Page 37 of Hard Heart

Why, after all this time?

No, Justin wouldn’t care. Not when Levi was locked up for life, when he’d been silent on the subject of Ruby for the past decade.

Which brought Levi to his next thought: was it wise to use this woman as a free therapist and continue unloading his baggage?

He’d stayed off the stand during the trial because his defence team said he wouldn’t make a sympathetic witness, and look where that had gotten him. Speaking up now wouldn’t make much difference to his situation, he understood that, but it helped to get things off his chest. That shit weighed him down. If Serafina made a podcast, so what? Let the others feel the heat.

Levi glanced at the upside-down page and saw she’d written the word “messy” with a question mark.

Yes, she was right about that.

“No, I’ve never lost anyone close,” she said. “I’m so incredibly thankful for that. Uh, I hate to ask, but could we go through a few more details of that day? The DNA evidence, to start with. You didn’t use protection?”

“We did, but no method works one hundred percent of the time.” Levi was careful to keep his tone level, even as his heart cracked from the memory. “I felt the condom break, but Ruby didn’t want me to stop.”

They’d been caught up in the heat of the moment, and although Ruby had been on the pill, a sick part of him had hoped that failed too. Ruby sitting on the cabin porch, her belly swollen with their child…

“There was no mention of a condom in the trash.”

“Ruby must have flushed the evidence.”

“An environmental science student flushing rubber? Did she usually do that?”

“No. It was usually me who took care of it.”

“Why didn’t you on that day?”

“My phone rang.”

“Let me guess—it was your mom?”

“You know my family so well already.”

“Did anyone verify the call?”

Levi realised he didn’t know the answer to that and shrugged. “Why does it matter? It was outside the time window the cops were interested in.”

“Because a condom in the trash would have supported your claim of consensual sex, and anything that corroborates your explanation of why it was missing would be useful. Can you recall any doubts being raised over the window of death?”

“No, everyone seemed pretty certain about that.”

“One source mentioned you were supposed to be having dinner with your parents on the evening in question—is that accurate?”

“Yes. But I couldn’t face another evening being harangued by my parents over three courses, so I told Mom I had assignments to mark.” He sighed. “One of my biggest regrets.”

No kidding. If he’d manned up and asked his mother to pass the salt, he wouldn’t be sitting in prison.

“The transcript said Ruby received a call at three minutes past seven, but the details were redacted. Do you recall who she spoke with?”

“Yes. Person A.”

“Any idea what they discussed?”

“Person A was grocery shopping, and she wanted to know if Ruby had any requests. Ruby asked for pears and chocolate cake.”

“Person A was at the store?”

“No, in the basement. She always shopped online.”