Pure Feeling

fierce, no fear

Dear Ms Ginsberg,

The Parole Board for England and Wales hereby gives Alexandra Caroline Ginsberg notice that the following prisoner will be considered for parole in an oral hearing. The board will convene a panel of three people to hear the application of the prisoner on the 9th day of October 2017. All attendees are required to be signed in at the administration office by 10:00 A.M. for a 10:30 A.M. start.

Weapons are not permitted on the premises and mobile phones must be switched off during the hearing. Notification of the board's decision will be made by post.

The prisoner's details are as follows:

Name: Forrester, Donald Andrew
DOB: 17/03/1965

Convicted of Manslaughter 14 May 2008 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.
Sentenced to 14 years in medium security facility, minimum of 9 to be served.

Time in confinement: 9 years 1 month.

This correspondence is in accordance with the Victim Contact Scheme.

Regards,

Joan Cohen

Officer for the Parole Board of England and Wales

The letter came, and if it hadn't been for Drew then I would have found its content shocking. Instead, the paper didn't shake because my hands didn't tremble, and my breathing was even, completely unchanged as my eyes scanned over the words. I hadn't come to terms with Don's possible release by any means; in fact, I'd been downright ignoring the entire thing, but the initial shock had come and gone. Instead, I was left with an empty numbness that blanketed me as I shoved the letters into the top drawer of my desk.

Now that it was real and not just something Drew said in the middle of an argument, I couldn't keep it to myself. Knowing I would see Nadia when she picked me up from work, I decided to leave that conversation until later. It would be the most emotional because we would have to ring her mum and my grandparents. Nadia's mum fell in the same category as my grandparents and myself – the distraught loved ones of the deceased. My chest tightened as I imagined how those would go; there would be lots of tears and plenty of emotions that usually stayed locked up tight.

Those people could wait until I was in the privacy of my home and not in my office. The only person who needed to know now was Gen because she was hours away from boarding a plane.

To: Gen Musgrove

Got a letter from the parole board... Don's applied :/

From: Gen Musgrove

OMG WTF?? Are u ok? Can delay my trip if u need me!!

To Gen Musgrove:

Don't you dare! I've got Nads and Toblerone to keep me company till you get back xx

From: Gen Musgrove

Get the king size bar! You'll get through this babe!!

Love u Sash xx

To: Gen Musgrove

Love you too. Fly safe x

I was putting my phone in my handbag when someone knocked on my door. I snapped my head up, my heart racing from the fright, only to find Olivia Styles standing in the doorway. She had a box in her arms and a broad smile slapped on her face. "Hiya! Sorry, hope I'm not interrupting you!"