This... This can’t be right. Surely there’s some sort of mistake here that would explain it. There has to be. There has to be another option that I’ve overlooked. There has to be some way to justify the sentence. But there isn’t. She was innocent. After all that escalation, after the public deemed her a monster, after I... I’ve got to tell Phoebe. She’s the only one who would believe this. She was the only one to believe Janice. I couldn’t even manage that.

I’m the worst. Ha. What else is new?

I secure the fresh evidence and grab my mobile, dialling Phoebe the moment I step out of the Police Headquarters. “Hey, have you got a few minutes? I’ve found something you’ll want to see.”

Phoebe sighs heavily. “What makes you think I want to talk to you?”

“It’s about Janice.”

“Oh, so you’re saying her name again. Wow. What’s that taken you, like three months since she was murdered?”

“I... I know. I’m sorry. I just really need to see you in person about this.”

“You didn’t correct me.” Phoebe pauses. “Alright, I’ll head into the city after work. Do you want to me somewhere public or...”

“My apartment.”

“See you soon.” Phoebe hangs up.

I used to hate the way Phoebe treated me. Now I know that I deserve every ounce of spite that she can muster. Janice was a good person. And I’m the reason she was executed. Phoebe knows that. I know that. Hell, the whole of Australia knows that. They praised me for it. I got a damn promotion for it. Showing that much objectivity towards one’s... But they were wrong. So was I. There was nothing objective about my proclaiming her guilty. Anybody who knew me well enough could tell. They didn’t say anything. Nobody called out my rage, called out me following my emotions and not my mind.

If they did then none of this would have happened.

But I can’t blame them for it. What kind of person would I be if I blamed everyone else for something that’s entirely my fault? Well not entirely, but mostly. I didn’t know about the changed consequences for that crime. I didn’t know how the media would take the story and run with it until even the idea that Janice was ever innocent was completely lost. I didn’t know that her very soul would be beaten down and broken in prison by the inmates and Phoebe’s co-workers. If I knew what I do now then I would have protected her and fought for her rights. And that’s before I found out that she was innocent.

Innocent. Nobody is going to like this news. I’ll be demoted for sure, though I deserve to be fired. And when the public finds out, because they always find out, they’ll be getting rid of the death sentence as quickly as they reintroduced it. They’ll turn Janice from an example to a martyr. There’s no way that they’ll ever let her memory rest in peace. Three months on from her execution and there are still rumours flying everywhere saying that there’s even more to her supposed crimes and that she deserved far worse than death. Maybe a couple of years from now the public would have moved past her, but now, now nobody will move on.

That’s on me.

*

“What’ve you got?”

No ‘hi’, no ‘can I come in’, just that question while pushing her way into my apartment. I sure miss having Phoebe around.

She drops onto my lounge and looks at me expectantly. “Well? What was good enough to even change your impossibly stubborn mind?”

“Recorded evidence of Janice’s location during the bombings. She was exactly where she said she was, at home, but she wasn’t alone. I don’t think she knew that she was being recorded though. If she had then it might have-.”

“How long have you known?” Phoebe’s voice cuts through the air like razors.

“I found out a week ago. I’ve been using all my spare time to verify the footage and the sender so the evidence will hold up in court.”

“Hold up in court?” Phoebe’s hand reaches for the purple unicorn tattooed on her arm. “It’s a little too late for that, isn’t it? What good will clearing her name now do? Huh? What difference does it make when the damage has already been done? Huh? WHAT DIFFERENCE?”

I flinch. “I just thought that-.”

“What? You thought that holding onto the evidence for a week without telling me would be a good idea? You thought that not stepping in when everybody made Janice out to be some sort of terrorist would be a good idea? You thought that abandoning your own twin sister, your blood, and proclaiming her guilty would be a good idea? Well frankly I’m sick and tired of what you think. You might as well have pulled the trigger yourself!”

“Th-they used a gun?”

“Of course they did! What, did you think she went out peacefully or something? Because of you, the whole damn country hated her. Some easy needle was never really an option. But I had to lie to her so she wouldn’t be terrified. I had to! And where the hell were you when that happened? Cashing in on your damn promotion and willingly ignorant to her innocence, that’s where. You don’t have the right to act like you care now. You gave that up ten months ago when you turned your back on Janice when she needed you most.”

“I know.” I say, sitting across from Phoebe and wringing my hands. “That’s why I’m going to my boss first thing tomorrow with the evidence. I will clear Janice’s name even if that means imploding my life. I’m not allowed to wish things were different because I don’t deserve it. If I had stuck with her then I’m sure I would have found out about her stalker and gotten him to testify. But now the best I can do is make sure that whoever framed Janice and was actually responsible for the bombings is found. I will make them pay.”

“Are you telling me this so I forgive you?”

“No. I’m telling you because I need your help.”