Page 18 of Deadly Lies

But why?

I exited the door, and a different guard caught up to me.

“Your brother wanted you to have this. I checked it, there’s nothing in it. Just some highlighted bible verses.”

I nodded and choked back tears. “Thank you, sir. I will cherish it.” I paused. Should I ask him what he thought about my brother? Or would this man just consider Joaquín a scumbag? “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure. Shoot.”

“Uh. My brother. What’s he like in prison?”

The guard eyed me hard. “Honestly, he’s a model prisoner. Very calm and obedient. We have no problems with him at all. If the evidence wasn’t so overwhelming, then I would think he was innocent.”

Innocent. He was innocent.

He pointed to the bible. “Funny thing is that I think he found his calling. The other inmates call him Jesus Christ.”

My breath stopped. Jesus Christ. J.C. Joaquín Cruz. Cruz meant cross. Was that some kind of coincidence?

“That’s really great. Thank you again, sir.”

I walked out of the jail. Clutching the bible like it was my own baby.

Once outside and safely in my car, I flipped through it. There were a ton of passages highlighted.

Matthew 5:11

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

1 Peter 3:9

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Romans 12:19

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

James 1:2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

And there were more and more.

As I began to read, I noticed one thing.

All of them were about being innocent.

My brother was innocent.

And once again, I would dedicate my life to freeing him.

10

Autumn

I WOKE EARLY THE NEXT morning to find our room empty.

There was no sign of Mia.