Consequences(234)

It was after 3:00 PM before she was once again taken to the small room with the table. A short while later, the door opened and a young man, Paul Task, entered—carrying a briefcase, laptop, and wearing a cheap suit. Claire’s first thought was that he looked more like a high school student than an attorney. “Hello, Mrs. Rawlings, I’m your attorney Paul Task. I just want you to know that I’m so honored to work on your case. Mr. Rawlings has long been an inspiration to us in Iowa. Everyone has so much respect for him. Why did you try to kill him? Was it because you didn’t have a prenuptial agreement? I mean, for the money?”

“No! I didn’t do this. It’s a terrible misunderstanding. I know once my husband is better he’ll help me. He knows I wouldn’t do this to him.”

“Yes, of course, Mrs. Rawlings—”

After Mr. Task informed the court that Mrs. Rawlings wouldn’t be able to post bond, she was officially charged with a felony. They took her personal property—her jewelry and clothes. They took her picture—her fingerprints—and did a chemical test on her hands. A female officer offered her a prison jumpsuit, underwear, and a bra—Claire accepted it all.

For the next five days Claire waited and responded appropriately to her counsel. She met daily with Paul Task and his associate Jane Allyson. They asked questions and she maintained her innocence. She told them repeatedly the events of the morning in question. She never broke Tony’s rules. When he came to save her, she would be able to tell him she maintained his confidence. She would explain to him—she drove away, but she had decided to turn around. She hadn’t left him—only left the estate—for a while. She would apologize—accept his punishment—and life could resume.

She spent untold hours wondering who poisoned Tony. The answer to that question could save her from 162 months in prison. Unfortunately, all the evidence pointed to Claire. She’d given Tony the mug of coffee at approximately 11:00 AM—in plain view of fifteen people via a Rawlings Industries web conference. He took a drink from that mug and suddenly lost consciousness. The video footage from their home security showed Claire pouring coffee in the kitchen and carrying the coffee to his office. The desk area wasn’t covered by cameras, but Claire was seen walking away from the desk without the mug.

To make this evidence worse, there was video from the garage of Claire telling Eric to go to Iowa City to get paperwork from Mr. Rawlings’s office. Anthony’s secretary, Patricia, provided a sworn statement that she didn’t have contracts for Mr. Rawlings, and furthermore, she hadn’t spoken to him that morning. Being Tony’s primary source of transportation, having Eric gone would help ensure that the poison would have time to work. The same camera in the garage captured Claire taking the keys to the Mercedes and hurrying to the car. The significance of this car was that it was the only car in the garage registered under the name Claire Rawlings.

Claire was shocked. “It can’t be registered in my name. I don’t drive.” Paul showed her a copy of the registration. The same one she handed to the policeman but hadn’t read. According to the dealership, Mr. Rawlings came in himself last December and paid cash. It was his wife’s Christmas present and had less than a thousand miles on it.

Her statement regarding no valid driver’s license also proved erroneous. Apparently, she did have an identification card with the name Claire Rawlings, but her driver’s license from Georgia under the name Claire Nichols was still valid. Paul couldn’t understand how Claire wouldn’t know.

She tried to explain, “Tony did everything.”