"I agree with the system, and you don't, and I don't believe we can change each other’s minds.At least, not today," Alison told her."Still, you are trying to make changes you believe are for the best, and you are doing that without hurting anyone, right?Is that the case, Linda?"
"You need to break a few eggs to make an omelet," she replied, looking away.
"This is not the time to be glib," Alison said."I need to hear it from you.Are you making changes in the right way?"
Linda looked at Alison and tilted her head as if suspecting a trap."I’m doing all I can, and if you’re talking about legalities, I have a lawyer on the books.If we’re going to fight this, we need to know all of the little loopholes you people use to get what you want."
As Alison watched her, she didn't get the impression of a killer.There was no emotional response to the question about hurting people, nor anything suspicious.Alison studied the woman for a moment longer before turning to Detective Moore.
"You mentioned that you have a lawyer on the books," Moore said."I can assume that when it comes to the law, you’re pretty well-versed?"
"I don't know what that means, but I know my stuff if that’s what you’re asking."Linda turned to face the detective as she answered the question, but she still eyed Alison warily out of the corner of her eye.
"And you must know a lot about the early-release program, too," Moore followed up.
"I know what I need to know," Linda replied cagily.
"Like psychological assessments?"Moore asked."Have you been able to get your hands on those?"
Linda bit her bottom lip, then released it."I sometimes have files cross my desk, and I don't know whether I need to check where they came from.I like to know as much as possible about why someone was released.That's not a crime."
"No, it’s not," Moore admitted."Well, not reading the information.It depends on where the information came from in the first place.How about Marcus Webb?The private detective.Why did you hire him to follow Harold Jenkins?"
Linda bit her lip again.She had not been expecting that question, and she tried to work out how they knew about that.A flash of anger lit up her eyes for a brief second as she wondered if Marcus had somehow betrayed her.
"I didn't hire him to follow Harold," Linda said.
"That’s what he was doing," Moore countered quickly.
"No, I don't mean Harold specifically.He was one of many people Marcus was supposed to be watching.He came highly recommended from a friend of mine, and I needed him to watch multiple people as much as he could and catch them in the act."
"In the act of what?"Moore asked.
It clicked with Alison, and she said, "Committing another crime, right?If you could show that people were being released from jail and they were committing crimes after that, you could prove that the system was flawed."
"Exactly," Linda said.
"And?"Alison asked."What does your data show?"
"It’s still early," Linda said, shooting Alison a look.
Alison knew what that meant.There was nothing to support that those being released early were committing further crimes.Perhaps if they were watched for long enough, someone would eventually slip up, but how much crime would they have to collectively commit to show that the system was flawed?
"So, you hired a private detective to watch ex-criminals in the hope you caught them committing a crime?"Moore asked.
"I would say that’s a public service," Linda said."I’ll also admit that I might not have chosen the best private investigator if they came straight to you."
"They didn't come straight to us," Moore told her."We found him following someone who was threatened because they were released from prison early."
"That has nothing to do with me," Linda said quickly."I’m not a criminal.We do things properly here.I’m not going to commit a crime to prove that crime is bad.I wouldn’t do that to Lucy.I have far too much respect for what she has gone through.I haven’t threatened anyone."
Alison saw the emotion bubbling up again.Linda had a deep connection to her childhood friend, and it was the biggest motivator in her life.That motivator might hold her back from doing anything too risky, but it could equally push her toward it.
"You’re here alone," Moore pointed out.
"Yeah, well, not everyone has the same conviction that Lucy and I do.I’ll find more people to help the cause, but in the meantime…"
"In the meantime, what?"Alison asked.
