“Why, Anthony,” her faux southern belle accent purposefully elongated the yyy, “who would have guessed, you could be open to new things?”
Thankfully, she was sitting and seat belted into the soft leather seat, because Tony’s expression made her knees weak. And the sound of his deep sensual voice caused her insides to melt, “I am always open to new things, especially so -- if they involve you.”
Once again she felt the blood rush to her cheeks as they rose in a genuine smile, causing her emerald eyes to glisten. Claire turned and watched the passing scenes beyond the passenger side window. Was she flirting? Was he?
Entering the cathedral, Claire and Tony blended into the groom’s guests. Claire couldn’t believe she was actually attending Caleb Simmons’ wedding. It had been a dream of hers since learning the date in a letter from Courtney while in prison. Glancing down at her hand resting comfortably in Tony’s, she thought about how long ago prison seemed. Never in a million years could she have predicted her current location, watching Courtney and Brent escorted down the aisle. Courtney looked beautiful in a mother-of-the-groom sunburst gown. Claire had heard all about it when Courtney first purchased it. Again, neither woman ever foresaw Claire seeing it in person.
As the ceremony progressed, Caleb appeared handsome and confident. Julia’s smile lit the entire cathedral. Her gown’s train flowed behind her as her father escorted her to the front of the church. Claire couldn’t help think about her own wedding. As the memories came, so did the tears. She dabbed her eyes while Tony gently squeezed her hand. Without thinking she leaned against his strong shoulder and accepted his unspoken support.
They sat with Tony’s friends during the reception. Claire was thankful Tony insisted on getting together prior to the wedding festivities. It made the reception much more comfortable. After the meal and cake, the music began. While the new Mr. and Mrs. Simmons danced, Tony and Claire watched from their seats. Again he held her hand. She wondered if he was thinking about their first dance as husband and wife. She remembered feeling like a princess in his arms. After the couple danced with Julia’s parents, Claire watched Caleb dance with Courtney and Julia with Brent. Claire couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Next the dance floor opened to the guests. When the music slowed Claire accepted Tony’s invitation and joined him under the soft lights. Perhaps it was their afternoon activities, but Claire’s body molded unconsciously to his. He directed their every step gracefully guiding her across the floor.
“I know I fought you about all of this,” she whispered, “but I’m so happy to be here right now.”
His embrace of her slender waist tightened, “I couldn’t be happier myself.” He leaned away to see her face, “And I hope you realize, this isn’t a charade.”
Claire pressed her lips together in a straight line. With all of her might she wanted to argue, but she couldn’t lie. Shaking her head from side to side, she admitted, “Right now, I know that.”
Tony pulled her close as the rest of the guests disappeared. Claire closed her eyes, felt the warmth of his embrace, and allowed her body to go wherever he led.
*****
It wasn’t difficult to access her laptop. A few different tries and her password was easily discovered. The information within was more than he could ever have imagined. Just recently he’d formed his own ideas about Anthony Rawlings being Anton Rawls, but now he had it in black and white. She had so much information about the Rawls family. Years ago he’d tried to do similar research, but everything came up a dead end. Why wouldn’t it? By 1990, the Rawls family ceased to exist.
According to Ms. Nichols fine research, Sharron died first of natural causes. There was very little information about her, especially during the last three years of her life. She didn’t even appear in any family photos. Nathaniel passed away in May of 1989, while incarcerated in a minimum security prison in New York. Next, yes, he liked this part: Samuel and Amanda died in a murder / suicide in Santa Monica, California. Why did Ms. Nichols have a question mark next to the murder / suicide? Obviously she questioned the accuracy of the assessment.
He often wondered how Anton got the police investigators to go along with that conclusion. Perhaps, he made the same bargain with them that he had with him. Ms. Nichols even had copies of police, ballistic, and autopsy reports. The scanned copy of the 911 call caught his attention. Apparently, Anton hadn’t been as thorough as he thought. This must have been how she and Harrison Baldwin found him. His name appeared on the report.
Smirking, Patrick Chester thought it funny; he’d actually thought Ms. Nichols was Anton’s daughter. Seeing her recently all over the internet, she wasn’t Anton’s (aka Anthony Rawlings) daughter; she was his ex-wife. According to the gossip people, they were working on reconciling. Patrick wondered if Mr. Anthony Rawlings had any idea of the wealth of information his ex-wife had accumulated against him.
Patrick considered the possibility of blackmailing Claire Nichols, too. But she wasn’t exactly living in the lap of luxury. Oh, her condominium was nice, in a very high priced part of town. She even kept affluent company. Amber McCoy, CEO of SiJo Gaming, was valued at quite a bit. Her brother, Harrison Baldwin, wasn’t hurting for cash either. Nevertheless, in comparison to Anthony Rawlings, they were paupers.
Why had Patrick accepted such measly annual supplements, when Anthony Rawlings could so easily afford more? Of course, it was because up until Ms. Nichols made an appearance at his home, he never suspected Anton Rawls of being the great Anthony Rawlings. The way Patrick saw it; he was due twenty plus years of back payments.
The missing information on Ms. Nichols laptop was about Samuel Rawls’ sister. Patrick didn’t even know her name; he never did. He just remembered Amanda Rawls referring to the woman as Samuel’s sister. Funny, as he scanned Ms. Nichol’s research, it didn’t even look like Samuel had a sister. That didn’t matter. For all the time, Anton – Anthony -- had paid to keep the information about that woman hidden, she must be someone important. Patrick wondered if Mr. Rawlings would pay a bonus for keeping this information away from Claire Nichols. Seriously, what man wants his wife or ex-wife to learn he’s been paying to keep a secret about another woman?
Another picture just hit the internet. Wasn’t today’s technology wonderful? The photo was taken only minutes ago, via someone’s cellphone -- amazing quality for a phone. The picture was of Anthony Rawlings and Claire Nichols dancing. They seemed very dressed up. The caption mentioned a wedding reception. Patrick Chester smiled. The sinister grin was truly too large for his face. He knew without a doubt, the real money was right there, in Mr. Rawlings’ arms. The mega-billionaire would gladly pay big, no huge, for the safe return of that woman. And to think he’d had her right on his property. If he’d only known what a gold mine she was the day she and Mr. Baldwin visited. That didn’t matter. Patrick knew now.
Searching the laptop he found her travel itinerary. Ms. Nichols’ flight was due back to San Francisco at 17:40:00, tomorrow. She had a first class ticket. That figures, Patrick thought. Well, her accommodations won’t be as luxurious once I get a hold of her.