Page 66 of Cleats and Pumps

Tommy touched his nose, then kissed mine. “I won’t be gone long. Just long enough to put this asshole behind bars.”

“What about your former boss?” I asked, knowing they were trying to link the robbery to them.

“Says they didn’t know what he had planned. Likely they didn’t. The rag would do most anything to get an article, but breaking and entering was a big no, even for them. My guess is they sent him down there to find dirt, and he took it upon himself to break into my place.”

“So, are they going to pay for the damages?” I asked. Tommy had flat-out refused any financial assistance from me, saying the insurance would cover the costs of damages, and that he hoped to force his former boss to pay for lost revenue.

He shrugged. “Maybe to save face, but I don’t know. Hopefully, once I’m there and the jackwad is facing jail time, he’ll confess how involved they were. I’ve already talked to the prosecutor and he’s willing to push him for information to reduce his sentence.”

I pulled Tommy into my arms, and he sighed. “I’m so sorry, Tommy. I know this was all because of me.”

He pulled back. “Um, no, this was because I wrote that book. I shouldn’t have…”

“What? Shouldn’t have expressed your feelings? Shouldn’t have faced all the crap that I caused you? No, baby, it was me who fucked up. You… well, you had every right to write what youdid, and I… well, I’m hoping when you get your computer back, you’ll let me read it.”

Tommy pulled out of my arms and wrapped his around me. “Amos, I need to delete those files and hope that Elliott didn’t make copies.”

I shook my head. “No, I couldn’t disagree with you more, Tommy. He probably did make copies, and if you hide that, and trust me, I know all about the consequences of hiding part of yourself, you will be looking over your shoulder from now on. You need to publish your book. Even if it’s self-published, and you only sell three copies, at least you put it out there… At least it wasn’t something stolen from you and published without your consent.”

Tommy shook his head.

“Listen, Tommy, I love you. I know I hurt you, I know what’s in that book is going to be hard for me to read, but I’m not turning away from it. You shouldn’t either.”

He let me pull him back into my arms, and for a moment I could tell he’d gotten emotional. My God, what I’d put this incredible man through was so hard for me to come to terms with. I planned on spending the rest of my life making things right with him.

Tommy left the next day, and my life got even more hectic as the last two weeks before our PPP, which is the Broadway way of saying our first paid performance, debuted. Excitement and exhaustion grew simultaneously as we all prepared for that day.

God help me, I hoped Tommy was right. I hoped he made it to opening night. I couldn’t imagine him not being there on what had to be one of the most important nights of my life.

49

Tommy

Theentirebusinessofthe theft was a mess. My attorney was working with Amos’s to get access to the laptop. The prosecutor was just trying to get the trial started.

Of course, Elliott’s attorney motioned the court to dismiss and a bunch of other motions I didn’t understand or really care about.

Finally, the judge had everyone come in to deal with the motions. Elliott’s attorney kept saying that he was lured to the place by illegal means and was painting Elliott as a victim.

“Your honor, we have evidence that Elliott broke into Mr. Sander’s home and stole a laptop, of which we also have evidence he has been trying to sell, despite a cease and desist order placed on him by Amos Clark.”

“Objection, your honor,” the defense attorney bellowed.

“Your honor, these are facts not up for debate,” the prosecutor said.

“It could be a deep fake, your honor,” the defense countered.

“Then you’re accusing the local police of creating a deep fake, because the chain of custody isn’t in dispute.”

“That’s enough,” the judge finally said.

“Your honor, this is a petition to force Mr. Godfrey to turn over the laptop, which he was arrested trying to sell. There’s already been a protective order signed by a Texas court demanding all personal data be turned over to me or Mr. Sanders’s attorney.”

“That’s correct,” the judge said after glancing at the paperwork. “If you are in possession of the laptop, it must be surrendered to the court. Do you understand, Mr. Godfrey?”

Elliot looked at his attorney, who even from where I could see, shook his head slightly, indicating that Elliott shouldn’t say anything.

The judge’s eyes squinted slightly, and I could tell that had annoyed him, but there wasn’t much anyone could do since this wasn’t the actual trial.

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