Linda walked to one of the desks and leaned against it, without offering Alison or Moore a chair.She looked open and honest, not worried about them seeing the office.Still, Alison noticed two closed doors, and it felt as if Linda had placed herself subconsciously between the two guests and the doors.
There was likely some sort of security office behind one of them, where Linda had gone to look at them through the camera outside the door.She didn't know what else was hidden, or whether it was.One thing that Alison could guess was that this was Linda's base of operations: the office she worked out of to advocate for victims.
"You’re here alone?"Moore asked.
"Yeah," Linda said, not offering any more than that.
"You run a small company that advocates for the rights of victims," Moore continued.
"Someone has to," Linda replied.
"And that happens from here?"Moore pressed.
"That’s correct," Linda said curtly.
She reminded Alison a little of how Marcus Webb had acted when the officer confronted him.He knew the law, and he knew what he was required to give and what he didn't have to give.At the moment, she was not under caution, and the interview wasn’t on the record.Linda didn’t need to answer any of their questions, and that might dictate what happened next.
"I think what you’re doing is important," Alison cut in."You’re trying to help people.That’s all we’re trying to do.Still, the more you evade the questions or give curt answers, the more I begin to wonder why that is.Is it to protect people or to protect yourself?We only want to talk with you, but we can take you down to the station if we need to.Please work with us."
Linda folded her arms over her chest and smiled sardonically, shaking her head and twisting her mouth up to the side."I know who you are and I know you’re a part of the problem."
Good.Hate me all you like and rant if you need to, but give us the truth so we can figure out what’s going on.
"Enlighten me," Alison told her.
Linda scoffed and continued shaking her head at Alison.The sardonic smile turned into a chuckle."Why did you make the switch, Dr.Payne?You know what you did was wrong, and instead of admitting it, you moved away from it to try and be a hero, hoping everyone would forget."
"You’re going to need to help me out here," Alison said."I assume you’re talking about my switch from social work in the prison system to consulting with the FBI."
"You assume correctly," Linda said."You’re part of the bigger problem, and I know you’re smart enough to see that."Her voice faltered a little, and her tone changed as it became emotionally charged, angry, but also sad."You’re responsible for getting them out of prison, and you have no idea the amount of hurt you’ve caused people over the years.You sit up there in your ivory tower, having control over people’s lives and deciding what to do with them.Then, when you realize you messed up, you switch sides to put them behind bars instead of letting them out, and you want to be called a hero.There’s no balance.It doesn’t work like that."
Alison had the feeling that she had to tread carefully.This was not just about someone’s opinion, but some past trauma that touched her.
"Firstly," Alison started."I want you to know that I don't believe I was wrong, and I didn't change careers to balance that out.I also have no need to be called a hero, nor do I consider myself one.I only want to help people, just like you, and I understand that puts us in conflict.What happened?"
"What are you talking about?"Linda replied snippily."You know who you are."
"I want to know who you are," Alison said."What happened to you to drive you to this.It’s a worthwhile cause, of course it is, but something caused this.I can hear it in your voice and see it in the way you put walls up around you.Help us to understand where you’re coming from."
Linda blinked, not moving from her position against the desk, not unfolding her arms, and trying not to let the tears fill her eyes."What do you care who I am?"she scolded."Do you really want to know the effects of your role in society?Lucy Trent!She lived her life, minding her own business, and someone comes along and hits her with his car after downing almost a bottle of vodka at a friend’s house, and all because he was released from his sentence early.He goes back to jail, where he belonged in the first place, and she lives out the rest of her life in pain and unable to move her legs.Is that what justice looks like to you?"
Alison was partly calmed by the fact that the case wasn’t hers, but also horrified because she knew the case and how nuanced it was.There was a lot she could explain to Linda.The man was in jail for assaulting someone who was trying to beat up another person, and by trying to stop someone from getting hurt, he put someone else in the hospital.
She could explain how that, along with his good behavior in prison, contributed to his early release.Or how the drunk driving charges were unrelated to the initial reason he was in prison, even though they were indefensible, and how there was no way to know that a man who was arrested for assault would then commit an entirely different crime with a horrible ending.
They could discuss the finer points of the case for hours, but it wouldn’t make any difference.She could see it in Linda.It was personal, and she had already made up her mind.There would be no changing it, no pushing the needle slightly.
"I’m sorry that happened," Alison said, sympathizing with her while not taking responsibility for it."It’s tragic, and I can't imagine what you’ve gone through.She was a friend of yours?"
Linda looked surprised at the concern, perhaps expecting an argument."She was my best friend from school.We practically grew up together."
"And she must know about this?"Alison asked, looking around the place.
"She helps from home," Linda admitted begrudgingly."She’s integral when it comes to research."
"It gives her purpose," Alison said."She has you as a friend still, and it would be so easy in a situation like that to give up, but you’re helping her to live."
"Live?"Linda scoffed."You could call it that, but it’s not a life.Hegets to live.His prison life is better than the life she lives, and no doubt he’ll be released early."
