[Senator Clay Davis]

His former chief of staff has written a book. The excerpts are heavily edited (I hope, no point in buying the book if it's like this), which only makes you even more interested. Poor, poor kids of his though

Inevitably, his behaviour drew his staff into the personal lives of their boss, his wife, Renata, and their two young children, Stephanie and Dougie. Such was the case in the wee hours one morning in June 2012, when Towhey was woken by a cellphone call from his raging, apparently intoxicated boss (see excerpt). He’s still shaken by the memory, yet described it this week as a mere taste of what other members of the staff endured on a regular basis. It had become increasingly difficult to separate truth from ravings fuelled by alcohol or perhaps worse. “I knew that these calls were a nightly occurrence for most of the staff,” he said this week. “I didn’t know whether they were like my call. I had to talk to staff afterward and say, ‘He talked to me last night, and this is what he said.’ A lot of them were, ‘Yeah, that happens all the time.’ ”

Not long after the Eaton Centre shooting, my work BlackBerry again rang in the middle of the night. 2:39 a.m. Blocked number. Uh-oh—Rob.

He’s out of it, but he doesn’t sound drunk. This time, he’s speaking superfast. Agitated. I can barely understand half of what he says. A clear word or phrase here, then incoherence for several sentences. Gradually, I piece it together.

He says he’s been arguing with Renata and wants me to witness (by phone) that he is leaving the house. I can hear Renata in the background, alternately screaming and pleading with him. Her speech is slurred and she sounds extremely agitated

Rob sounds like he’s out of control, and I’m worried I may have to remember this conversation. It’s now 2:44 a.m. “Rob, what’s going on?” I ask. “Is everyone okay? Are the kids okay?”

Rob doesn’t answer. I hear Renata, in the background, say, “Stop bothering me . . . Get out of this room.” I hear Rob ask her, “Did I give you $200?” They both sound angry. But he’s 330 lb. and tall, and she’s about 120 and shorter. I’m hoping to God this doesn’t get physical.

Rob: “Can I talk to you about what happened?” I don’t know if he means me or Renata. Next he tells me he and Renata were fighting because “*** *** ******** **** **************.”

At this point, I am not surprised by anything outrageous coming from Rob’s mouth.

Renata: “Get out!”

Both of them spit a string of curses at one another. I can’t hear it all, but it doesn’t sound good. I strain to hear the kids, but there’s no indication they’re there. Maybe Rob and Renata are in the basement. Maybe the kids sleep upstairs.

Rob (to Renata): “Can I get the money back? You have a lot of money there. What else *** *** ***** ** *****?”

Rob (to me): “I can’t live like this.” ****** **** **** ***** ** ***** ** **.”

More outrageous Rob.

It’s now 2:48.

Rob (to Renata): “I want to talk about what happened last night.”

Renata: “* ****** ** *** ***. ” I can’t tell whether she’s being straight or mocking him.

Rob (to me): “I gave her $200 for the kids. You have no idea, man . . . I swear to God I’m going to kill this woman, brother.”

Rob: “I just found $500 in the couch and a cellphone . . .” I can hear him huffing as he searches under the sofa cushions. His speech is calming down a little bit.
Rob: “I’m going insane.”

It’s now 2:57 a.m. I’m exhausted, but I feel the adrenalin coursing through my veins. How can I shut this down? I can’t drive over there and leave my own kids alone in the house. I have to do it by phone.

Rob: “There’s $1,120 in cash in the couch, dude. You guys all knew about this and you never told me, f–kers.”

He’s still searching the room. I can hear him moving stuff around.

Rob: “I just found a big ***** ** **** *** * ****.” There’s a long pause and I can’t hear him well, as if he’s put the phone down. But it sounds like he’s saying, “I’ll light this thing up.”

His next few sentences are clearer.

Rob: “I just found this **** * *** * ***** ** ** *** ** *****.”

Rob: “You knew this. You guys knew everything all along. ***** * ***** *** * ******* ****”

More lies to enrage Renata?

Rob: “She just took my gun upstairs.”

http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/r...usive-excerpt/