Temptation

Part 17

The truth was, Eleanor did not have a mental breakdown.

Brendon found out about this fact only a few hours later as he and Carl skimmed through Lightman’s emails. The “Lightwoman”, as they called his mysterious affair, had convinced the Senator to send Eleanor away after she announced her decision of dropping out of college.

“Is this a joke?” Brendon was infuriated.

“Did you know about this?” Carl asked. “About the Lightman girl’s decision?”

“No,” he admitted. “I had no idea. I never thought she’d want to drop out, actually this never was an issue as far as I know…”

“Was she unhappy at her college? With her course? She did Law, right?”

“Engineering,” he corrected his boss. “And I can’t think of anything that indicates Eleanor was unhappy. She was a dedicated student and she was engaged in many projects…”

“If she was satisfied, why would she decide to quit?”

Brendon didn’t answer; it was the question he had asked himself ever since he read Lightman’s email. What could have triggered Eleanor to give up on her studies? A faint idea of the reason formed in his mind, but he put it away, refusing to believe that the way they had last seen each other had anything to do with it.

“We can’t leave her there,” Brendon said.

“What? We can’t do anything about that.”

“She’s an adult, Carl. She can do whatever she wants.”

“According to her father, and a very convenient psychiatric statement he presented to the clinic, Eleanor shows mental instability behavior for years now. This is enough to keep her locked in for some time.”

“She doesn’t have any mental instability behavior!” Brendon burst out in anger. “This is bullshit! You can’t believe in that, Carl, I swear –”

“Hey, I don’t believe it at all, my friend!” Carl replied. “I know this is all crap. But there’s nothing we can –”

“There must be something we can do! I can’t let her be there!”

“Her father has sent her there and we can’t contest it.”

“Then I must go see her,” Brendon announced standing up. “I cannot let this happen to her…”

Carl frowned. “I know you got attached to the Lightman girl, Brendon, but this is just too much!”

“She doesn’t have anyone to stand up for her, Carl… I have to do this.”

“Calm down…” The man sighed. “If this is so important to you, I will see what can be done… I will send someone to keep an eye on Eleanor Lightman. Does it sound good to you?”

“Thank you,” Brendon replied grouchily.

“Now, I need you in Lightman’s house. You know that.”

“Fine,” he said distractedly. “Why do you need me there anyway? I think we got as far as we could get in Lightman’s house. We need to follow the clues.”

“We will follow the clues wherever they lead us, but still, we can’t leave the house unprotected. Plus, we never know if we are missing something. I trust no one but you to assure both things will be taken care of.”

“Will you take care of Eleanor Lightman?”

“Right away. I will let you know. Now go back to your position and don’t do anything stupid.”