I shook my head. “No, I’m fine. Let’s keep going.”
Amber gave a slow nod to Ella who looked at her notes before speaking. “What else would you like to tell me, Mrs. Hermosa?”
Only one thing seemed important enough for me to say, so I did. “Do you... do you think I’ve said enough to convince you to keep him in jail?”
Ella pressed her lips together as if forming her words carefully. “I can’t make any predictions until we review all the evidence both for and against Mr. Landis’s parole. However, I want to be honest with you so you have a chance to prepare yourself for what could possibly happen.”
“What do you mean?” My heart pounded.
“Mr. Landis has served a large portion of his sentence. He’s been a model citizen and done everything required of him. I’m not exonerating him from the pain he caused you and your family, but I think the board granting his parole is a high possibility.”
My mouth burned with acid. “No, that can’t happen. A big part of going to jail is rehabilitation. He can’t be rehabilitated if he refuses to admit that he killed my sister. Until he owns up to what he did, he’s still a major threat to society.”
“I understand what you’re saying,” Ella said. “In the past, parole wasn’t granted to those refusing to admit guilt. However, because of the numerous convictions that have been overturned through DNA testing, an inmate’s parole is no longer dependent on admitting guilt.”
“But they tested the DNA.” My stomach pitched. “The DNA proved Eddie was guilty.”
“The results were inconclusive,” Ella said. “It neither proved his innocence nor his guilt.”
“So he’s just going to get out by pretending he didn’t do it?” My voice cracked. “Are you serious? You’re just going to let him get away with it?”
Ella pushed out a slow breath. “I’m sure this is very upsetting for you, Mrs. Hermosa.”
“Upsetting? Upsetting doesn’t begin to cover how I feel. If Eddie gets out—” I shook my head. “What if he comes after me? What if he comes up to Washington and tries to hurt us?”
“Leaving Texas would be a serious violation of his parole,” Ella explained. “If that happened, he’d be arrested again.”
Would he?
“I need to tell you something.” The words shot out of my mouth before I could stop them. Was I actually going to talk about what really happened that night? Was I actually going to tell her the truth?
“What is it?” Ella gently asked.
In a moment of desperation, I almost blurted out the secret I’d guarded so closely all these years. Then I thought about my family and my vow to protect them, especially from what they didn’t know.
“Mrs. Hermosa?”
I met Ella’s gaze. “I just need him to stay in jail. If he got out... I’m just afraid of what he might do.”