Truth

forced to do some shopping. With a boyish smirk, he handed Claire a plastic bag containing a box. She looked into the bag and returned his smile from under her mascaraed lashes. It seemed silly to feel shy about the box of condoms. However, when she noticed the number on the side of the box she exhaled. She didn’t know they were sold by the dozen.
    Her thoughts went back to Palo Alto. Did his bulk purchase mean he intended this arrangement to continue back at the condominium? She wasn’t opposed. It would just be different. This get-a-way was more like a holiday. Another issue requiring more thought.
    Just before seven o’clock, Harry asked Claire, “I was thinking, instead of flying back to Palo Alto tomorrow, maybe you’d be interested in driving?”
    “ Driving? How long of a drive is it?”
    “ About eight hours.”
    Claire stared in disbelief. “Eight hours?! Why do you want to do that?”
    “ Because, Santa Monica is about two and a half hours from here. And a friend of mine, known for his amazing research, tracked down Patrick Chester.”
    Claire contemplated for a moment, “Chester? The neighbor of the Rawls? The man whose house Tony went to, to make the 911 call?”
    “ Yes, one and the same. If you want to visit, I’ll call him this evening and see if we can arrange a meeting.”
    Her mind spun. That wasn’t something she’d even considered. Claire thought if Tony was upset about me visiting with Meredith, this would throw him over the edge. But then again, she did have a reservation to fly back to Palo Alto at nine in the morning. If she didn’t cancel, Phillip would once again lose track of her, at least temporarily.
    A knock came on the door of Claire’s suite interrupting their conversation. Looking through the peep hole, she saw Meredith. Just before opening the door, she turned to Harry and replied, “If he’s willing to meet, let’s do it.”
    Harry leaned down and kissed her. His voice sounded huskier than before, “I’ll be back after your meeting. Have a nice dinner.”
    His smile made her pulse increase and her stomach clench. She replied, “You, too. Sorry you’re eating alone.”
    “ I’ll survive.”
    With that, Claire opened the door and Meredith entered. Claire made quick introductions, “Meredith this is Harrison Baldwin. Harry this is Meredith Banks.” The two shook hands and made quick pleasantries. Harry excused himself and left.
    When the door shut, Meredith’s eyebrows shot up, “Is he the man I’ve seen you with in the magazines.”
    “ Are we off the record?”
    Meredith smiled, “Yes.”
    Claire returned her smile, a little more shyly, “Yes.”
    “ My Claire, you certainly know how to attract the good looking men. If I weren’t married, I’d ask your secret.”
    Their easy banter quickly disappeared as Claire explained the loss of Meredith’s blog.
    Meredith stared in disbelief, “I thought there was a problem with the server due to the excessive number of hits. I never dreamt it could be due to Mr. Rawlings.” She sat in silence for a moment and added, “So, is this an example of what he can do?”
    Claire nodded. “It is. Are you sure you want to do this. He was here last night, and I can promise he isn’t supportive.”
    “ He was here? So you two are still talking, after everything... the prison thing and all?”
    Claire nodded, “Honestly, I don’t know if I’d call it conversation. I’m speaking, he’s speaking... well you get the picture.”
    Meredith nodded affirmatively.
    “ He set some boundaries.” Claire explained briefly, “At this time I’m inclined to respect them. It’s a quid pro quo thing.”
    Meredith laid her purse on the table, pulled a small laptop from her bag and turned it on. “All right then, lay it on me. What are the rules?”
    Claire snickered, “Oh, you have no idea.”
    She and Meredith discussed the new rules: They would continue to meet, Claire would tell her story, it could be written, but it would only be published if Tony failed to keep Claire and her close friends safe. During the conversation, Claire realized Meredith needed compensation for lack of publication . Claire could help with some of that, but decided if Tony wanted to keep this quiet, he could help float the bill.
    After dinner, Claire gave Meredith a small sample of what she could expect. It began with the story of a twenty-five year old woman working at a local news affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. After ten, Claire decided she