Page 32 of Operation Protector
“Colby Kendrick, meet Gavin de Marco,” Quinn said.
They shook hands, and even with the forewarning he might be involved, Colby wasn’t prepared for the feeling he was under the close scrutiny of a very, very perceptive man. But what he was prepared for even less was the man’s first words.
“I gotta say, Colby, at first I thought you had the biggest pile of bad luck. Yours is the worst parenting plan I’ve seen in a while, especially with no proof of abuse.”
Colby blinked. Then seized on the most important words. “At first?”
“Then I remembered who you were dealing with. I assume you had no idea both your attorney and the judge who heard your custody case were in the Hollens’ back pocket.”
He stared at the famous face, unable to even respond.
“I didn’t think so,” de Marco said. He shifted his gaze to Quinn. “No concrete proof of that yet, but it’s undersurface knowledge among some circles that they’ve got a nice mutual support system going.”
“I’m curious,” Quinn said. “Did they always have that family law judge, or only after Grace was born?”
“After,” de Marco confirmed. He glanced back to Colby. “But right after.”
Colby’s brow furrowed. “She was planning this that early? Back when Grace was a baby?”
De Marco gave him a sympathetic look. “I don’t know if your ex herself was involved at the beginning. From what I’ve learned about her parents, it could well be they decided to cover that base early, just in case.”
“That sounds like her mother,” Colby said sourly.
“So how did they acquire this influence over both lawyer and judge?”
“Again, only rumor, but strong ones. The attorney has a drug problem—” he again looked at Colby sympathetically as he added “—albeit a well-hidden one.”
Colby groaned. Maybe Liz was right, he truly was too stupid to live in her world.
“As for the judge,” de Marco went on, “rumor has it he has a penchant for young boys. That that’s why he went into family law because it brought him…possibilities.”
Colby recoiled in disgust. He stared at de Marco. “And you think the Hollens have proof of that?”
“That’s my guess. But,” he cautioned, “it is only a guess.”
“And a guess from Gavin de Marco is worth five from anybody else,” Quinn said.
“I don’t know whether to thank you or throw up,” Colby said sourly.
De Marco smiled understandingly. Then he looked back at Quinn. “You want me to keep probing on that?”
“Yes, keep digging, while we stay focused on Colby’s situation. If we get the chance to take all of them out later, after Grace is safely removed, then we’ll do it.”
Colby stared at the man who spoke as if something like that was all in a day’s work. “All of them?”
Quinn met his gaze steadily. “The lawyer, the judge…and the Hollens.” He said it like a man with full confidence it could be done.
But then, he was sitting here with Gavin de Marco, so that alone sort of implied anything could happen.
They talked a little longer, but Colby wasn’t sure how much of it he took in. By the time de Marco left, he was still reeling a bit.
“He’ll give you his best,” Quinn said as the door closed after the famous attorney. “Especially now.”
“Now?”
Quinn smiled. “Gavin just got back from his honeymoon, and I have a feeling kids are on the agenda soon.”
Colby wondered what it would be like for a kid to have a father famous around the world. A father to be proud of.
