by Dawn Edwards
‘Ready?’ the justice of the peace asked us. We both looked to her and nodded.
‘Dearly beloved,’ she started. ‘We are gathered here today to witness the union of Andrew Cameron and Jessa Cahill.’ At those words, I got a surreal sensation. I was getting married to the man of my dreams. The man who I had promised I’d end up with.
We opted for traditional vows, as I knew I’d never been able to get through delivering my own given my emotional state due to my raging hormones. He knew what was in my heart, and I knew his, as our hearts merged long ago. It was intimate and ours.
After the short ceremony, we had photos taken on the grounds of the villa while the chairs were repositioned and a large table with table setting for 18 was arranged. We had a catered and served sit-down meal at a long outdoor table. My parents were paired at one end, my grandparents at the other. Drew and I sat in the middle of one side with his side of guests, and my guests on the other side.
The five-course meal consisted of mine and Drew’s favorite comfort foods. There were no fancy plates or foods that were hard to pronounce. We had a small two-layer wedding cake that we cut up and served for dessert. As it was informal and not traditional, there was no reception, no dancing, and no games, which I was completely fine with. We all sat around the table, chatting, eating, drinking and laughing for hours. It was only when Drew’s niece fell asleep in her father's arms, looking uncomfortable from sitting so long, that we decided to call it a night.
I hadn’t been interested in getting a hotel suite. None of that mattered, so long as Drew and I were able to be together. I was content to have our first night as husband and wife at the villa.
CHAPTER 30
JESSA
It was a clear, sunny day at the end of February when we landed in Boston on my father’s jet at the private departures terminal. When we came to a stop and the engine shut down, I saw Abby exit the terminal with two men in police uniforms and two other men—one young, one older—in cheap-looking suits. I assumed they were detectives, and the officers were here to arrest me and Breton
I looked to Drew, who took my hand and kissed my head, seeing the officers walk towards the plane. The flight attendant opened up the small door. As much as I had been preparing myself for this, I still felt nauseous, and it had nothing to do with the pregnancy, which my family still didn’t know about.
‘You got this, sweetie,’ my father said from across the table, when he noticed what I had been looking at.
I glanced over to Breton, who didn’t seem too concerned. He’d been pretty relaxed about the whole thing. He and Abby didn’t seem to think we’d end up in jail.
So long as we really played up that I was the victim here after all, and the police did a shit job investigating Josh’s death. This was the most sensitive and political part of the whole plan and the one thing that posed a snag to our plan—we didn’t know how they would react to some civilian doing their job and actually solving the crime.
Breton and I had essentially done their work for them and proved my family right when we kept insisting that my brother’s death wasn’t an accidental overdose or even a suicide.
Breton stood, taking his wallet out of his back pocket, and handed it, along with his phone, to his mother. I had very few things with me; aside from my carry-on suitcase, the rest of my things from England were already at the beach house I was hoping to share with Drew soon, if not tonight.
Abby walked on to the plane, and I saw the four others waiting at the bottom of the stairs. The younger man in the suit saw me looking at them through the window and nudged his partner with his elbow to look up to where I was. I felt like a caged animal at the moment and turned to look away, back to Abby.
‘Is there media?’ Amber asked.
Abby shook her head. ‘No, the DA is waiting to interview you guys before making any public announcements.’ She looked to me and Breton. ‘So maybe hold off on releasing the statement?’
‘Sure, I’ll get Zoe to coordinate with you and take directions from her,’ Amber nodded in agreement. ‘But I’ll proceed with letting staff know first.’
‘Can the detectives come on?’ Abby asked my father.
‘Of course, we are fully cooperating, as we always have.’
Abby turned to the open door and waved the four of them on and walked into the back of the plane to make space.
The older man was first, followed by one of the uniformed officers. It was clear by the looks on their faces that neither had ever been on a private jet before. But then, the majority of people haven’t either.
My father stood up and extended his hand. ‘Detective, it’s actually nice to see you this time.' Clearly, they had history, and I wondered if he was one of the detectives working on my alleged disappearance.
‘Mr. Cahill,’ he shook my father’s hand and looked to me then back to my father.
‘I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Jessa Cahi…Cameron,’ he smiled at me, and then to Drew, correcting himself and clearly not ashamed one bit.
‘Cameron?’ the detective questioned, looking between us again.
I extended my hand from my sitting position. ‘Yes, Cameron, I’ve recently married.’ I looked to Drew, sitting next to me, who wore a blank expression, but his eyes were worried.
Realization crossed the detective's face and Drew sat up straighter, drawing more confidence. ‘My statements were truthful at the time,’ Drew informed him.
The second detective came on and looked around, clearly having heard the conversation.
‘So what happens now?’ Breton asked no-one in particular.
‘The DA is currently reviewing the materials presented to him this morning,’ the older detective told us. ‘But we also need to take you both in for questioning.’
‘Are they under arrest?’ my father asked.
‘Not at this time,’ the detective said. ‘Miss Dawson, your attorney, has negotiated a conditional and limited amenity with the DA for now, however it is depending on the information checking out.’
‘It will,’ Breton stated, sounding annoyed that his work would even be in question.
‘We have cars waiting to take you downtown for questioning,’ the detective said, and the officer reached for handcuffs.
‘No,’ Drew yelled, standing and pointing to the officer. ‘You are not cuffing her.’
The detective looked at the officer and shook his head.
‘There is no need,’ I confirmed. ‘We are more than willing to cooperate.’
Breton stood and hugged his mom, my mom, my dad and then looked to me, but my position prevented him from giving me one too, so he simply nodded at me and I blew him a kiss. He rested his hand on Drew’s shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, man, we got this.’
Breton left with one detective and the lone officer who waited outside.
Drew moved to let me stand and say bye to my parents and aunt, who left the plane afterward, wanting to get to their car and downtown before I did.
I turned to Amber in the back of the plane. I was so thankful to have my best friends next to me, supporting me through all this. Even if I didn't have them over the past year and a half, at least having them now was something.
‘Make me look good with the media,’ I winked at her.
She looked me up and down. ‘You make my job easy.’
I turned to Abby. ‘I’ll be riding with you,’ she told me and looked to the detective who nodded once in agreement as she walked to the front of the plane towards the detective. ‘Can we give them a moment of privacy?’ Abby asked him, looking to Drew and me. He hesitated, and I thought he was going to say no, but before he could respond Abby added, ‘She’s turning herself in and the pilots have already left the plane. She isn’t going anywhere. They are newlyweds, give them a second or two.’ The point was taken and a moment later she placed her hand on his arm, and he moved, walking down the stairs on his own.
Drew and I were alone. ‘Don’t worry.’ I held his face between my hands.
&n
bsp; He shook his head, ‘That’s impossible.’
‘Abby’s already done some damage control. They just said I’m only going in for questioning and I’m not under arrest.’
‘Not yet,’ he said grimly.
I kissed him. ‘Come on, I need you to be positive.’ I took his hand in mine and placed it on my stomach to the small bump that was forming. ‘Please keep positive, we both need you to,’ I whispered as he looked into my eyes, and I saw his pain, the loss, and heartache I’d already put him through.
‘I’m here, I’m not going anywhere,’ I promised.
He nodded. ‘I love you so much, we are going to do everything to keep you safe and back home where you finally belong.’
I smiled and kissed him one more time before I put on my sunglasses and his Bruins baseball cap to exit the plane. I was Jessa Cameron; I not only had a new name, I was a new woman, one who knew who she was, what she wanted, and how to fight back. I was strong, independent and confident. I was home, and I was ready to fight for justice.
We drove to an office building downtown and were sequestered into a private room with a two-way mirror. For a long time, I sat there alone before Abby came in with a middle-aged man in a three-piece suit.
‘Miss Cahill,’ he greeted me, extending his hand to me. ‘District Attorney, David Fitzpatrick.’
‘It’s actually Mrs. Cameron now,’ I said, holding up my left hand to show both my engagement ring and wedding band.
‘Oh,’ he said, looking to Abby who nodded. ‘Since when?’
‘The day before yesterday,’ I responded with a smile on my face. Yes, I was being questioned by the DA but was still giddy and happy about my small little wedding. More so, that I was Drew’s wife.
He looked at me with a smirk. ‘Well, that’s convenient for your husband.’
‘Isn't it,’ I dryly commented, knowing exactly what he was getting at. If he was called to testify, he could take the fifth.
I wasn’t getting the warm feels from the guy. Abby said we could trust him, but I wasn't sure at the moment, and looked up to Abby, who’s didn’t seem bothered in the least by this.
‘So Abby here is arguing her case for immunity for you and Breton based on the information you and your cousin have passed to me detailing your own investigations and subsequent results on the Taggart family.’
‘She’s a great attorney and Breton is brilliant; we are both lucky I’m so fortunate to have such cousins.’
‘Yes, that she is.’ He opened a file with some notes. ‘However, there are some charges, you have broken laws, cost millions in search and rescue efforts that could have been used elsewhere…’
‘Which I intend to pay back.’
‘Good.’
I spent the next few hours answering the DA’s and his team’s questions, using the story Breton and I had come up with.
The narrative we were feeding them was that I hadn’t left the country, Breton had gotten the confession in Morocco. My backstory was that I had been traveling around Arizona, California, New Mexico and ended up in Las Vegas. I had been living out of an ole VW camper and renting AirBnB’s along the way—which Breton had all the proof for. Whatever they asked, I had pre-arranged answers that matched up with Breton’s. The answers protected me and to some extend Breton also. After a few hours, I was left in the room along with Abby and allowed to order food.
I was so hungry and tired, but I also knew that I couldn’t let on as to why. Not yet. I couldn’t implicate Drew and myself. I needed to be cleared before that happened. It was very late when the two detectives came back with Abby.
The DA sat down. ‘Due to circumstances, we will need you to surrender your passport, and wear an ankle monitor.’
‘Why, am I being arrested?’
‘No, if you were, I’d be reading you your Miranda rights,’ the DA told me. ‘It's very unusual I’m taking this on, but due to the expected publicity… This is going to get a lot of media attention, it will not go without notice that you have indeed broken laws, used taxpayers money and resources.’ He paused. ‘The public will want to see action from my office, they will not be happy to see a rich girl being let off and getting special treatment. You have the means and resources to disappear—clearly, you have already done it once. Given what you have already been through and the information provided to us, we are willing to cooperate, as you and your family are. In speaking with colleagues, this is fair, at least until we have an opportunity to validate the information.’
‘How long will that take?’
‘It’s hard to say, could be a few days, a week, or month, I really don’t know,’ he told me. ‘All depends on the resources we have to allocate to it.’
‘Have you arrested Julia?’
‘She’s been taken in for questioning earlier this morning before you even landed.’
‘Don’t release her.’ He looked at me. ‘Please, she killed Josh,’ I begged, and for the first time today, I broke down, everything finally catching up to me.
Abby crossed the room and held me. ‘It’s ok, Jessa,’ she whispered, and I felt her body turn. ‘Can we get that ankle monitor now? I think it’s time that she be allowed to go home and rest.’
‘Yes, I just need to know what address she will be going to.’
I pulled away, wiping my eyes. ‘I want to go home to the Cape, I have a house there. It’s where my husband lives,’ I said, inwardly smiling when I said husband.
I was fitted with a band and then told the rules, which essentially said I was on house arrest, anything that required me to leave the house, such as meetings with my lawyers or medial appointments needed to be approved. I would be receiving random check-ups and would need to meet with the DA when requested. I agreed to all the stipulations and was then free to leave. I was told they would be contacting the Cape Cod Police Department, who would be checking in on me later that evening.
Drew and my family were waiting for me when I was released. The detectives and the DA went over everything with them too, and we were informed the media had already been convening outside the building and also at my parents’ townhouse.
It was a relief to know I would be heading to the Cape; it was unlikely that they knew about that house.
‘Breton has already added security for you at the house., They will be there in a vehicle at the end of the driveway by the time you get there,’ my father told me. ‘Your mother and I will drive down tomorrow.’
‘Where is Breton now?’ I asked.
‘He’s still going over the information with some of the detectives and some IT people,’ Drew told me, wrapping his arms around me.
‘Is his being released?’
‘He’s already been questioned and released; he’s just going over his map with them, to ensure they do not miss anything,’ my father told me, and I nodded. That was Breton, not wanting a misunderstanding to implicate us.
‘So he’s not in trouble?’
‘I think they realized he’s too valuable to be in trouble.’
I nodded, knowing that Breton likely had dirt on a few high-ranking officials involved.
I turned to Drew. ‘Can we go home?’
He smiled down at me. ‘I want nothing more.’
I hugged him. ‘Nothing?’ I whispered slyly in his ear.
‘Cupcake, you will be asleep before we hit the highway.’
I yawned, knowing he wasn’t wrong.
CHAPTER 31
MATT
So much for my grand fucking gesture. I bet I was the only schmuck who’s landed his sorry ass in jail by trying to be romantic and winning a girl over.
I had agreed with my siblings to give up five years to their cause. I thought my time would be spent married to Jessa, not behind bars. The plan seemed flawless. I couldn’t figure out where it went wrong, and I haven't been able to talk to my siblings for the past two years outside the messages relayed by my shitty lawyer. Since the morning the detective showed up at the condo, I’d been watched.
&
nbsp; Taking a piss.
Having a shit.
Showering.
Fuck, I couldn’t even masturbate without my cellmates getting off too.
Prison wasn’t for me. I doubted it was for anyone, but it especially wasn’t for me. Two years I’d been behind bars. Two years I’d been racking my mind over what the fuck happened that night.
I was being set up, I had always known that much, and my siblings thought so too. But there was no way Jessa could have known about the yacht, it was a surprise. All I told her was I was taking her away for two nights. The police did a thorough investigation, all the information and evidence collected, my lawyer had access to. Jessa clearly hadn’t taken anything off the boat with her, nor from her home as her passport remained in her bedroom at the summer house; yet, my siblings didn’t find any of the fake ones in the condo—the ones I had made for her, or the ones for myself either.
My siblings were determined to get to the bottom of this. It was possible that someone was trying to retaliate and send us a message, however, we weren’t able to pinpoint anyone specific. We’d pissed people off in the past, but not to this extent. At least, not that we could remember. They hired a private investigator, and the only lead led them to Bermuda. Which made sense, as I had a Bermudian identity made for her. But after two weeks on the island, my sister, brother and the private investigator were no further ahead. The one lead they had did not match the description of Jessa.
It was clear someone had found out about the documents, as nothing else seemed to be stolen from my apartment. Someone had come to my house knowing they were there. Specifically, they had to have known about where I was keeping them hidden, which was worrying. I was either being monitored without my knowledge, or one of my siblings had been in on it.
The only explanation I could come up with on my own was the identities were stolen over the weekend I was away, sold and used immediately—as her description didn’t match anyone the bank manager or custom agents had seen.
All this time, I was having a hard time trying to accept that I had either killed her, she took her own life, had an accident, or one of the crew had gotten away with murder.