I know this already, she's not telling me anything new.
It's hard enough to overturn sentences of prisoners who were still incarcerated. There has never been a case of an overturned sentence of an escaped convict.
“I think that the best that you can do is try, but I would not let my guard down.”
I nod slowly.
I look down at my hands and pick at a loose cuticle. The nervousness in the pit of my stomach goes away. It's not that I'm less nervous now, it's more that I just feel resigned. I
know that there are certain things we can do to try to change the opinion of his innocence especially in the eyes of the public, but that doesn't mean that it's going to change much when it comes to his legal status.
Prosecutors do not like to be proven wrong. The legal system is set up in such a way that once a jury makes a decision, it's practically impossible to change.
Libby leaves me alone on the couch for a few minutes while she helps Kylie with something in the kitchen.
For a person who has never thought of herself as not particularly educated, I'm really impressed by the amount of research that she has done and collected on this case.
I leaf through her notebooks, reading about a 25-year-old woman in a small town in Wyoming who is training for a marathon and went on a run and disappeared, never to be heard from again. People suspected her husband, but they had a good relationship and he has a strong alibi that hasn't wavered in all of his years.
Another journal is devoted to a wife and two children who were killed by her husband. Her husband was having an affair and it's likely that has something to do with it.
In this case, Libby's notes all focus on the evidence pointing to his guilt and she agrees with the court's decision that he was their murderer.
“I wanted to reach out to Mallory Deals again,” I say, “but I need some backup.”
“I actually did too, but I wanted to ask you about it first.”
“Will you do it with me?” I ask. “I'm a little nervous contacting him again. I did before but I made up a persona. I think I have to tell him the truth.”
“No,” Libby says, shaking her head. “You can’t trust him.”
I nod.
“Isabelle, I'm serious,” Libby says. “It's bad enough that you told me about what happened and how you're involved. You can’t have people finding out. That's the quickest way for him to get caught and for you to be sent to jail.”
“Me?”
“Aiding and abetting a criminal? If they can't get him, they'll pin it all on you. I have seen it happen before. If you don't turn him in, they'll get angry and they'll make you pay for it.”
I swallow hard.
“I have to think about it,” I finally say. “Maybe it’s not a good idea to do any of this. Maybe we should just leave it as it is.”
“That's an option, for sure. Wherever he is now, he’s safe. I don't know how long that will last, but at least he is for now. There's a good chance that you'll be safe with him, but what if you're not?”
Her words loom over me on the drive back home. I don't know exactly what to make of them. All I know is that I have to talk to Tyler.
I have talked to him about this before, but a lot of time has passed and I hope that he now has had time to reflect and think about everything with a little bit more clarity.
We are making plans for the future, after all, and those plans aren’t just about him. They’re about me as well.
13
Tyler
After the Elliott brothers have their father declared incompetent and set up an emergency hearing about the marina, I lose interest in going to work.
Of course, there are changes to be made, but what's the point? My attorney continues to be optimistic, but after a while it seems more like he's just being polite rather than actually convincing.
He continues to write hard worded letters and make demands, but none of that matters. The only thing that we are all waiting for is the hearing.
Originally, it was set for two weeks from the competency hearing, but their attorney managed to have it moved up. They are very worried about what's going to happen to their hotel and property while they wait on this decision.
It makes perfect sense if it were anyone but me, but I'm not going to do anything to physically damage a thing, let alone its reputation. Their father would expect nothing less and I'm a man of my word.
I have heard from Mr. Elliott a few times since that night he called me from Paris. He let his family know that he's all right and well. He even filed for divorce from his wife. His attorneys are taking care of everything, but he is positive that he will not receive much in the settlement due to the results of the competency hearing.
Even if you're going senile, you still have the right to get divorced. However, he no longer has the right to control his assets.
How’s that fair?
At the same time, the judge only made a finding about his ability to make business decisions that impact family and that means that he still has the right to travel and go anywhere that he pleases.
I'm not sure exactly how much money he had put away, but it's enough that he's not worried. He sent me a picture via text message of himself and his girlfriend on his yacht in the Mediterranean and then another one at the Monaco Casino.
Much to my surprise, she is actually age-appropriate, only a few years younger than he is and older than his previous wife. Looking at them together, I can see that they're happy.
Perhaps they should have been together this whole time, but life is funny that way. You only know what should have happened after everything else goes wrong.
I continue to talk to Isabelle every day and text throughout. Nowadays, she's much busier than I am. Her business is growing and she enjoys her work. Her clients are recommending their friends and she is taking on more students.
Occasionally, we speak about our plans for the future. The more convoluted the situation gets with the marina, the more I dream about disappearing to the Caribbean with the love of my life.
In fact, now that she's in my life, I don't have this need to stay busy. I'd rather just spend every moment with her.
I imagine waking up early and having a cup of coffee while watching the sunrise together.
I imagine going for a swim in the nude, near some uninhabited sandy beach. Then climbing into bed together and making love.
Maybe falling asleep in each other's arms.
Eating lunch out on the deck, with seagulls and pelicans bopping around.
Lying in the hammock and reading, suntanning, and then sailing away to the next uninhabited island and going snorkeling and diving.
I'm sure that we would get tired of this life eventually, but that wouldn't happen anytime soon.
This is what I think about as I lie on my back in the cabin listening to the rain pitter patter against the glass. The rain near the equator is warm and comforting and as long as I have my love with me, what more could I want?
The day of the emergency hearing, the sun peeks out through the clouds. Expecting that I would have a hard time sleeping, I go to bed at nine the night before and actually sleep for eight straight hours.
When I wake up in the morning, I take a shower and get dressed in a suit and tie. I grab an umbrella along with my briefcase, but I don't need it.