Sweet Vengeance Read online

  That answered that question.

  “Maybe I’ll meet her. You know, someday, if I come back to work.”

  “Highly probable if you ask me. Lee Whitlow is the best of the best, Tessa. He wouldn’t have taken on your case if he didn’t believe there was a good chance of seeing you exonerated. How about I make us a cup of coffee, then we can talk about what you should expect when it’s time for trial, among other things.”

  She nodded. “Coffee sounds good. I hope it’s not instant.” She hated the bitter, watered-down version they tried to pass off as coffee in prison.

  “I wouldn’t do that to you. I had Darlene order a Keurig, too. While it’s not a French press, it’s decent.”

  “What is a ‘Keurig’? I have been out of the . . . loop.”

  “Sorry. It’s a coffeemaker that brews one cup at a time. You put these little pods in.” He removed a box from the cupboard. “Here, and press a button.”

  Tessa watched as the machine did its magic in a minute. “Impressive.”

  He made a second cup for himself. “You need cream or sugar?”

  “Black is fine.”

  “My kinda girl.”

  His kind of girl? Why did he continue to drop hints like that? Was she imagining things? Probably, she thought. It had been a long time since she had been on the receiving end of any male attention.

  “Tessa?” Sam asked. “You want to sit outside?” He handed her the cup.

  Not really, she thought, but she had to start somewhere. It wasn’t going to make things any easier if she continued to hide inside the house. “On the dock?” she asked. Away from the pool.

  “We can watch the sun go down,” Sam said. “No media, hopefully.”

  Tessa thought it best to keep her thoughts to herself where the gentle people of the press were concerned. Had she not feared the repercussions on her daughters of the media attention sure to come when she went to the police, so that she set off running to San Maribel, her life would have been quite different. Screw the media. Maybe they were watching her now, taking her picture with a telephoto lens, and her picture would be plastered on the front page of the San Maribel News Press tomorrow. Her release was sure to be front-page news.

  Sure that he was simply trying to make her first day of freedom as relaxing as possible, given the circumstances, she forced herself to follow him through the large glass doors and out to the dock. Media or no media, dammit, this was still her home, and she had every right in the world to walk outside. The ankle monitor was cumbersome, but she assured herself she had to get used to it.

  The blue water of the ocean beckoned her, the briny scent bringing back memories of good times spent boating with Joel and the girls. Surprisingly, there were no tears at this memory, and that encouraged her. She would need to be rigid as hell if she was to get through the upcoming trial. More so if she was convicted a second time.

  Lounge chairs were placed on the large dock area, along with side tables. Sam motioned for her to sit. She put her coffee on the table, then reclined in the plush cushions. Surreal came to mind. Yesterday, she had been in a prison cell, and look at her now. Enjoying an almost God-like—no it was God-like—view of the magnificent sunset. One of her favorite features of the island had always been the lighthouse perched on the very edge of the rocky shore. She had a perfect view of it from the dock, a tall spire framed against the wide sky. Looking at the familiar sight once more, she gave up a silent prayer, thankful for this moment and the opportunities facing her.

  She took a sip of her coffee. “This is good stuff, Sam, very good stuff.” Coffee had never tasted this good before.

  “There is more where that came from,” Sam said. “Tessa, I know the next few weeks aren’t going to be easy for you. Lee and his team will be here tomorrow afternoon to start prepping you for a trial. I have contacted Harry Mazza. His team is the best in the state. He’s quite familiar with your case. They’ll be here first thing in the morning to begin their investigation. Are you good with this?”

  She drained the last of her coffee. “Of course I am. I’d be an idiot not to be. But I really don’t think they’re going to find anything.” Tessa paused, remembering the watch she had found. “Sam, there were some items in one of the boxes I went through. I’m not sure if I should even be telling you this since it’s probably nothing.”

  “Let me decide,” Sam said, all trace of his former, relaxed self now gone.

  “I found a watch, a checkbook, and some office items.” She hesitated, sure that she was making too much out of what she had found. Overreacting.

  “Those were items I packed away when I emptied out Joel’s desk at the office,” Sam said. “There were five or six boxes if I remember correctly. What did you find that’s bothering you?”

  Taking a deep breath, Tessa felt foolish. “A wristwatch. I’m sure it’s one that must have belonged to Joel, but I do not remember ever seeing it before.”

  “I don’t understand. Joel always wore a watch. Kind of obsessive about punctuality.”

  “He was. Come inside. I want you to see for yourself.” Tessa slid out of the chair, picked up her cup, and headed toward the house. She tried to avoid looking at the elaborate pool area, but it was nearly impossible. She sneaked a look as she entered through the screened-in area. Images of that day filled her mind, but she hurried inside and ran upstairs, with Sam close behind.

  “Damn, Tessa. You’re in shape. I can hardly keep up with you,” Sam said.

  She took the Ziploc bag that held the watch and offered it to Sam. “Look at this, then tell me what you think.”

  Sam reached in the bag.

  “Wait!” She searched the room. “Sam, give me back the bag.”

  “Okay,” he said, quickly handing it back to her.

  As she had done before, she used the tail of her shirt to demonstrate to Sam how to remove the watch from the bag. “Don’t touch it directly, Sam.”

  He nodded, and as she had done, he used the tail of his pale green shirt to remove the watch from the Ziploc bag. He walked across the room to the window, just as she had done earlier. The sun had set, leaving the room in pale pink shadows.

  “Let’s go in another room,” Sam suggested.

  “Not the twins’ rooms!” Tessa shouted.

  “No, the guest room,” Sam said.

  Tessa followed him. Surprised to find the room fully furnished, she assumed this was where Sam would sleep. He turned the bedside lamp on and held the watch where he could see it clearly.

  Tessa could actually see the change in him as he fully grasped the watch’s significance.

  “Show me the box where you found this.” Sam was still holding the watch by his shirttail.

  She rushed back to the master bedroom, grabbed the box, and dragged it to the guest room. “It was in here.”

  “Return this to the bag,” Sam instructed. He took a cell phone from his pocket, punched in a number, then walked across the room.

  She assumed he didn’t want her to hear his conversation. It didn’t matter. It was apparent she had been right about the watch.

  “Harry Mazza wants to see the watch, Tessa. He’s coming over right now. You okay about that?”

  “The watch is important?” Tessa asked.

  “Could be. Harry thinks it’s worth taking a look at tonight. Frankly, I’m not sure why he can’t wait until tomorrow, but I have known him too long to question his practices. You were right to bring this to me.” Sam took a deep breath. “Do you remember if Joel was wearing this watch? The day you left? No, forget that. You’ve already told me that you did not remember his ever wearing this watch, correct?”

  She had wracked her brain and simply couldn’t remember. She told that to Sam. “That’s right. Anyway, I was still in shock. The girls told me about Liam on a Wednesday. Joel was in England on business and did not get back until Thursday afternoon. I was so focused on getting them away from the media, I didn’t pay much attention to him. As I said to the police”—s
he hesitated—“the day I left, my focus was on my children. Only two days before, they had told me that their uncle was touching them.” She stopped, closed her eyes. Inhale, exhale. Deep breaths.

  “I was in a stupor. Thinking back, I know I was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but at the time, my main concern was my girls.” Tessa stared at Sam. “How well did you know Liam?”

  “Casually, at best. He wasn’t involved in the day-to-day running of Jamison Pharmaceuticals. In fact, other than taking his share of the profits, he wasn’t involved in the company at all. It wasn’t my business.”

  Tessa heard more. “You didn’t like Liam, did you?”

  Sam sat on the edge of the bed. “Liam was a trust-fund baby. I have never had respect for anyone, male or female, who doesn’t have a work ethic. Liam was a nice enough guy, I suppose, but I never thought there was much depth to him. Does this mean I didn’t like him?” Sam shook his head as though answering his own question. “I never knew him well enough to decide one way or the other.”

  “I never liked him. There was just something about him. I could never put a name to it, it was just a feeling. He always made me uneasy. I always felt as though he looked down on me. That he considered himself superior in some way,” Tessa said. “He was aware of my background, and I always believed he thought I married Joel for his wealth the way his mother had married Grant for his money. Joel believed the same thing about Liam’s mother.” She sat next to Sam but made sure there was enough space between them.

  “Superior. A good description,” Sam agreed.

  “Did he date, or have a girlfriend?” She knew Sam would understand why she asked this.

  “I always had the impression he was somewhat of a ladies’ man,” Sam replied.

  Tessa leaned down and adjusted her slacks. The ankle monitor caught on the material. “This is a pain, but in a good way.”

  “Tessa, what do you want to know? I’ll be as honest and up-front with you as I can be, but if you don’t ask, I can’t help.”

  So she was transparent, she thought as she turned to face Sam. “This is disgusting, but I’ll ask anyway. Did he ever strike you as a pedophile? Would you have suspected him of . . . doing what he did to my girls.”

  “No.”

  “How can you say that and sound so sure if you didn’t really know him? I don’t understand.”

  “He did not strike me as a creepy pervert. Maybe a male whore, but I never had weird vibes in the sense that you’re asking. I wish I could be more concrete in my assessment of the guy, but you asked.”

  She nodded. She had never picked up on any oddities in Liam, either. She didn’t like him. Why? He’d been arrogant. A show-off. Cocky. Too handsome in her opinion. But like Sam, she had not picked up on anything twisted about him. At least where . . . children were concerned. And when she actually thought about him in relation to Piper and Poppy, he genuinely seemed to care about them. In the true sense an uncle would. She had never seen the girls’ behavior change when he was around. If anything, they were more playful and outgoing when Liam came to the house. It made no sense. Tessa always reasoned that’s how these sick-ass people worked. No one would suspect them—Liam—of being a child molester.

  A loud banging from downstairs sent her to her feet.

  “That would be Harry. A bull in a china shop,” Sam observed, as they headed downstairs with the watch.

  “Wait!” Tessa said, and ran back up the stairs. She grabbed the other bag with the checkbook and ran back downstairs in under a minute. “He might want to see this as well,” she said, a bit winded. “It’s a checkbook. I didn’t know Joel had a personal account.”

  Sam took the bag from her.

  Another loud bang from the front door.

  “Stay here,” Sam said. “I’m sure the media hounds are out there just waiting to get a glimpse of you.”

  Tessa nodded.

  She did not want her face made public yet.

  Chapter 10

  Harry Mazza was the spitting image of what one would describe as a science nerd. Black horn-rimmed glasses, brown hair a bit too long and in need of combing, untucked pale blue dress shirt, and wrinkled slacks. Tessa recognized a kindred spirit at once, as she, too, had been a true science nerd in school.

  Sam quickly introduced them.

  “Yeah, good to meet you, lady. Now where’s that watch?” he asked Sam. “I’ll need to send it to the lab tonight.”

  If circumstances had not been so dire, Tessa would have laughed at Harry Mazza. He had no manners whatsoever. But circumstances were dire and no laughing matter.

  Sam handed Harry the Ziploc bag with the watch in it, along with the bag containing the checkbook. Harry, in turn, took a blue glove from his pocket, snapped it on his right hand, then removed the watch from the bag. He inspected it for several minutes, then took a small magnifying glass from another pocket. Taking his time, he inspected the watch at some length. “I’m going to make an educated guess here, but unless I am mistaken, this watch received a hard blow that made it stop. I can’t be one hundred percent sure until we examine it at the lab, but that’s my gut impression.”

  Tessa looked at Sam, then at Harry. “With all due respect, Mr. Mazza, that can’t be right. Sam took that watch from Joel’s desk after . . . after his death.”

  “Could be, but until we examine it in the lab, I’m sticking to what my gut says. That watch stopped when it was hit or dropped.”

  “Sam?” Tessa looked to him for an explanation.

  “I’m not an expert in forensics. As Harry says, let’s wait until it’s properly examined.”

  Tessa walked into the kitchen, not caring that it was rude. What Harry Mazza implied could not be possible. Sam found that watch at the office in Joel’s desk. After his death. And the watch had stopped on Saturday, when she was already in San Maribel, and according to the evidence introduced at the trial, the murder had occurred on Friday, before she had gone to San Maribel. Sam had to be mistaken. He’d said there were five or six boxes from Joel’s office. She needed to find them and search for the watch that Sam had actually found in Joel’s desk. A stopped watch with the date of her family’s murder was impossible; it literally could not have been in Joel’s desk.

  Sure that Sam was mistaken, she returned to the living room, where the two men were deep in conversation. She doubted they’d even registered that she had left the room.

  “Excuse me,” she said. “Sam, where are the other boxes you took from Joel’s office? Nothing has been marked.”

  “I brought all the boxes here. Right after the trial, a month or so, if memory serves me correctly. I’m sure I labeled them.”

  “No, you couldn’t have. None of the boxes I searched had any type of writing on them. To be frank, I found it odd they weren’t labeled.”

  Sam looked perplexed.

  Harry peered out the front window. “I’m leaving. The mob looks like it’s calling it a night out there. You need to get some security, Sam.”

  “I did, Harry. I’m not that dense,” Sam added. “Just get this to your lab and let me know the results as soon as you can. I’m guessing we have six to eight weeks before the trial.”

  “I’ll have it long before then. I’ll send my crew out first thing in the morning, but I don’t want the media crawling around while they work. It distracts them, and as you well know, it only takes one little distraction to throw an entire case down the tubes.” Harry held Sam’s gaze.

  “I understand,” Sam stated. “Thank you for coming over so quickly. Tessa’s very grateful, too.” He turned to look at her, raised his brows, and nodded in Harry’s direction.

  “Oh, of course. I am very thankful. It’s very kind of you to battle your way through that.” Tessa directed her gaze to the window.

  “I’ll see you two later,” Harry said, then let himself out.

  Sam locked the door as soon as he left.

  “What security?” Tessa asked. “You said nothing to me about securit
y. Is Cal your security?”

  “Part of it. Tessa, surely you didn’t think I wouldn’t take precautions for your safety? You’re major news, and there are those out there who disagree vehemently with the court’s decision to let you out on bond, no matter how high.”

  “There is more than Cal?” This news could ruin her plans. She had not given security the first thought, which showed just how poor her planning was, though she had yet to actually act on her so-called plans, if you could call what she had been pondering plans at this stage. This news of security shed a whole new light on everything she had hoped to accomplish over the next few weeks.

  “Of course there is more than Cal. He is just one man. We have hired some of the best in the business. Lee and I discussed this and agreed it was best for your safety.”

  “And neither of you thought to inform me?”

  “Does it really matter? You want to be safe? Do you want to enjoy your freedom once the trial is over?” Sam was pissed; she knew, but couldn’t care less.

  “You and Lee are too confident, Sam. I don’t like that at all. I know you’re full of good intentions, but it would have been decent of you to consult with me first.”

  “We had your best interest in mind. I never thought extra security would be an issue with you. And I still do not see why it is.” He paused. “Unless you have plans I’m not aware of?”

  She sat down on the bottom step, needing to compose herself and put her game face on. Maybe she needed to come clean with Lee. After all, he was her attorney, and they were legally bound to silence. No, she couldn’t tell him of her plan. She knew from being surrounded with jailhouse “lawyers” that if your attorney knew you were about to commit a crime, he or she was legally bound to report you to the authorities.

  “Tessa, why don’t you tell me the reason you’re objecting to your own safety? I hope you’re not planning something foolish.”

  If he only knew the visions that had gone through her mind the past two months since learning of her new trial. With an unlimited amount of money at her disposal, all she needed to do was put the right people on her payroll, and she would see to it that justice was served. Liam Jamison could not have fallen off the face of the earth. There were ways to locate those who didn’t want to be located. This was one of the many lessons she had learned while in prison. It was one hell of a place for rehabilitation, she always thought. She heard of ways to get around the criminal justice system and not get caught, though considering from whom she was hearing about it, they obviously weren’t foolproof. If they were, she would not be hearing it from people in prison.