Lisa Scottoline - Look Again

"It's my job." His smile was only polite and he was dressed casually, with a blue FBI windbreaker over a light Oxford shirt. Behind him was a large smoked-glass window that overlooked the snowy city at night. "I just hope this isn't a wild goose chase."

"It isn't." Ellen looked at the other side of the table, where Bill Braverman sat glaring in a sport jacket and polo shirt, next to his lawyer, Mike Cusack, who dressed like him.

"So why are we all sitting here?" Bill demanded, his eyes flashing with anger.

Ellen composed herself, folding her hands on the conference table, and took a deep breath.

"Okay, here goes." Ellen paused, her heart in her throat. She was about to drop a bomb, and she met Bill's eye with sympathy. "The fact is, you're not Will's father."

"That's a lie! "Bill shot back.

"It's true, and I have proof."

"You're insulting me and my wife!"

Cusack placed a restraining hand on Bill's arm. "Please, allow me."

"Why should I?" Bill tore his arm away, glaring at Ellen. "You don't fool me for one minute! What kind of scam is this?"

"It's not a scam."

"Ms. Gleeson," Cusack broke in, looking askance. "You should be aware that intentional infliction of emotional distress is civilly actionable, and we won't hesitate to file suit against you."

Ron frowned. "I won't let you threaten her, Mike."

"But this is an Internet scam, obviously." Cusack raised a graying eyebrow. "Don't tell me you were taken in by that stupid email. Are you sending money to Ethiopian ambassadors, too?"

"It's not a scam, I assure you," Ron said, his tone even and reasonable.

Special Agent Manning cleared his throat. "Let's settle down and let Ms. Gleeson tell us what this is all about."

"Thank you." Ellen gathered her thoughts. "To make a long story short, when I was in Miami, I got DNA samples from both Carol and Bill Braverman. I followed them to a restaurant, and I collected some cigarette butts that Bill left in an ashtray-"

"You did what?" Bill interjected, rising, but Cusack pressed him back down.

"-I also got a Diet Sprite can that Carol drank from, and I sent them both to a lab that I found on the Internet."

"This is ridiculous!" Bill slammed the table with a heavy hand, but Ellen stayed the course. She couldn't blame Bill for his reaction, but neither was she backing down.

"I got the results emailed to me, and Ron forwarded the email with the results to you. Honestly, I'd forgotten about the tests, and I had no doubt that Will was really Timothy, after that night in my kitchen. Rob Moore said that his girlfriend was Amy Martin, and I knew that Amy was the one who put Will, or Timothy, up for adoption."

Next to her, Ron added, "It's a perfect chain of custody."

"It is," Special Agent Manning said, and though Ellen didn't speak law enforcement, she got the gist.

"The results of the test came back, and they show that Carol was clearly Will's biological mother. But Will has none of Bill's DNA. The results are that Bill is not Will's father."

"You're saying that Carol cheated on me?" Bill's eyes flew open.

"I'm sorry, she must have." Ellen felt terrible for him, but still. "You said your marriage wasn't the best."

"She wouldn't!" Bill flushed red. "She didn't, and she certainly wouldn't fool me into thinking another man's child was mine!"

"I'm sorry, I really am." Ellen took a second to compose herself, then said the words she'd been rehearsing all the way here. "Will is not your son, so you have no legal right to him. My adoption remains legal, and I want my son back."

Ron added, "My research showed the law would be the same in almost all jurisdictions, including Florida. As Carol has no living parents, Ellen is entitled to keep W."

"This is a trick!" Bill shouted, jumping to his feet.

"Based on an Internet DNA test?" Cusack remained in his chair, his expression only slightly less hostile. "What do you take us for?"

Special Agent Manning waved Bill into his seat, and he complied, albeit angrily.

"It's a legitimate lab," Ellen said, willing herself to remain calm. She had discussed the way this meeting would go with Ron, who was her first phone call after she read the email. "But if you want to run another test to confirm the results, you're welcome to."

"I'm welcome to?" Bill repeated, incredulous.

"I will agree to a lab of the FBI'S choosing, with the test to be administered under their supervision."

"I won't take any damn DNA test!" Bill's jaw set with determination. "Timothy's my son, and I'm keeping him!"

Ron raised a finger in his professorial way. "As a legal matter, we could require you to take a DNA test. If we take this matter to court right now, any judge would order you to do so, and my client and I are more than prepared. In fact, bear with me." Ron reached into an accordion-style briefcase sitting on the floor, extracted a manila folder, then opened it, slid out some papers, and handed them to Special Agent Manning, Bill, and Cusack. "These papers are ready to file. I have an emergency judge standing by. It's your choice, Mr. Braverman. If you and Will don't voluntarily take the DNA test, the court will order you to do so. I'll also ask the court to place Will in protective custody in the interim, so that you don't leave the jurisdiction with him."

"You have to be kidding!" Bill grabbed the papers from the center of the table and skimmed the front page, his eyes darting rapidly left and right, his mouth pursed in fury.

But Ellen could see that Cusack, sitting next to him and reading the papers, lifted his eyebrow again.

Ron added, "Mike, if you'd like a minute alone with your client, Ellen and I would be happy to step outside."

Cusack looked up after a minute, deep in thought. "Yes, thank you. I'd like to confer with my client."

Ellen and Ron rose from the table, left the conference room, and went into the hallway, where they closed the door behind them and Ron placed a fatherly hand on her shoulder.

"Ellen, don't get excited." His brow furrowed. "You have to remember that the Internet lab could be wrong. Even the most reliable labs get false results on tests, all kinds of tests, and I don't want you to get your hopes up."

"They're not that fly-by-night," Ellen said, but she knew better. "Jerry Springer uses them."

Ron smiled. "Remember, plan for the worst and you'll be happily surprised."

"Way to kill the mood, counselor."

Fifteen endless minutes later, the door to the conference room opened, and Special Agent Manning stuck out his head. "We're ready for you," he said simply.

Ellen filed into the conference room with Ron behind her and took her seat at the table across from Cusack. Bill had deserted his chair but was standing by the window, his arms folded and his expression grim. Ellen saw the strain around his eyes and knew that he was more anguished than angry, and her heart went out to him.

Cusack began, "We've decided, in a spirit of cooperation, to undertake a DNA test. The FBI has recommended a lab that it uses all the time, and we'll be taking the samples of Bill and Timothy tonight."

"We'll fast-track it," Special Agent Manning interjected. "We should have the results by Monday."

Ellen felt her heart pounding but didn't show any emotion, for Bill's sake.

Cusack continued, "However, we don't believe it's necessary to place Timothy in protective custody with the Bureau, pending the results. Timothy is at the Four Seasons with a babysitter that comes highly recommended. Bill would like to keep the boy with him at the hotel and he won't leave the jurisdiction. We trust you'll agree." Cusack fell silent, awaiting Ellen's response.

So did Bill, by the window, his arms folded, and Ron, who cocked his head, his smile characteristically gentle.