“About a month ago, I ran into the sergeant at a coffee shop in town. He invaded my personal space. Tried to touch me.” A chill went down her back as she recounted the story.

“Oh no,” Viv said.

“Yeah. It shook me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it. About two weeks ago, he showed up on my jog. There’s no way it was a coincidence. Then he started texting me.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Yeah. I sent some texts back that could be misconstrued, especially if taken out of context.”

Viv sighed. “Did you threaten him directly?”

There was no doubt. “Oh yeah. I was pretty clear on that point. I was livid and afraid, but I didn’t want him to see my fear. I wanted to face him down and wanted him to know that I wasn’t going to let him touch me ever again.”

Silence hung in the room. Izzy knew her admissions could make her look like a suspect.

“You need a top-notch defense attorney,” Viv said.

“I can’t really pay top-notch rates.” She had a little savings put away, but given lawyer rates, she wasn’t sure that would do the trick.

Viv’s eyes lit up. “I have someone in mind who might take on your case pro bono. Of course I’d defend you in a heartbeat with everything I had, but that would be doing a huge disservice to you, since I don’t practice criminal law. We have to do much better than what I could provide in terms of representation, but one thing I can do is find you an attorney.”

Izzy felt her eyes fill yet again with tears. “I didn’t do it, Viv.”

Viv squeezed her hand. “I know that, Izzy. I know you and your heart. No matter what was done to you, you believe in the justice system to right wrongs, not in vigilantism.”

Izzy shook her head. “But that’s the thing you don’t understand.”

“Tell me. Help me understand.”

She needed Viv to see where she was coming from. “I have wanted to kill him. To make him pay for what he did to me. For the torment and pain he put me through every day of my life since the attack. I’ve felt unsafe around men ever since this happened to me. I’ve lived through so many sleepless nights, ongoing nightmares, fears, and insecurities. All because he attacked me. So when I sent those texts, there were moments when I felt like I could’ve acted on them. If he had tried to hurt me again.”