Free Behind His Eyes - Convicted: The Missing Years by Aleatha Romig

necessary?”
    “No, judge, I will not leave the country. I intend to be near my family.”
    “I believe you have your answer, Mr. Evergreen. Now, Mr. Rawlings, you are aware that you have a right to counsel, and if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.”
    Brent replied, “Mr. Rawlings has counsel, Your Honor.”
    “Very well, we’re done here. Next…” Judge Jefferies proclaimed with a strike of his gavel, allowing Tony to walk as a free man out the doors of the courtroom. Suddenly, the stillness of the nearly empty room was replaced with a gallery of reporters shouting questions.
    “Mr. Rawlings, tell us your side of this story.”
    “Was your wife trying to kill you—again?”
    “Where have you been?”
    “Why did you remarry?”
    Tony and Brent remained silent as they pushed through the crowd, exited the Johnson County District Courthouse, and slipped into a waiting car. Eric smiled into the rearview mirror as he sat behind the steering wheel. “It’s good to have you back, Mr. Rawlings.”
    “Thank you, Eric, it’s good to be back. Take me to the hospital. I want to see my wife.” Tony turned to Brent. “What the hell was that false imprisonment charge?”
    Brent looked up from his phone. “I just heard about it minutes before we went into the courtroom.”
    “Who the hell did I restrain?”
    “We can get that charge dropped once we produce the tapes. Don’t worry about it.”
    Tony tried to concentrate, but concerns about Claire kept interrupting his thoughts. “Wait—what are you saying? Who am I charged with imprisoning? I didn’t imprison Catherine.”
    “Tony, concentrate on Claire and Nichol. Let me worry about this.”
    “Two counts at twenty years a piece seem worthy of my concern.” Tony sighed. “Fine. I still can’t believe it about Sophia. Did you do what I asked?”
    “Yes, Derek’s parents were contacted and Rawlings Industries has offered to help in any way with the arrangements.”
    “Good.” Tony’s mind went back to his wife. Roach’s reports had gone to Brent and ultimately to Tony throughout Tony’s seventy-two hours of incarceration. Roach had accessed the hospital’s network, as well as Emily and John’s phones. He was getting an array of medical notations from the hospital and personal comments from their text messages. The latest information was that Claire was awake, speaking, and exhibiting amnesia type symptoms: incoherent speech, lack of recognition of loved ones, and the inability to answer simple questions. Though Emily authorized tests and scans to try to learn the cause of her sudden psychosis, the results were inconclusive. Tony wondered if Claire could be faking it, trying to save herself from prison. He knew she didn’t mean to pull that trigger. It was an accident. Tony claimed it was self-defense. When he spoke with her, he planned to reassure her and explain that with her lawyers and all the resources that Rawlings’ legal could provide, she’d be cleared in no time.
    The consequences of Tony’s decisions continued to harm his family. He swore that Claire would never again be subjected to the inhumanity of a jail cell. Then he’d think about Nichol. It broke his heart to think of their daughter without her mother or father. It wasn’t right.
    From Roach’s monitoring of the Vandersols’ cell phones, Tony knew that Emily was caring for his daughter. That wouldn’t last. Tony intended to bring her home with him immediately. He’d hire a nanny to help until Claire was better. First and foremost, Tony wanted to get to Claire.
    As Eric weaved through traffic, Tony barked orders into his cell phone, telling Patricia to get recommendations for reputable nannies. He also touched base with Roach, happy to be able to contact him directly. Tony, too, told Roach that he should leave town. Of course he refused.
    “I’m not done with my job. I don’t leave unfinished work.”
    Tony grinned. “I know I’m not the