Page 23 (1/1)

Tony lay with her for a while, drifting in and out of dreaht Maybe this wasn’t real As he held her sleeping body, he wondered if reality could truly be this a

When he finally eased himself fro theined underwear could be so erotic Inhaling her scent, he eased the panties back over her feet and up her sexy legs Seeing her asleep, wearing only underweartoo old for this asm sex Nevertheless, he couldn’t deny his obvious arousal He covered the panties with her soft pants Surprisingly, she didn’t wake as he dressed her It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy seeing her naked It was that he needed to leave If he didn’t cover her, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk through the door

Once they were both clothed, she was sleeping soundly, and he was ready to leave He brushed her lips with a light kiss Claire didn’t wake, but he watched as the tips of her lips turned upward, and she nuzzled into her pillow

Perhaps this rong on many levels, yet as he walked fro he entertained They were both consenting adults They could pretend it wasn’t real, that their feelings didn’t truly exist, but he would know and she would know that it was real and despite everything, they were and alould be one

Tony made sure the door to her condoht answers, he poses the right questions

--Claude Levi-Strauss

Tony hadn’t called ho his trip to California He wasn’t sure what to say Had he called the night he and Claire dined, he would have laid Catherine out Each ered on Claire’s prison delivery, the darker the consu crimson became He didn’t want to believe that it was Catherine, but yet, it had to be her There truly were no other options

While his ht of his and Claire’s dinner¸ sleep reing his contact at the Iowa State Penitentiary Surprisingly, he received a quick response Over the course of Claire’s incarceration, she received s were constantly either a J Findes--soo PO Box nues cae, in October of 2012, had Emily’s return address, handwritten--as opposed to her custoe showed a Cedar Rapids posth he wanted to find out, but he believed the one from Cedar Rapids was the delivery that Clairethe contents and intent

Catherine had been so concerned when Tony altered the course of their plan She warned that bringing Claire onto the estate was dangerous She mentioned more than once that Claire was a liability they shouldn’t have taken on, yet over time, she came around Tony mused, it was Claire She did that to people--penetrated shields and infiltrated thoughts When Claire failed her final test, Catherine never gloated On the contrary, she was as disappointed as Tony and was genuinely concerned about Tony’s condition Her actions to rid the estate of Claire’s things were solely meant as an aid to help Tony deal with the situation

He didn’t agree, but he understood

Then, when Tony learned from Claire that the box she received contained pictures, articles, and a letter explaining his change of naer intermixed with curiosity

Why would Catherine send Claire information about his past? What did she hope to accomplish? Had she confessed her role? What did she expect Claire to do with that knowledge locked away for her entire sentence of seven years?

Not only did Tony want answers, he wanted to see Catherine’s reaction when he confronted her If he’d called ahead, she would’ve been prepared for his arrival Would she even suspect that Claire would share her knowledge? Tony intended to tread lightly

After spending part of Saturday afternoon in California, it was quite late when Tony returned hoht to his suite, more specifically, to his closet and his box of memories Claire had said there were pictures--he wondered if they came from his stash As he removed the box, he marveled that this was the second tih these randmother’s necklace, Tony hadn’t touched any of its contents the entire time she was under his roof After she failed her test, he didn’t want to look at it or remember any of it He never planned to dispose of this record of his acquisition, but for the longest ti the box near his sofa, Tony began to pull fro appeared in order as he reative reports There was a time when it seemed safer for his updates to be translossy or matte Paper clips connected envelopes to folders; each contained various nuiven picture, Tony saw his oriting, as he’d painstakingly scribbled names on each back With every envelope, Tony re, he was lost in the past--Claire’s past

Tony hadn’t taken the photos at her parents’ funeral, although he’d been there He did take the ones at E, he remembered how easy it was to work his way into the church and reception No one questioned ait The majority of the photos and reports in the box were ators; nonetheless, Tony was the one to label subjects