Steal My Breath (Elixir 1)

“I didn’t think you’d want me doing it either. I mean, you didn’t exactly like Jolene—”

“That’s not entirely true, my darling. I just didn’t feel she was right for my son. From the day I met her, I sensed Luke was blind to her beauty because they simply had nothing else in common. Well, except for mothers who weren’t always around during their childhoods. And didn’t Luke throw that in my face as often as he could. But that’s a whole other story.”

“Jolene told me you two clashed horribly throughout the marriage.”

“That is true. I tried to help them where I could, but she didn’t appreciate any of it. She had a chip on her shoulder when it came to money. I couldn’t understand the problem. I could afford to buy those things, so why not let me do what I could?”

I smile sadly and squeeze her hand. “Because sometimes we all just want to think we can take care of our family by ourselves. We want to feel like we’re enough and can be enough for those we love.”

She presses her lips together and I know she doesn’t really understand that concept. “Well, when you can’t provide for your child, you need

to either figure out a way to do that or accept help when it’s offered.”

I nod. “Yes, I understand that, too. But us humans are funny sometimes, aren’t we? We twist things in our mind and come up with some screwed-up ideas.”

“Yes, we do. That is also true. So why haven’t you been to Luke with this?”

“He’s so angry and closed off to anything to do with Jolene. I don’t blame him at all, but because of that, I don’t think he’ll listen to me. He’ll find a way to shut me out and continue living with that burning hate he has for her.”

“Ah, so you want me to tackle him?”

I laugh. “That is probably a good way of describing it. I think his mother would have more chance of having him hear her out.”

“I imagine we’ll have another argument but there’s nothing unusual there.”

“Can you also take this new information to Jolene’s lawyer?” I pass her the file I’ve put together with my detailed notes of everything I’ve discovered. “It may not be enough, but it’s a start. All the research I’ve done makes me think Jolene will need solid scientific evidence to succeed in having the conviction overturned. I’m hoping there’s some DNA evidence they were never able to use that proves it was Alanis.”

“That woman was awful at her job. I have a better lawyer now. He can work on this.” She pauses and thinks about something for a minute. “This was a horrible screw up right from the beginning I fear. The lawyer and the investigator I hired really let Jolene down, didn’t they?”

This is nothing I haven’t thought about. I can’t even imagine placing my life in someone else’s hands like that to then have them make such a life-changing mistake. “They did. But I guess if all the evidence points to someone, and you’re not invested in the case like I was, you perhaps get sloppy and miss things.”

We sit in silence, both lost in our thoughts.

I will never forget this day or the lessons learnt.

Sometimes what appears to be the truth is merely a lie parading as an illusion that steals everything from us. And sometimes our flawed heart buys into a truth we can make sense of rather than looking deeper for the real truth.

Jolene was right.

We exist in shades of truth.

40

Callie

“I still can’t believe it was Jolene’s best friend all that time,” Avery says, staring at me with disbelief the next day.

“I never did like that woman, but I didn’t suspect her of murder.” I shiver when I think about the conversations I’ve had with her over the last few months. She didn’t visit Luke often but when she did, she was a bitch to me.

She squeezes my hand. “Jolene would have spent years behind bars for something she didn’t do. You’ve given her back her life.”

“Yeah, but God knows what that life will look like now. Her family has been torn apart and she has nothing. On top of that, her best friend clearly isn’t friend material. Who will be there for her to help her get back on track? If she’s actually able to have the conviction overturned, that is. The next year will be just as hard for her as it has been so far as she fights for her release.”

“Will you continue to help her or is this in the hands of the lawyers now?”

“I don’t know if I’ll be around, A,” I say softly.

She frowns. “Why not?”