However, instead of deleting he made an electronic copy on a personal flash drive and printed a copy. Then he deleted it from the original drive. If questioned, he would deny that it’d ever been present. He wanted to punch Tony, but Brent knew he could never let Tony know he read the brief.
Planning to keep it to himself, he decided to hide the paper copy in his safe and put the pin drive in a special box in the drawer of his desk. Before he had the chance to follow through on those plans, Courtney came home. She knew immediately that something was amiss and assumed Tony was responsible. Maybe it was the whiskey combined with helplessness for Claire, but Brent handed Courtney the paper copy. In hindsight, it was a mistake that almost cost him his twenty-eight-year marriage. When she finished reading he asked two simple questions, “Do you believe it? Do you think she is telling the truth?”
Courtney erupted! She believed every word and wanted Tony’s head on a platter. She also wanted Brent to quit his job, move far away from Iowa City, and most importantly help Claire. Downtrodden, Brent explained none of that was possible. “We can’t.”
“Why not? She told me at the jail she didn’t do it! I knew something was wrong. I kept asking. Why didn’t I push more? God, it said he hurt her in California. We were with them! Brent, think about Claire, her age. What if those things you read happened to our daughter?”
“I would kill the bastard! But they didn’t. And not only is he my boss, he is now Caleb’s boss. Don’t you think in light of this new information it is coincidental that he recently offered Caleb such a great job? Now not only does he own us, but also our son and future daughter-in-law.”
“This is America, just quit!”
“Courtney, I can’t. You don’t walk away from Tony. Ask John Vandersol.” Brent hadn’t meant to divulge that information, it just slipped out. Courtney sat dazed. She poured herself another glass of cabernet and reread the brief. The next day, while Brent was at work, Courtney left. He came home to a note: “If anyone asks, I am taking care of my sick mother. Do not attempt to call or communicate, I will not be available.” Brent tried numerous times. Over a week later she returned. Brent remembered worrying what she would say. He fully expected, “You are weak and I am done, I want a divorce.”
Instead, Courtney apologized. “I wasn’t there for Claire and apparently can’t be there for her now. I can be here for you. You shouldn’t have to face that bastard every day without support. I love you and will support you. But know this: I want out of here and away from him. From this point forward we slowly, inconspicuously move our assets away from Rawlings stock and work to liberate our family. That will start with Caleb, before he gets in too deep. Do you agree?”
Brent did. He wanted out too. The first time Courtney needed to see Tony face to face, Brent worried. She did fine. If he could muster a false smile and Claire could do it, she could too. They were already laying the ground work for Caleb’s move to another place of employment.
As Brent got out of the car and walked into the institution he worried about Claire, what would she look like? Has she been able to survive? How? He hated Tony and damned him with each echoing step down the long, tiled halls.
A guard took him to a small dingy room, illuminated with a florescent glow, which contained a steel table and four chairs. Brent set his briefcase on the table and waited. Looking around, he noticed the conspicuous camera in the corner. It reminded him of the videotaping mentioned in the preliminary brief and of his conversation with Tony.
“You want me to go tell Ms. Nichols (Tony didn’t like to hear her first name) you are considering a civil lawsuit against her, for what?”
“Slander and deformation of character.”
“Why, what did she say?”
“It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know. You just need to do your job.” Tony’s voice was flat and authoritative.
In actuality Brent was fishing, would Tony share the information Brent already knew? He also wondered if Tony knew he knew, apparently not. “Tony, there are many members of the legal team that haven’t been as involved with Ms. Nichols as I. Perhaps one of them could inform her of the impending suit?”
“No. It will be you.” His tone was firm and his eyes intense. “Have you ever noticed the nice cameras in those visitor rooms? Those tapes are available for a price. I will assume you will not relay information to her that is not related to the suit. As a reminder, this will not be a friendly visit.” Brent said he understood.