The last time he had seen her was at her father's funeral.

She'd worn sky blue, her father's favorite color.

"Caitlin?"

She smiled broadly.

She'd wondered how long it would take him to remember.

"Hello, Judge, how are you?"

This was the last place he'd have expected to run into her.

Harrison leaned back in his chair, taking stock.

He'd seen no mention of her in the case.

Was she a friend of the boy's father?

"What are you doing here?"

Very deliberately Caitlin took Graham's hand in hers.

Rather than closing ranks, she felt a distance and couldn't begin to

understand why now, of all times.

She blocked it as she concentrated on the judge.

"I'm married to Detective Redhawk. Jake is my stepson."

"Married?"

Harrison's eyes briefly shifted to Graham before looking at Caitlin

again.

"And your mother didn't invite me to the wedding?"

Because he had once been an old family friend, the judge would

understand.

"My mother wasn't invited to the wedding."

Her mother hadn't bothered to return her phone call so Caitlin had

refrained from any further attempts to gei in contact with her.

The idea of upbraiding Regina Cassidy for what she had done no longer mattered to Caitlin.

-It wasn't even a side bonus.

The judge nodded, just a hint of a smile flirting with the corners of his mouth.

"I see."

And he did.

Regina Cassidy was a handsome woman by any standards.

She was-also a woman he would never have chosen as his own wife.

It -was a tribute to his late friend's easygoing nature that he had

managed to survive all those years with her and still retain his sense of humor.

Harrison knew that he wouldn't have been able to.

The judge cleared his throat.

"Well, let's get on with this, shall we? I have a full docket today."

He paused for a moment as he looked carefully over the array of faces

before him.

Earlier, he'd been in some mental quandary about the case and its resolution.

With this latest bit of information before him, the quandary no longer existed.

Folding his hands on the desk, he began by addressin both sides.

"All things considered, you seem to be equally matched."

Albert Wells took immediate exception.

"Your Honor my client's husband is a highly respected businessman with a very secure financial portfolio. It's all there."

He pointed to the manila folder on the judge's desk.

He'd personally given the information to the judge's clerk.

"I am sure that you will agree that he and the child's mother are in a

position to give the boy a great many advantages that he migh not know if he remains with his adoptive father."

There was no mistaking the belittling look he gave Graham.

Caitlin felt her temper rising and she looked at Zac to take exception.

Wells couldn't be allowed to get away wit insulting Gray like that.

But as Zach opened his mouth, the judge waved him into silence.

"I noticed, Mr. Wells, that you mentioned the word adoptive in

reference to Detective Redhawk, but not in reference to the boy's mother."

Harrison's expression grew stern.

Caitlin could well imagine the man posing for a sculpture of a gargoyle.

"They are both adoptive parents Mr. Wells, and I'd like you to remember that. It is that fac that makes their initial claim so balanced."

Wells shifted within his five-hundred-dollar jacket.

"I aware of that, Your Honor-" "Good."

The judge nodded.

But as Wells began to say something further, the judge neatly cut into

his words.

He had taken a personal dislike to the man and his attitude And it showed. "Are you also aware of Detective Red hawk's wife's standing in the community?"

Wells frowned as he looked accusingly at his counter part.

Zach met his glare head-on without flinching.

"No.

wasn't even aware that he had a wife, Your Honor, until las Friday.

" He leaned over the desk to gain Harrison's ear, o so he hoped."

This is obviously just a ploy-" If any sort of defamation of character

was his goal, Well was never allowed to reach it.

Harrison's eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

"I know t detective's wife, Mr. Wells. I bounced her on my knee.

As recall, she wet it."

The judge didn't smile.

Caitlin and Jake were the only ones in the room who did.

"Unless her character has undergone a drastic change, she is not in the