Page 68 of By His Side

“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 itnow?”

“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.

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