way to get child support. Plus, she knows how much you love Justin; she knows that taking him will put pressure on you to accept whatever settlement she plans to propose."

"We don't know any of that," I went on, "but when Rosa Brindisi is involved, I assume that nothing takes place by chance."

Martin's face darkened as he contemplated just how manipulative his wife had become.

But Cindy had another question: "It sounds like Rosa Brindisi was just waiting for your call. How could she know that you'd be defending Martin," she asked.

"I don't rightly know," I admitted. "Martin, is there any way she could have found out from you?"

He blushed. "I'll bet that's it, Miz Sara. After that day Justin and I came to see you, Justin was telling Jodie about Cindy and how they'd been playing together. Jodie demanded to know who Cindy was, and the whole thing came out."

I shook my head ruefully. "If Jodie told Rosa you'd been in touch with me, that's like pouring gasoline on a fire. I'll bet Rosa has been itching for a chance to lock horns with me again."

"Well," I concluded, "there's nothing for it but to wait until tomorrow to see what kind of a fight we have on our hands."

On that gloomy note, our little party broke up; Cindy headed off to her apartment and Martin returned to his empty house.

The following day, I headed up to Rosa's law office for my appointment. Rosa has a suite of offices in a glass and steel high-rise in Buckhead. I guess some people would be impressed by that; I wasn't one of them.

When I arrived, a nice young lady ushered me into Rosa's office right away. Obviously, the Italian attorney was eager to see me. As she came out from behind her over-sized desk to greet me, I saw that she was wearing another of her signature red dresses. She was a hefty woman; I couldn't understand why she'd dress in a way that would draw comparisons with an over-ripe tomato. I guess there's no accounting for taste.

"Hello, Miz Sara," she said in an unctuous tone of voice, "I'm so glad to see you again so soon after our last encounter."

I was sure that Rosa was telling the truth -- because she wanted to have another go at me -- but I could care less about such nonsense. All I knew was that my client was desperately worried about his son, and that was the only thing that mattered to me.

"Miz Rosa, I'll get right to the point. Your client, Jodie Peterson, has taken their son and disappeared immediately after having Martin served. Martin is understandably anxious about the welfare of his boy and wants to be reunited with him right away. Can you help me?"

She gave me an oily smile. "Of course I can understand his concern. Let me reassure you that the boy is perfectly fine and in his mother's care. Martin need have no worries on that account."

"I assume that means you know where they are," I responded.

"I haven't said that," she replied quickly, "and even if I did, my client has asked me not to reveal that information to her husband. She wants to have no further contact with him until this whole matter is resolved."

"So she intends to hold her son hostage until Martin agrees to whatever settlement she's cooked up for him?" I asked.

"Miz Sara, I'm surprised at you," Rosa responded smoothly. "You know perfectly well a mother can't hold her own child hostage. She's simply looking out for his interests the best way she knows how."

"Miz Rosa, Martin has reason to believe that his estranged wife has been having an affair. If she has moved in with her lover, that would not be a fit environment for a four-year old boy," I pressed.

Rosa looked at me blandly. "I know nothing about any such affair, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if there were someone else involved. That's quite common in cases like these, as you know. But as you also know, the existence of such a relationship is not a matter of consideration in divorce in this state. However, if it will put Martin's mind at ease, I can guarantee you that she has not shacked up with a lover."

I wondered how she could be so sure. It sounded to me like she knew exactly where Jodie Peterson was hiding out.

Now that she had displayed her beneficent side, Rosa's demeanor changed and she proceeded to reveal her real purpose for wanting to meet with me.

"Now let's get down to the issues. My client and I have pulled together what we feel is a fair property settlement as well as a proposal for alimony and, of course, child support. I'd ask you to take it back to your client and review it carefully with him. Please let him know that the sooner we reach a settlement, the sooner he and his son can be reunited."

With that, she pushed an envelope across her desk to me. Then she stood and said, "I don't think there's much more we can do at this time, Miz Sara, so if you'll excuse me I have other clients to assist."

"So she won't even let him see his own son?" I asked. "He's in a lot of pain, Rosa."

She looked at me without blinking and said, "Divorce is always a painful business." Then she turned away, and I knew there was nothing left to do but leave.

Martin came to my office that afternoon, and I had to pass on what Rosa had told me and show him the property settlement Jodie was proposing. It was a typical Rosa Brindisi "take-no-prisoners" offer: he would have to pay Jodie a sizable amount of alimony since she was now unemployed, he would pay heavy child support since she would have primary custody, and she would get the house in lieu of taking any of his retirement account. Finally, to add insult to injury, he would be responsible for all court costs and Jodie's attorney's fees. It was a bitter pill to swallow for him.

"Miz Rosa, this isn't fair," Martin insisted. "I never wanted a divorce in the first place, and now she wants to make me pay through the nose so she can go off and be with some mystery man we don't even know. Plus she wants me to pay alimony even though she's perfectly capable of finding a job. "

"We both know that, but their strategy is to withhold Justin from you until you cave in," I observed. "Rosa Brindisi plays a very hard brand of ball. Her plan is to wait us out and keep the pressure on, using your son as the lever."

I looked carefully at Martin. "If we could find Justin and get him back somehow, we'd be back to a level playing field. Do you have any idea where she might be? Is there any friend or family she might be staying with? Is there any place in this area that Jodie liked to visit? Anything you can tell us might provide a clue."

Martin had no ideas, but he committed himself to trying to find Justin.

Over the next couple of weeks, our offices became a war room. During the day, Cindy and I devoted ourselves to my other clients. But after the bank branch where he worked closed, Martin began coming to our place every afternoon. We would review the current situation, then Cindy and Martin would go searching online for any clue that might lead us to the place where Jodie was hiding Justin.

And, of course, I spent quite a bit of time wrangling with Rosa about the terms of the settlement. But there was no budging her: she had the upper hand and she knew that time was on her side.

It was a frustrating period and it wore on all of us. The only relief I had was a call from Phil Wasserman. "Miz Sara, I'm calling to tell you I've given up all thought about divorcing Valerie. I thought hard about what you said and how everything happened. I finally realized that all Valerie had done was exactly what I'd asked her to do. She wasn't being unfaithful to me; in fact, I'd have to say she was actually showing how devoted to me she is by going along with my stupid plan."

"Anyway," he concluded, "I'm so glad I had that talk with you."

"I'm glad too, Phil," I responded, "and I hope this will be the start of a happier relationship between you and your wife."

"Well how about that?" I thought after he'd hung up. "Maybe I am doing a little good in this world. Now if I can just help Martin."

Our big break came the next afternoon when Martin came in excitedly with the news that he'd talked with Justin. He was so happy just to have heard his son's voice that it was obvious to Cindy and me how badly Martin missed his boy.

"Jodie called me and then she put Justin on," Martin told us. "Do you think this means she's willing to be more reasonable?"

I thought about it, then shook my head. "It would be nice to think so, but I doubt it," I had to tell him. "I've been expecting something like this. She's trying to increase your desire to see Justin to up the pressure on you. In effect, she's hoping that a little taste will whet your appetite for more, and you'll give up the fight."

My response hit Martin hard; all the enthusiasm and hope seemed to drain visibly from his body.

Cindy came to the rescue. "Tell us what you talked about with Justin," she asked. "Did he say anything that might help us figure out where he is?"

"I'm afraid he wasn't much help," Martin said. "He told me he missed me, and when I asked him what he'd been doing, he said he'd been playing video games. I asked him if he got to play outside any, and he told me he'd been to a little park in their neighborhood. Then he told me he and his Mom had walked over to see the graffiti tunnel, whatever that is. About that time, Jodie took the phone back."

"Hmm, being near a park isn't very helpful. There must be thousands of parks in the greater Atlanta area," I mused. "And I haven't got a clue what a 'graffiti tunnel' is."

But Cindy was getting excited. "I wonder," she said, "I just wonder."

She went into her office and spent several long minutes on the computer. Just when we were ready to forget about her and move on to other topics, she gave a squeal and shouted, "This could be it!"

When she came back out, we pressed her to tell us what she'd found.

"Are you familiar with Cabbagetown?" she asked us. I was, of course, but Martin wasn't, so I gave him a quick rundown. "Cabbagetown is a section of southeast Atlanta filled with charming homes that were once owned by employees of the old cotton mill there. The area went downhill when the mill was closed back in the 1970s, but in recent years new owners moved into the area and began to restore many of the homes to their former charm. Even the old cotton mill was converted into condos. Today the area is considered a historic district and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places," I explained.

Then I turned to Cindy. "But why is Cabbagetown important?"

"Well," Cindy went on, "the district is bounded on the north side by railroad tracks. There's a tunnel that runs under the tracks connecting Cabbagetown with the area above it. Anyway, that tunnel is famous because the inside is completely covered with graffiti. I've seen if featured in a number of music videos. Anyway, I wonder if that could be the 'graffiti tunnel' that Justin mentioned!"

If we were amazed at Cindy's guesswork on the graffiti tunnel, we were truly impressed by her next intuitive leap.

"Anyway, I've just been checking through the Atlanta tax assessor's records to see if by any chance Rosa Brindisi owned any property in the area. Sure enough, she bought a home on Tye Street about eight years ago. And guess what: Cabbagetown Park backs up to Tye Street!"

We were all terribly excited -- we hoped that Cindy might have solved the mystery of where Martin's wife and son were hiding. Cindy and Martin were jumping up and down, and Martin was so grateful that he hugged Cindy and kissed her on the cheek, much to her embarrassment.

Cindy was all for going over to Cottontown that very night to test her hypothesis, but I was quick to slow down her parade. "Cindy, Cabbagetown may have come a long way, but it's still a transitional neighborhood. It wasn't just graffiti artists who did all that spray painting in the tunnel," I cautioned, "a lot of it is gang tags. There's no way you need to be venturing into that neighborhood alone after dark."

Martin spoke up immediately, "I'll go with her, Miz Sara. We'll be fine together."

I was still reluctant, but I knew how anxious they both were to find Justin, and I was afraid one of them might venture over there on their own. If they went together, Martin could afford Cindy some protection, and Cindy might be able to keep Martin from doing something rash. So against my better judgment, I agreed to their expedition, but I still wanted to establish some ground rules. "If you go, it is absolutely imperative that you do nothing but check out the house and yard to try to determine if Justin is really there. If you find him, you absolutely must not make any effort to take him with you. You could be arrested for breaking and entering if you go into that house, and you might even be charged with kidnapping if you try to take Justin," I warned them.