The Second Trial by Rosemarie Boll Page A

station. He didn’t nag Danny to fasten his seatbelt.
    Same building, same elevator, same intercom. Inside Phil’s office, Mom, Jen, Phil, and a woman Danny guessed was Dr. Sung were waiting.
    Sgt. Sandhu greeted everyone and Catherine started to rise. The police officer made a subtle hand motion and she sat again.
    Danny took the farthest chair. He hadn’t thought about his sister at all. Her shoulders were hunched forward as if she were in the principal’s office, waiting for a punishment. He’d been so caught up in his own feelings, he hadn’t considered how all of this was affecting her. Mother and daughter sat side by side, but it was as if an invisible wall of ice separated him from them.
    â€œWelcome, everyone,” Dr. Sung said. “Now that we’re all here, I’d like to explain how everything is going to unfold. You’ll be making a number of choices today. There are a lot of decisions to make before tomorrow.”
    Danny’s eyebrows arched under his cap. Tomorrow? He hadn’t even processed what happened yesterday; how could something be decided by tomorrow?
    â€œGiving you new identities means making quite a few changes to your past,” Dr. Sung continued, “but some things can stay the same. For example,” she said, looking first at Jennifer and then at Danny, “your school marks won’t change, but it’ll look like you went to a different school. That goes for your medical records too – same details, different doctor.”
    She addressed Catherine. “Things are a little more complicated for you. You’ll get a new social insurance number, but we can’t duplicate your employment history. School and medical records are one thing – usually, nobody checks them. But if you apply for a job, a new employer will want to check your references, and we can’t risk someone finding out your employment history is faked. What education do you have?”
    â€œTwo years of community college, in office management.”
    â€œAnd your job history – how old were you when you were married?”
    â€œTwenty-three.”
    â€œTwenty-three.” She pursed her lips. “Hmm, I think it would be better if you didn’t finish high school. That way no one will expect to see a diploma. We’ll say you didn’t work after you got married, and before that you worked in retail sales – department stores, convenience stores, as a waitress. That kind of thing.”
    â€œBut how will we support ourselves when we get there? I haven’t worked since Christmas, and all our savings are gone.”
    â€œI’ve been working with your divorce lawyer on that. I know you don’t have any savings left, but you do have a nice house full of furniture we can sell. You also have two cars, and Paul has the insurance business. Your lawyer’s pretty sure she can convince a judge it would be fair that he keeps the business and the SUV and you keep the house, its contents, and the car. She thinks your share of the matrimonial property settlement will be worth about four hundred thousand dollars. We can sell your things and that’ll give you enough money to start a small business in your new location. I can handle all of that for you, and until that happens, the NIVA program will give you enough money to get by.”
    Catherine’s voice was flat. “You mean social assistance?”
    Dr. Sung nodded. “Yes. But hopefully not for too long. You won’t be as comfortable as you are now, but you won’t need assistance for very long, either.”
    Catherine leaned back. “What about child support?”
    â€œWell, that part’s not so good. We have a Maintenance Enforcement program, but it can’t guarantee your anonymity. Also, paying child support would mean that Paul would be entitled to some information about you, your income, the kids’ education, whether they are even alive.