“Yes.”
“I felt trapped.”
“That can be true.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“And?”
“And feeling trapped does not necessarily mean you were legally trapped.”
He resumed the video.
Then came the handcuffs.
The shouting.
The refusal to enter the car.
Finally, footage from inside the vehicle showed Vanessa twisting her hand.
She watched herself slip free.
Her attorney stopped the video again.
“That is a problem.”
“It slipped.”
He looked at her.
Vanessa stared back.
Then looked down.
“I helped it slip.”
“I know.”
“You can see that?”
“Yes.”
She rubbed her forehead.
Her attorney closed the laptop.
For the first time since the arrest, Vanessa did not immediately start explaining.
A long silence filled the office.
Finally she asked, “Do I look drunk?”
Her attorney chose his answer carefully.
“You look impaired.”
Vanessa nodded once.
Her eyes filled with tears.
She hated herself for that.
“I don’t remember acting like that.”
“That happens.”
“I remember being angry.”
“You were.”
“I remember thinking everyone was trying to embarrass me.”
Her attorney said nothing.
Vanessa looked toward the dark laptop screen.
“I kept saying I spent thousands there.”
“Yes.”
“I sound insane.”
Her attorney shook his head.
“No.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“You sound angry and intoxicated. You sound like someone who believed the amount of money you spent changed the rules.”
She looked away again.
“Is that better?”
“It’s more useful.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means insanity would give you nothing to work on.”
Vanessa almost laughed.
Almost.
Three weeks later, she returned to Blue Harbor.
Not as a guest.
Not through the pool entrance.
She came with her attorney for a scheduled meeting regarding property that had been left behind during the arrest and to discuss the hotel’s refund decision.
Daniel was in the administrative office.
When Vanessa saw him, every instinct she had told her to straighten her back.
To remind him who she was.
To tell him what the arrest had cost her.
To tell him about the online videos.
To tell him her daughter had seen comments at school.
To tell him he should have handled it differently.
Instead, Vanessa sat down.
Daniel looked surprised.
Her attorney sat beside her.