Naomi went back to cooking dinner. She wondered what in the world was going on with her friend.

Jessica called back later that night. “Ready?”

After Jessica helped the kid with his homework, Naomi got on the phone and started to talk about things.

“I know you mentioned you had a deposition coming up, Jess. When is it?”

“This Friday.”

“Okay . . . so, how are you thinking things are going to go?”

“I’m really concerned about it. Alan’s really pushing for custody.” This was a different Jessica. She sounded more worried than angry. There was genuine concern in her voice. Perhaps even dread. Definitely defeat. “He’s flying in and then he’s going to have visitation with the kids as well.”

“Oh,” Naomi said. “That’s good. He should see the kids.”

But then the conversation took on a different course. Jessica went from being distant and cerebral, almost sympathetic, to vengeful. She needed to do something. There was no way she could sit back and let Alan beat her.

“We’re going to set him up,” Jessica said.

“Alan?” Naomi asked. She was shocked. Confused. Such a strange comment. What did Jessica mean by “set him up”? “What are you talking about?”

“Domestic violence . . . we’re going to set Alan up for domestic violence charges.”

It was clear that Jessica and Jeff had devised some sort of a plan to entice Alan into hitting her or doing something irrational to get himself in trouble. The ignorance was incredible. To think Jessica had been married to the man all those years. There was no way Alan would engage in violence with his ex-wife. He’d had several opportunities to strike back at Jessica while she hit, yelled or pushed him down the stairs and broke his arm. He had never so much as raised a hand.

“Why are you gonna do that, Jess?”

“I need to. My case is not going good.”

“Come on.”

“He’s going to get custody!”

In the midst of cooking dinner, helping her own kids with their homework and doing what normal working mothers and housewives do every weeknight, Naomi thought, Oh great! This darn story again. She had heard it all from Jessica before. “I’m gonna get Alan,” etc. It was common speak whenever Jessica mentioned Alan in the same breath as the child custody matter.

“What are you going to do if Kelley walks up while this is happening?” Naomi asked. She was worried if Jessica lured, provoked and plied Alan with enough hurtful words, he might finally snap and do something to Jessica. And if that went down, Jeff and Alan could get into a fight. Naomi mentioned later that she was privy to only Jessica’s side of the story—that Jessica had built Alan up into a bully, a deadbeat dad who was capable of doing something like this. So it was easier for Naomi to fall for Jessica’s lies. Jessica had manipulated her children’s god parents as well as everyone else. Yet, Naomi made a point to say later, “I never believed Alan would ever hurt Jessica.”

“Oh,” Jessica said, “Kelley’ll just kill him.”

Hearing this, Naomi obviously had no idea Jessica actually meant it. This is a whole bunch of hooey . . . how many times have I heard this before? Naomi thought after Jessica said it.

“I gotta go, Jess. I cannot listen to this.”

It was old hat. Naomi had heard Jessica’s threats too many times to take her at her word. “So much so,” Naomi said later, quite remorsefully, “that I didn’t even mention it to my husband that night.”

After Naomi brought up that “Kelley’ll just kill him” conversation, Jessica said, “That’s funny . . . you’re the only one who doesn’t believe me.” She sounded as if she was disappointed in her friend.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Jess.” This was painful for Naomi. She didn’t want her friend to be crazy or a murderer. She had put her trust and faith in Jessica. She and her husband had tried helping her. Had given her advice and money and food and support. (“It sounds like we took her side in the divorce,” Naomi clarified later. “But in trying to stay out of it, we lost touch with Alan, but [we] did have contact with him over the years.”)

“I didn’t do it,” Jessica pleaded.

“It’s just that I am asking you what happened, and if you were involved,” Naomi said. She needed to know. No more lies. Fess up.

Jessica thought about it. Before hanging up, she took a deep breath. Paused. Then gave Naomi a clear warning: “Now you keep your mouth shut about our conversation.”

33

A few months after Alan and Terra postponed the wedding, things got worse, just as Alan had predicted. Alan and Jessica were in the midst of an impassioned court battle. Jessica hired a lawyer, Lindsey Allison. On September 13, 1999, a short time before their first scheduled trial date, Frank Head sent Lindsey a letter. He wanted to confirm that the case had been postponed to December 9. The more important reason for the letter, however, detailed how Philip and Joan Bates were now going to be picking the children up for scheduled visitations on the third weekend of October and November. Frank Head pointed out that Jessica needed to be made aware that Alan was going to start calling the kids on Sunday evenings at six o’clock, and Jessica was to make sure they were available for “approximately fifteen minutes of uninterrupted conversation.”

Simple stuff that lots of broken families did.

Jessica failed to hold up her end of the agreement. Alan and Terra couldn’t believe it. Jessica was openly thumbing her nose at the court. When Alan said something about it, Jessica came up with the idea that if Alan wanted to speak to the children, he would have to buy them a cell phone and pay the cost of service. Otherwise, forget it.

Frank Head sent Lindsey Allison a second letter saying the request by Jessica for Alan to purchase the children a cell phone was unreasonable—Jessica needed to let him talk to his kids. Period.

Jessica said: No cell phone, no contact.

The day before Philip and Joan were scheduled to pick up the kids for that first weekend visitation, Lindsey Allison contacted Frank Head by fax. It was October 12. The fax came in under the heading of Very Urgent: Ms. Bates has just informed me that her grandmother in Salt Lake City, Utah, has died.

Jessica claimed she, the children and her parents were traveling to Salt Lake that afternoon and would not return until Sunday. The visitation was off. She hoped Alan would understand. She was going to offer another weekend in its place in order to keep in good standing with the court. The death was unexpected, right? What could she do? Philip and Joan needed to pick a date and get back to Lindsey Allison with it.

Alan said no biggie. It was a bad time. A death in the family. For once, it seemed Jessica had a rational explanation for missing a visitation.

Frank Head wasn’t buying it. After a bit of checking, he found out Jessica had, in fact, played them. It was a lie. Her grandmother was alive and well.

The scheduled December court date came . . . and then . . . another postponement and additional excuse on Jessica’s part about being ill and in the hospital. In the interim Frank Head drafted another missive to Jessica. It spelled out what was going on and what Alan was preparing to do next. Throughout the fall of 1999—Thanksgiving and Christmas, McKenna’s birthday and various other weekends in between—Jessica found a way not to allow Alan to see the children, even once. On top of that, phone calls between the father and his girls were kept to a minimum. Alan talked to them once or twice for a few minutes each time.

Alan called his mother in tears, letting it all out. Jessica was turning his own children against him. He was defenseless. Not even the court seemed to want to hold up visitation orders. She had found a way around the system. What could he do?