CHAPTER 10
“TIME’S UP,” THE GUARD SAID.
“Listen, Grace,” Sidney said. “I’ll be honest with you.
Exonerations are terribly rare. They don’t happen often, and never without new evidence turning up.
I want you to know that I will be pitching this documentary to my network as a spotlight on you and your story.
I can’t promise anything will change for you because of this film.
I can promise, however, that if we get the project off the ground, you and your case will gain mainstream attention from a major network in America.
You’ll have the haters and the cynics, those who will never believe you are anything but Julian Crist’s killer.
But if we present your case correctly, we may also capture the attention of others who believe you.
And none of us know who those people might be, or where that attention will lead. ”
“I’ll take attention right now,” Grace said.
“Because I’ve got nothing else. I’ve exhausted my appeals, so legally there is nothing left for me to pursue.
This documentary is all I have. So I’m on board with you telling my story.
A story the world has never heard because the real Grace Sebold was overshadowed ten years ago by the spectacular headlines of blood and cover-ups and shoeprints and skull fractures.
‘Grisly Grace’ with all her lovers who flew into a jealous rage.
All that crap that had so little to do with who I am and what Julian meant to me.
So, please, tell the world who Grace Sebold is.
For that, I’ll be forever grateful. But I’m begging you, Sidney.
Look into my case. Look at the evidence that was used to convict me.
Show how wrong it was. Show how inconsistent it was. Promise me you’ll look.”
“I am innocent, Sidney.”
“I understand your conviction, Grace, but I can’t promise that my documentary will prove this. Again, my intention is to tell your story. If, in doing so, we cast everything that stands against you into doubt, I’ll consider it a victory.”
Grace sat back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest.
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
Sidney blinked a few times as she considered the question and all the evidence that had convicted Grace Sebold years ago.
Her mind was clouded by everything she had learned from Claude Pierre.
She glanced quickly at the camera filming from the corner of the room, and then looked back to Grace. “I’m not sure what I believe.”