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June 1993

Three weeks later

"What if she recants on the stand?"

"Why would she?"

"I don't know, but all these messages from her lawyer worry me."

"Look, she knows she's getting two years out of this as opposed to fifteen. There's no way she doesn't go through with it."

"How well have you prepped her?"

Evelyn fought hard to hold her tongue at the veiled insinuation, "Well enough."

"I'm still worried," Ben said. "Without her, we can't make the case."

"Mary Fellowes is going to roll on all of them," Evelyn insisted. "She's been sitting in jail ever since arraignment and there's no way that she..."

"What do you think?" Ben interrupted her, directing his question towards Adam.

"I think if Mrs Burns says she's well prepped, then she's well prepped," the older man replied. "But no-one ever knows exactly what a witness is going to say on the stand until they say it. You have to be prepared for all eventualities."

Ben sighed, "We go to trial tomorrow and I don't want to see any of them walk away from this. Not with the amounts of money we're talking about."

"They won't," Evelyn said, through gritted teeth.

"Call Fellowes attorney," he instructed her. "Set up a meeting with her at Rikers. I want to talk to her myself before we do anything."

"So you don't trust my judgement?"

"Just do it."

"Fine," she replied tightly, "but you'll be remembering that I have some time off this afternoon to meet with Eddie and the lawyers?"

"I remember," he said. "You can ask Claire if she can come with me."

"I'll do that," she replied icily before stepping out of the office and closing the door quietly behind her.

For a moment there was silence.

"Whatever's happened to you pair in the last few weeks I wish you would fix it," Adam said.

"I don't know what you mean," Ben replied, leafing through the papers in his hand.

"The first week she was here you said she was a hard worker and a good attorney. You worked well together. Now I feel like I'm treading on eggshells every time I open my mouth around you."

"It's nothing."

"It's obviously something."

Ben sighed and took of his glasses. "We don't agree on certain things, that's all."

"Certain things like what?"

"Just...things..." he had no wish to elaborate any further. Ever since she had called him a boy scout, their relationship had nosedived dramatically. She was clearly angry at him for the way he had handled the situation and, if he was being completely honest, he was angry with her for what she had said, even though deep down he knew she wasn't far off the mark.

"Are you telling me you need another new assistant?"

"No," Ben said, "we're working it out."

"Good, because quite frankly I've enough on my plate right now without playing marriage counsellor for the two of you."

"It's nothing like that!" Ben exclaimed.

Adam looked at him, "It was a turn of phrase, that's all. There's no need to be sensitive about it."

"I'm not..." he stopped before he said more than he wanted to. "I'm sorry, you're right. I'll talk to her."

"Fine, just make sure you do. We don't want any perception of impropriety, especially not in an election year."

Ben shook his head at the irony, "God forbid."

XXXX

"Why are they keeping us waiting like this?" Evelyn demanded, pacing around the coffee table.

"It's a tactic to try and intimidate you," Veronica replied from where she was leafing through a magazine.

"Well, it's working. I feel like a nervous wreck."

"Well don't. I'm going to be doing the talking on your behalf. All you have to do is sit there and look as though nothing he or his lawyer says bothers you."

Evelyn sighed and sat down again. "I hate this."

"Unfortunately, it's part of the process. And I don't think..." She was prevented from saying more by the door to Howard Loomis' office opening and the man himself appearing.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. Please come in." He stepped back. "Evelyn, it's lovely to see you again, albeit under these strained circumstances."

"And you," she replied as graciously as she could as she crossed the threshold. Edward was already sitting at the large table in the centre of the room and when he caught her gaze, he shot her a smile that, to anyone else would have seemed conciliatory, but which she knew meant he was about to bury her.

"Well I see no point in beating around the bush," Howard said as they all took their seats. "Ms Sellers, I'm assuming you received the revised separation agreement that I returned to your office?"

"I did," Veronica replied, pulling papers out of her briefcase. "In fact, I was very surprised by the sheer number of revisions you had made, especially to what might be considered fairly standard clauses."

"Mr Burns only wants to retain what is rightfully his."

"And Mrs Burns only wants what she is rightfully entitled to."

The two lawyers began bickering over various different provisions contained within the agreement and Evelyn tried to look anywhere but at her husband. It proved difficult, however, when his penetrating gaze never left her. Every time she caught his eye she could see the old, familiar Eddie lurking beneath the surface. The one who had charmed her, wooed her and eventually broken her.

"This is all eminently fascinating," Edward said suddenly, "but can we just get to the point?"

"The point being?" Veronica enquired.

"How much does the bitch want?"

Evelyn opened her mouth to reply, but Veronica put her hand on her arm. "Perhaps we could refrain from pointless slurs, Mr Burns. It doesn't really get us anywhere."

"Perhaps not, but it gives me great satisfaction," Edward replied. "And I say again, how much does the bitch want?"

"Like my lawyer said, only what I'm entitled to," Evelyn said calmly.

"You're entitled to nothing," he replied.

"Mr Burns is willing to discuss division of certain property. The Manhattan apartment will be sold and the proceeds divided 70/30 in Mr Burns' favour. Mrs Burns may take 45% of the savings in the joint account which amounts to roughly $300,000 and Mr Burns will replace the vehicle she lost several weeks ago. Mrs Burns will renounce the shares she holds in my client's legal firm and any other claims to any other assets or property." Howard looked at them both. "Those are our terms."

Veronica smiled. "Mrs Burns will take 50% of the proceeds of the sale of the Manhattan apartment, considering it was purchased during the course of the marriage. She will also receive 50% of the money contained within the joint bank account, retain her shares in the company and take the house in Sag Harbor. Those are our terms, but we will gladly accept your clients offer to replace her vehicle."

"You're dreaming," Edward said, directing his comment towards Evelyn. "You're not getting anything like that."

"Then I'm afraid this meeting is over," Veronica got to her feet, gesturing to Evelyn to do the same. "Our terms are fair and equitable and if you can't accept them, then I guess we'll see you in court." Before either Edward or Howard could say anything else, she propelled Evelyn out of the office and back into the corridor. "We've given them something to think about."

"You saw Eddie's face. He'll never agree."

"Maybe not now, but something tells me he'll cave in before too long, even if it's just to avoid the publicity." Veronica checked her watch. "I have another appointment down the hall, but I'll give you a call tomorrow and we can discuss where we go from here, ok?"

"Ok."

"Good. Don't worry, you're doing the right thing."

Touching Evelyn's arm, she turned and headed off down the corridor leaving Evelyn with little choice but to head for the elevator. £300,000, 30% of the sale of the apartment and a car...some people might have said she would do well to accept the offer. Then she thought back over everything that had happened and knew that Veronica was right. She was due more.

The elevator arrived and the doors slid open. She stepped inside, pressed for the ground floor and stepped back, letting out a long breath as the doors began to close. Just before they did, however, an arm forced them open again and Edward appeared beside her in the empty car. She felt her heart leap into her throat as the doors closed again and he stepped towards her.

"You think you're really clever, don't you?" he sneered. "Coming in there with your bitch lawyer and demanding all that from me. Do you really think, for one minute, that I'm going to give you fifty percent?"

"It's standard," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady. "I'm not asking for more..."

"More than you're entitled to," he mocked. "What you're entitled to, Evelyn, is nothing. You were nothing before you met me and you're nothing now and if you want to keep playing this game then I swear to God I will play it longer and harder."

"Fuck you," she said.

He cocked his head to one side, "What did you say?"

"I said, fuck you. You don't get to push me around anymore, Eddie, ok? Those days are gone. You can't..." she was prevented from saying anything more by his hand suddenly on her throat, squeezing her windpipe tightly, the way he used to do during sex sometimes because it excited him, not caring for one moment that it had terrified her. "Stop..." she tried to say, clawing at his hand with her own. "Eddie..."

"You don't ever talk to me like that," he said, his face inches from hers. "Or by God I'll show you. I'll fucking show you." As the elevator pinged to indicate it had reached its destination, he slammed her head back against the wall and released her, causing her to grab onto the rail for support and gasp for breath. The doors slid open and he straightened his suit jacket. "Good to see you again, darling. Until next time." Then he walked out into the foyer of the building as if nothing had happened.

XXXX

"I'm scared."

Ben sighed, "Of what?"

"What do you think?" Mary said. "They know people, scary people. You're going after Porter, Haywood and Lehrman but there's other people involved."

"We have no evidence to tie anyone else into this," Ben said. "As much as I wish I could..."

"So what's supposed to happen to me and my family, Mr Stone? I'll be in jail but they'll be on the outside."

"We can offer your family state witness protection. We can relocate them until such time as you've served your sentence and then reunite you all with fresh identities."

"And where exactly would you send us? Idaho? Wyoming? North Carolina?" Mary shook her head, "I want the deal your colleague offered. I want to testify but..."

Ben leaned forward across the table. "If you back out now then you'll be prosecuted along with the others and, if you're convicted, you'll spend the next fifteen years in jail. Is that what you want?"

Mary shook her head, "No."

"Then please, tell the truth on the stand tomorrow."

There was a long silence, then Mary nodded. "All right. All right, I'll do it."

"Thank you."

"You can't blame her for being afraid," her lawyer said as Mary was led away.

"She should have thought about that before getting involved," Ben replied, closing up his briefcase.

"Oh if we only all had your moral superiority." She shot him a look before following her client out of the room.

"Well at least she's still on board," Claire said when they were alone. "You still have a case."

"Yeah, no thanks to Evelyn," he muttered. "She said she had prepped her. Did she sound prepped to you?"

"She sounded scared and I guess I don't blame her. She's the one sticking her head above the parapet and waiting for it to be blown off. I'd probably feel the same if I were in her position."

"If she mentioned anything to Evelyn about needing protection and she didn't pass that on to me..."

"Why wouldn't she?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. Sometimes, I wonder if I know the woman at all."

XXXX

She had over an hour before her session with Dr Olivet, but Evelyn couldn't bear going back to her desk. Instead, she had the cab drop her a few streets away where she bought a hot dog and sat on a bench watching the world go by while she contemplated what had happened. Her head hurt and her throat ached, her fingers constantly straying to it, remembering the feel of his hand around it. There had been times in the past when she had fought back, given as good as she'd received, left him with a few bruises of his own. But more often than not, she had simply taken it. Let him make his point and then move on.

It often amazed her, when she thought back, how she could walk into the office in the morning with her head high and a smile on her face when mere hours earlier he had been screaming at her, clawing at her, pushing and pulling her. She would sit at her desk, converse with her colleagues, do her job...and no-one ever guessed. Or maybe they did and were too polite or afraid to mention it. Maybe they had all spoken about her at the water cooler and behind her back. Maybe all the years she thought she had been fooling everyone, she had only been fooling herself.

Tossing her garbage into a nearby trashcan, she made her way back to the office, resolving to simply go to the bathroom and touch up her makeup before heading over to Olivet's. There was no way she planned to venture upstairs, no way she wanted to run into Ben. The memory of the way he had spoken to her that morning, hell the way he had been with her for weeks, coupled with Eddie's attack only made her want to break down and scream with tears of frustration.

In the downstairs ladies room, she reapplied some lipstick and examined her neck. There was no denying the marks Eddie had left on her and she was just contemplating whether or not some foundation might help conceal them when the door opened and, to her dismay, Claire appeared.

"Hey," she greeted the other woman as breezily as she could, turning the taps on as a distraction. "How was Rikers?"

"Ultimately as expected," Claire replied. "Mary Fellowes still insists she wants the deal and that she'll tell the whole story on the stand tomorrow, but she's nervous about repercussions."

"What sort of repercussions?"

"She thinks her former co-defendants are planning to do something to her and her kids because of her testimony. She's worried about the possible connections to organised crime, especially if they're acquitted. Ben promised her and her family protection."

"Do you believe her?"

"I do."

"What about Ben?"

"I think he does too, now."

"Shame he didn't seem to hold that view when I tried to convince him earlier," Evelyn said, washing her hands. "He could have saved himself the trip."

"I think he just wanted to be sure but..."

"But what?"

"He's on the warpath. He wants to know if she said anything to you about needing protection when you were prepping her before."

"I see. Seems like everyone's out to get me today." She dried her hands and starting fixing her hair in the mirror, screaming at herself not to get upset again. But even as she looked at her own reflection she could see the whites of her eyes turning red.

"Are you ok?" Claire asked suddenly.

"Me? Yes I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you look a bit...upset."

"I'm fine," Evelyn replied, turning to face her and trying hard to compose herself. "It's just been a long day." Claire nodded, but Evelyn could see the other woman's eyes flicker downwards and knew she had seen the marks left by her husband's hand. "I'd better go, I'm late for an appointment. I'll see you tomorrow." Before Claire could say anything else, she left as quickly as she could, losing herself in the crowded foyer and hoping to God she could hold things together a little longer.

XXXX

"I talked to the police," Claire said, coming into Ben's office. "They're going to move Mary's family tonight."

"Good," he replied, relieved at the news. "One less thing to worry about. Hopefully tomorrow we can get this ball rolling. Thanks for all your help. I know I've been taking you away from your duties with Jack."

"That's ok, he doesn't mind. Though he did say you owed him a drink at the next bar dinner."

Ben smiled, "I bet he did."

Claire paused, "I ran into Evelyn downstairs."

His irritation returned. "Did you ask her about Mary wanting protection?"

"I mentioned it but...I don't know...is everything ok with her? Outside of this case I mean?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"It's just...when I spoke to her, she looked like she'd been crying."

Ben looked up. "Well she had a meeting with her husband and their lawyers this afternoon. Perhaps it didn't go so well."

Claire shook her head, "No, it was more than that. She had...injuries."

He stared at her. "What?"

"On her neck. It...looked like someone had grabbed her."

Concern suddenly flooded him and he was instantly transported back to that moment at her desk when he had witnessed Edward grab her arm. He had been brazen enough to do it there, feet away from other people, so why would a meeting at a lawyer's office be any different?

"Burns," he said, getting to his feet, "that son-of-a-bitch...!"

"Her husband?"

"He's done it before, right here," he stormed to the door and threw it open, dismayed to find her desk across the corridor empty and yet chastising himself for thinking it wouldn't be. She had told him she was having a session with Olivet after the meeting. Turning back and grabbing his suit jacket from the coat stand, he threw it on.

"Where are you going?" Claire asked.

"I'm going to find her and let's pray for all our sakes that I don't run into Edward Burns first."

XXXX

"You're quiet this afternoon."

Evelyn looked up into Elizabeth Olivet's face. "Am I? I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologise," the other woman said. "This therapy is what you make of it. The sessions are yours to control. I was simply making an observation."

"I had a meeting today with Eddie and his lawyer."

"How was it?"

"As expected. We didn't agree on anything." Her hand went to her neck, the finger marks now hidden by a strategically placed silk scarf that she had found at the bottom of her bag. "I don't think we'll ever agree."

"How does that make you feel?" Elizabeth asked.

"Like I still have no control over my own life. I've left him and yet...I still can't do anything without him being a part of it. Sometimes I think I'll never be free of him. I worry that...even when it's all over with...he'll still be there."

"How do you mean?"

"That I'll always be looking over my shoulder...wondering if he's following me or..." Evelyn sighed and rubbed her eyes, "I don't know, maybe I'm just paranoid."

"Do you have anyone you can talk to about your feelings?"

"Besides you? No."

"What about your mother?"

"She likes to believe that she didn't notice anything wrong in my marriage. She likes to pretend that if she had known she would have done something. The truth is, she knew. Maybe not about all of it, but she knew I was unhappy and she didn't do anything to help me."

"Do you blame her for that?"

Evelyn paused, "I don't know. Maybe things will be better once I have my own place again. We're on top of each other so much now that it's a little stifling."

Elizabeth looked at her, "What about friends?"

"I don't have any?"

"None at all?"

"No."

"Have you ever considered joining some groups?"

"What sort of groups?" she asked.

"Friendship groups for women...support groups for battered wives..."

"I'm not a battered wife!" Evelyn snapped. "You don't...you can't say..." she paused and took a deep breath. "Eddie never laid a hand on me." The words sounded so hollow and, in the silence that followed, she knew Elizabeth didn't believe her. Why should anyone believe her? Ben didn't believe her, but then she had alluded to her husband's violence and he had perhaps witnessed some of it for himself, but she had never said the words. "He didn't," she repeated, more for herself than her therapist. "Ever."

Elizabeth sat back in her chair. "Evelyn...you know that this is a safe space. Nothing you say in here can be repeated."

Evelyn's eyes blurred with tears, "He never touched me," she whispered.

"Ok," Elizabeth reached out and touched her hand. "That's ok. You're doing fine."

"No," Evelyn shook her head. "No, I'm really not."