The proverbial ‘you could hear a pin drop’ came to mind when Tessa heard what Rosa had said.
“You need to be very clear, Rosa. Beating around the bush isn’t helping you, and it’s not helping Mrs. Jamison. I want you to tell me the truth. You have mastered English, and I know you’re not having trouble coming up with the right words. I’m going to give you one more chance, then we’re done.” Sam waited for her to speak.
“It was just as I am telling you! I have no other way to explain what I saw, other than the man looked just like Mr. Jamison, Mr. Joel Jamison, not like Liam. I thought . . . I know it sounds very odd, but that man looked like he could be Mr. Jamison’s twin brother.”
Tessa struggled to hide her confusion. “I don’t understand. Are you telling us that this . . . other man, the one banging on the front door, looked just like Joel?”
“Yes, Miss Tessa. He looked just like your husband.”
She turned to Sam. “I don’t understand.” This couldn’t be right. While Liam and Joel were half brothers, they really didn’t resemble one another all that much. Both were tall, but Joel was fair where Liam was olive–skinned, as was Rachelle, his mother. There were a few similarities in their build but nothing that could make one conclude they looked exactly alike.
“Tell me about this other man,” Sam said. “Every detail you remember.”
She watched Sam. Expecting him to be as stunned as she was, she was surprised that he didn’t appear the least bit rattled at Rosa’s description of the other man.
“I just saw him for a few minutes. He was tall like Mr. Joel. Is it okay if I call him that?”
“Yes,” Sam replied. “Go on.”
“He got up in Mr. Joel’s face. I think he yelled, but I couldn’t hear. It just looked like he was very angry, and Mr. Joel, well, he seemed shocked, then he became very angry, too.”
“What was Liam doing during this exchange between Joel’s visitor and Joel?”
“I think he was hollering, too, but I couldn’t hear what any of them were saying. It just looked like they were all very angry. I only wanted to make sure the girls were okay, but I could see them from my spot at the window. They had gone to the end of the pool, and this brought them closer to the three men.”
“Did you come out of the pool house? Did it ever occur to you to get the girls out of the pool and take them somewhere safe, away from the men?” Sam asked her.
“Yes. But I knew I had to wait until the men had calmed down. I assumed they were arguing about business, or whatever it was that Mr. Jamison, Liam, I mean, said he knew about the girls. So I just waited. I saw that the girls had swum to the other end of the pool; as you can see, it’s a very big pool.” She waved toward the glass doors that led out to the pool.
“I was sure they couldn’t hear the men, so I went to the kitchen, well it’s not really a full-sized kitchen, but it had a small refrigerator. Miss Tessa always had snacks for the girls in the pool house. There was a sink and a coffeemaker. I made a pot of coffee and sat at the bar. I was going to stay there, keep an eye on the girls, and as soon as the men were gone, I was going to bring them back inside and call Miss Tessa.”
“But that isn’t what happened, is it?”
More tears from Rosa. “No, it was so horrible. I can’t describe . . . when I peered out the window to check on the girls, they weren’t in the pool. I thought they’d gone back inside the house. This is what I thought because I did not see them go inside from the window of the pool house. I assumed they had all gone inside, and I was very scared. I knew that Roberto was probably waiting outside the gate for me because that’s what I told him to do when I’d called him.”
“We need to wind this up, Rosa. It’s late, and I’m sure you’re stalling. I want you to tell me what you saw when you finally decided to come out of the pool house to meet Roberto.”
There were more tears and nose-blowing from Rosa, but she knew the enormity of her situation; at least Tessa thought so. Rosa shifted her shoulders back again, then seemed determined to finish the story she should have told more than a decade ago.
“When I left the pool house, I knew that Roberto would be waiting in the front outside the gates, so I went out the side door . . . and that’s when I saw him running from the garage. And when I saw who it was, I stopped and waited. I didn’t want him to see me. I was so scared, and I knew that, well, I was not here legally. We had all come from Mexico and were just thankful to be safe. It took many, many years, but my entire family are now American citizens. I did not want to return to Mexico, with all the drug lords and killings. It is a very bad place to live. Mr. Jamison knew I was not a citizen when he hired me but assured me that he would do everything in his power to assist me and my family so that we could be here legally.”
“Rosa, I don’t care about your legal status, and Tess doesn’t either. It’s of no relevance whatsoever to the current situation. It wasn’t then, and it’s not now. Get to the point.” Sam was being hateful and didn’t seem to care.
“As I waited by the corner of the house for my brother, I saw him. He came out through the garage door, and he ran across the lawn, then through the gates. I saw Roberto, and I ran to get in the car with him. I had to leave because I did not want to get involved with the police.”
“Why would you think this argument these three men were having would involve the police?”
Rosa, who had appeared weak and frightened before this, all of a sudden seemed courageous when she spoke. “Because Mr. Joel had blood all over him when I saw him running away from the house.”
Chapter 22
“But that’s impossible!” Tessa shouted, rising from her chair and lurching toward Rosa as if she meant to do her harm. “You lying bitch! You have lost your mind! There is absolutely no way you saw my husband running from his own home, and with blood all over him.” Enraged, she turned to Sam. “Do you believe her?”
“Rosa, you have to be mistaken,” said Jill. “Mr. Jamison was later found in the pool with the girls. Maybe you imagined this? You were so frightened when you saw the . . . bodies in the pool, you were unable to handle the shock. You were traumatized by what you saw in the pool, and this account is the result of post-traumatic stress disorder.”
“No! No! Never! I know what I saw that day. I am a lot of things, but I am not a crazy woman. I did not see any bodies in the pool, not then or ever. This I swear to you on all that is holy. I only saw what I saw. When I heard the news, later, I thought that this horrible crime must have happened after I left with Robert.”
Is it possible Rosa is telling the truth? Tessa had more questions than answers and could not see how any of this would help her as regards seeing Liam brought to justice or taking her revenge on him for what he did.
“Would you be willing to submit to a polygraph?” Sam asked her.
“What is that? I do not understand the word you just used,” Rosa asked, her tone filled with skepticism.
“It’s a test that determines if you’re telling the truth or lying,” Sam told her. “If you’re telling the truth, this test will prove it.”
“Then I will take the test. I am not a crazy woman, I swear to you, I did not see . . . bodies. And I am not lying. I saw Mr. Jamison, Mr. Joel. He was running, and there was blood all over him. I never went back to look in on the children. That is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life. For that, I will never forgive myself. I may not be a smart and educated woman like Miss Tessa and Miss Jill are, but I do not say things that are untrue. I admit I was very wrong not to come forward to the police. I told you why, and I have never had a peaceful day since.”
Is she telling the truth? It was so bizarre, Tessa had a hard time wrapping her mind around the implications if she was telling the truth. It made absolutely no sense at all. How could Joel be in two places at once? And this other man, who was he? Was Rosa sure of her description of him? Tessa didn’t know. How could she? All she did know was that she was more confused than ever, and almost wished s
he were back in prison. At least there, her days were predictable.
“I can arrange for the polygraph first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll send a car for you,” Sam told Rosa. “That is, if you’re sure you want to do this. You may want to consult with an attorney, talk this over with your family first.”
“No! I will say what I saw. I did not come forward ten years ago. That is my crime, and I will go to jail for that. I deserve whatever punishment the court decides. I did not imagine what I saw. The image is very, very clear to me today, the same as it was then. I have agreed to help Miss Tessa now. I will do whatever I have to do for her.”
Tessa, who had taken her seat again as Rosa spoke, couldn’t remain quiet any longer. “Rosa, how could you see Joel? He died at the same time the girls did. Is it possible it was Liam you saw? Or the other man who you said looked like Joel?” Tessa tried to speak as calmly as she could, but it was very difficult, almost impossible.
“I have told you exactly what I saw, and I will take the test Mr. Sam mentioned. It was not Mr. Liam. He has that dark hair, not like Mr. Joel. And it was not the other man, either. By that time I had known Mr. Joel for ten years. There is no way I could mistake someone else for him.”
“Sam?” she asked. “What do we do with this?” She shifted her head toward Rosa.
“Let me call Lee. I’ll be right back.” Sam went to the kitchen, leaving the three women alone.
An awkwardness permeated the room. Tessa could not wait until Sam returned before resuming her questioning. “Rosa, I know that you’re not . . . crazy. But I know from personal experience when you see something that is so violent, the mind does strange things. It took me years before I could completely remember the day I came home and discovered the bodies in the swimming pool. It was the worst day of my life, and there is nothing I can do or say to bring my family back. They’re gone forever, but I can see to it that they get justice. I did not murder my family.”
Tessa said this without tears. “I loved them with my entire heart and soul. They were my life, my reason for living, you know that. I understand you might have been confused at the time. I certainly was when I found them, and I believe it’s part of the reason I went to prison. I was so stunned, Jill’s diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder is probably accurate. I should have spoken up in my own defense. People can have this and not even be aware of it. I wasn’t sure I had this for several years. It was not until I had lots of shitty prison counseling, and did a lot of reading, that I realized I’d suffered from this, and probably still do. It’s not a crime to admit you were wrong,” Tessa pleaded, hoping to make an impression on Rosa. Tessa was most likely in shock the day she found her family butchered in the pool, too, so at least that part she could identify with. Rosa’s not telling the police what she had seen that day, well, that wasn’t quite as easy to understand.
Rosa’s hair had come completely unraveled now, the long gray strands nearly reaching her waist. “I am so sorry, Miss Tessa. You know I . . . No, you have lost your family. I cannot ask you to forgive me, or understand. But I will do what I can to make this right. I will take the test, then I will go to jail. I deserve to.”
“You’re not going to go to jail, Rosa. Even if you committed a crime by not coming forward to tell the police what you saw that day, it was more than ten years ago. That is way beyond the statute of limitations for whatever crime you might be guilty of. So you are not going to jail.”
“What is this statute of limitations you just referred to, Miss Jill? I do not understand. I am guilty of a crime and should be punished.”
“The statute of limitations says that after enough time has passed since a crime was committed, the guilty person cannot be tried for that crime. There are some exceptions, like murder, for which there is no such thing as a statute of limitations.
“All we’re trying to do is bring new evidence to trial, though we’re hoping this doesn’t even go to trial. We just want to find the person or persons who committed these horrible crimes, and see to it that they’re finally punished,” Jill explained in her most professional manner.
“Really?” Rosa asked, amazement in her voice.
“It’s very possible you won’t even have to testify,” Jill said, turning to look at Tessa.
“She’s right, but as Sam and Lee said, there are no guarantees. I’m only here now because of a new ruling by the Florida Supreme Court. If there is no new, convincing, provable evidence, I will return to prison and serve out the remainder of my three life sentences.”
“I stand behind what I saw. I am not quite sure how the court works. I have always been told to tell the truth. This one time in my life, I ran like a coward. About that, you were absolutely right. I will tell the court the truth about that, too. But I cannot lie about what I saw, Miss Tessa. I know it was Mr. Joel I saw running from the house. I worked for you and him for ten years. There is no way I could mistake anyone else for him. I don’t understand, uh . . . the circumstantial way so much, but I understand truth.”
Sam came back into the room. “Lee has arranged for a polygraph tomorrow morning, as soon as his meeting with Rachelle is over. He couldn’t give me an exact time but wanted me to ask Rosa if she would be willing to wait in his office.”
“I will do what I must. I have told Miss Tessa and Miss Jill that I will tell my story. I will tell exactly what I saw that horrible day.”
Rosa seemed to have a newfound confidence. Why, no clue, but Tessa wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing given what she said she had witnessed. There was no way it could be possible, but if it’s what she believed, and if the DA thought it worthwhile, then so be it. But even if the DA did not believe what she says she saw, the fact that it was Saturday and her family was still alive meant that she could not have been the killer and the state’s case was impossible since it relied upon the deaths having occurred on Friday, not Saturday or later.
She was so very tired, mentally and emotionally. At this point, all she wanted to do was right the wrongs of the past, and if it took an insane story by her former housekeeper to convince the DA and the judge that there was new evidence that meant she could not have killed her family, then it is what it is.
Chapter 23
Sam arranged for Cal to take Rosa home and remain near her house for the rest of the night in case she decided to take a sudden trip. He would remain there until it was time for him to take her to Lee’s office the following morning. Of course, Sam didn’t mention the surveillance part to Rosa.
“I hope she doesn’t climb out the window,” Jill said. “Though I am convinced she thinks she saw Joel. I don’t understand, but if she did see the . . . bodies, then this could be her way of coping. People are unique in finding ways to cope when they have been traumatized. It’s my professional opinion this is what Rosa has been doing all these years to cope with her guilt.”
“She seems so damned sure of what she saw. We all know it’s impossible. I don’t know if we, Lee and his team, will be able to convince her that she could not have seen what she says she saw. Sam,” Tessa asked, “what do you make of her story?”
He rubbed the dark stubble on his cheeks. “She’s convinced she saw what she says she did. She thinks she saw Joel, so it might be something worth checking into.”
“You’re not serious, I hope,” Tessa barked.
“I am very serious, Tess. Tomorrow, we’ll have more to work with. Harry’s put the rush on the DNA, so we will have physical evidence if we can get a match on the bones. And remember the watch. Harry was able to get DNA from that as well.”
“And we all know Joel’s DNA will be on his watch. I can’t see how that is going to prove anything other than that the watch belonged to him.”
“It’s not the DNA so much but the time the watch stopped, the date. And where and when the watch was located. I packed that myself, so I can testify to that if it comes down to it, but personally, neither Lee nor I think this will ever hit the courtroom a second time. Michael
Chen is an ass, but for an ass, he’s actually pretty smart. If his big, history-making case turns out to be a disaster, as it will since the victims were still alive after you had arrived in San Maribel, he’ll find a way to use it to his advantage. Lee seems to believe he’s going to make a run for governor.”
“Sam, do you think Rosa is telling the truth? You said you packed Joel’s watch yourself. It was in his desk. This was after his death. How do you explain that?”
Sam took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t.”
“So what exactly does this mean? I know I’m wiped out, and you are as well, but I don’t think any of us actually believes that Joel put that watch in his desk for you or anyone else to find. Given the significance of the date and time, it’s impossible.”
Tessa was so mentally drained, it was becoming hard for her to apply reason and logic to the facts as they were becoming available to them.
“You’re probably right, Tess. But right now, I’m virtually certain that Lee can get your case tossed out; meanwhile, we will continue to dig deeper into what we find. I don’t want to be a bummer, but I’m calling it a night. I have got to get up with the chickens, and that’s not that much longer.”
Sam stood and stretched. His shirt was untucked, and when he stretched, he revealed a muscular waist. Tessa tore her eyes away before he caught her looking.
“I need to get out of here myself. I’ve got a client early, and I can’t reschedule, but I will cancel the rest of the week. I want to be here with you, this time, every step of the way,” Jill said.
“You can stay here; there’s plenty of room,” Tessa said, hating to see her leave. Their friendship had picked up right where it left off, and despite the years, and Tessa’s refusal of her letters and visits, it was just like old times. Easy and relaxed, with each knowing what the other thought before the words came out of her mouth.
“I know, and I will another time. Maybe tomorrow. I have a bit of reading to do when I get home, so I’ll call it a night. I’ll call you tomorrow as soon as I finish with my patient.” She leaned in and gave Tessa a hug.
Sweet Vengeance Page 17