They stared at each other for a long time before her lawyer shook his head. It was one of the only times she’d been able to see inside his mind. He thought she was guilty. ‘No,’ Archie replied. ‘I can’t advise you to say something that isn’t true.’

‘Well then. What does all of that mean in terms of time in prison?’

‘You can typically expect to serve at least two-thirds of your sentence before being considered for supervised release. So if the sentence is twenty-five years, that would be almost seventeen years of time in Shakopee.’

Some of her coolness faltered. She hadn’t dwelt on the reality, but seventeen years was a lot of reality. The prime of life gone. She would no longer be young or beautiful at the end. She would be a felon in her mid-fifties with little money left and no profession. It was almost harder to imagine stepping back onto the street than spending the years behind the prison walls.

‘Seventeen years,’ she murmured.

Archie was silent. No doubt he’d seen this drama play out many times before.

‘What will it be like?’ she asked.

‘Prison life is mostly about routine and rules,’ he replied.

‘How exciting.’

‘You can have visitors.’

‘There’s no one to visit me,’ she said.

He had no answer for that one. She had no parents. No siblings. No friends who would travel to see her. And no husband, obviously.

‘Do I have to worry about my physical safety?’ she went on.

‘In general, no, but there are always risks. Most of the inmates are non-violent offenders, but Shakopee is the only women’s prison in the state. Women who commit violent crimes go there, too.’

‘Like me,’ Janine pointed out.

Archie heard the sarcasm in her voice. He leaned across the table and took her hands. He played the grandfather now. ‘Listen, Janine, I won’t pretend that this is anything but what it is. Hard. Long. Painful. That said, it is not the end of your life. As impossible at it may seem right now, you’ll have to find a way to embrace it.’

‘Embrace it,’ Janine said. She smoothed her blond hair. ‘What would that look like, do you suppose?’

‘I have no idea.’

‘Well, you’re honest, Archie. The fact is, I’m a doctor. That’s all I am. It’s my whole life. I never wanted to be anything else. And now I can’t be that anymore. So what do you suggest I do?’

‘I’m sorry. I don’t know. However, you’re not the only doctor in prison. Some find other ways to use their professional knowledge. Others decide to explore a completely different side of themselves.’

‘You’re assuming I have one,’ Janine said.

Archie waited. Then he said: ‘Are you a danger to yourself?’

‘You mean suicide?’

‘Yes, that’s what I mean.’