– CHAPTER 42 –
E xactly thirty days after they met at the Hilton, Ryan is sitting at his desk in the middle of a call when Debbie walks in and says, “There’s a guy at the front who says he has a delivery for you.”
“Tell him to leave it at the front.”
“That’s what I told him, but he says that he has to give it to you personally.”
Ryan knows exactly what’s waiting for him at the front. He spent weeks reading and rereading the agreement. As much as he tried, he can’t bring himself to sign it. He hoped Kate was bluffing. He called her to discuss things further, but she never answered her phone.
He walks to the front and sees a man dressed in blue jeans, a white dress shirt, a blue sports coat, and cowboy boots. He doesn’t look like any process server he’s ever seen before.
“Ryan Brunick?” the man asks.
“I’m Ryan Brunick.”
“I’m with Central Texas Courier Services. I have a delivery for you. Can you please sign here?”
The man hands Ryan a pen, and points at the spot on the clipboard where Ryan needs to sign. Ryan signs his usual “R Brunick”. The man hands Ryan a large envelope and walks out.
“Hold all my calls, Debbie,” Ryan says and takes the package to his office. He opens the envelope and pulls out a stack of legal papers. The top two pages are on the stationary of a law firm that Ryan knows well. He’s won every case he’s had against their best lawyer. There’s no love lost between them. Ryan is sure he was more than happy to take the case. Ryan reads the letter:
=================================================
“Mr. Brunick,
Please be advised that this law firm has been retained to represent your wife, Katherine Elizabeth Brunick, with regard to the divorce proceeding she intends to pursue. She has asked that I send you this letter in an attempt to resolve the case amicably and without the need for costly litigation.
Mrs. Brunick has become aware of facts that are unethical, immoral, and probably criminal. These facts, if shown to be true, would certainly result in a referral to the district attorney’s office for criminal prosecution and to the State Bar of Texas for disbarment.
Attached you will find the proposed settlement agreement I have prepared for your signature. Mrs. Brunick feels this agreement is more than fair given all the circumstances. The agreement is non-negotiable. As the agreement stipulates, upon the parties signing the entire case will be resolved, and no further action will be taken. The case (per the agreement) will be permanently sealed.
Attached you will also find the Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement for Mrs. Brunick to sign to protect your privacy.
Mr. Brunick, you have three days to sign this agreement. If we do not receive your within thirty days my client has directed me to file the papers attached hereto. Please do not contact Mrs. Brunick again. Direct all future communications to my office.
=================================================
Below the attorney’s letter is an Original Petition for Divorce that names Katherine Elizabeth Brunick as Petitioner and Ryan Henry Brunick as Respondent. Instead of a simple petition for “irreconcilable differences” this petition alleges “fraud, cruelty, and (future) felony conviction.” There’s a place for her attorney to sign, but right now the signature line is still blank.
The petition includes a request for a protective order. The application spells out in incredible detail all the facts regarding Faith’s arrest, her imprisonment in Thailand, and her ultimate death. It further alleges that “Ryan Brunick is responsible for the death of Zachary Bell.” It names Tom Flint as a co-conspirator.
Ryan is shocked by the specificity in the papers. Some of these facts he didn’t even know. There’s no way Kate did this by herself. Ryan has no doubt that she had to get most of the information from Hope. They’re obviously working together.
Attached to the application is an affidavit signed by Kate Brunick. She doesn’t allege that Ryan was a bad husband or mistreated her in any way. Instead, it’s all about Faith. She swears that Ryan confessed to her that he conspired to plant drugs on his first wife, and have her locked up in a Thai prison where she eventually died. This all occurred while they were in a relationship.
Kate also swears that she now fears for her life. She asks the court to issue a protective order preventing Ryan from going within five hundred feet of her house, her children, Hope Brunick, Grace Brunick, and/or Bonnie Brunick.
Underneath the application for a protective order and the affidavit signed by Kate, is a disc with a sticker on the front that reads, “Brunick v. Brunick – PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL”. Ryan puts the disc into his computer and plays the MP3 file. The recording is so clear. There is no mistaking who’s talking on the phone:
“Kate!”
“Hello, Ryan.”.
“Kate, I’ve thought about everything you said the other day. You’re right. You have every reason to be upset. I don’t blame you for hating me right now. I just wish you could remember all the good times we’ve had together. I know you love my kids, and love Bonnie I love Ben just as much. He needs a father. I want you to know I’ll do anything to win your trust back again. We don’t need to do anything right now. Please give it some time before you do anything permanent.”
“Ryan, how can I ever trust you again?”
“I’ve never done anything to hurt you. I will never do anything to hurt you.”
“Ryan, you killed your first wife. You planted drugs in her suitcase so she’d be locked up in a Thai prison.”
“I know Kate. It was stupid. It was wrong. I wish I could take it back but I can’t. Can you please give me one more chance?”
“Ryan, I have to let you go,”
“Kate all I’m asking––“
Click
“Son of a bitch!” Ryan shouts when the recording is over. This is a turn he wasn’t expecting. That sleazy lawyer outdid himself this time.
Ryan reads the agreement prepared by the lawyer. It’s exactly the same as the agreement Kate gave him four weeks ago except it now provides for a trust to benefit Hope Brunick. It also lists all the property involved in the agreement on a separate page:
Property to Kate BrunickEstimated Value
The parties home place and all furnishings $1,700,000.00
Audi A8 $65,000.00
All checking accounts owned by the parties: $83,000.00
All savings accounts owned by the parties: $625,000.00
All Money in Ryan Brunick’s law office acct: $270,000.00
All stocks and bonds owned by the parties: $1,450,770.00
Three rental homes: $ 920,000.00
Florida vacation home: $ 800,000.00
Property to Ryan BrunickEstimated Value
Mercedes Benz 550 $20,000.00
Gold Rolex Watch $15,000.00
Ryan Brunick’s Law Office Unknown
Ryan looks over the papers again in shock and disbelief. How did Kate get these numbers so quickly? For all these years, he’s used the courts to win everyone else’s case and make himself a rich man. Not once has he ever lost. Now he sees no way he can win his own case. The same courts will take away everything he has – his wife, his children, his property, his money, and his reputation.
Ryan has to figure out the winning move. If he signs the papers he loses everything. If he doesn’t sign the papers the whole city, probably the whole country, will know what happened. Who will hire him then? Kate is right. Even if he isn’t convicted he’ll surely lose his license to practice law.
Ryan removes a bottle of whiskey from his liquor cabinet, adds a few ice cubes, and fills the glass half full. He takes a drink and feels the burn in his throat. While he studies the numbers on the paper–– his whole life reduced to one simple page –– he drinks the rest of the whiskey down.
Debbie stands outside his office, peeks through the crack of the door, and says, “I’m leaving Mr. Brunick.”
She sees the em
pty glass in his hand and takes a few steps inside. Ryan pours another drink without adding any ice, fills the glass to the top, and takes half down. Still fixated on the papers in his hand, Ryan doesn’t respond. Feeling something isn’t right, Debbie asks, “Mr. Brunick, do you need anything else?”
“Thank you, Debbie,” he says. “Have a good evening.”
In fifteen years Debbie’s only seen Ryan drink in his office with clients to celebrate a victory. She was in love with him for many years, but the feelings eventually went away when Ryan never once reciprocated her advances. She saw him through his first divorce, but before she knew it, he was dating Kate.
She walks up to Ryan’s desk and asks, “Mr. Brunick, is everything okay?”
Ryan finishes off the whisky and asks, “Debbie, am I a good man?”
The question catches her by surprise. “What do you mean, Mr. Brunick?”
“I just want to know, do you think I’m a good man?”
“Mr. Brunick, I’ve worked for you for fifteen years now. My friends work for other attorneys who cheat on their wives with their secretaries, their clients, everyone––but not you. You're a good husband and a great father. You really care about people. Are you a good man? Mr. Brunick, you’re the best man I’ve ever known.”
“Thank you, Debbie. I needed to hear that,” Ryan says pouring another glass. He drinks the whole thing down like he’s drinking a cool glass of sweet tea.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Mr. Brunick?”
“I’ll be fine,” he says, beginning to slur his words. “Have a nice night.”
Now Debbie’s sure something isn’t right. Usually a secretary knows when their boss is having trouble at home, but Kate was in the office a few weeks ago, and they seemed like two lovebirds. She wants to stay. She wants to be there if Ryan needs someone to talk to – or to be with. She pauses for a moment, hoping Ryan volunteers more information, but he doesn’t so she asks, “You want to talk about anything?”
Ryan doesn’t answer at first. He sits back in his chair, resting his head on the back and staring at the ceiling. Debbie doesn’t know what to do. Finally, he looks at her and says, “You know Debbie, you were barely older than a teenager when you came in here looking for job as a secretary.”
“I know,” she says with a smile. “That was fifteen years ago.”
“I’m glad,” Ryan says.
“Glad?” she asks.
“I’m glad you came in here. You know you mean the world to me, don’t you?”
“You mean the world to me too, Mr. Brunick,” Debbie replies. She isn’t sure where this conversation is going. She’s been in a rocky marriage for seven years. Three years ago her husband put his hands around her neck. She started taking night classes at the local community college and will graduate soon. Now it’s just a matter of time. She’d leave her husband in a second if Ryan gave her half a chance. “Ryan, I’d do anything for you.”
This is the first time she’s ever called him “Ryan.” He’s always thought she was smart and attractive, but he kept everything professional. “Have a good night,” Ryan says.
Debbie stays a little longer before saying, “You too Mr. Brunick.” She turns around and walks out the door.
As night falls on the city, Ryan pours his fourth glass. It goes down much easier this time. He picks up the picture sitting on the corner of his desk of Kate and him together looking happy as ever. He throws the picture across the room. It crashes against the wall and falls to the floor.
The whisky continues to cloud his mind. Ryan reaches behind his desk and grabs his Bible off his credenza. It’s the King James International version that he’s been reading regularly for the past eight years. It’s full of highlights, underlines, and scribble in the margins from all the passages he’s marked. He reads the scriptures while finishing off the whisky.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
“before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.”
“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
Ryan puts his Bible back on the credenza and stares at the picture of Grace, the picture of Colt, the picture of Hope, and finally the picture of Bonnie. His love for them has always been so pure. They’ve always loved him and asked for nothing in return but his time and attention.
Ryan opens his bottom desk drawer and pulls out the picture of Faith, It’s the one picture he could never bring himself to throw away. A tear falls down his cheek that he doesn’t bother to wipe away.
“Damn you,” he whispers to himself, doing his best to take in the picture through eyes that refuse focus.
Ryan has never had this much to drink his entire life. The whisky is just too much. He puts his head down on his desk to sleep it off. He closes his eyes and falls asleep.
This time when he dreams of Faith she’s not scary at all. No, she’s as beautiful as ever. Her hair is wrapped in a towel and she has another towel wrapped around her gorgeous body. Her eyes sparkle bright blue, and her lips are red like she just put on the lipstick he always loved. She smells of the perfume he bought her for Christmas right before she filed for divorce. She gives Ryan the same smile that always melts his heart. She reaches out letting him know she wants him. He takes her hand in his and pulls her to him. He releases the tuck in her towel and lets it fall to the floor. She’s standing in front of him completely naked. Water drips from her hair, down her shoulders, and rolls across her bare breasts. Her face, her beautiful breasts, her stomach, her hips, and her legs look as beautiful as the first time they made love so many years ago. She stole his heart back then and nothing’s changed after all these years.
Ryan puts his arm around Faith’s back, and slowly pulls her to him. Just as her naked body presses against him, he drops the glass he’s holding in his hand, and it crashes to the floor. The sound of breaking glass jerks him awake.
Why? Why didn’t he just leave at the very beginning when he first caught a glimpse of the woman he could never hold? He’s asked himself that question so many times over the years. Even back then, it was so clear. His best friend, his parents, and even his boss urged him to get out but he was too far-gone. He was in love. Telling him to leave such a beautiful woman was like telling a pack of wolves to stay away from red meat. No, all she needed was a good man who loved her and would never cheat on her, and everything would be okay. How could he have known things would end this badly?
Thinking about his children, and his grandchildren, Ryan makes his decision. Kate is right. He’s Ryan Brunick. He still has his family. Give him some time and he’ll make the money back, but once his reputation is destroyed he can never get it back again. The choice now seems so clear. He’ll sign the papers and start all over again.
When Ryan won his first million-dollar verdict he signed the judgment with a two hundred dollar pen he purchased for the special occasion. He’s used that pen to sign every judgment since. It only seems fitting for him to use it now. He reaches in his desk drawer to find his $200 pen and sign his life away.
He finds his lucky pen in his top drawer, but he also finds his .38 Special handgun that always hides at the back of the drawer. He bought this gun six years ago to protect himself from an angry husband who came up to him outside the courthouse swearing he’d kill Ryan one day.
This is the first time Ryan has ever held the gun since he hid it in his desk drawer. It fits in his palm like it was made for this very moment. Ryan leans back in his chair and holds the gun against his chest. It’s so much colder when it’s resting against his warm skin.
Ryan grabs the bottle of whisky and takes a dri
nk without pouring it into a glass, finishing off the bottle. His head starts spinning. He stares at the gun in his hand, and realizes he has more than two choices. He has a third choice. It’s a choice that will leave his children, and his grandchildren, with all his lifetime of hard work.
Ryan looks down at the shiny gun in his hand. It’s not like he’s doing this without giving it a lot of thought. No, he’s considered it many times over the past few weeks – he’s considered every option imaginable. No one will even talk to me. I doubt they’ll even miss me when I’m gone. For the past month, the world has seemed like such a dark, lonely place. All he wants is out.
His hand trembles and a tear streams down his cheek. Just breathing in and out again is almost impossible. He can feel his heart pounding in his chest as his finger presses a little harder on the trigger.
– CHAPTER 43 –
T his is not the it should end. Ryan stands to his feet, walks slowly back to the liquor cabinet, and grabs the last bottle of whisky. He sets his briefcase on the table and locks the settlement papers as well as the .38 Special inside. He walks out of his office with his briefcase in his left hand and the full bottle of whisky in his right. It’s now or never.
When Ryan walks through the lobby it takes the security guard by complete surprise. It’s a quarter past twelve. He’s seen Ryan work many late hours, but he’s never walked out the building looking like this. His hair isn’t nicely combed, he has no jacket on, his shirt is untucked, and his tie is hanging loose around his neck.
“Goodnight Brad,” Ryan says raising the whisky bottle in salute.
Ryan’s stumbling enough that it’s clear to Brad, and anyone else who sees Ryan, that he’s been drinking. “Mr. Brunick, can I call you an Uber?” he offers.
“Thanks for your help Brad,” Ryan says with a slur. “But I think I’ll just walk.”
But Ryan doesn’t walk out the lobby entrance. Instead, he continues towards the parking garage. He opens the door of his Mercedes, rolls down all the windows, opens the sunroof, and lays his forehead on his arms that are resting across the steering wheel. After he’s erased all doubt about his decision, he puts the car in reverse and backs out of his reserved parking space. He bumps the car parked in the slot behind him, but drives away without looking to see if it left any damage.
The Beginning of Hope: The Highly Anticipated, Mind-Blowing Sequel to the Killing of Faith (The Killing of Faith Series Book 2) Page 22