Truth - Romig Aleatha (книги без сокращений .txt) 📗

Tony went on explaining: emotions were high, threats and promises were made. The new wife and this young man’s parents did not get along. One night there was an incident. Tony looked down into Claire’s eyes; he rephrased an accident. It wasn’t intentional, but things got out of control. The young man wasn’t there. He arrived too late to help his parents. Since they were beyond help, he chose to help the woman his grandfather loved. The only person who could refute the premise of murder/ suicide was a neighbor. That neighbor, like everyone else, had a price. For over twenty years the young man worked to shield the woman he promised his grandfather he would protect.

Tony’s eyes once again met Claire’s. “When I changed my name, I hoped to distance myself from the Rawls sins. I’m not sure how or why Patrick Chester made the connection from Anton Rawls to Anthony Rawlings, but I’m so sorry he did.”

Claire sat up, “It’s my fault.”

His eyes refocused, “What? How?”

“We found his name on a police report. Your parents’ injuries weren’t consistent with murder/suicide. Patrick Chester lived in a very nice neighborhood with very nice cars. His lifestyle didn’t match his profession or income. He had an annual installment that continued to grow. We suspected the annual payments were payoffs for silence. In the original report he mentioned a woman in a blue Honda. The woman was never mentioned again. A month or more ago, I went to his house.”

Tony’s regret changed to hostility before her eyes, “You did what?”

Claire couldn’t justify her behavior. She melted against the soft cushions, “I know– it was stupid.”

His hands were on her shoulders, “Why would you even think...”

She allowed the tears to fall, “It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. I’m the one who put our baby at risk.” His arms surrounded her. With her face pressed against his chest, she asked, “The woman, she wasn’t your aunt was she?” Claire felt Tony shaking his head. “She was your grandmother?”

He shrugged, “I guess. I’ve never really thought of her that way. My parents successfully petitioned her and Nathaniel’s marriage to be voided. She wasn’t legally able to maintain the name Rawls.”

“You’ve been paying for her freedom for all these years. Do you ever see her?”

“I do. But she doesn’t want to be identified.”

Claire nodded. She didn’t blame the lady. There was no statute of limitations on murder in California; the less people that knew, the better. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

He pushed her away and looked into her eyes, “No more detective work.” This again wasn’t a question. Claire nodded and settled against his chest. Inhaling his cologne and listening to the beat of his heart, Claire closed her eyes. She didn’t want to ponder the new information. She wanted it all to go away.

Claire awoke as the plane touched down in Iowa.

Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you - and summons them to your recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you!

—John Irving

Chapter 55

Over the next few days and weeks Claire settled into an old, yet unfamiliar, pattern on Tony’s estate. Things were different and the same. She had her iPhone and iPad. Tony even bought her a new laptop; her old one was still missing. Apparently, the police found Patrick Chester’s van and hotel room. Unfortunately, the laptop was in neither place. His house in Santa Monica was also thoroughly searched. Nothing was there either. His wife and daughter were shocked. They had no idea why a loving husband and father would decide to kidnap someone. Repeatedly, they told the police and press, “This wasn’t like him at all. We don’t understand what drove him to such behavior.”

The missing laptop led everyone to assume there might be an undetected accomplice. For that reason, Claire was more than content to stay behind the large iron gates. She rarely left the estate. When she did, it was usually to attend functions with Tony. The first few dates on their prearranged schedule were missed due to her appearance. Claire didn’t want the press taking pictures of her with the remnants of Patrick Chester’s handiwork around her eye or on her cheeks. During those first few weeks she called friends and family. Courtney and Sue made multiple visits. She even told them about the baby.

One afternoon Claire led Courtney out to the gardens. They settled onto the same bench that Catherine had told Claire was visibly accessible to the cameras but not audibly. Claire explained her change of heart to her dear friend. Courtney told Claire about Brent’s research. Derek Burke was related to Jonathon Burke, but not directly. And Brent couldn’t find anything remotely negative regarding him or his wife. The news fortified Claire. With all of her heart she wanted to believe Tony’s vendetta was done.

The two women embraced. Courtney promised to always be there for Claire, if Claire promised to be honest. With tears in her eyes, Claire said, “I refuse to be anything else, and Tony knows that.”

Courtney smiled and hugged her again. “If this is really what you want, I’m happy for you. I want you to be happy.”

“I’m not sure about forever, but right now, Tony is what I want.”

Courtney smiled, “You know I love babies?”

“Good, I think ours is in need of an aunt. Emily isn’t very happy with me.”

Tony hired a bodyguard, Clay, an ex-secret service agent. As long as Claire stayed on the estate, he stayed behind the scenes. However, if she and Tony left the grounds, he rode shotgun with Eric. If Claire left by herself, he drove. If Tony chose to drive somewhere with Claire, Clay followed closely behind. He was much more intrusive than Phil had ever been. She almost asked for Phil; at least he’d be familiar. Sometimes Claire wondered what happened to him.

Claire never moved back to the second floor suite. The first night she arrived at the estate, she stayed in Tony’s room. After that, all of her new and old things were moved there. The technology which once barred her from his suite was no longer an issue. Besides, once their baby was born, neither one wanted to maintain separate rooms. The underutilized room beside Tony’s suite was in the midst of renovation. It would be a lovely nursery, accessible from their suite and the corridor.

By early August, Claire’s baby bump was visible, especially when wearing a bathing suit. Although it made her self-conscious, Tony complimented her changing anatomy. Her midsection wasn’t the only part of her growing. Her new doctor in Iowa City maintained everything was progressing well. Somehow they’d managed to keep the pregnancy from the press. This was amazing since the media seemed to know almost everything else including Claire’s change of address. Thankfully, nothing was ever printed about the threatening packages she’d received. The name Rawls never appeared in print or on the internet.

Living within their secure bubble, Claire began to relax and enjoy her life again. She would spend days sunbathing at the pool or hiking to her lake and listening to the waves lap the shore. When she closed her eyes, the sound of the water upon the pebbles continued to remind her of the sound of their baby’s heartbeat at that first ultrasound. As their little one grew, the heart rate increased. It was too early to learn the baby’s sex, but the doctor said the faster the heart rate the better the chance of a girl. When he said that, Tony squeezed Claire’s hand and whispered, “I bet she has your eyes, too.”

Claire smiled and shook her head. It never ceased to amaze her how Tony managed to get his way.