Truth

smile emerge. “I see you’re wearing the hiking boots.”
    “ Well, yes, you promised a walk,” Claire responded.
    “ I have our lunch. Shall we picnic at your lake?”
    Catherine said, “I will leave you two to your afternoon.” Her eyes pleaded at Claire before she nodded and turned away.
    “ I hope I remember the way.” Claire said as they began walking toward the trees.
    “ Did I interrupt something?” he asked.
    “ Girl talk. I’ve missed Catherine terribly.” With a tightening in her stomach brought on by concern for the woman she held dear, Claire hoped Tony’s lack of response meant this conversation was done.
     
    She did remember the way. With each step the directions came back to her. When the trees opened to her meadow, Claire sighed with relief. Everything was just as she’d remembered. The shadowed fringes contained remnants of morning glories the color of the Iowa sky. Daisies and mustard plants added yellow and golden highlights to the otherwise green clearing. Although Tony and Claire talked during their hike, they also enjoyed the quiet serenity of nature.
    The buzz of the occasional insect and the rustle of the leaves above, brought on by the gentle wind, filled their ears. As they neared the lake, Claire noticed the fresh aroma of the water penetrating her lungs with each breath.
    The new boots she’d found in the well-stocked closet stood upon the pebbles of the lake’s edge while the waves lapped the shore. Out over the water, the sun shone in sparkling prisms like colored flashes above the rippled lake. Tony squeezed her hand and whispered, “It’s as beautiful as I remember.”
    “ Have you been here -- recently?”
    “ No, I’d be lost without you.” Claire wondered if he meant he’d be lost in the woods or if the statement held deeper meaning.
    They laid the blanket upon the shore and unpacked the lunch. She made no attempt to hide her ravenous hunger. Claire blamed her appetite on the exercise.
    Later in the afternoon as the warmth continued to build, Claire took off her shoes and socks and ventured into the water. The soft underwater terrain squished beneath her toes. The warm sun on her skin and the cool water on her feet created the perfect balance.
    “ We could swim?” Tony offered.
    “ I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”
    “ Me either,” he managed with a sultry grin. Claire laughed and declined his offer. Instead, they lounged on the blanket in their shorts. As the sun’s rays intensified, Tony removed his shirt. Claire found the view from the blanket very enjoyable.
     
     

 
     
     
    No man chooses evil because it is evil;
he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks. -- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
     
    Chapter 45
     
    September 1989
    Anton eased his rental car in the parking space at the Royal Hotel on Century Boulevard. Thankfully the low watt overhead lights did little to brighten the shabby cracked asphalt lot. Even if he tried, he couldn’t ignore the beat-up old automobiles filling many of the available spaces. With the demise of his family’s fortune, Anton had fallen. He was extremely thankful he hadn’t fallen this far. And under normal circumstances he’d never step into the likes of this flea infested hotel.
    It was a place where whores and junkies rented rooms by the hour. For some it was a living, for others – their death. It was the last place in Santa Monica anyone would expect a Rawls to stay. For that reason and that reason alone, it is where Anton safely stowed his step-grandmother.
    Technically, Marie wasn’t his step-grandmother any longer. Nathaniel suffered a massive heart attack four months ago. His death came two months before the completion of his sentence. The news sent shock waves through Anton’s family like a 7.0 earthquake.
    Prior to Nathaniel’s passing, Samuel Rawls sought legal declaration voiding his father’s marriage to Catherine Marie London. While few states allowed third party challenges to marriage, New York had a unique rule allowing the ability to annul a marriage and defeat the property consequences of said marriage. Both Nathaniel and Marie fought Samuel’s efforts. Despite Nathaniel’s incarceration, his power managed to keep Samuel’s allegations out of court.
    Although Samuel never visited his father in the minimum security prison, the moment he learned of Nathaniel’s passing, his attorney successfully filed the necessary paperwork. Because Samuel had begun the annulment prior to