Chapter Twenty-six

Darien

As days went, it wouldn’t rank in my top hundred, my meeting with my supervisor going as well as you might expect when you were admitting to not only sleeping with a client, but to also having moved him into your house, and all within a couple of weeks of him being transferred to me. It was safe to assume that it being a gay relationship hadn’t helped either, even though the stone-faced Elisha Pond had been sensible enough not to comment on that aspect of it.

She thanked me for being honest, and then, as predicted, suspended me, pending an investigation. Follow-up questions had included whether I planned to end the relationship, my announcement that I wouldn’t be, going down like a lead balloon. I had no illusions about how the investigation would go: I’d basically just kissed goodbye to my career in the probation service. But at least it felt like I’d had some measure of control over it, captain of my own destiny or something like that.

Felix wandered into the room to remind me why I’d gone to those extremes just as my phone rang. It helped that he was barefoot and shirtless, my fascination with his toned torso making me answer the call without checking who it was.

“I thought I told you not to fall for him. Did you mishear me and just hear fall for him or something?”

Katherine. News traveled fast, and bad news traveled even faster. “Well, I would assume you said it because you thought it might be likely.”

“Not really. I thought you’d be capable of looking past the fact that he’s rather aesthetically pleasing.”

“Don’t let your husband hear you say that.”

“It’s fine. Felix is gay. I could leave my husband and still not have a chance with him. Plus, he’s my ex-client.” Katherine gave a little laugh. “Except I’m talking to the wrong person saying that, aren’t I?”

“I didn’t plan this.”

“I know.” Her voice softened. “Are you okay, Darien?”

“I’m fine. At least I did things on my own terms.”

“And will it be worth it?”

Felix had stretched out on the sofa with his feet up on the table. He had beautiful feet. Which if that wasn’t proof of how much I loved him, I didn’t know what was. I couldn’t remember appreciating anyone’s feet before, male or female.

“Darien?”

“What?”

“I asked you if it will be worth it?”

“Yes. ”

Katherine let out a prolonged sigh. “I had high hopes of you and Emily getting together and creating beautiful babies that could play with Oliver.”

“That was never going to happen.”

“No… Probably not. She’s back with her husband, anyway.”

I laughed. “Big surprise. Shame they went through with a divorce first.”

“Isn’t it? Anyway,” Katherine said, “I just wanted to check you were bearing up okay. And I know I have my hands full with Oliver, but I am here if you need someone to talk to.”

“Even if I’m not a PO anymore?” Felix gave me a sharp look for that one. I offered him a smile in return. One that hopefully said there were zero regrets on my part.

“Even if you’re not a PO,” Katherine agreed. “I figured we were friends even without the job.”

“We are.”

Someone knocking had me ending the call slightly prematurely. It was a rare enough occurrence that Felix trailed me to the door, his brow creased with concern. He stopped me with a hand on my arm before I could open it. “It could be reporters.”

“It could, but they don’t tend to knock. They usually camp outside and lie in wait.” I opened it before he could paint another picture of doom. Maybe the bogeyman, or the monster from the black lagoon lurking outside. It was neither of those, and it wasn’t reporters either. It was a small dark-haired woman, her body language screaming that she didn’t want to be here. Which begged the question why she was. There was something familiar about her, but I couldn’t place why that would be.

“Close the door,” Felix said, the harshness of his tone surprising me .

She surged forward, grabbing my arm. “No, wait, please. I’m not here to cause trouble. I promise you I’m not.”

“Close the door,” Felix repeated. He’d gone pale. Paler than I’d ever seen him. “This is Laura, Julian’s sister.” To her, he said, “I don’t know how you got this address, but Darien is nothing to do with you, and you shouldn’t have come here.”

“I followed you,” she said, her words coming out in a rush. “When you left the office the other day. It was easy enough to find out who Felix’s probation officer was and where you were based.” Well, that was creepy and made me vow to be more careful in the future. She still had hold of my arm, her expression imploring. “Just give me five minutes, please, and if you don’t like what I have to say, I promise you I’ll leave without a fuss.”

It was quite the quandary, the need to know what she wanted at odds with the desire not to upset Felix any more than her presence already had. In the end, curiosity won out. “Five minutes,” I agreed.

She nodded, and I led her into the kitchen, the kitchen table having seen more than its fair share of drama over the past few weeks. While she took a seat, Felix stayed over by the sink, his expression thunderous. I didn’t offer her anything to drink, sensing that would be a step too far in Felix’s eyes.

Now that I knew she was Julian’s sister, I could see the resemblance in their similar coloring. She was obviously his younger sister by quite a few years, my quick mental calculations placing her closer to Felix’s age than her brother’s. Laura interlocked her fingers in front of her on the table, seeming to need the help of her other hand to keep its twin still.

“Why did you come here?” I asked to get the ball rolling .

She took a shuddering breath in and then let it out again. The slight angling of her body away from Felix said she was struggling to look at him. “I know you went to see him?”

“Julian?”

She nodded. “He told me. He… boasted about it.”

Felix made a noise of disgust in the background. “I bet he did.”

“He said he knew what your game was from the moment you contacted him, but that he wanted to see how well you could lie. Not well, was his judgment in case you’re interested.”

“I’m not. I’m not interested in anything to do with him.”

“Including his sister,” Felix added waspishly. “I might even go so far as to say, especially his sister.”

We’d never talked about Julian’s family. Why would we? But it was obvious things hadn’t exactly been smooth sailing between Laura and Felix.

Laura turned herself to face Felix, the action seeming to take an immense amount of willpower, and even then her gaze didn’t stray above his chest. “I came here to make things better.”

I frowned. “How? And why now?”

“My brother and I have always had something of a fractious relationship.”

“Before or after he murdered someone?” I asked.

“Before.”

The word was barely a whisper. At least she didn’t try to tell me he hadn’t done it.

Felix crossed his arms over his chest. “Why are you here, Laura? I never expected to see you again after you stood on that stand and told the jury how blissfully happy me and your brother were, when you of all people knew it wasn’t sunshine and roses between us, given what you once walked in on. ”

“What did you walk in on?” I asked.

“Julian hitting me,” Felix said, without a shred of emotion in his voice.

A tear streaked its way down Laura’s cheek. “I know, but he told me it was the first time, that he’d lost his temper and that he hated himself for it and that it wouldn’t happen again.”

“It wasn’t the first time,” Felix said. “And if you believed that, then you’re stupid.”

“He’s my brother. Of course I’d believe him.” When more tears appeared, I got up and fetched the box of tissues from the living room, pushing them in front of her. She plucked one out and dabbed at her eyes. “Thank you.”

My gesture might have been considerate, but my question was less so. “Why did you lie on the stand?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t plan to, but Julian was sitting right there, and I truly believed at the time that it had only been that once. I didn’t think he was capable of locking anyone in a basement, so I figured if you made that up, then…”

Felix shook his head. “I wasn’t making it up. Your brother did that and more.”

Laura grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

Felix looked like he might be sick at any moment, and we’d already passed the five-minute deadline. “Look,” I said. “I don’t see how you coming here and admitting to perjuring yourself is going to help anyone. It’s not like you can take it back. And if you’re feeling guilty and looking for Felix’s forgiveness, then I’m sorry, but you’ve got some fucking nerve.”

“I’m not.” A fresh wave of tears started, Laura dabbing at her eyes again. “I would never do that.”

I stood. “Your five minutes is up, so…”

“He told me that Felix had never been involved in the murder, that it was all him.”

Laura had said the words in such a rush that for one frozen moment, I thought I’d misheard. I dropped back into my seat. “What?”

“When?” Felix asked, his tone sharp. I pointed to the chair next to me and he levered himself away from where he’d been standing and dropped into it. “Start talking Laura.”

She blew her nose, the wait for her to speak excruciating. “It was years after you’d gone to prison. Like, last year. I figured it was too late by then to say anything. You were meant to be getting out soon, and…”

“He’s your brother,” I provided before she could say it herself.

She nodded, but she didn’t look happy about it.

I tamped down on the buzz of adrenaline in my chest, refusing to let it get the better of me. “What exactly did he say? Did he say something and you read between the lines?”

She shook her head. “No. He made a comment about how it still amused him to think of you in prison when there was no reason for you to be there.”

I grimaced. Not as clear as it could be.

Laura hadn’t finished, though. “I asked him what he meant, whether he was saying you were innocent and that he’d lied?”

Both Felix and I leaned forward. “And?” I prompted.

More tears streaked their way down her cheeks. This time, she made no move to wipe them away.

“He said yes.”

Felix sat back, looking like someone had slapped him. Meanwhile, the cogs were going round in my head at a million miles an hour. “You said this was before Felix got out of prison, right?” I waited for her nod. “So why come clean about it now?”

“Because I read the newspapers a couple of weeks ago. I saw how they’ve dredged it all back up, that they won’t let sleeping dogs lie.” She switched her gaze to Felix, managing to look him in the eye. “The fact that you’re still being hounded. I honestly thought you’d get out and be able to start again. But you can’t, can you?” She didn’t wait for him to answer, her gaze swinging my way. “And then you went to see Julian, to get the truth out of him, and he was so damn smug that you couldn’t. And what kind of person does it make me if I sit back and do nothing? How am I supposed to live with myself?”

“So you want to help?” I asked cautiously.

She considered the question for what felt like an age, and I braced myself for her changing her mind. Finally, she nodded. “I do. I don’t know if that’s even possible, but if it is, I want to try.”

I weighed everything up in my mind. It was still a case of her word against Julian’s, and I didn’t know if that would be enough to get them to take another look at the case.

“I have letters,” she said.

“Letters?” I queried.

“Between me and Julian.”

“And does he admit to it in the letters?” My heart was pounding now.

“Not outright. But enough that it backs up what I’m saying. At least I think it does. I can show them to you.”

“If it backs up what you’re saying, then yes, it’s possible we might have something,” I said, excitement causing the words to clog in my throat. I risked a glance at Felix as he got up and paced again. “You realize you’d have to speak out against your brother?”

She smiled wanly. “He told me I was a bitch the last time I went to see him. ”

I chose my words carefully. “Yeah, but… you have to be realistic about this. You can’t do it just because you’re pissed at your brother. If you change your mind, it will do more harm than good. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I need your word that you’re one hundred percent on board with this, because anything less than that would be cruel.”

“I am. He… Julian isn’t getting out. It won’t make any difference to him.” She turned her head to where Felix was still pacing, as agitated as I’d ever seen him. “But it will make a difference to you, right?” When Felix glanced her way without answering, she returned her attention to me. “How would it work, anyway?”

“Erm…” I attempted to sift my churning thoughts into some sort of order and dredge up what I knew about the appeals process. “You submit a form… an NG form to the Criminal Cases Review Commission stating what the fresh evidence is. If they think there are enough grounds that a miscarriage of justice may have taken place, they refer it to the court of appeal, who have the final say whether the conviction stands or is reversed.”

“Let me guess,” Felix said, his pacing finally coming to a halt as he braced his arms against the back of the chair. “It takes years?”

I shook my head. “Not always. The Criminal Cases Review Commission will make their decision within months and if it goes to the court of appeal and they deem it to be relatively straightforward, that can be quick as well. I doubt they’d want such a high-profile case dragging on longer than necessary. And if they reverse the sentence, you’ll be entitled to apply for compensation. That will take longer.”

“I don’t care about money.”

“Maybe not, but you’ll have the right to it.” I waited for Laura to blow her nose again. “You’d have to repeat what you told me, probably multiple times, and possibly in court under oath. And you’d have to submit the letters as evidence.”

She gave a distinctly shaky nod. “I can do that. I will do that.” She bit her lip. “It won’t make up for what I did seven years ago, but it’s something, at least.”

“It is something.” I reached over to where Felix’s hand was still wrapped around the back of the chair, his knuckles white, and gave it a squeeze. “I have a good feeling about this. You’re going to get your life back.”