Page 101 of Shadow of Justice
“Mrs. Logue, we’re talking about a random Monday morning in March, almost twenty-three years ago. How can you be so specific about where you were?”
“Because a few days after that, Dane was brought in for questioning about the murder of his cousin. And I knew he didn’t do it. I knew he wasn’t even in town that weekend, because he was with me.”
A murmur went through the courtroom. Bennett Cutler was on his feet.
“You were aware that Dane Fischer became a suspect in Ellie Luke’s murder?” I asked.
“Yes. I became aware of that, yes.”
“How did you become aware of it?”
“Dane told me. And it was in the news. There was a search. The whole county was on high alert. I knew about Dane’s troubled history with that side of his family.”
“If you were aware that Dane was a person of interest, why didn’t you come forward then? If you knew you could provide him an alibi?”
“Dane loved me,” she said. “I loved him too. But I had decided I was going to try to make it work with my husband. With Brad.”
“Brad didn’t know you were having an affair?” I asked.
“No. Not at that time. No. And a couple of weeks after that, I found out I was pregnant with our first child. My son. Brad Jr.”
“Did you discuss any of this with Dane Fischer?”
“Yes,” she said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “Yes. Dane wanted to protect me. He didn’t … we knew he didn’t kill that girl. Neither of us thought it would go as far as it did. I begged Dane not to tell anyone where he was. I regret that now. This thing has cost him so much. I was selfish.”
“You’re aware Dane gave false information to the police about his whereabouts the morning Ellie Luke went missing?”
“Yes. But he was protecting me.”
“Did you ever talk to the police yourself?”
“No. They didn’t know about me. Dane did what he promised. He kept my name out of it.”
“What would you have done if Dane had been arrested?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. But it never came to that. I was terrified. And I was pregnant. I was scared about what might happen if Brad found out about Dane and me. I made every wrong choice. I know that. I know what people will probably think. But things just died down. Dane wasn’t arrested. Time just … moved on. I had my son. Brad and I managed to make things work for a while.”
“Does your husband know now?”
She nodded. “Yes. Years later. After our daughter was born. I had a relapse. Postpartum depression. I went into treatment again. I decided I had to make amends. To come clean. I told Brad about what had happened and somehow, he forgave me. For the last fifteen years … well … the last twenty-two, I guess. I’ve been working to earn that forgiveness. To be worthy of it.”
“Have you spoken to Dane since you ended your relationship with him twenty-two years ago?” I asked.
“No,” she whispered. Then louder. “No.”
“You didn’t know this case had come to trial?”
“No. And I didn’t know how badly Dane’s family had treated him over the years. I didn’t know they blamed him for killing that poor girl. He didn’t tell me. If he had … maybe I could have helped him. I don’t know. But I’m telling you now, Dane wasn’t in Waynetown on March 12th, 2001. He was with me. In Ann Arbor.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I have no further questions.”
Bennett came to the lectern. “Mrs. Logue, just so I’m clear. You said you were addicted to Xanax twenty-two years ago?”
“I’ll always be an addict. But I’ve been in recovery for twenty-three years. In 2001 I was sober.”
“So you say,” he said. “Twenty-two years. You admit Ellie Luke’s case was on your radar. You knew about it.”
“Yes.”
