Ben Reach had a secret, a well-guarded secret. He constantly studied character. His law practice afforded the perfect laboratory for this game. Sam Nixon, MD played it with him. While they largely fished in silence, they made exceptions to discuss men and women who fascinated them.
Very rich people particularly fascinated them. Not that they admired them — quite the contrary in most cases. Men and women who used wealth to push others around or drive too harsh bargains infuriated them. There were lots of them in Southwest Georgia.
Owners of shooting plantations left them by Robber Baron ancestors tended to be demanding skin flints in their dealings with their help, black and white. They revealed this most amusingly when a new plantation owner dared to hire away a prized butler or cook or dog trainer by offering higher wages. Doing so was a sure way to be black balled in plantation society.
Ben and Sam had a pet peeve in their observation of rich folks’ dealings with their help. It centered on the explosive element of sex. From time immemorial the wealthy had exploited their employees and employees’ family members in matters of sex.
Sometimes it was Ben who got the call. Sometimes it was Sam. Inevitably they teamed to help the victim. Of course the wealthy saw themselves as the victims, particularly when their young people were involved. To the rich and powerful the seducer was always the poor partner in the liaison. Ben and Sam did not get into the issue of fault in these matters.
There was in their region a sort of Underground Railroad to Ben and Sam, known to working folk black and white. If you or your child is in trouble — that sort of trouble — to Ben or Sam was where you went. The old men were not judgmental. They understood the balance of power lay with the rich. But one fairly recent scientific discovery had come a long way toward balancing the scales of power: DNA testing.
If Ben or Sam were approached by a pregnant lass or her mother with the story of an alleged father denying or unwilling to take financial responsibility for a child, their first question was, do you have DNA proof? Usually not. So they set about to get it.
Sometimes it proved the accused not guilty, more often the opposite. But always before the quest for the evidence began, Ben and Sam had an understanding, confirmed in writing or a recorded conversation or both, that their advocacy depended on DNA confirmation of paternity.
Only with proof in hand would Ben approach the father or his parents. Always a financial settlement with two-way confidentiality agreements was the goal. If the female alleged victim insisted on filing a law suit first, Ben refused the case. But once negotiations were opened Ben let it be known a law suit would be filed if a fair offer, including assurance of educational and medical expenses for the child, were not offered. Ben and Sam also required that these benefits for the child could not be bargained away by the mother after the deal was struck.
Currently the curmudgeons were stymied by a case. The alleged father was the nineteen year old son of a hedge fund owner who had two years earlier bought a trophy plantation. The client was a seventeen year old daughter of a household worker on the plantation. Her story was a familiar one. No need to spell it out.
Ben and Sam met together with daughter and mother and asked about DNA proof. No, they did not have it. No the boy was not living at the plantation owned by his father. His whereabouts were unknown.
Then the bombshell: the boy was adopted so DNA proof could not be implied through material from his mother or father. Ben and Sam sent the client-patient and her mother home and over drams of The Macallan caucused on strategy to get DNA evidence from the missing lad.
* * * * *
Ben addressed a letter to the lad’s father:
Dear Mr. Johnson,
I represent Miss Alice Ames who alleges your son Robert is the father of her daughter scheduled to be born October 1, 2016. She tells me Robert denies paternity but also refused to submit to a DNA testing.
Please arrange for Robert to provide DNA evidence to support his claim. If it proves his claim to be true that will be the end of the matter. If it proves his paternity we are prepared to negotiate an agreement for his responsibility for child support, medical insurance and expenses and educational expenses. The agreement will contain mutual confidentiality assurances including confidentiality as to the fact of paternity.
Please have counsel contact me within one week of the date of this letter.
Very Truly Yours,
Ben Reach
Two days later Ben got a call from Arthur Harrison, a domestic relations lawyer from Atlanta known for hard nosed litigation tactics.
“Robert Johnson denies paternity and will not provide DNA evidence. Next move is up to you and your client.”
“Where is Robert?” Ben asked.
“Whereabouts unknown to me,” Arthur Harrison answered and hung up.
At lunch Ben told Sam, “Johnson is counting on Alice Ames’ or her parents’ desire for no publicity to outweigh their desire or need for money.”
“Suppose you tell Arthur Harrison your next call will be to your friend the Rolling Stone reporter interested in doing an investigative piece on the Johnson family if Robert does not submit DNA evidence,” Sam asked.
“Before we do that let’s have my detective see what he can find out about Robert’s history,” Ben said.
“And while we are at that let’s have Pete-Bob Dix gather evidence from the folks who work at Johnson’s plantation,” Sam said.
* * * * *
Ben dispatched his detective and Pete-Bob to their assignments.
Pete-Bob was the first to report. Ben and Sam had him come at The Macallan time. Pete-Bob poured himself a Crown Royal and Coke and sat down with a grin.
“That boy Robert is a pistol,” Pete-Bob opened. “Amazing thing he is just seventeen.”
“Seventeen,” Ben answered, incredulous. “Alice said nineteen.”
Ben’s mind was working a mile a minute. Pete-Bob’s intelligence opened new avenues of attack. With Robert being a minor, James Johnson as a father had certain responsibilities for his son’s conduct.
“Joanne, please get Judge Jenkins on the line.” Judge Jenkins was judge of Family Court.
Ben made an appointment to see him in chambers next morning. That afternoon a sheriff’s deputy served James Johnson with a subpoena requiring his appearance in Family Court next morning.
Arthur Harrison appeared with his client next morning, obviously irritated by having to rise very early for the drive from Atlanta.
“Mr. Johnson I have here a complaint signed by the parents of Alice Ames alleging your son Robert is the father of her unborn child and asking the court to compel Robert, whereabouts unknown, to provide material for a DNA test to confirm or disprove the allegation of paternity. Will you arrange for this?”
“Your Honor, my client intends to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights with respect to all questions of this court,” Arthur Harrison said.
“In that case I am issuing a capeus for Mrs. Johnson.”
“She is not in the state of Georgia, Your Honor,” Harrison said.
“Well, I am issuing it to be served at her residence in this county. It will be tacked to her door. If she does not appear by tomorrow morning this time she will be in contempt.” The judge was steaming mad. He adjourned court.
Ben caught up with Arthur Harrison as he opened his car door. “Arthur, why are you making this hard?”
“Client’s instructions,” Harrison said.
That afternoon Ben and Sam caucused over drams of The Macallan.
“Why would Johnson be so intent on not having his son’s DNA produced?” Sam asked.
“Been thinking about that. Think I’ll ask our detective to make some inquiries into Robert’s biological parentage.”
“Won’t be easy but it can be done,” Sam said. He had experience seeking the evidence where a genetic clue made a difference in a diagnosis.
* * * * *
The detective, accustomed to routine domestic cases where the objective was securing evidence of adultery for grounds for divorce, was challenged by Ben’s request for evidence of Robert’s DNA or whereabouts. After inquiring among his betters in professional organizations, he learned the basics of getting information from sealed adoption records in New Jersey, the state where Robert’s adoption had been accomplished. The secret was bribery of court administrative personnel, $200 cash for access to the natural parent profiles in adoptions.
“Mr. Ben, I have the name and background on Robert Johnson’s birth mother. She worked for James Johnson’s hedge fund. The father is listed as “Unknown.”
So, Ben mused, wonder who the father was. “Does she still work there?”
“No, at least not on employee roles,” the detective replied.
“What was her job?” Ben asked.
“Assistant to CEO,” the detective responded, stifling a chuckle.
“Any leads on where young Robert is?”
“Afraid not.”
* * * * *
“Young Robert may be the biological son of James Johnson, his mother was James Johnson’s personal assistant,” Ben told Sam.
“The plot thickens,” Ben said.
Ben called Arthur Harrison. “We known Robert’s biological mother’s identity. James’s personal assistant. If his concern is this being publicly revealed we can agree it won’t be by our side,” Ben said.
Harrison was silent for a moment. “I’ll get back to you.”
Harrison called back that afternoon. “You could only have obtained that information illegally. Use it and you will be sued personally.” Then Harrison hung up.
Ben’s next call was from Pete-Bob Dix. “Young Robert is at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia.”
“How did you find out?” Ben asked.
“You do not want to know,” Pete-Bob said.
“How much did it cost to find out.” Ben asked.
“Just a little of my charm,” Pete-Bob replied. “ I am driving up there as we speak.”
Two days later Pete-Bob arrived at Ben’s office carrying in a clear plastic bag a Coca-Cola can. “There is your DNA evidence,” Pete-Bob said. Ben dictated to Joanne a statement about how he obtained the Coke can and Pete-Bob signed it with Joanne notarizing.
Ben then called Arthur Harrison. “We now have Robert Johnson’s DNA. We also are prepared to file in Family Court for a finding of paternity and a fixing of his financial responsibility to the child if the DNA evidence substantiates paternity. If your client wants this handled by a negotiated private agreement I need to know that by 9 AM tomorrow.” With that Ben hung up.
Sam arrived at Ben’s office at 5 PM for the curmudgeons’ daily dram of stress reliever of The Macallan. Ben reported on the day’s events in the Johnson-Ames paternity case.
“Think he will negotiate?” Sam asked.
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Well, it could be for one or more of several reasons. If James Johnson is Robert’s biological father that fact might come out in Family Court litigation, and I doubt James wants his wife to know it. Second, the unwillingness to volunteer DNA makes me wonder if somewhere in a criminal case data bank there is stored the details of a DNA profile that would match up to Robert or James or both and James fears a random hit that could make suspects of Robert or James or both in a criminal matter or another paternity case.”
“What are you going to demand in an agreement?” Sam asked .
“Child support in a reasonable amount, responsibility for medical insurance and medical care in excess of insurance, educational expenses to the level the child’s ability or lack thereof dictates including college, university or vocational training, scholastic, undergraduate and post graduate through PhD if talent justifies. If the child develops special care or educational needs, the father will provide. No age limits. If Alice wants to attend college or other school or schools to make her independent at any time in the future, Robert will pay for it. James will guarantee it all.”
At 5:30 PM the phone rang. It was Arthur Harrison calling to advise James Johnson wanted to negotiate.
“I’ll send you a draft of the agreement in a few days,” Ben said and hung up.