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I want to cry… maybe pull my blanket back over my head and stay here for the day, but what Andries said about Patricia is one kernel of truth in his vast misunderstanding of the situation. I haven’t seen Patricia in some time, and that makes me feel awful. I’ve been so busy juggling my internship with college that I haven’t set any time aside to check on her since she did that interview.
With nothing else to do for the day, and the negativity driving me hard, I take a deep breath and pivot until my feet hit the floor. I will go see my friend and check on her well-being. Then, Andries can shove all his foolish opinions up his ass.
The plan to see Patricia had started out with the best of intentions, but when I found myself standing outside her empty dorm room, everything started to go downhill.
Seeing her old dorm empty frightened me at first, worrying about what might have happened to her. No one in her hall seemed to know where she had gone, but I could sense relief in some of them. It must have been stressful and distracting for normal university students to live with someone like Patricia, who had spent a significant amount of time in the news.
It’s a huge relief when she answers my call, sounding much more upbeat than she has in months. Patricia seems thrilled to hear from me and rattles off an address for her new residence. It surprises me so much that I have her repeat it a second time, but I had heard right initially: Patricia was living in a condo in the best part of the city, near where Andries had lived when he first moved to Amsterdam. Head spinning, I write the address down and promise that I’ll head over shortly.
On the way there, I try to figure out exactly how she could afford such a place with basically no income. She hadn’t taken the plea deal, so there was no way she had such disposable income…right? Maybe roommates?
Now though, as I take the elevator up to her top-floor apartment, it’s becoming clear to me that there is something else going on here. This is not the type of place where residents have roommates or some sort of government stipend provided to pay her rent. Patricia has been attending university on a scholarship and government grant program and was one of the poorest people I knew at the school. I’ve never judged her for it, but it was clear at times that she resented me and other students forcoming from old money, even if we never excluded her or treated her differently.
A shiver of uneasiness runs up my spine, and on a whim, I take my phone out of my pocket and turn the audio recording on. Better safe than sorry.
When I knock on the door, Patricia doesn’t answer. Instead, it’s an older woman in gray maid’s clothing, and she leads me to Patricia’s bedroom. I can barely fathom the apartment that I’m being led through; everything is brand new, looking like it’s only recently been delivered. There is no sense of personal style or things that would lead me to identify the place as Patricia’s, just expensive and luxurious surroundings.
Once we reach the bedroom, the maid knocks politely before opening the door. Lounging on a chaise in a silk robe, sipping a cosmopolitan while another woman tends to her toenails, is Patricia. She looks so out of place that it’s surreal.
“Elise!” she nearly squeals. “It’s so good to see you! Can I have my chef/mixologist make you a cocktail?”
“Oh, uh, no thank you.”Chef/mixologist,what the heck?I think incredulously. Something odd is definitely going on here and I’m determined to get to the bottom of it. I pat myself on the back mentally for turning on my phone recording, because Patricia is definitely in the mood to talk.
“Okay! Just let me know if you change your mind. I think you’re the first guest I’ve had here, so tell me if I do anything incorrectly,” she giggles. “I’m new to this kind of life, unlike you.”
Feeling awkward, I grin and shrug. “No… you’re doing great… but how come no one knew that you moved out here?”
She waves a hand in the air. “Everyone was so rude and judgmental when everything was going on with Karl that I simply decided to disappear without telling any of them. Ofcourse, you helped me through everything, so I was more than happy to see you.”
The difference in the girl in front of me is staggering. Patricia has always been sort of gloomy and quiet, but now she’s bubbly and almost glowing. “I’m just glad to see that you’re doing well,” I tell her, walking toward her. “But I have to say, this place sort of caught me off guard. How in the world did you snag an apartment like this?”
There is a glint in her eyes when she responds like she has a secret she’s dying to tell. “I can’t disclose that, Elise. I’m sorry.”
I move to sit on the edge of her bed, leaning forward and all but whispering like we’re telling secrets. “Oh, come on now, you can tell me. I can keep a secret.”
The pedicurist finishes her work, packing her things up and leaving while Patricia contemplates the risk of telling me whatever mystery she’s harboring. Her reaction to the question all but proves she got a windfall from some less-than-scrupulous means, and I have to know where it came from. The coincidences are just too striking to dismiss. How did she deny the deal Karl offered but still find money like this?
Clapping her hands in front of her, Patricia finally says, “Okay, okay! I’ll tell you, but you can’t tell a soul. I promised that I’d keep it on the down low. You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you, though.” Patricia looks around the room like there might be someone else there with us, patiently waiting to discover her secrets, before she sits up straight. “I got the money from your brother.”
My brain short-circuits for a second. “Pardon?”
“Your brother!” she repeats, reveling in my astonishment. “You know how adamant he was about me pressing charges on Karl… well, when I told him I was going to take the deal because of how badly I needed the money, he offered to match the amount. When I called my lawyer and told him that I hadchanged my mind on taking the deal, he said he could probably get me substantially more.”
“If your lawyer could get you more, why did you take money from my brother then?”
“When I told Andries what my lawyer said, he said he would still match the payout. I asked for double, and he accepted! Elise…” she lowers her voice to nearly a whisper, and I hope my phone microphone is sensitive enough to pick it up. “He gave me a hundred thousand euros to go to court against Karl, and that money completely changed my life. I feel happy for the first time in what seems like forever.”
I’m dumbstruck by the news. Dad is going to have a heart attack when he hears this. “He paid you a hundred thousand euros just to follow through with the court case?”
“Oh, well, no… the court caseandthe interview with Kenneth. But he paid for my lawyers, too. Honestly, I don’t know what I would have done without Andries. He’s a saint.”
I sit back on the bed, head spinning. “Patricia, if it’s not too late, I think I’ll take that cocktail.”
Dressed casually and looking like I’ve just seen a ghost, I rush into the headquarters and straight back to the meeting room where Dad is waiting for me. He looks concerned when he sees me, standing up and pulling my chair out so I can sink down into it. The two cocktails I had drank with Patricia combined with how seriously her news is affecting me have me feeling like I’m falling apart, and apparently it’s evident on my face.
“Are you okay, dear?” Dad asks, pushing my seat in for me before taking his again.
“Fine. It’s just… well… I’ve got some news, and if I hadn’t heard it for myself, I’d have never believed it.”
