Riven - Jerry B. Jenkins [142]
Adamsville
Dirk Blanc proved as engaging as ever, and in spite of himself, Thomas simply liked the man.
“Have you forgiven Rav?” he said.
Dirk squinted at him. “So you know everything.”
“I know enough.”
“Apparently. Tell you the truth, forgiveness was hard. We’d been drifting, like couples do. Well, most couples. To hear Ravinia tell it, you guys are next to perfect.”
“Oh no, now—”
“Just telling you the standard that has been raised before me. Fact is, my parents are pretty tight too, though in some ways I think my mother is an enabler. Life pretty much revolves around Dad. ’Course he loves it, and she seems okay with that. But back to us. I know I contributed, okay? We were both trying to gain traction in our careers, and yeah, I can see where she was lonely and I was the reason—or a big part of it. I mean, it falls to me to be sure she’s not lonely, am I right?”
“I see it that way, yes,” Thomas said. “Unless there’s something pathologically wrong with the wife, it’s the husband’s lot to be sure she’s happy.”
Dirk shook his head. “I’d love that chance again.”
“But you never answered my question.”
“Formally, no, I guess I haven’t actually forgiven her. I was deeply hurt, sir. You cannot imagine.”
“Has she asked your forgiveness?”
Dirk shook his head. “Might open an old wound if I announce forgiveness that hasn’t been asked for.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“Is she going to think I want her to ask?”
“Give me a little more credit than that, Dirk.”
“I’ll leave it with you. And I appreciate your interest more than I can say.”
Dirk proved as energetic about Thomas’s case as he would have been for a paying client. He came to the penitentiary with court documents allowing him to conduct his due diligence—seeing the pods, the cells, and even interviewing anyone within earshot of the conversation between Thomas and Jorge.
“I found the other prisoners understandably closemouthed, protecting their own. But they also seemed reluctant to cast you in a bad light, and that’s a good thing. Not one would say that you were mean or cold or acrimonious to Jorge. And while there is no tape of your conversation, we have the next best thing. Two officers in the control unit for that pod overheard the entire exchange through the intercom.”
“Then they know.”
“And their recollections are just disparate enough to pretty much prove reliability without collusion. The only drawback is that they would naturally take your side against an inmate. But if it comes to needing witnesses, we’ve got them. Once I get their depositions, I may be able to get a summary judgment, a decision by the court before it even gets to trial. If I were Jorge’s counsel, this would persuade me to stop wasting my time.”
49
Addison
“Won’t your dad be at work?” Brady hollered as he rolled the big Harley into a sprawling subdivision with colossal mansions on generous lots. Already drapes were being pulled back here and there as the machine roared through the otherwise quiet streets.
“He works at home! This is going to be perfect! Pull over so I can call him!”
Brady carefully parked the machine at the curb and shut it down. As Katie entered her father’s number, a couple of yard workers wandered over from across the street, eyeing the bike.
“Nice,” one said.
“Thanks.”
“New?”
“Yeah.”
“Sweet.”
“I know.”
“Don’t get caught with it around here though, dude. We even have mufflers and governors on our edgers and mowers. Lots of what they call ‘noise covenants’ around here.”
“That right?”
“Yep. ’Course, by the time they call the cops, you’ll be long gone. Nobody’s gonna catch you, man.”
“You got that right.”
Katie nudged Brady and put a finger to her lips. “Daddy, you home right now? I have a surprise for you. . . . Yeah. See you in a minute. . . . Well, tell ’em you’ll call them back. Watch for me out the window.”
Katie slapped her phone shut and hugged Brady so tight around his chest that he felt the bike tipping and had to put all his weight and hers on one leg. At