Sweet Vengeance

by Fern Michaels

  “Lee, Jill, help yourselves,” Sam said as he removed paper lids from large foil pans. The delicious scents of garlic and tomato sauce emanating from lasagna, cheese ravioli, and baked ziti filled the kitchen. The tantalizing odor of garlic knots made Tessa’s mouth water. A large container of antipasto, with salami, cheese, hot peppers, pepperoni, anchovies, and green and black olives supplemented the carbohydrate-laden dishes. It was a feast right out of The Godfather.

  As they filled their plates with the food, Tessa half listened for a knock on the glass doors. She forked a bite of lasagna into her mouth, closing her eyes and reveling in the heavenly taste. If she were forced to return to that hellhole of a prison, she knew she would spend many nights reliving this meal. For the next few minutes, the four ate heartily. When they finished, Lee excused himself to make a phone call.

  “She’s not coming,” Tessa said.

  Lee came back into the kitchen. “No, she’s on her way here. Apparently, she had to call a cab. Said they were running late. Not sure why she didn’t call to tell us, but she assured me she would be here within fifteen minutes.”

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Tessa nodded. “I don’t think she ever learned to drive. At least not when she worked for us. She had a relative bring her most days, or Joel would send a car for her. I can’t imagine living in San Maribel and not driving.”

  Actually, she could. It had been years since she had had a driver’s license or driven a car. The last time she had driven, she had been racing to get home to the girls. She didn’t know if she would even remember how to drive if for some reason she had to.

  “If you don’t have to learn, you won’t,” Sam said. “At least she knows how to use a cell phone.” His last words were laced with sarcasm.

  Tessa discovered that she did not really appreciate the disparaging comment from Sam, as she knew Rosa, or at least she thought she did. Then again, maybe Rosa wasn’t the kind, sweet woman she had led her and Joel to believe. Rosa had not come forward when she could have, and that alone spoke volumes.

  What were her priorities at the time of the murders? What did the woman care about? How little she must have thought of Tessa, Joel, and the girls.

  This line of thinking made Tessa’s blood boil, so she could understand where Sam’s sarcasm was coming from. He’d met Rosa on occasion, too, but had never, at least to her knowledge, known her very well.

  “She was good with the girls,” Tessa said. “They always enjoyed spending time with her, and I thought the feelings were reciprocated, but apparently, I was wrong.” She wanted to add more but didn’t. Lee was probably aware that Joel had taken care of hiring Rosa and, quite possibly, had overlooked her lack of legal status.

  “We don’t care how good a housekeeper or babysitter she was. Don’t allow yourself to feel pity, Tessa. She might have information that could have turned the entire investigation another way,” Lee explained. “If she sees you as sympathizing with what her situation was then, she might think you’re letting her off the hook and be more willing to help out in your defense.”

  “I don’t care what her opinion of me is. I want her to tell us what she knows. That’s it,” Tessa said as she went to the sink and began rinsing the dinner plates and placing them in the dishwasher. Jill handed her the knives and forks. She ran them under the hot water and dropped the knives and forks in the basket in the dishwasher. “I assume you told her to use the back entrance?”

  “Of course,” Lee said. “The members of the media are still at their posts out front, and I doubt they’re going to leave us alone anytime soon. They came to get a story. And, what with Chen thinking about running for governor, this is the biggest story around.”

  Sam had remained silent during the cleanup, but he spoke now. “Why don’t we give them something? Tell them about the bones we found. Get them off our backs.”

  Lee raised his brows, obviously considering Sam’s suggestion. “That might not be a bad idea. But let’s wait until Rosa shows up. I want to hear her story first, then we’ll decide. Are you all right with this, Tessa?”

  Do I really have a choice?

  “I’ll do whatever it takes, Lee. I have let you know my position time and time again. I do not want to speak to the media, now or ever, not in a million years, but you or Sam do what you feel is best.” She despised the media. They were to blame, at least in her mind, for her racing off to San Maribel in the first place. She had known that her girls’ nightmare would become public, and she had had to prevent that. In doing so, she had killed them. By not telling Joel about his brother’s abuse, she might as well have put a gun to their heads and pulled the trigger. It was her fault, no matter what Jill or Sam or Lee said. She had put the cart before the horse, and doing so had cost her everything that was dear to her. Everything.

  “I want to see what Rosa says, then we can decide,” Lee said again.

  Tessa didn’t have anything to say to that, so she continued to clean the kitchen. Her thoughts were all over the place. It still seemed surreal, being here in her own home, surrounded by familiar yet unfamiliar things. New furnishings, floors, and walls did practically nothing to eliminate the images of what she had found at the pool that horrible day. She doubted that they would ever fade away. Like an old photo that had aged to a blurry finish, the edges of her memory of that day were faded, dried with time, but the actual picture of what she had seen was clear, as sharp as if she had just taken a snapshot of the scene.

  It had taken a very long time for this image to return, but now, she could remember every single detail of what she had seen. And there was one detail that had always nagged her about Joel, and she had never repeated it to anyone, for fear they’d think she had totally gone off the deep end, but still, it nagged at her. He appeared so . . . different. Yes, she knew he’d been killed, murdered, and she understood the decomposition process, the bloating, all the scientific terms for describing a dead body in water, but she still felt that something wasn’t right. Later, after Rosa left, maybe she would tell Jill about it. Jill was a doctor, and she might have an explanation for Tessa’s feeling.

  They all turned when they heard a light knock on the glass doors. “I’ll get it,” Sam said, moving to the back of the house.

  “Stay calm,” Jill coaxed Tessa. “You have nothing to be afraid of.”

  That was easy for Jill to say. Tessa had everything to fear. Her temporary freedom would most likely be taken away from her, and she would have to return to prison for the rest of her life if things did not go well. She was simply not going to allow herself to get her hopes up even though Lee and Sam were very encouraging. Going back to prison is what she should focus on. It was so hard to be optimistic when you’d spent a decade of your life behind bars. And it was much worse because she was innocent.

  “Tessa?” Jill said. “Are you okay? You seem like you’re a million miles away.”

  Tessa agreed. “Sorry. I was. I do that a lot. I’ll be fine.”

  “Let’s get this over with,” Jill told her. “Rosa is waiting.”

  Taking a deep breath, Tessa could not help but feel a bit anxious. It was time to hear from the horse’s mouth exactly what her former housekeeper had witnessed.

  Chapter 19

  Rosa had not aged well at all, Tessa thought as soon as she saw the woman. Her dark hair was now a harsh steel-gray color reminding Tessa of a used Brillo pad. Her once round, honey-brown eyes were heavy lidded, making her appear as though she were squinting. She wore a dark skirt and a faded, floral-print blouse that looked as though it came from another century. On her feet were brown sandals that revealed callused heels and toenails with chipped orange polish that were much too long and in need of a trim. To say she had aged and let herself go would be more than kind. In her early sixties now, she looked as if she could already be an octogenarian.

  Tessa would not have recognized her had she run into her on the street or at the mall.

  “Miss Tessa,” Rosa exclaimed as soon as she saw her. Her
Mexican accent was virtually nonexistent. “I missed you so much, and the girls, too.”

  Tessa was not sure how to respond, so she didn’t. Tessa was shocked that the older woman seemed so . . . normal. As though they were the best of friends, and Tessa was simply returning from a long vacation instead of ten years in prison as a convicted murderer. “Rosa,” she said, finally acknowledging the older woman.

  Lee and Sam were seated on the sofa, Rosa in the chair opposite. Tessa chose the chair that faced the pool area. Jill sat on the arm of the chair, her left hand casually resting on Tessa’s right shoulder.

  Lee waited a few seconds, then removed a legal pad and a tape recorder from his briefcase. He went through the legal spiel with Rosa, making sure it was on record that she was here of her own free will and that no one had coerced her into making a statement. He handed her several papers for her signature. As soon as she finished signing them, Lee returned them to the briefcase.

  “Can you tell us what you saw on the last morning you were at this house? In as much detail as you can remember. Any detail you think may not be important, probably is, so I want you to tell me”—Lee looked at Tessa—“us everything that you saw and heard.”

  Rosa nodded, her steel-gray hair coming loose from the bun coiled at the top of her head. She reached up and tucked the hair back into the bun, then smoothed her skirt, crossed her legs, and sat up straight. She continued to stare at Tessa, then began to speak. “It was Saturday morning, the day after Miss Tessa went away. I went upstairs to do the beds after I had breakfast with the girls. The girls had their cereal and stayed in the kitchen.” She paused, removed a tissue from her skirt pocket, blotted her eyes, then went on. “I decided to do the toilets first—” She stopped speaking, took a breath, and looked directly at Tessa. “I usually do the toilets last, but not that day. I don’t know why I changed my routine. I cleaned the master bathroom first, then I cleaned the girls’ bathroom. All those bright colors. They made me smile.”

  Lee interrupted her. “So, you changed your routine that day, correct?”

  Rosa nodded. “I did.”

  Lee scribbled something on his legal pad, then asked Rosa, “Did you plan on changing your normal cleaning routine that day or was it spontaneous?”

  She looked to Tessa, then Jill as though they had answers. Tessa was not going to help in making this easier for her, and neither was Jill.

  “I don’t understand,” Rosa stated.

  “When you headed upstairs while the girls were eating breakfast, was it your intention to strip the beds first?”

  “Yes, yes, it was.”

  “And all of a sudden, out of the blue, you’re in Mr. and Mrs. Jamison’s bedroom and decide to do the toilets first? You don’t know why? You had a sudden change of mind for no reason at all?”

  Rosa seemed confused. “I don’t know, I just decided to do the bathrooms. That is all I can tell you.”

  Lee made another note on his legal pad. Tessa watched Rosa and could see that the woman was nervous, uncomfortable at being questioned so closely.

  “Okay, you had a change of mind. I’ll accept that. Do you recall how much time you took cleaning the bathrooms?”

  “Maybe fifteen minutes. I only did the toilets. Not the showers, tubs, or floors.”

  “Okay, you finished the bathrooms. Walk me through your next round of duties,” Lee instructed. He was relaxed, and Tessa could see that he was in his element questioning Rosa. She could only imagine the effect he’d have on a jury while questioning or cross-examining a witness.

  With all eyes focused on her, Rosa adjusted her position, her rigid stance slackening. She tucked stray hairs back into her bun. “I went to Poppy’s room first. She is, was very particular about her bedroom. She always helped me to clean. That morning, she had made her bed, so I didn’t want to undo her work, so I decided I would change her bed the next day. I went to Piper’s room and stripped her bed.”

  Lee held up a hand. “Stop for a minute.”

  Rosa nodded.

  “Did you replace the sheets on Piper’s bed then or later?”

  “Then. I remember I used the lavender sheets. They were her favorite. She liked all shades of purple.”

  Tears filled Tessa’s eyes as she listened to Rosa talk about her daughters and their likes and dislikes.

  “What did you do after that?” Lee asked.

  Rosa appeared troubled at the question. Her eyes downcast, she picked at her nails. “I was going to change the linens in the master bedroom, but when I went into the hall, I heard voices downstairs. Very loud voices. Angry-sounding voices.”

  Tessa’s heart rate sped up and skipped a beat. She leaned in to hear Rosa’s next words.

  “Go on,” Lee encouraged.

  “They were yelling, the men, and it frightened me. I had never heard Mr. Jamison scream and carry on like he was. I called Roberto, my brother, from the portable phone he had brought me that day. I asked him to come back right away. I did not want to stay at the house. I wanted to go home so I did not have to listen to the men hollering. I was scared stiff.”

  Men? Tessa was shocked.

  “You say ‘men.’ How many?” Lee asked.

  “Two. At first,” Rosa said, “Then Mr. Jamison . . . he just stopped yelling. The other man stopped, too. I heard a loud, very fast banging on the front door. That is when the yelling stopped. I waited because I thought that Mr. Jamison and the other man are arguing about business and have forgotten that they are not at his office. I wanted to check on the girls, so I went downstairs.” Rosa hesitated and looked at Tessa. “I stopped when I heard the other man.”

  “Why? Did you know this other man?” Lee asked her. “What made you stop, and where exactly were you?”

  “I was there.” She pointed to the bottom of the stairs. “The wall that used to be there blocked the view from the kitchen, where I heard the voices coming from. I didn’t see the other man. Just heard him, and I had never heard him before.”

  “Was this other man in the kitchen?” Lee asked.

  “Not at first. I think that Mr. Jamison let him in, then the man followed him back to the kitchen.” Rosa shot a pleading look at Tessa again, as if she were begging for her forgiveness.

  “Where were the girls during this argument?”

  “I think they were still in the kitchen at that point.”

  “So, the girls are in the kitchen, presumably having their cereal, their father is screaming at one man, then another knocks on the front door, Mr. Jamison answers it, invites this strange man into the house, and this third man then follows him back to the kitchen, where the first two men continue to yell and argue? Would you agree that this statement is accurate?” Lee looked at Tessa and gave a slight nod.

  Tessa was trying very hard to keep her emotions under control and not react. Lee had obviously sensed this. It was all she could do to remain seated. She wanted to strangle Rosa, wanted to shake her until she . . . what? Tessa took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It would not be a good idea to lose her temper at this point.

  “Yes, that is a true statement,” Rosa agreed.

  “Did you recognize the two men, or at least their voices? Had you ever heard them before that day?” Lee continued with his questions while they waited.

  Rosa nodded. “I knew the younger man, Mr. Jamison’s brother, Liam. He was in the kitchen with Mr. Jamison when the other man knocked on the front door.”

  “What did I tell you!” Tessa shot off her chair. “That worthless son of a bitch killed my family! I want him found now. I don’t give a good rat’s ass how much it costs or what you have to do to find him!”

  “Tess, calm down.” Sam reached her in three giant steps and wrapped his arms around her. “This isn’t going to help us right now. Give us a minute, okay?” Sam tossed over his shoulder as he led Tessa to the kitchen. “Sit down,” he said, then took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap. “We need to hear what Rosa has to say, okay? I can on
ly imagine how hard it is, but it’s what needs to be done right now. She has already helped you, you realize this? Whatever else she says, her story confirms that the murders took place on Saturday, not on Friday, as the state said at your trial. You were in San Maribel all day Saturday and could not have committed a murder in San Maribel. Once the DA hears Rosa’s account, it will not matter what else we learn. He will have to drop the charges unless he can disprove her story.”

  Tessa took a drink of water. “Okay. I can see that. But I want to know more. Who in the hell was here that day? Joel never conducted his business at home, let alone in the kitchen, where Poppy and Piper would have been having their breakfast. I don’t know if I believe her, Sam. She could be making this up, just to cover her ass.”

  Tessa blew out a breath, which caused her hair to fly in front of her face. She was more confused now than she had been before. How could a person keep something of this magnitude to herself? And how in the world could those who conducted the investigation, no, the witch hunt, with her being the prey, not have known of this? What kind of incompetence could lead to her being charged and convicted of murders that were supposed to have occurred on Friday when all the victims were still alive on Saturday?

  “I know it’s tough, but we need to listen to her story. Lee will pick it apart, and won’t stop until he’s satisfied. Remember, he has never lost a case.” Sam emphasized the last four words. “Trust me, okay?”

  Trust? Not something she had experienced much of in her life, at least until she had met and married Joel. Her mother was a drug addict, she had no clue who her father was, and Lara, her only living relative, at least that she knew of, hadn’t even bothered to call her and ask how she was doing. Trust? It had never come easy for her.

  “I’ll try,” she said.

  “Let Lee do his job,” Sam said as he led her back to the living room.