Convicted (Consequences)

perfect.”
    Claire smiled—she knew that perfect was exactly the way Tony liked it!

 
     
     
    Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen .
    —Horace Mann
     
     
     
    Phil created a VPN, virtual private network, for both Tony and Claire. This allowed them access to websites and emails while virtually untraceable. When connected through a proxy and the multiple shell accounts he’d established, Phil believed their transactions were completely untraceable.
    To communicate with one another, Phil, Tony, and Claire utilized email as well as occasional instant messaging. They could call; however, Phil still emphasized that calls needed to remain short. During the first week of November, Phil sent the Rawlings his second email:
     
     
    To: Nouveau Alexanders
    From: PR
    Re: Current assignment
    Date: November 7, 2013
     
    Our initial meeting went well. I reminded Ms. L of her original directive—Ms. N’s location wasn’t to be divulged. She hasn’t pursued the subject. My assignment is to watch a woman named Sophia Burke. Her husband, Derek, is employed by Rawlings Industries and was recently transferred to corporate headquarters in Iowa City.
     
    They recently moved to Iowa from California, and I’m gathering background information. Though this seems benign, I have a feeling there’s more to it. The name Burke concerns me. I don’t remember reading about a Derek in Ms. N’s research. Is there a connection to Jonathon? I’ll learn, but your assistance may speed my research.
     

     
    Simultaneously, their iPads notified them of the email. Claire saw the icon and looked across the room. “It has to be from Phil. I’m nervous.”
    “His last message wasn’t very enlightening”—Tony opened the message—“Tell me again why he’s addressing us as the New Alexanders ?”
    Claire shrugged. “I think he’s avoiding using our real names.” Was it wrong to have a private joke? She hoped not. There was no way to explain her and Phil’s relationship without inciting unwarranted concerns from Tony, and there was no reason for him to be concerned. There was nothing between her and Phil but trust and friendship. It was the kind of friendship that comes when trust has been tested by fire and survived.
    She and Tony both read the email. The last time she’d heard the name Derek Burke, it was Brent who brought it to her attention. Although she and Tony pledged honesty and full disclosure, Claire didn’t believe their promise included harming his relationship with his closest friends. He was unaware of their support; it seemed best.
    Claire had recently learned the story of Sophia. She looked up from her screen. “Tony, is this the same Sophia? Catherine’s daughter?”
    She saw the darkness return to his eyes as they moved from the screen toward her. “Yes. How in the hell did she manipulate moving them to Iowa? Executor of my estate has no control at Rawlings Industries.”
    Claire put down her tablet, walked to her husband, and touched his shoulder. “Why would she do that? Why, after all these years of not wanting to know her daughter, would she suddenly move her to Iowa?”
    He covered her hand with his. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”
    “What are you worried about?”
    “Accidents.”
    The word still caused the hair on the back of Claire’s neck to stand to attention. “What kind of accidents? You don’t think Catherine would harm her own daughter, do you?”
    “I’m not sure she has boundaries. Look at what she’s done to us.”
    Claire saw the restraint in his expression, exposed through the bulging veins of his neck. His jaws were clenched as he modulated his voice to its most accommodating tone. “It’s the middle of the afternoon and too hot for you to be out in the sun. You should rest and keep your feet up. I need to go for a walk.”
    Claire wanted answers to her questions. How did Tony’s promise to Nathaniel influence his clandestine protectiveness of Sophia? What exactly were Catherine’s capabilities? Where were Tony’s boundaries? However, sensing his distress, she didn’t ask. They’d been down too many difficult roads lately. This situation wasn’t her battle, her family, or her promise. Tony needed to work it out for himself. She exhaled. “All right, I’ll rest in our room. Please come wake me when you get back.”
    As he kissed her cheek, she saw something in his eyes, something