Hey, friends!
I hope you all had a happy Halloween. As promised, I'm here with another chap. It's only one chapter, but I'll probably have another set up by Tuesday evening. I know I've been making everything horrible for Amy, but hopefully you'll get some much needed insight in this chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 29
I approached the Mobius Metropolitan Museum (M3) eager for answers. Answers meant having control. And I couldn't let Scourge's hidden reservations take that away from me.
He informed me that he was working off site today; he was meeting with some artists at some conference downtown. So I told Ms. Ferret I wasn't feeling well (though she probably didn't buy it) and made my way over.
It was now or never. Even if I didn't know what I was looking for.
The early morning sun was somber, if not non-existent, matching my mood. I made my way to the back of the main building; toward some construction and the new nature exhibit it looked like they were working on.
I stopped at an inventory-like area where a few dozen packed paintings lined the walls. Bigger boxes stood in the middle of the warehouse. I walked through the space before stumbling upon an office area.
"Can I help you?" I spun over my shoulder, saw a woman at a desk. Probably a receptionist.
"Yes," I began, sensing my half-baked operation begin to crumble. I forced a smile. "Do you know if I could speak to one of Scourge the Hedgehog's associates? He mentioned he'd be out today, but said I should stop by to ask about commissioning a piece."
"One moment." The woman clicked something on her computer. "Okay. If you take a left at this hall you should find the offices of Mr. Bear and Mrs. Raccoon. They both seem to have a strong personal relationship with Mr. Hedgehog."
"Perfect."
"What is your name?" The squirrel then said, looking up at me. My mouth jerked in something of a smile.
"Fiona Fox."
I fixed my cap on my head, and re-secured my quills in a ponytail. I could only hope that Scourge hadn't told them how Fiona looked like. But I was mostly hoping that they would actually be useful—this was the only idea I had.
The offices were new, you could tell by the construction-like smell and modern fixtures. About eight separate offices with glass walls and doors lined the space, and the contemporary art pieces on those walls gave them character. I spotted Scourge's office—empty—with a drawing Sage made hanging off his desk. I smiled before stopping at Mr. Bear's space. I clicked on my recorder before knocking on the transparent door. A brown bear that couldn't have been much older than me looked up.
"Hello," he said, turning from his desk. "Can I help you?"
I took a breath. "Yes. I'm Fiona Fox. I wanted to know if you had any reservations about my custody battle with Scourge," I began, folding my arms. "My lawyer said I should appeal to people my ex would consider getting statements from." I stared him down like the bitch I was pretending to be. "You know, so they don't say something they'll regret."
"If you're trying to threaten me, you'll have to try a little harder." The man was smiling boyishly, like I just told him he looked taller. So he could roll off a threat with a laugh? I could see how he and Scourge could be chums.
"I'm not threatening anyone." I put my hands on my hips. Bitch move #2. "This is a serious case. I don't expect you tell me all the things you gossip about me while drinking beers. I just want to know if what Scourge says makes you feel tempted to speak against me."
He shrugged his shoulders. "I know that Scourge is a great dad. And I would assume that you couldn't be that awful since the boy seems happy and bright." His eyes hit mine. "I'm a father too. So I wouldn't say anything that wouldn't benefit Sage."
"Then what would you say in a statement?" I prodded. The man sighed.
"Honestly, all he tells me is that you don't seem very interested in your son," he said, glancing briefly at an art magazine on his desk. "Which would probably explain why you…"
My eyes widened. Get on with it! "Why Fio—Why I—did what?"
He sighed again. "…gave Scourge such a hard time about working here. We make really good money, and the job itself is not easy to come by." He looked irritated now. "And second to Sage, it makes him really happy. Did you ever think about that? Do you ever think about that?"
I had to remember that he wasn't talking about me, otherwise I would have bitched at him for real. "Whatever," I snapped. "That doesn't make me a bad mother."
But I was starting to wonder if I was a bad lawyer. I had as much of a case as I didn't—and I also didn't know what dirt Fiona was going to pull in the courtroom. So far the biggest thing I had against her was that she got a little aggressive with another mom. But with what I had, could I really prove that she's unfit to hold custody of her child?
Probably not.
Which meant I was wasting my time.
Mr. Bear opened his mouth to say something, but I heard a female voice instead. I spun over my shoulder. Saw a shorter, older raccoon-woman.
"You're Fiona?" She glared at me through pursed lips. "I have to admit, you don't look as mean or ugly as Scourge makes you out."
"Gee, thanks?"
"But you have some nerve barging in here like you own the place," she then said, folding her arms. "I guess that's to be expected."
"You're acting like I stole your youth or something," I replied, rolling my eyes. Okay, I was probably having a little too much fun with this. But riling people up was the recipe for a verbal downpour. And I was ready to drown in answers.
She raised a brow, practically another insult away from torching me with her glare. "I can't believe you're still fighting Scourge for Sage after what you did. Don't you have any shame?"
I had to stop myself from looking too eager. We were finally getting somewhere! I turned to the bear. "Do you have any idea what this dumb bitch is talking about?"
"Did you just call me a dumb bitch?!" I smirked as she fumed.
"I don't remember stuttering."
"Ladies, let's just settle down," Mr. Bear said, rising to his feet. He turned to me, glaring. "I think it would be best if you leave. I'm sorry about what you're going through, but if you continue to create a hostile work environment, I'll have to call security."
"It probably wouldn't be the first time," the woman mumbled.
I shot her a dirty glare. But part of me was wondering if I actually should have been annoyed. Scourge didn't tell me any of this. And I was his fucking lawyer. That he was fucking. I clenched my fists. "Why don't you grow a pair and come out with it?"
She shook her head slowly. "No good mother would abandon her child."
"When did I abandon Sage?" It took everything not to grin at this progress.
She looked at me like I was sick. "That's it. I'm done humoring you." She started for her office, which was conveniently on the other side of the hall. "Why don't you lock yourself in a hot car and see how it feels?"
Just then, the sun broke through.
I had found the missing piece of the puzzle; now I just had to put it together. My response was in the form of a gesture. I removed my hat, shook my quills loose from my ponytail. Their eyes widened.
Mrs. Raccoon slapped her forehead. "Let me guess? You're actually Scourge's legal counsel?"
I nodded, offering an apologetic look.
"And now that I have your attention, I have some real questions."
My next stop was the Whole Goods grocery store. It was fifty minutes away, toward the town Scourge said Fiona lived. I wanted to say that I was happy with my breakthrough, but I mostly felt annoyed.
I mean, how could Scourge have kept that a secret from me?!
Mrs. Raccoon would have gladly fought against Fiona—helped me too—but Scourge specifically told her to keep it a secret. And although my encounter with his associates was now also a secret, I was making an effort to help him. So why was he making my life harder?
Especially after everything?
I clenched my fists before pushing the door open. A rush of refreshing, cool air hit me, but I felt no ease. The store was definitely upscale; I caught a glance at apples for $5 a pound. For sale. I shuddered. I moved to the back, where I saw a door propped open slightly. Written in black bold letters was SECURITY. I knocked on it. Detective Rose was at it again.
A bulky tiger walked out of the room. "Yes?"
I brought out my identification. "Hello, I'm Amy Rose. I'm an attorney on a child custody case and need to obtain footage of the parking lot. It should date back four months ago—The week of February 8th, late afternoon."
He nodded, motioning for me to step in. "What were you looking for in particular?"
"A young fox woman in a green SUV." I said, sitting down at a set of monitors. "You'll see it when I see it."
"Let me just call one of the other security officers to watch my post." He started speaking into a walky-talky. "You're lucky. We're replacing our computers next week. You would have had to go to the database a few towns over."
"Lucky me." I didn't feel lucky, but I was making progress. It took a while, watching through the videos, the four monitors covering each corner of the parking lot. When we made it to Thursday, I was afraid we'd have to start over, or include the entire month. Then Friday came. And I saw it.
It was worse than I could have imagined.
With the joint pull of Ms. Ferret and Parker, I was able to pull out Sage's restricted medical records. It was funny, how this whole experience was almost a tragedy, yet I had literally found a treasure trove of evidence.
I had just what I needed—I had won. But by the time I reached home, I was hardly feeling victorious. It would be a waste of time to say how I was feeling—because I was feeling everything. The good. The bad. Mostly the bad.
Blaze hadn't spoken to me in two days—which only added to the unpleasant sensation overwhelming me. Then I remembered I was still pregnant. And potentially abnormal.
Happy fucking joy.
Scott the Hippo offered me a harmless text about our meeting next week, and Clarissa posted a picture of her and Parker at dinner. I sighed, taking my files to the kitchen-office space. Now that I had all the pieces, it was time to put the puzzle together. I only wished my life worked the same way.
Today was a day of answers, so I used that as my justification for ruining Blaze's ignorance. Okay, so I wasn't going to tell her shit, but I had to make sure she wasn't withholding anything either.
I knocked on Blaze's door, beyond tired of knocking on doors. It was late, so I wasn't surprised when Silver opened it.
"Amy?" He opened the door further, but I sensed the restraint radiating off him. I forgot that we were trying not to hate each other. "Come in."
I forced a smile, following in his lead. "How are you doing?"
"Honestly? Really good." He was smiling genuinely now, even if it was only a small one. He actually looked attractive. I narrowed my eyes.
"What are you so happy about?"
"Amy!" I spotted Blaze sitting in the living room. She was glowing, fake-belly intact, which almost made me reconsider who was actually pregnant here. Silver helped her to her feet. When I looked closely at her, I noticed her eyes were lined with tears. She handed me the sonogram picture from last week.
"Is everything okay?" It was sad, asking her a question that couldn't possibly have a positive answer. But when she nodded, pinching my hand, I couldn't breathe.
"We're having twins."
Yay or nay? Please share your thoughts.
KB
