Truth (35 page)

Claire clicked the attachment:

“
Journalist Seeks
Redemption”

In pursuit of stories,
many reporters and journalists close the gap between perceived and
truth. We make this jump for the benefit of our readers. In
September of 2010, I made such a leap in an article I wrote
concerning Claire Nichols and Anthony Rawlings. There were
speculations regarding a relationship between this unlikely couple.
I used my familiarity with Ms. Nichols to learn more. I spoke to
Ms. Nichols in Chicago; it was not an official interview. I
purposely made myself available to an
old
friend
and asked to
chat
. Following that discussion, I
wrote a story insinuating a connection between Nichols and
Rawlings. While that connection proved in time to be accurate, I am
publically declaring Ms. Claire Nichols did not reveal the
relationship to me during our chat.

She has, however, promised me exclusive
rights to her story, promising an enlightening view into the world
of her true relationship with one of this country’s wealthiest men,
as well as the truth about her arrest, plea, incarceration and
unconventional release. Please stay tuned, the wait will be worth
it!

Meredith Banks, Independent
Correspondent

Still dressed in her
work-out clothes and sipping coffee, Claire approvingly read the
attachment. Savoring the warm liquid, she considered the
implications and wondered if she’d hear from her ex-husband. No,
Claire wondered
when
she’d hear from him. She hadn’t heard his voice since he left
Amber’s condominium nearly two weeks ago. And although Harry
continued to declare her paranoid regarding Anthony’s influence,
she knew in her heart, Tony’s power was limitless.

Thankfully, the inspection of the SiJo
Gaming air fleet came up clean. There were no signs of tampering
with any of the company’s aircraft. Emily and John were well and
would soon be in California for a visit. And, Amber and Harry
remained accident free.

Claire conceded she may
have an active imagination. Smiling, she remembered finding her
black lace panties inside her yoga pants after a
very
vivid dream. For a
moment she’d actually thought it could have been real. Nonetheless,
Claire’s great imagination didn’t nullify Tony’s
influence.

To save her friends,
Claire offered again to find her own place to live. However,
honestly she didn’t want to live alone. Isolation reminded her too
much of her cell in the Iowa Penitentiary or her suite at Tony’s
estate. Therefore, as long as Amber consented to Claire’s presence,
she’d stay. Claire justified:
if I move
because of Tony, I’m giving him power
. She
refused to relinquish her power; she’d done that before.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Claire realized
the attached article wouldn’t hit the newsstands for a couple of
days. Quickly, she fired back a response, approving the attachment
and thanking Meredith for the advanced notice. Claire also sent her
cell number and asked Meredith to call to schedule their
interviews. The last time they spoke, Meredith suggested the
possibility of doing a series of articles. It all depended on the
extent of information Claire would reveal.

Claire decided the
articles would concentrate on
her
life with Tony, not his hidden past. She didn’t
believe it was her place to disclose that information. For some
reason, someone wanted her to know his secret history. If they
didn’t, she wouldn’t have received the mysterious box. Although,
Claire struggled to understand the reasoning, she didn’t feel
sharing it with the world was her place.

The haunting questions
that infiltrated her thoughts continued to be...
who
sent the box?
Why
did they send it?
And
what
did they
hope to accomplish?

Merely moments after she hit send on her
email to Meredith, her iPhone rang. The excitement in Meredith’s
voice reverberated through the cellphone. Meredith made it clear
she was more than willing to travel to Palo Alto as soon as
possible to begin their interviews. During their conversation,
Claire recognized a desire to travel. Since Harry’s near miss of an
accident, she’d been stressing about everyone and everything. She
needed a break. Meredith lived in Long Beach, and would be in San
Diego during the next three days on business.

“
Meredith, I think I’d
enjoy a get-a-way. Could we meet in San Diego?”

“
Really? Sure! That would
be great. We can get started right away!”

They agreed to meet in Claire’s hotel suite,
the next night. Claire promised to text Meredith her accommodation
information as soon as she booked a room.

Claire assumed text messages were less
traceable than emails. It was only an assumption. Phil Roach would
probably know the minute she booked the flight and room. She sighed
and started her research, purposely checking multiple destinations
and dates of travel.

She found three different flights leaving
tomorrow, but purposely decided to wait until first thing in the
morning to book one. This gave Phil less time to follow. She also
found multiple acceptable places to stay. That too could wait until
the morning. She made a list of flights and rooms. Pensively she
wondered, would she ever be able to live without constant
surveillance?

During dinner, Amber presented Claire with
an interesting proposition, “So, there’s this big fundraiser gala
in a couple weeks. It’s a joint endeavor between many of the top
gaming companies in Silicon Valley. We all pledge a percentage of
certain sales. Individually it’s very minimal, like a quarter of a
cent per download, but the cumulative amount is surprising. This
money all goes to fund the National Center for Learning
Disabilities.”

“
That’s nice. I didn’t
know you did that.”

“
Well, it’s something
Simon was passionate about. There are studies showing people with
learning disabilities can benefit from some of the electronic
games. Hand-eye coordination and sequencing... it’s all very
interesting.”

“
I think that’s great.”
Claire said with a smile. She remembered Tony’s regard for
philanthropic funds and thought how nice it was to have people
donate, for the right reason.

“
Yes, well here’s the
thing, I don’t enjoy fundraisers. I mean, I’ll do it, sometimes.
But honestly, I don’t do the chatty small-talk thing that
well.”

Claire sensed a question coming. She smiled
and raised her eyebrows.

Amber grinned, “So, I was wondering if you’d
be interested in representing SiJo Gaming for me?”

“
I’d be happy to do it,
but do you really want
me
representing your company?”

“
Don’t be silly. Why
wouldn’t I want
you
representing SiJo?”

“
Well, I don’t know, maybe
because I have a dubious past.”

“
Seriously, you’ll be
talking to the top two percent. Each plate is $30,000. Everyone
there has a dubious past!” Then in a quieter tone, “If you’re lucky
and someone has too much to drink, you’ll get to hear one or two of
those stories. Some people like to be very chatty and the
information can be quite entertaining!”

Claire smiled looking at Amber’s expectant
expression. She was thrilled to be able to do something for Amber,
after all she’d done for her. “Then yes. I’d be honored to
represent SiJo Gaming for you and for Simon. Am I going alone, or
will there be someone else with me?”

“
SiJo has two tickets. I
kind of assumed you’d want Harry to go with you, but if you have
someone else in mind.”

Claire’s eyes flitted to her plate to avoid
Amber’s direct gaze, “No, I’m relieved to have someone I know. I
thought there might be another SiJo representative you wanted
there.”

Amber giggled, “Harry’s been avoiding these
things for years. After Simon died I tried numerous times to get
him to accompany me to formal events. I like the idea of
manipulating him into going.” Her smile indicated possible
knowledge of Claire and Harry’s increasingly familiar relationship.
Nonetheless, she didn’t verbally acknowledge it, she just said,
“I’m sure Harry will be relieved you don’t have another companion
in mind. And, it’s formal so he’ll have to wear a tuxedo.” Amber’s
voice flowed with unbridled excitement at the prospect of making
her brother dress formally. “Now, if that doesn’t deter you, there
is one more thing you should know before you totally sign on.”

A sudden feeling of foreboding settled over
Claire, she hoped it wasn’t anything that would make her retract
her offer. “And what would that be?”

“
One of the companies well
represented at this festivity is Sheds-tics, a subsidiary of
Rawlings. It was the company where Simon started. He was always
fond of his start and stayed close with the local executives. The
two companies have shared a table in the past.”

Claire’s stomach twisted at the prospect of
sharing a table with Tony. Her mind went over the numerous formal
events she attended with Tony over the years. Her eyes squinted as
she processed, “I don’t remember this being an event Tony and I
attended while we were married.”

“
I checked. He hasn’t
attended in three years, since May of 2010. And Shedis-tics hasn’t
submitted their attendees for this year. They have four
tickets.”

Claire’s mind went to May of 2010, “He went
to this in 2010?”

“
Yes, that’s the
information I saw. Why? You weren’t married until December
right?”

“
Right.”

“
Well, he was there with
someone else, early May. I didn’t recognize the name of his
companion or remember the exact date. But it was in
2010.”

Claire thought about being
in
his
house
while he attended events with other women. Why had she never
thought of that before? It wasn’t until late May of 2010 that she
went to the Symphony with him. All those lonely evenings and nights
when he was
busy
.
Unconsciously she clenched her teeth. Oh, she didn’t want to go
there. Claire tried to focus on Amber. “Oh, I guess... I’ll still
do it. I owe you this and more.”

“
You don’t owe me
anything. However, I was thinking if
he
does come, wouldn’t this be a
great opportunity to be seen near him, in public? You know, since
he spoiled your plans for visibility during your
dinner.”

Claire shrugged. “I
suppose it could be.” Slowly a smile spread from her lips to her
eyes, “And if
I
knew
he
was
to be there, but
he
didn’t know
I
was... hmm,” she pondered, “I think this could be
good.”

“
I won’t have Liz send
your and Harry’s name in until the last minute.”

“
Thank you.” Claire leaned
across the tall kitchen table and asked, “Tell me, is this an
occasion for a new dress?”

“
Oh girl, do you need an
occasion? Seriously, you’re welcome to borrow one of mine. Check
out the closet in the spare bedroom; any one is fine.”

By eight fifteen Friday
morning, Claire sat comfortably in the wide plush leather seat
aboard a non-stop
United
flight to San Diego. If she stayed true to her
schedule, she’d pick-up her rental car and be in her hotel suite
before noon. Claire felt devious and clever, booking her flight at
four thirty in the morning, and not confirming her hotel until she
was in the first class lounge awaiting her flight. Undoubtedly,
Phil Roach would follow, but the momentary slip fortified her
ability to manipulate the people who worked tirelessly monitoring
her every move. She relished the brief reprieve from knowing
eyes.

Just before take-off, Claire sent a text to
Meredith proposing dinner in her suite while they discussed the
impending journalistic expose. She hadn’t received confirmation and
now that the plane was in the air, her iPhone had to be off. With
the scrutinizing eyes of the seemingly friendly flight attendant,
Claire followed the rules and kept her phone neatly stashed in the
pocket of her purse. She’d check for Meredith’s response once she
landed.

Preoccupied with following signs to the
luggage carousel and retrieving her larger suitcase, Claire didn’t
remember to turn on her iPhone until she was standing in line for
her rental car. When she turned the telephone on, she saw multiple
emails, text messages, two missed calls, and one voice mail
message. She opted for the voice mail. After entering the necessary
information she clasped her hand over her ear, trying to shut out
the noisy airport clamor and listened to the voice coming from her
phone. She needn’t worried. The voice was loud and clear.

“
I hoped you could
answer
this
phone, since you refuse to answer the number you know I know.
I will assume you have a good reason for not answering but will
call me back immediately. Shelly just called. I expect you remember
she’s my publicist. We need to
talk
. If I do not hear from you by
noon, my time, I am boarding a jet and heading to you. The choice
is yours.”