by Nancy Adams
Her parents and sister laughed, but Judy patted her on the arm. “When you figure that one out, you can write a book about it. It's bound to be a bestseller.”
Sunday was just a wonderful day, in general. The Brennan family spent the afternoon huddled in the living room, watching a movie that they had picked up from one of the Redbox machines. It felt a lot like when the girls were teenagers, and the family would just relax together on a Sunday afternoon.
Rob and Anna had enjoyed their breakfast, then gotten dressed and gone to church, themselves. They attended a Baptist Church in Maxwell, and enjoyed going on Sunday mornings. Rob knew that he wasn't as diligent about it as he should be, often tired and ready to sleep in on Sunday mornings, but this particular morning, he felt drawn to be in church.
The sermon was about hope, and Rob felt almost like it was directed straight at him. Hope was something he had lived with all of his life, or at least for most of it. He had lived with the hope that he would walk again, after years in a wheelchair, and he had lived with the hope that his mother would one day remember who she was. Some hopes were fulfilled, but others were not, and he had learned the hard way that the best thing to do was leave it in the hands of the One Who always knew best.
Now he was living with hope again, as he quietly prayed that God would bring him and Katie Lou closer together.
Like the Brennans, Rob and his sister went out for lunch after church, descending on their favorite little diner. Each of them decided to go for the steak, which Rob jokingly said was about the size of a dog tag, but was always delicious. They sat and talked about the sermon, and Anna kept encouraging Rob not to give up on Katie Lou.
Walter Andrews had met Mustapha at his office, and sat beside the boy's computer workstation as he manipulated the audio files the way Walter wanted them. There were about three minutes of snippets from the six-hour recording that were most useful, and, taken out of context, they now made it clear that Rob and Katie Lou were devoted to one another, and that she had enlisted Rob in the scheme to let Darren think that there was hope, so that the settlement could be vacated. That would allow her to file a lawsuit for millions, something that the Allsips would be forced to settle, just to avoid the bad publicity.
“Play that part again,” Walter ordered, and the Indian boy touched a control on his screen.
“He's accepted responsibility, and I'm going to sue him for all he's worth.” Katie Lou's voice was clear and easily identifiable, and the minor changes that Mustapha had made to the genuine audio, which made it clear that she would never want to file such a lawsuit, were undetectable.
“Okay, that one is perfect. Let's go on to the next one.”
One by one, each of the snippets was altered so that it went from something benign and even polite, to something sinister and threatening. With only these edited clips to go by, anyone would come to the conclusion that Katie Lou and her boyfriend were out to scam Darren and his family out of millions. They would be so convincing, in fact, that there was no doubt in Walter's mind that Darren would find them believable.
That would be especially true when he threw in the photos and video of those two incredibly passionate kisses. Walter had had to slip out of his car and hide behind bushes in the yard next door as Rob was dropping Katie Lou off at home, just to be sure he didn't miss out on a good photo opportunity, and it had paid off. The kiss in the driveway had lasted for nearly 30 seconds, and the moans and heavy breathing that went with it made it obvious that the two were enjoying themselves. That video clip would almost certainly be the final nail in the coffin for Darren's romantic feelings for Katie Lou Brennan.
And then, it was Monday.
Katie Lou was up early, taking a shower and dressing for her appointment with Rob. Rob, of course, was up early as well, getting ready for another day at the clinic.
Both of them were late risers, compared to Walter Andrews. He was in his office before 6 AM, going through the presentation he would make to the Allsips when they came in later that morning. He had called James the night before, to let him know that he had everything ready, and James had agreed to bring Darren to his office at 9 AM.
They showed up right on schedule, and Walter's receptionist led them into his office. Walter rose to greet them.
“James, Darren, it's good to see you. Have a seat, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?” Both of them assured him that they were fine, so Walter picked up the tablet from his desk, and sat in the chair across from the sofa that they had taken. “Okay, then, let's get down to it.”
He turned to face Darren. “Darren, your dad called me the other day and told me what was going on with you. He was a little concerned, just wanted to be sure that everything was on the up and up, and that there wasn't anything funny going on that could get you in trouble or cause you a problem. In order to be sure that, he asked me to—well, to check a few things out.”
Darren looked a little confused, and turned to his father. “Dad? What's this all about?”
“Darren, I know you feel that you still care for Katie Lou, and if things work out, that's great. On the other hand, remember that we had signed a settlement agreement with her just couple of weeks ago, and that agreement could be undone if you reenter that relationship. I just wanted to be certain that everything was good, for you, so I asked Walter to look into Katie Lou and her motives for wanting to get back together with you. It's just a precaution, and while I understand it might seem a little crude to you, as an attorney, I felt it was prudent to be certain of what you were getting into.”
Darren looked disgusted, but shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, I see the point, even if I think it stinks.” He looked at Walter. “And what did you find?” He asked the question confidently, as if he were certain already that Katie Lou would come back to him.
Walter gave him a sad smile. “Darren, you may have heard that Miss Brennan and her physical therapist have been developing something of a relationship.”
Darren nodded. “Yes, I know. She's also told me that she still has feelings for me, though, and she's willing to explore a reconciliation.”
“Yes, yes, I know that,” Walter said. “However, I happened to find out that she and the doctor were going out on a date Saturday night, and so I put someone on them to follow. Now, I see from your face that that's already an unpleasant surprise, and I knew it would be. That's why I told them to use all of our latest technology to be certain of what was going on. I had someone go through it all yesterday, and condense it down to the important points. If you'll look at the screen on the wall, there, I can show you what they found.”
The three of them turned slightly to look at the sixty-five-inch television on the wall to the right, and Walter tapped on the screen of his tablet to send the first packet of information to the TV. The photos he had taken the night before, and several stills that were taken from the video from the spycam, were displayed on the screen. A slideshow began, with each picture expanding to fill the center of the screen, then receding as another one expanded to take its place. There were photos of them getting into Rob's car, sitting in the pizzeria—including the one of them holding hands—riding in the car and laughing together, parked in the drive-in—and of course, the big kiss in the drive-in—riding in the car as they left the theater, and finally ending with a quick couple of shots from the even bigger kiss in the driveway, followed by one last picture: it was taken just after Rob kissed Katie Lou on the cheek, but somehow gave the impression that there had been a much more passionate kiss there at her front door.
Darren sat there in stony silence as the slideshow played across the screen, and turned his face toward Walter when it ended. The expression he wore seemed to be a mixture of pain and anger, and Walter held up a hand to ask for his patience.
“There is more,” Walter said. A second later, a video clip appeared on the screen, taken in the pizzeria from across the room. The picture was fairly clear, but there was enough distance between the camera and its subjects t
hat it wasn't possible to clearly see their lip movements as they spoke.
Darren watched as they seemed to be talking about their own future together, and how one of the things that made Rob better than Darren was his love of root beer. The audio had been edited slightly, to make it sound the way Walter wanted it to sound, and Mustapha had certainly earned his pay. Despite the fact that he was a lawyer, and knew just how fallible direct observation truly was, Darren firmly believed that he had just watched and heard the woman he loved promising herself to another, even though she had sworn to him only a few evenings before that she would make no commitment until she was sure of how she felt about him.
The next clip played, audio over a distant shot of the couple in a car. This was the one where they seemed to be discussing the possibility of suing Darren and his family, since he had finally accepted responsibility for the accident. It was followed immediately by a slightly closer clip of the first kiss, and then the second, longer, obviously more passionate kiss. Some audio had been enhanced on these clips, making it sound like there was even more going on in the car.
Darren stood suddenly, and turned away. “Turn it off,” he demanded, and Walter complied instantly. Darren paced around the room for a moment, then turned to Walter. “Is there any possibility that this has been altered or distorted in any way? Is there any chance that we're not hearing what we think we're hearing?”
Walter tried to look sad. “I'm sorry, Darren, I wish I could tell you there was such a possibility, but there is not. I had our expert on digital audio and video going over at all yesterday afternoon, to make certain that we could be sure of what you saw and heard in these clips.”
Darren looked up at the TV on the wall, which had been frozen with the picture of Rob and Katie Lou kissing in Rob's car. He stared at it for a few seconds, then turned and walked out of the office.
James looked up at the TV, then looked at Walter. “Send me your bill,” he said.
9
Darren and his father had gone back to their office, but neither had spoken on the ride. Darren had simply leaned back against the headrest, staring out the passenger window. His father had concentrated on driving, letting his son feel the anger that was obviously coursing through his veins.
When they got back, Darren went into his own office and closed the door. He sat there at his desk, going over the things he had heard. Walter and Mustapha had done an extremely effective job of editing the clips, and Darren was confused. Could it possibly be true that Katie Lou was playing him?
If she was, he told himself, he could only put the blame on the man in the mirror. He was fully aware that he had to have caused her an incredible amount of pain, and the only way he could believe the things he heard was to attribute them to her own desire for revenge. Maybe she wanted to hurt him, just the way he had hurt her. He didn't see how he could blame her for that, if it were the case.
On the other hand, it didn't quite accomplish what his father was after. Rather than being ready to tell Katie Lou goodbye, he found himself determined to try even harder to win her back. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and tried to formulate a plan that might enable him to succeed.
First, he would not let her know that she had been spied on, or that he knew what was going on between her and her physical therapist. By keeping that to himself, he hoped to win her back by showing her just how much he had changed. He wanted her to see him in an entirely new light, as a man who would be completely devoted to her.
He didn't know that Katie Lou had an appointment with Rob that morning, so he picked up his phone and dialed her number. She didn't answer until the third ring, and he could tell from the background noise that she was in a car.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Katie Lou,” he said, keeping his voice calm and steady. “I hadn't talked to you since the other night, just wondered how you're doing.”
“I'm doing okay, how about you?” Her voice sounded pleasant, but he thought he detected slight hesitation.
“I'm good,” he said. “I just thought I'd give you a call, and see if we might get together again this evening. Maybe we can talk some more, try to put more of the unpleasantness behind us. I really do love you, you know.”
“I love you, too, Darren. I'll admit there was a little while there when I really didn't want to, but those aren't feelings you can just turn off. You know that, yourself. Tonight? I guess that would be okay. I was glad to see you in church yesterday, by the way.”
Darren smiled, enough so that she would hear it in his voice. “Yeah, well, maybe that's part of the new me. When it hit me, back in St. Louis, what a fool I had been, I sort of started praying again. Believe me, I've been praying a lot that you'd be willing to give us another chance. I figured it couldn't hurt to go to church, and David invited me to go along with him, so I jumped at the chance. I, um, I really wanted to come and sit with you, but I wasn't sure whether you are ready for that.”
“Well, I'm probably not, not quite yet. We've still got a lot to put behind us, that 'unpleasantness' you mentioned a minute ago. Where would you like to go for dinner tonight?”
“Well, do you want to just do dinner? We could go to a movie or something, if you like.”
Katie Lou hesitated. “I think dinner would be good for tonight,” she said. “Let's get some more talking done, before we think about actually dating again, okay?”
Darren clenched a fist, suppressing the angry jealousy that flared up in him. “Sure, no problem. What have you got a taste for?”
“Oh, I don't know. I always left that up to you, remember?” She chuckled into the phone. “Just tell me what you got in mind, and when, and I'll meet you there.”
Darren forced the smile to stay in place. “Well, do you want to keep it out of town, like last time? We could go over to Springfield. How about Applebee's? Say, seven o'clock?”
“Applebee's is fine. Hey, let's make it seven thirty, okay? I've got an appointment to get my hair and nails done this afternoon, so that'll slow me down just a little bit. I can make it by seven thirty, though.”
“Seven thirty it is,” Darren said, relaxing a bit. “Can't wait to see you. I’ll let you go; it sounds like you're going somewhere, and I'll see you this evening. I love you, Katie Lou.”
“See you then,” she said, and then the line went dead.
Darren sat there holding the phone for a moment, then set it back down on his desk. She just didn't sound like someone who was trying to play him, and that was making it hard for him to stay focused on the things he had heard that morning. Still, that had been some pretty damning evidence, so he couldn't afford to dismiss it out of hand.
There was a tap on his door, and the office receptionist poked her head inside. “Mister Allsip,” she said, “you have a client waiting to see you. It's Mister Pennington, about his divorce?”
Darren rubbed a hand over his face and smiled at the woman. “Yes, of course,” he said. “Send him in.”
Katie Lou pulled up at the clinic parking lot just a few moments later, and felt proud of herself as she walked through the door without any assistance. She'd been walking without a cane for several days, now, and probably should have been accustomed to it, but she felt so accomplished that she didn't want to let go of the excitement just yet.
Anna spotted her, and jumped up from her chair to come running across the reception area. She threw both arms around Katie Lou and gave her a hug. “Oh, my goodness, you're walking so beautifully, now! That's absolutely incredible, Katie Lou; I'm so proud of you.”
Katie Lou was laughing. “Yeah, I'm kind of proud of me, too. I didn't really expect to get back on my feet as quickly as I have, but we both know what a miracle worker your brother is.”
They walked together back to the reception desk. “Oh, he's fantastic as a physical therapist,” she said. “Now, if he could just be half as good as a boyfriend…”
“Anna, don't be so hard on him. I was the one who misunderstood what I saw last week, and
now I'm the one who's got to figure out what to do about this whole situation. I'm sure he told you what's going on, right? About my ex calling me up?”
“Oh, yes, I heard all about it. It's all he talked about, until you agreed to go out with him the other night. I think he would've sat there in his pajamas all weekend, if you hadn't. He wouldn't tell you, but he's been so depressed that it's all I can do to get him out of bed.”
Katie Lou grimaced. “I'm so sorry, Anna,” she said. “This isn't easy on any of us, and if someone had told me a week ago that I still had feelings for Darren, I'd have said they were crazy. When he called me, though, it sort of hit me that you can't just turn off feelings that were so strong. He and I were engaged; we were going to be married and spend the rest of our lives together. I think the world of your brother, but it wouldn't be fair to any of us if he and I began a relationship when I haven't got my head straight about this. Can you understand?”
Anna nodded her head, smiling softly. “That, I can understand. What I have trouble understanding is why you're willing to even entertain the possibility of going back to your ex, after what he did to you. Forgive me, but that almost seems like running back into a burning house. Not necessarily smart.”
Shrugging, Katie Lou said, “You could be right, but I still need to know. I wouldn't want to make a commitment to Rob, and then find out that these old feelings were going to haunt us. If what I'm feeling for Darren is real, and not just memories that don't want to die, then I need to deal with them. I don't know what's going to happen, but it's that not knowing that I have to put to rest.”
Anna nodded again. “I know. I might not like it, but I do know. Look, you're the best thing that ever happened to Bubba, and you might as well know right now that I'm praying things work out between you and him. I've never seen him happy before, and that's the truth. From the moment he admitted that he liked you, he's been the happiest man I've ever known. Well, up until now.”