carrying Teddy to the station had already pulled away. Vanessa was driven back to Greg and Pattie's apartment, where she was returned to Pattie with a kind word and a smile.
At the exact same moment Teddy was downtown at the station, being booked for kidnapping. Pattie had brought charges against him during the night. Bail was set at fifteen thousand dollars, an extortionate amount, and a hearing was set in front of the very same judge the next day.
The next morning, looking unshaved and exhausted, Teddy was led into court, the handcuffs were removed, and the judge glared at him for several minutes before clearing the court. He ordered everyone out of his courtroom, especially the reporters—the headlines that morning had been bad enough: SOCIALITE SURGEON KIDNAPS NIECE. There was even some subtle intimation in the piece that, given his passionate interest in her, perhaps Vanessa was his child and not Brad's.
“Well, Doctor Fullerton, I can't say that I'm pleased to see you here again. What exactly do you have to say about all this? Off the record, just for the information of the court.”
“I didn't kidnap her, your honor. She arrived at my door.”
The judge looked troubled. “Had you told her to do that?”
“Of course not.”
“Did she give you a reason?”
“Yes.” He decided to be honest. He had nothing to lose now. “She hates my brother and his wife.”
“That's not possible, she said nothing about that in my courtroom.”
“Ask her again.”
The judge looked angry. “Have you primed her?”
“I have not.” Teddy's eyes flashed. “My sister-in-law is already threatening to send her to boarding school, that's how much they love her, your honor. If I do say so myself—he looked chagrined as he smiled ruefully at the judge—”you made a very poor choice.”
The judge looked anything but pleased with Teddy's comment. “She's a very disturbed child, Doctor. You know that. She needs a normal household with a mother and a father. As much as you may love her, you are only a man.”
Teddy sighed. “My sister-in-law doesn't have a maternal bone in her body, your honor, she hated Vanessa's mother with a passion. Vanessa's father jilted her for the child's mother. In a way I think Pattie—Mrs. Fullerton—wants to get even. She wants to finally ‘take possession’ of his child at all costs, to prove something. She doesn't love Vanessa, your honor. She doesn't even know the child.”
“Is it true that the child's mother hated Mrs. Fullerton?”
“I don't think so. I think the hatred was all on Mrs. Pattie Fullerton's end. She was wildly jealous of Serena.”
“Poor woman.…” He thought of Serena and shook his head. “And your brother Gregory?” The judge looked mournful, it was the worst case he'd had in years, there seemed to be no right solution for Vanessa. “Is he fond of the child?”
“Your honor,” Teddy sighed, “my brother is an alcoholic. In my opinion he's in the very last stages of it. Not a very pretty scene for Vanessa to see, or anyone else for that matter.”
The judge shook his head and sat back heavily in his chair with a sigh. “Well, I've got kidnapping charges on you to deal with, and it looks like I should reopen the case on your niece.…” He looked as miserable as Teddy. “I'm going to do something very unusual, Doctor. I'm going to give you thirty days in jail for the alleged kidnapping of your niece after my verdict. You may request a trial on the matter if you wish, but I'm not going to charge you with kidnapping. I'm going to charge you with contempt of court. There is no bail for contempt, and you will serve the full thirty days. In that way I can be quite sure that you won't truly kidnap her.” He glared at Teddy, who listened with dismay. “And during the thirty days I'm going to have an extensive investigation done on this matter, and I will restate my verdict in the custody matter exactly thirty days from today. That will be”—he looked briefly at his calendar—”March fourth.” With that, he signaled to the bailiff, and without further ado Teddy was removed.
49
On March fourth, at 9 A.M., Teddy was led back into the courtroom, clean-shaven and well groomed but almost twelve pounds thinner after his month in jail, and he found himself looking at his brother, his sister-in-law, and Vanessa. For him it had been an endless month and he hadn't been able to see Vanessa for the whole time, and now