What Hank Did Next

Hank Carlson, once a successful businessman and a well-respected member of his community, spent nearly two years in prison for check fraud. When he was caught, the community turned on him instantly, and his family suffered financially and socially as a result of his deeds. Carlson did his time grudgingly, believing himself to have been the scapegoat of a Justice Department that was overcompensating for the Enron debacle by punishing any businessperson who set a toe even slightly outside the law...even if, as Carlson imagines is true of him, they hadn&apos;t really hurt anybody. Now, Carlson is out of prison and working to repair the broken trust and relationships within his family. He has an okay job and new connections with people who don&apos;t know about his past. But when an investment banker offers Carlson a finance job, Carlson fears that accepting it would reveal what he&apos;d done all over again, exposing himself and his family to more damage. And then a local teacher at the center of a scandal reaches out to Carlson for help and advice. What should Carlson do?<p>Excerpt</p><p>Rev. Apr. 11, 2022</p><p>What Hank Did Next</p><p>Introduction</p><p>Hank Carlson had known this moment—the moment he had been dreading for an entire year—would come sooner or later. Although he had spent the last several months trying to put his life back together, he knew his criminal past couldn&apos;t stay buried. Eventually, the ugly truth would find its way out again. His family had already suffered a huge blow that had threatened to tear it apart, and Carlson had already lost everything. Yet he didn&apos;t want to make things any worse.</p><p>Carlson watched the ceiling fan rotate above his head. He knew all too well that bad things could be hidden in plain sight. His head tingled in a familiar way—a pain along his hairline that started when he was feeling anxious. Carlson had spent nearly two years in prison, serving a sentence for check fraud. Every morning in prison, he&apos;d awoken with this familiar anxiety and the constant depression of knowing that this day would be just like the day before—filled with the darkness that accompanied his anger and shame about his crime. He hadn&apos;t deserved to be in prison; he wasn&apos;t a bad person. Back then, he&apos;d always wanted to hide, to be concealed, but he&apos;d come to learn that no secret ever stayed hidden for very long.</p><p>. . .</p>