Page 96 of Hard Heart

“Months. Years, even. Nobody likes to admit they’re wrong, especially the police, and we don’t even know when or if we’ll be able to review the evidence.”

My phone dinged.

Raelene

Did you see the news? Poor girl.

Me

I can’t stop wishing it were a different outcome. Are you going to send the press release?

Raelene

Check your emails—I already did.

It had begun.

I opened my inbox and scanned through the subject lines. The Justice Project might have offered a better work/life balance than Bester & Block, but folks still worked over the weekend, and I’d received seventeen emails today alone. Including… Oh, hell. One from the office of Greyson Meyer, Member of Congress for the Tenth District of Virginia. My fingers shook as I opened it. I’d invited him to visit us at the Justice Project, but would he blow me off?

No.

No, he wouldn’t.

The opposite, in fact.

Dear Ms. Hennessy,

Thank you for your kind invitation to visit the offices of the Justice Project and learn more about your important work. I appreciate the opportunity to meet with your team and gain a deeper understanding of the efforts being made to address wrongful convictions and strengthen the integrity of our justice system.

If convenient for your organisation, I have a slot available in my schedule tomorrow afternoon and would welcome the opportunity to visit at two p.m. My staff would be pleased to coordinate directly with yours to confirm any logistical details.

I look forward to meeting with you and your colleagues and appreciate your continued dedication to this critical endeavour.

Sincerely,

Greyson Meyer

Member of Congress for the Tenth District of Virginia

Tomorrow? He wanted to speak with us tomorrow? I began hyperventilating, and Heidi looked across at me.

“What happened? Did Levi somehow manage to send a dick pic?”

No, although he had given me another foot massage when I visited yesterday, and fine, maybe I’d got myself off with a hand under the table while he talked dirty words of encouragement.

“Greyson Meyer wants to meet with me.”

“That’s good, right? Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Yay!”

I groaned in response, and she looked puzzled.

“Not yay?”

“What am I supposed to say? I need to think through my questions, and psych myself up, and…and…”