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“I suspect they think you’ll simply roll over and take whatever they have planned. We need the paternity to be in question to give us some leverage. You saying it doesn’t make it so, it has to be proven. Cal and Mr. Fox will push you to sign the acknowledgment. Once that’s done, they’ll have you backed into a corner, and will begin to work you over to up the support with the threat of never seeing your child,” Ms. Dixon said.

Mom and I looked at each other and had grim expressions on our faces.

“I have something else we need to talk about,” Ms. Dixon said. “I had a long conversation with Detective Kitchens. He said that he suspects that Pam’s father is the one who struck her. During the interviews, Pam was always in the presence of Mr. Fox, and she acted scared. The detective said that was the main reason he didn’t just arrest you on Monday. He felt she was being coerced.

“Detective Kitchens also confirmed that neither the state’s attorney’s nor his office leaked any information to the press. He talked to some people he knows, and they told him that everything came from Mr. Fox. Of course, I think we can safely assume that Cal Bell was behind it all. When I asked Detective Kitchens about that, he agreed. He said that during his dealings with Mr. Fox, he didn’t get any impression that Mr. Fox had the smarts to pull all this off.

“From what he told me, I’m concerned about Pam. Have you ever seen any evidence of abuse?” Ms. Dixon asked.

“No, but when she gets scared, she freezes up,” I said.

I then explained what happened when the fraternity guy had made unwanted advances on her. Lacy, Pam’s mom, had told me she got that way under stress.

“That might be a sign of abuse,” Mom said.

We spent a few more minutes discussing strategy, and then it was time for the meeting.

◊◊◊

When we got to the conference room, we found Mr. Fox and my other lawyers: Don Rigby, Roy Thompson, Tom, and Kendal. After we sat down, Don Rigby began to speak.

“Rigby, Thompson and Associates values both Cal Bell as one of our associates, and David as our client. Now that the ugliness of the criminal charges is over with, we would urge a quick and quiet resolution. We’ll do whatever we can to help both sides find common ground and reach a fair settlement.”

“That’s nice,” Mom said. “Where’s Pam?”

Mr. Fox gave everyone a feral grin. My mom looked to be about ready to tell him off. I then remembered that Ms. Dixon said I shouldn’t do anything to jeopardize our case by doing something rash, but she hadn’t given the same instruction to my mom. I put my hand on my mom’s arm, my better judgment winning out against my own wishes.

“Miss Bell had school today. This meeting is only to set some ground rules and to schedule the next meeting,” Mr. Fox said.

“Silly me. Here I thought we were going to actually negotiate in good faith,” Ms. Dixon said.

“Now, we don’t need to get off on the wrong foot,” Mr. Rigby said. “Cal assured me we’d be discussing a resolution to this today. What’s changed?”

“We’re coming into this negotiation lacking some crucial material. The first is that David has stated he is the father of the child. I would like to get him to confirm that in writing,” Mr. Fox said, and he pulled out a form from his briefcase.

He made a show of reviewing the form, and then nodded and pushed it in front of me. I didn’t even look down.

“I’m sure we can get someone to notarize it for us,” Mr. Fox said.

“Yes, that sounds perfectly reasonable. Kendal, can you get your notary stamp so we can make this document official?” Mr. Rigby said.

I looked at my mom and then at Ms. Dixon. I started to get the feeling that Rigby, Thompson and Associates didn’t need to be in this meeting if they were just in a hurry to sweep this all under the rug.

“While we wait for Kendal to return,” Ms. Dixon said smoothly, “what else will you need to continue negotiations?”

“We will need a full accounting of David’s assets and income.”

Mr. Fox’s hunger was evident as he thought of the payday he was about to receive.

“We were prepared for that request,” Mr. Thompson said, and he pulled a folder out and began to give it to Mr. Fox.

“Stop!” Ms. Dixon said with an edge to her voice.

Mr. Thompson acted as if he had been caught at something and jerked the folder back. Kendal walked in with her notary stamp and sat back down.

“First, I want it made clear that my client has not authorized Rigby, Thompson and Associates to negotiate on his behalf in this matter, nor has he consented to Rigby, Thompson and Associates acting as a mediator of anything relating to this. Further, this is not a mediation, so get that out of your head,” Ms. Dixon said, and she made a point to look Roy, Don, Tom, and Kendal each in the eyes to make sure none of them were mistaken in her meaning. “While I appreciate everything you’ve done, you’re not authorized to share anything with opposing counsel, or Mr. Bell, without my client’s consent.”

“I’m sorry, I was only trying to help move the negotiations along,” Mr. Thompson said.