I’m sure it must seem very romantic, finding your long-lost sister . . .’
‘I wouldn’t say romantic,’ Alex protested.
‘She didn’t mean it like a boy-girl thing,’ said Garth, trying to be helpful.
‘She knows what I mean,’ said Elaine. Then she looked up at Alex and held her gaze. ‘I understand your curiosity. Believe me, I do understand that. But I feel that it is my duty to warn you that getting involved with her is a terrible mistake. Dory is dangerous . . .’
‘Well, obviously, I know that she’s in jail for murder.’
Elaine shook her head. ‘When you say it like that, it sounds so . . . sanitary. Nothing could be further from the truth. Dory killed her sister. Her own sister. Brutally and viciously.’
‘Not everyone is convinced of that,’ Alex said stubbornly.
Elaine’s eyes flashed and she let out a laugh that was almost a yelp of pain. ‘So she told you about that business with the law student who has taken up her cause. We know about that, too.’
‘The Justice Initiative has helped out a lot of innocent people,’ said Alex.
‘Innocent,’ Elaine sputtered. ‘Oh my God.’
‘Alex,’ said Garth, ‘I beg your pardon, but you have no idea what you are talking about. This appeal is all about legal technicalities. The fact is that Dory pleaded guilty. Nothing will change that.’
‘But her attorney has since been disbarred,’ Alex insisted. ‘It sounds as though he talked her into a guilty plea without even trying to help her.’
‘Help her?’ Garth yelped. ‘Don’t you think if she were innocent we would be doing our best to defend her? You don’t know the whole story. She killed Lauren. No amount of legal maneuvering will change that.’
‘It’s too late, Garth,’ Elaine interrupted him. ‘She’s already started believing her lies . . . I can see it in her eyes. She thinks we’re terrible people, and that Dory is just a victim of injustice.’
Garth leaned forward and looked earnestly at Alex. ‘We just want to set you straight before you go getting involved. This situation is complicated. Listen to what we’re telling you. Walk away, young lady. While you still can.’
‘Look,’ Alex said, ‘I can’t put myself into your shoes. I mean, I don’t know how you live with all this, losing your daughter like you did. But you’re still Dory’s parents. Doesn’t that mean something?’
Elaine’s expression was icy. ‘She killed our daughter.’
‘Your own, biological daughter, you mean,’ said Alex.
‘Now, just a minute,’ said Garth. ‘They were both our daughters.’
Elaine’s tone was bitter. ‘Do you have any children?’
Alex shook her head.
‘I didn’t think so. You couldn’t possibly understand.’
Alex got up from her chair. ‘What I don’t really understand is what you intended to accomplish by coming here.’
Elaine stood up and Garth followed suit. He put a protective hand under his wife’s elbow. Elaine looked again at the photo on the mantle. ‘I came to pay a debt. I felt that I owed it to your mother.’
‘My mother? Did you know my mother?’
‘Not at all. We never met. But many years ago, your mother gave me a precious gift. I wanted a baby, more than anything in the world, and I wasn’t able to conceive. When your mother gave up her baby, she made all my dreams come true.’
‘Dory,’ said Alex.
Elaine turned away from the photo, buttoned up her coat and knotted the belt. ‘Be careful what you wish for,’ she said.
EIGHT
The next morning Alex sat at her computer with a cup of coffee after a sleepless night, feeling as if her heart was made of lead. There was no denying the impression that the Colsons’ visit had made on her. If they did not believe in Dory, why was she trying to see the good in her? The Colsons didn’t seem like cruel or crazy people. Maybe they were right. After all, everyone in prison claimed to be innocent – even those who had committed the most heinous crimes.
She had bookmarked some of the most thorough articles about Dory’s case. She read over them again, this time with a feeling of despair. The motive had been jealousy, ostensibly over this boyfriend, a doctor named Rick Howland, but Dory’s parents seemed to feel that this was just an excuse. That Dory would have murdered Lauren sooner or later, no matter what. Alex Googled Rick Howland under physicians in Boston and found that there was a podiatrist of that name practicing on Huntington Avenue. She hesitated for a moment then dialed the number on her screen. She