See Me (40 page)

The new information left Maria’s head spinning, and it was all she could do to stay seated. Even Colin seemed at a loss for words.

Margolis looked from one to the other. “So that’s where I am right now. If you’re wondering what my plan is, moving forward, I’m going to give the good doctor another call and see if he can grease the wheels and find out when Lester was admitted. Or better yet, have his son give the physicians at Plainview permission to tell me. Depending on what I learn there, I may or may not check into the Mark Atkinson thing. But frankly, that’s a lot of legwork, and again, I don’t know how much more time I can commit to this.”

“It’s not Atkinson,” Maria repeated. “It’s Lester.”

“If that’s the case, then for now, I wouldn’t worry.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because,” he said simply, “as I just told you, Lester is in the hospital.”

 

 

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Maria said to Colin. They were in the parking lot, the sun inching out from behind thin strands of clouds. “I’ve never met Mark Atkinson. I’ve never talked to him. As far as I know, I’ve never even seen him. Why would he be stalking me? He wasn’t even dating Cassie when Laws went to jail. He didn’t come into the picture until later. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know.”

“And why the hell would Lester think I’m out to get him?”

“It’s a delusion.”

She glanced away, her voice becoming quieter. “I hate this. I mean, I feel like I know even less than I did before I came here today. And now I have no idea what I’m supposed to do, or even what I’m supposed to think about all this.”

“I’m not sure what to make of it, either.”

She shook her head. “Oh, one thing I forgot to tell you. I had to cancel with Jill and Leslie tonight because it’s my mom’s birthday. I’ll be at my parents’ place tonight while you’re at work.”

“Do you want me to come by after my shift?”

“No. Dinner will be over by then. My dad makes the meal – it’s the one time a year that he actually cooks – but it’s not a big deal. It’ll be just the four of us.”

“Are you going to stay there overnight? Or head back to your condo?”

“I’m thinking of going home. It’s probably time, don’t you think?”

Colin was quiet for a moment. “How about I meet you there? Just hang at your parents’ and I’ll call you when my shift is done.”

“Would you mind?”

“Not at all.”

She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry that as soon as things started clicking between us, all this had to happen. I hate that you’re having to deal with it.”

He kissed her. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

W
hen he got home, Colin pulled the computer from his book bag and set it on the kitchen table. He was as confused about the whole situation as Maria was, and his instinct was to try to learn as much as possible.

The first step was to understand the mind-set of Lester Manning. Or rather,
persecutory delusions of the nonbizarre type
. He’d wanted to ask Margolis more about it when it came up, but it wasn’t his place to ask, and Maria had let it go. Fortunately, there were dozens of web pages on the topic, and he spent the next hour and a half learning as much as he could.

He’d been under the impression that the disorder was similar to schizophrenia, but while certain symptoms like hallucinations and delusions were common in both types of patients, a patient was diagnosed with either schizophrenia or a delusional disorder. Schizophrenia often also included disorganized speech or delusions of the bizarre type. Bizarre meant impossible – the belief that the patient could fly, or read the minds of other people, or hear voices that could control their actions. Nonbizarre delusions – the kind that Lester suffered from – were at least plausible, but untrue.

In Lester’s case, assuming he suffered from a delusional disorder, it made some sense that he might believe the police were out to get him. According to Avery Manning, the police had used Tasers on him and put him in jail; while there, he had been beaten by other prisoners. And in the end, the charges had been dropped, which might underscore Lester’s belief that he never should have gone to jail at all.

His paranoia regarding Maria also made sense, Colin admitted, if plausibility was the sole criteria. Not only had Maria failed to protect Cassie, but if Lester hadn’t written the notes – as Dr. Manning maintained – then Maria had sent the police after him for no reason. Not just once, but twice now…

Margolis had also been right in that a person with the disorder could, as a general rule, function normally, depending on the severity of the disorder. The spectrum of delusions could run from something as simple as overvalued ideas to near psychosis; another couple of the articles stated – just as Avery Manning had told Margolis – that delusions weren’t rigidly fixed. They could fluctuate in intensity and could be aggravated by the use of certain drugs.

Still, as much as everything he read made sense, and while he understood that Lester truly believed his delusions… there were aspects of the disorder that didn’t line up for him. If Lester was terrified of Maria, would he have delivered roses to her? Would he have sent over a drink? And if those were meant to be peace offerings of sorts, why would he have included the messages he had? Why taunt if what you wanted was to be left alone? And why come to Wilmington to do it? Wouldn’t he have wanted to keep as much distance between them as he could?

Initially, Colin had wondered why Margolis had bothered looking into Mark Atkinson, but Margolis was smart enough to recognize the same inconsistencies and wonder how to reconcile them. Hence, he’d called Atkinson’s mother, and from there the story got even more confusing.

He may or may not be missing?
 

As vague as it was, Margolis was accurate in his description. A quick search brought up a photograph of a missing persons poster on Pinterest, no doubt created by Atkinson’s mother. Other than that, there was nothing at all. He supposed he could do the same kind of search he’d done for Lester Manning, but what would be the point? According to Margolis, any information that might be helpful was inaccurate as of the date Mark Atkinson left for Toronto. Or went missing.

Or if not missing, was he in hiding?

Colin had the sense that Margolis considered it a possibility. The timing was too coincidental for it
not
to be a possibility. But Maria’s point was also valid. Why would he target her? According to her, she’d never even met the man.

Closing the computer, Colin continued to ponder the questions before coming to the conclusion that he needed to clear his mind, and he knew only one way to do that.

 

 

He ran the six miles to the gym and spent an hour lifting weights, finishing with half an hour of striking on the heavy bag. Without classes in session, the gym was relatively quiet. Daly spotted him when necessary and held the bag for a few minutes, but otherwise spent most of his time in the office.

He ran home, showered, and changed into his work clothes and drove to work. Behind the wheel, he pondered the same questions he had earlier. Perhaps his defensive instincts were on high alert, but for some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

A
fter the meeting with Margolis, Maria headed back to the office, her head swimming with all she had learned. She stopped to visit with Jill and update her on the latest, but Jill wasn’t back from lunch. It reminded Maria that she hadn’t eaten, but then again, she couldn’t even fathom the thought of eating.

Stress. If it continued, she was going to have to buy a new wardrobe in a smaller size or have everything altered; her clothes were already getting loose.

Barney was finally back in the office, though he spent the next three hours behind closed doors, meeting with one paralegal after another. She assumed he was interviewing for Lynn’s replacement – who couldn’t come soon enough, in Maria’s opinion – and though she had a few questions for him about the hospital case, she knew better than to disturb him. Instead, she started organizing her questions, making notes in the margin of the complaint, until eventually she heard a knock at her door. Glancing up, she saw Barney standing in her doorway.

“Hi, Maria. Would you mind coming to my office?” he asked.

“Oh, hey, Barney,” she said, gathering her pages and placing them back in the file, feeling a surge of relief. “Thank goodness. I was hoping to talk to you about the complaint. I’ve been thinking that there are a few different angles we can take, and I wanted to make sure I was clear on what you were planning to do before I really started to dig in.”

“You can leave that for now,” he said. “We’ll go over the case later. Will you join me? There’s something we need to discuss in my office.”

Despite Barney’s outwardly pleasant demeanor, there was something in his tone that made her cautious as she rose from her desk. Whatever he wanted to talk about, she suddenly thought, it wasn’t going to be good.

Barney trailed half a step behind her, avoiding even small talk, and it wasn’t until they got to his door that he reached her side. Always the gentleman – even when about to lower the boom, no doubt – he opened the door and motioned toward the high-backed chair farthest from the window that faced his desk. It wasn’t until she’d moved closer to the chairs that she saw who was already seated in one of them. She came to a sudden halt.

Ken.

By then, Barney was already moving around his desk. She continued to stand in place even as Barney began pouring three glasses of water from a pitcher on his desk.

“Please,” he said, urging her to take a seat. “There’s nothing to worry about. We’re just here for a friendly discussion.”

I should simply tell him, no, thank you, and walk out the door
, she suddenly thought. What were they going to do? Fire her? And yet, the old habits began kicking in – the ones about respecting her elders and obeying the boss – and she found herself almost on autopilot as she took her seat.

“Would you like a glass?” Barney asked. From the corner of her eye, she could see him studying her.

“No, thank you,” she said. She could still walk out, she told herself, but…

“I appreciate you joining us, Maria,” Barney said, his drawl just a bit heavier than usual, his cadence a beat slower. It was the same way he spoke when in the courtroom. “And I’m sure you might be wondering why we asked you to join us. Now…”

“You said there was something
we
needed to discuss,” she interrupted. “As in the two of us.”

Barney flinched ever so slightly, his surprise at being cut off evident but only for an instant. He smiled. “Excuse me?”

“You said ‘we,’ as in you and I. You didn’t say that anyone else would be here.”

“Of course,” he said, his voice smoothing once more. “You’re correct. I originally asked you to join
me
. My apologies for misspeaking.”

He offered an opening for her to respond – no doubt expecting her to dismiss the error – but Colin probably wouldn’t have said anything, so she didn’t, either.
I’m learning
, she thought.

Barney opened his hands. “I suppose we should just get to it, then, so as not to waste your time with preliminaries. The last thing I would want is for this meeting to extend your workday.”

“Okay.” Inwardly, she smiled to herself.

Again, it wasn’t what he expected her to say, but Barney was a master of recovery. He cleared his throat. “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors in the office concerning potential allegations by various employees against Ken Martenson. Allegations, by the way, that have no factual basis.”

He waited, but this time she said nothing at all.

“Am I correct?” he finally asked.

She glanced over at Ken, then back to Barney. “I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure if you’ve heard the rumors?”

“Oh, I’ve heard the rumors,” she said.

“Then what aren’t you sure about?”

“I’m not sure whether the allegations have a factual basis or not.”

“I can assure you, Maria, that they do not.”

She waited a couple of beats. “Okay.” Colin, she thought, would be proud of her right now. More than that, she began to understand how the use of the word
okay
shifted the power dynamic in the room. Or at the very least, set the tone she wanted, even if Barney didn’t like it. He didn’t, but he was professional enough to hide it, the drawl and slower cadence continuing in his courtroom rhythm.

“Because Mr. Martenson is our managing director, the firm intends to vigorously contest these allegations in whatever manner the firm deems best. That includes litigation. Of course, as you know well, when reputations are at stake, cases like this are usually settled to avoid lengthy, expensive, and distracting legal proceedings. In this particular instance, any potential settlement would not reflect on the veracity of the claims, but rather the time, money, and inconvenience that contesting the charges would bring. Obviously, any settlement – if there is a settlement – would be sealed and confidential.”

Maria nodded, thinking,
Just get to the point. Why did you ask me here?

“I’m sure I don’t need to review Mr. Martenson’s stellar reputation with you. Those who know him best – people like you and me – know that he has always kept the best interest of the firm at the forefront of his thoughts and actions. He has made tremendous sacrifices, and it’s simply not possible that he would have done anything to put either the firm or his own personal reputation at risk. The allegations, I might add, are preposterous. In his nearly three-decade career as an attorney in our community, no claims of sexual harassment have ever so much as seen the light of day in any courtroom. Three decades of hard work, now at risk because there are people in the world who are simply greedy.”

Claims that never reached the light of day because they were settled
, Maria thought.

“Unfortunately, whenever there is a pot of money, there are those who believe themselves to be entitled to it. In some cases, these people may lie outright; in other instances, they distort the truth with a story that fits their agenda. Other times, people simply misinterpret behavior that nearly everyone else would find inoffensive. It’s my belief that a bit of all three is what is happening here, and that has led to – in colloquial terms – a feeding frenzy. Some people – these greedy sharks – now sense blood in the water and want to make sure they get their
fair share
because they believe it is owed them by birthright. But our fair Constitution does not say that you’re allowed to take someone else’s property because you believe that
it should have been yours all along
. Greed. It’s an awful, awful thing, and too many times, I’ve seen good people hurt by it, even my own kin. My neighbors – fine, churchgoing folk, mind you – were ruined by greedy people. But in these twilight years, I usually feel less anger than simple pity for them. Their lives are empty and they believe they can fill that emptiness with the coins from other people’s pockets. Still, Mr. Martenson’s reputation is at stake, as is the good name of our firm, and I feel a responsibility – even a
duty
– to ensure that both Mr. Martenson and the firm receive the most vigorous defense possible.”

He was good, Maria thought, even when distorting the truth himself. She could understand why juries liked him.

“Of course, I am certain that you feel just as strongly about integrity and maintaining the high-quality reputation of our firm. But I do have to tell you that I’m frightened, Maria. I’m frightened for the other people here. Your coworkers. Your friends. The young families with mortgages and heating bills. Their babies and their children. I feel an obligation to them to use all the skills the good Lord has given me in the hopes that right and fair and good can prevail over wrong and greedy. But then again, I’m an old man and out of touch with the way things work these days, so what do I know?”

When Barney trailed off after playing the “deeply troubled” card, Maria almost felt like applauding. Instead, she kept a poker face. In time, Barney sighed and went on.

“I know you, Maria. And I know you share my concerns. You’re too good of a person not to be scared for all your friends and coworkers here. And I know you’ll want to help them because you don’t desire a perversion of justice any more than I do. Our firm – all of us – need to stand united as one against these… these
greed-mongers
who have deluded themselves into believing that they’re entitled to
your
hard-earned money, even though they themselves did nothing to earn it.”

He shook his head.

“We just want the truth to come out, Maria. That’s all. Just the simple, God’s honest truth. And that’s why you’re here. Because I need your help.”

Here it comes
, Maria thought.

“All we’re asking of you is the same thing we’re asking of all our employees. We want you to sign an affidavit that simply states the truth: that you have the greatest respect for Mr. Martenson’s character, and that in your tenure at the firm, you have never witnessed, or even heard about, Mr. Martenson engaging in anything that could be construed in any way as sexually offensive to
any
employee. In your case, and for our female employees, we’re also asking that they confirm that they never felt sexually harassed, in any fashion, at any time.”

For an instant, all Maria could do was stare at him. Ken, she noticed, had sunk lower in his seat, and before she could respond, Barney went on.

“Of course, you don’t have to do this. In the end, whatever you choose to do is completely up to you. There is no reason whatsoever to take into account the livelihoods of anyone else in this firm. All I truly want is for you to do the
right
thing.”

Barney finished; by then his eyes were downcast, his body humbly positioned. Barney: a bearer of righteousness in a world he no longer understood, shouldering a burden that had to be borne by someone. No wonder he was so successful.

But Maria could think of nothing to say. As persuasive as Barney was… he was
lying
, and he knew it. She also knew that Barney knew that she knew he was lying, which meant all of this was a game. No doubt he wanted Ken in the room as a form of punishment:
Do you understand the level to which I’ve sunk by defending you?
For his part, Ken hadn’t so much as mumbled a single word.

And yet…

Was it fair for the rest of the office – all of whom were innocent – to be penalized? Because of a single idiot? And how much money did the women want? Ken had harassed her, and she’d survived. In another couple of weeks, she would likely put it behind her entirely. In time, it might even become the subject of jokes. Ken was a jerk, but it wasn’t as though he’d exposed himself or tried to grope Maria in the hallway when they’d been at the conference. He was too insecure – too pathetic – to go that far. With her, anyway. But what about the others he’d harassed?

She wasn’t sure, and feeling the need to stall, she drew a deep breath. “Let me think about it.”

“Of course,” Barney said. “I appreciate your consideration. And remember, everyone at the firm, your coworkers and friends, just want you to do the
right
thing.”