TWELVE
The next day, Alex tried to resume the cleaning out of the house, but she could not concentrate on the task since all her thoughts seemed to revolve around Dory, the coat and the awaited call from Marisol. Finally she pulled on a jacket and some boots, stuffed her phone in her pocket, and headed out of the house. She had a destination in mind. In downtown Chichester there was a store which took up half a block and sold used books and CDs. She thought she would ask the proprietor if he would accept the books that Seth didn’t want. Or, if Seth didn’t come back to look through them, accept them all. It was mostly an excuse to get out of the house.
The walk downtown was chilly but bracing. By the time she got to the store, Alex was feeling slightly more human. She opened the door and the smell of mold and dry paper greeted her. She tried not to inhale. The portly, bespectacled man behind the counter was busy going through some bags of books which had just been brought in by another customer. Alex had to wait her turn.
While she waited, she began to look through the CDs. There was a vast collection of rhythm and blues, opera and even folk music, but very little in the way of country western. She searched through the meager collection in vain.
‘Are you following me?’ asked a voice behind her.
Alex turned around and blushed at the sight of Seth Paige, who was holding half-a-dozen CDs in his hand. She did feel a little bit as if she had conjured him with her thoughts. ‘Oh, hi,’ she said. ‘Actually, I think you’re following me.’
‘That could be. I love this place, don’t you?’ he asked.
Alex nodded. ‘I wanted to ask the owner if he would take any of the books you don’t want.’
‘I am going to get those out of your way. I came back yesterday to have a look, but you weren’t there,’ he said.
‘No,’ said Alex. ‘I’ve been pretty busy.’
He seemed to be waiting for her to elaborate, but she hesitated, not knowing where to begin. Seth frowned and glanced down at the rows of CDs divided by music style and artists. ‘So, you’re a country music fan?’ he asked.
‘No. Not really. I was just looking for a CD of Lauren Colson. Dory’s sister. She made a couple of albums . . .’
‘A country and western singer from Boston? That’s a little odd, isn’t it?’
‘Well, her father was from out west. I guess she grew up listening to country music with him. Once her career got going, she moved to Missouri.’
‘Branson?’ he asked.
‘Yes. How did you know?’
‘That’s a big country music town. It’s like Nashville West.’
‘Are you a country fan?’
‘No. Just some fact that stuck in my flypaper mind. Actually, I don’t know one country song from another,’ he said, smiling. ‘They’re all about Jesus, angry redneck women and pick-up trucks, aren’t they?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t listen to country either,’ Alex admitted. ‘But I can’t help being curious. She doesn’t have her own section though.’
Seth began to thumb through a section called Miscellaneous C&W women. ‘Maybe she’s in here.’
‘Maybe,’ said Alex, watching as he flipped through the plastic boxes. Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the caller’s name. ‘Oh, I have to get this,’ she said. ‘Marisol?’
‘Can you get over here?’ Marisol asked. ‘It’s important.’
‘On my way,’ said Alex.
Half an hour later, Alex arrived, breathless, at the Justice Initiative, and clattered up the stairs to Marisol’s office. The door was open and Marisol was jamming papers into an already stuffed file cabinet. Alex planted herself in the doorway. Marisol straightened up when she saw her, smiling.
‘You got the coat,’ Alex said.
Marisol grinned broadly. ‘It was just where you said it would be. The police searched through it in my presence. The receipt was there, in her pocket. Date and time,’ she said.
Alex let out a cry of surprise.
‘And, in the nick of time too. The hearing date has been set for Friday.’
‘Friday? Oh my God,’ said Alex. ‘Did you tell Dory?’
Marisol sat down at the desk and indicated the nearby chair. ‘Not yet. I thought I’d wait till you got here to call her. We’ll put her on speaker.’
‘OK,’ said Alex, sitting down.
Dory sounded depressed when she came to the phone.
‘Dory, hi. It’s me. It’s Marisol. Alex is here with me. We both wanted to tell you this news,’ said Marisol.
‘What news?’
‘You tell her, Alex. You found the missing piece on this one.’
Alex blushed with pleasure and began to explain about the receipt. ‘Marisol got a warrant for the police to confiscate that one item of clothing, and there it was. In the pocket of your pea coat. Right where you left it three years ago.’
‘Wow,’ said Dory. ‘Really? What are the chances it would still be there?’
‘It was still there,’ Alex affirmed.
‘This is good, right?’
‘Yes,’ said Alex.
‘It’s excellent,’ said Marisol. ‘It couldn’t have come at a better time. We found out today that your hearing is set for Friday. With this new evidence which supports your alibi, I feel very confident that we will win the appeal for a new trial.’
Dory was silent for a moment.
‘We thought you’d want to know right away,’ said Alex.
‘I do. I don’t know how to thank you.’
‘I’m just glad we found that receipt,’ said Alex.
‘Wow. Me too. What did my mother say?’ Dory asked.
‘Your mother?’
‘Yes. Was she upset about the police coming into the house?’
‘I . . . don’t know,’ said Alex. ‘I wasn’t there.’ She frowned at Marisol.
‘I hope she wasn’t too upset,’ Dory fretted.
‘She’ll get over it,’ said Alex impatiently.
‘Listen, Dory, you and I have a bunch of things to go over before Friday. Tomorrow I’ll come up to the prison with Mr Gathman, who is going to actually be pleading your case in court.’
Alex looked at the law student quizzically, pointing at herself and then at the door.
Marisol shook her head and frowned. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, Dory.’
‘OK. Whatever you think,’ said Dory. ‘Listen, Alex. And Marisol. I’m really grateful to you both. I can’t believe you’re doing all this for me.’
‘I’m glad to do it, Dory,’ said Alex, feeling a surge of affection for her.
‘You’re lucky your sister came along when she did,’ said Marisol.
‘I know,’ said Dory sincerely.
Tears rushed to Alex’s eyes. She took a deep breath.
‘I’ll speak to you tomorrow,’ said Marisol. ‘Try not to worry. Everything is going to be all right.’
‘Promise?’ Dory asked, in the voice of a small child.
‘You get some rest,’ said Marisol.
When they’d hung up Alex leaned back in her chair and found that, despite her lingering misgivings, she was genuinely happy and excited. When she set out to find her sister, she had never dreamed that she would be involved in an effort to save her from a life in prison. But it was getting closer. She could feel it. Then she looked at Marisol and saw that she seemed preoccupied.
‘What’s the matter?’ she said. ‘Aren’t you excited?’
‘I am,’ Marisol said, nodding.
‘But . . .’
‘There’s something else you and I need to discuss,’ she said.
Alex frowned. ‘What’s that?’
‘Well, if the judge does grant her a new trial, her attorney will be asking for bail.’
‘Bail? How could she get bail?’ Alex asked.
‘The judge has the right to grant her bail, with very limiting conditions, until the new trial takes place. Or until the DA decides not to refile the charges. This is kind of a long shot. But, there are precedents. We need to consider the possibility.’
‘OK,’ said Alex slowly.
‘Dory would need to have someone to pay the bond. It’s ten per cent on the amount of the set bail, which is returned at the time of trial. I don’t know how much money that would be but, if the judge agrees to it, I don’t think he’ll set an exorbitant amount. He wouldn’t agree to it unless he was pretty well convinced that she was wrongfully imprisoned.’
Alex felt the question in Marisol’s statement. ‘My parents had insurance and some savings. I guess my mother would want me to do that. Yes, I’m sure she would,’ she said.
‘Good,’ said Marisol. ‘That’s one thing settled. Also, in this unlikely event, the judge is going to ask who is willing to accept responsibility and take her in.’
Alex grimaced. ‘Her mother definitely won’t do that.’
‘What about her father?’ said Marisol. ‘Does he feel the same way?’
‘I’m not sure. I mean, I would think if the judge grants a new trial, they might be willing to look at Dory in a different light. Certainly if they drop the charges. That would be a reason for them to consider that she might, indeed, be innocent.’
‘It’s possible,’ said Marisol.
‘Well, we won’t know until it happens,’ said Alex.
‘But our attorney needs to know before he makes the request for bail,’ Marisol said. ‘The judge will want specifics.’
‘I really hope they would agree to take her in,’ said Alex. ‘She is their daughter, after all.’
‘Or there’s you,’ said Marisol.
‘Me?’
‘She’s your sister,’ said Marisol. ‘You’ve got that big old house to yourself. It’s not as if you don’t have room for her.’
Alex looked at her anxiously. It was one thing to try to be supportive of Dory’s cause, to pay a bond. It was another thing to imagine living with her in the house. ‘You probably think I’m terrible,’ she said. ‘Frankly, I feel guilty for hesitating. But I barely know Dory.’
‘I don’t think you’re terrible. Let’s be honest. The woman has been in prison for murder. And now we’ve learned that she had a violent incident in her past. Anybody would be concerned. That’s why I thought I should warn you.’
‘Do I need to answer you right away?’
‘No. But soon.’
‘I want to get to know my sister. I do. But . . . I think I will try to talk to her father. I’m sure, if she had a choice, Dory would rather be with her family. In the home she knows.’
‘Wasn’t there some poem about home being the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in?’ Marisol said.
‘Robert Frost.’
‘I always liked that phrase. Anyway, I wouldn’t worry. The chances are slim to none that, even if they agree to a new trial, any judge would grant her bail.’
‘But he might,’ Alex said.
‘Is that what you want?’ Marisol asked.
Alex hesitated. ‘I want her to be able to go home.’
‘Wherever that might be,’ Marisol said.