Twenty Three

Emily was completely exhausted as she walked, immediately after finishing her shift at the hospital, through the doors of Fred’s downtown highrise office building. She had the lawyer’s letter and the subpoena tucked in her purse and sank into the large leather armchair in the waiting room. Her eyes closed involuntarily, and she startled when a pretty receptionist touched her shoulder to ask if she wanted coffee. She nodded gratefully, and was wrapping her hands around a steaming cup just as Fred came into the reception area looking for her.

“Emily, you look terrible!” he said, concern manifest in his voice, as he took her hand and pulled her up into a friendly hug.

She smiled ruefully as she planted a daughterly kiss on his grey-bearded cheek. “Thanks a lot, Fred,” she said. “I have an excuse. I just got off work. Oh, and I’m being sued.”

“Now you know that is not true, Em,” Fred held her at arm’s length and looked at her. “You are being asked to appear as a witness. Nothing more.”

Emily remained thoughtfully silent as they wove past the secretary’s desk and into Fred’s opulent corner office. She sat in the proffered chair as he shut the door, closing out the sounds of morning at a busy law firm.

“It’s more than that, Fred. I feel terrible.”

“What do you have to feel badly about? Were there complications?”

“No. No medical ones, anyway. But I seem to be falling for the man she is accusing of running her over. Who, by the way, wasn’t even driving.”

Fred contemplated her, neutrally, for a minute. “Well, it’s obvious you aren’t terribly impartial,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Maybe you should tell me exactly what happened that night.”

Emily recounted the evening to him, feeling the dread in her stomach grow thicker with each sentence. She knew as she spoke that the little altercation she had with Trent that night would never reflect well on him, no matter how it was told. He came across as the arrogant, self-important jerk she had taken him for that night, no matter how carefully she chose her words.

As she finished the story, she looked up at Fred. His lips were pursed in thought, his fingertips tented before him.

“What has happened since?” he asked.

“Not much. We’ve been out together a few times, talked on the phone, that sort of thing.”

“Has anyone ever seen you together?” he asked.

“Well, yes. Every time we go anywhere, he’s constantly being asked for autographs, to pose for pictures, that sort of thing. We were even photographed in the Sun a few weeks ago.”

He spoke slowly, thinking aloud. “Well, we certainly won’t be able to try and keep it quiet, then. If it comes up, you will need to answer those questions truthfully.”

Emily’s stomach sank. It would probably not take much to wreck her credibility in the eyes of a judge if she had to admit her relationship with Trent on the stand. And what would that do to his credibility? She found herself more concerned than she thought she would be.

Fred interrupted her reverie. “Have you ever seen him act aggressively since the night of the accident?”

Emily shook her head. “No. I was pretty ticked about it when it happened, but he really seems to be different than that. I think that was his public persona, if you know what I mean. I really don’t think he’s like that.”

“Had he been drinking? Doing drugs?” Fred asked.

“No. I’m sure he wasn’t,” Emily replied firmly. “I really think he was completely shaken about the whole thing.”

“Well, that’s good, at least,” Fred nodded.

“What do you mean, at least?” Emily’s temper flared. “He wasn’t even driving! There were never any criminal charges filed!”

“True, but reading the file, his name was on the bus lease contract, and the bus driver was in Mr. Buchanan’s employ at the time. It looks like they are hoping to suggest that he had some influence over the driver which caused the driver to act recklessly.”

Emily sat back in the chair and rubbed her face with her hands. Her eyes burned with fatigue and suppressed frustration. There seemed no good way out of this. Failing to appear was not an option; appearing and testifying seemed doomed to lay waste to either Trent’s reputation, or her relationship with him. It was a lose-lose situation. She felt defeated.

“So what do I do?” she asked helplessly, leaning her elbows on her knees and looking across the desk at Fred.

“Well,” he said, sounding reluctant, as if he knew that his suggestion would be difficult for her to hear. “I think you should avoid any further contact with him for the time being. I think it would look bad if you were known to have an ongoing relationship with him, and we may be able to downplay it if it comes up, as long as we can honestly say you are no longer involved.”

Emily took a deep breath and felt as if she was about to cry. She nodded slowly, intellectually aware that Fred was giving practical advice. Inside, however, her thoughts were churning with unexpected despair.

“When it comes time to testify,” Fred continued. “I think you should answer truthfully. I can offer no different legal advice.” He saw the desperately sad look on Emily’s face.

“Don’t worry, Emily. I’ll be beside you every step of the way.”

She was suddenly overcome with gratitude at his professionalism and discretion. He had to be aware of Emily’s conflicting emotions; she was certain he shared some of them. Thomas had been a good friend, and she knew the older man missed him. It couldn’t be easy to see his widow moving on.

“Thanks, Fred. I think I need some time to digest this. I’ll call you soon.” She stood with finality and he came around the desk and gave her a hug. She leaned wearily into him for a moment, and then smiled wordlessly at him as she left, not trusting herself to speak.

The drive home was a blur. Emily collapsed into bed, but not before she checked her cell phone. Four new messages. Trent’s number had registered an even dozen times on the call display. She cleared it, but couldn’t bring herself to listen to the messages, knowing she would be better equipped to deal with them when she was rested. She squeezed her eyes shut as frustrated tears wet her pillow, and she fell into a fitful sleep.