Sam turned around in the front seat to face her. “That’s pretty much the point. While you aren’t going to have prison bars around you, you won’t be able to come and go, at least not until after a trial or the charges against you are dismissed.”
“Of course, I know that, but it still doesn’t keep me from thinking it’s barbaric. What happens if you remove it?”
“Tessa, that’s not—”
“I know, Sam. But humor me. I am just curious. What would happen if it were removed?”
“First, you’d need a massive pair of cutters to remove it, which would then send a high-frequency signal to a receiver. A phone rings, and whoever is in charge contacts the proper authorities, and they begin a search for you. If you leave it on, you’re fine. As long as you don’t leave your assigned area without permission, you won’t have a problem, but they can track your every movement if you do since it’s equipped with a GPS. Just so you know.” He was dead serious.
“Of course I wouldn’t dare remove it. I realize it’s what I have to do until after the trial. I’m fine with it, Sam. Really,” she added, and gave him a halfhearted smile.
“I know. I’m sorry it has to be this way.”
“Me, too, but it’s okay. Really.” She had not asked Sam why he’d brought her case to Lee Whitlow, but now she needed to know. “Why did you go to all this trouble? Bringing my case to Lee?”
Sam rubbed the bridge of his nose, then raked a hand through his hair. “Because you’re innocent.”
Not sure of what to say, she said nothing. No one had ever said these words to her. At least not as directly.
“Does Rosa’s story have anything to do with your belief in my innocence?” Tessa asked. Since learning about Rosa’s story, she was sure this had influenced Lee and his team probably even more than the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling.
“No. I have never doubted your story,” Sam stated. “No one in their right mind could do . . . you would never have harmed your girls, or Joel. I know that, Tessa. I have always known that. But I was never called as a witness.”
“I don’t think your testimony would have changed anything. There wasn’t any evidence that required your testimony. In fact, when you get down to it, there really was no evidence against me at all.”
“I could have vouched for your character,” Sam said. “Not that it would have mattered. The district attorney had his eye on you from the beginning. Any evidence that could have turned their investigation around, they simply ignored. If Rosa had not decided to speak up, they would have fought like cats and dogs against your being released even now. I seriously doubt that they even care whether or not you are guilty. All they care about is not having their precious theory shown to be the garbage it is and always has been and their utter lack of competence exposed to the world.”
Rosa. Tessa remembered her well. She had been in her early forties when she came to work for them. The girls were four. It was during this time that Tessa had considered going back to work part-time, with the knowledge that both Piper and Poppy adored Rosa, and she loved them in return.
Tessa had spent many sleepless nights pondering her decision. In the end, she had decided to stay home with her girls. Rosa was a great sitter and kept their large home in shipshape order. Tessa had suspected there was more to Rosa, but her being an undocumented worker who had entered Florida illegally had not been anything she suspected back then. Joel had hired her as soon as Tessa gave her seal of approval. He’d personally taken care of the financial side, and Rosa took charge of their home. To think what Rosa might have witnessed blew her away.
“Thanks, Sam. Really. I don’t know what I did to deserve your devotion, and all of this.” She gestured to the car, her clothes. “I don’t know if I can ever repay you.” Financially, of course, she could and she would. That part was easy, but there was no price for gratitude.
“You have thanked me enough. Wait until your new trial is over or the case against you dismissed, and maybe then you’ll have something to really thank me for.”
A warning voice sounded in her head. What did he mean? Did he expect something more? She needed to clear this up now.
“Sam, I’m not interested in—”
“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. If you’re proved innocent, that’s what I meant. You can thank me then. For that only. Nothing more, Tessa. Joel was my friend. I . . . you know what I mean.”
Not really. It wasn’t as though they’d been in constant contact since her imprisonment. Yes, he was in charge of Jamison Pharmaceuticals; after all, he was the CEO, and he gave Lara what she needed, but she really didn’t know Sam well. Yes, he’d been good friends with her husband, but that had been their friendship, not hers.
Uncomfortable silence, then Tessa said, “My social graces need polishing. It’s going to take a while for me to get used to this.” She looked out the passenger window. “My last car ride was to prison. This is all so . . . unexpected. You just keep on doing what you have been doing, and I plan to take one day at a time.”
“Good plan,” Sam agreed.
Thirty minutes later, they were driving up Alligator Alley, which was what the locals called I-75. Because of the many accidents that had been caused by the gators in the nearby swamps coming onto the highway, not to mention the endangered Florida panther, the roadside had been fenced off. Not, everyone understood, to protect the drivers, but rather to protect the wildlife. Tessa had always been
