“I could never bring myself to destroy this part of the property. It’s always been in the back of my mind that the day would come when a second look was needed. Something in my gut told me to hold off,” Sam said.
Tessa didn’t understand. “Is there some new evidence you know about that I don’t, besides Rosa?” She knew that with today’s forensics, the possibility of new evidence was not at all unreasonable. There had been dozens of cases where evidence from as far back as fifty or more years had exonerated those who were innocent. Or, as with some arson convictions, even established that no crime had been committed in the first place. She didn’t believe there was any actual physical evidence that could change the outcome of her case, but she admitted to herself that she was not an expert in that area. She was innocent, but a jury of her peers had convicted her of three counts of murder in the first degree. Understandably, she did not have much faith in the criminal justice system.
Sam turned to face her. “I don’t think so, but I can’t be one hundred percent certain. I didn’t want to take the chance in case there was any.”
“You should have destroyed the entire grounds,” she said, motioning to the pool area. “It’s the one area that I would have wanted demolished.” She could hear the frustration in her voice, the sheer inconceivableness of Sam’s lack of forethought. Screw evidence. There was nothing to find.
“I’m sorry, Tessa. I . . . I simply do not agree,” was all he said.
She took a deep breath, gazed at the unfamiliar shoes she wore, the new leather waiting for her to break in. She removed them and the footies she was wearing. She had not worn a normal shoe in years.
“You hate the shoes?” Sam asked.
“No,” she quickly said. “It’s just that my feet feel confined. It’s been a while. It’ll take time for me to get used to . . . this.” She pointed at the shoes and the ankle monitor. “Flip-flops and socks in prison. What we were allowed to wear. No sneakers. The shoelaces could be used as a weapon, or”—and she had thought of this more than once—“a means of taking one’s own life.”
“Damn,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “I didn’t think. I’m sorry. For all of this.” He gestured toward the pool area. “If you’re okay with it, I can see that it’s . . . filled in.”
What if there was evidence that the police had missed? Having no clue what could have escaped their eagle eye, and remembering that to her way of thinking there really had been nothing one could call an investigation since they had decided she was guilty from the get-go, she couldn’t really disagree with Sam’s decision just yet. The memories would be with her no matter what was present beyond the wide expanse of windows. Her memory of what she had found in that pool could never be erased.
“No. Leave it as it is. For now. I’m not saying I believe there is still evidence, and even if there is, how are you going to go about your . . . search?”
“You’re the sole owner of a giant pharmaceutical company with connections to forensic specialists across the country. I can get the ball rolling or not. Your call.”
Should she? She hated to get her hopes up, but at this point, what did she have to lose? She had already lost everything that mattered to her. “Go ahead, do whatever you have to do.”
“Are you sure?” Sam asked. “I know this isn’t what you had in mind when you came home, but I just couldn’t bring myself to destroy . . . the pool area.”
She didn’t tell him that it would have been the first area she would have chosen to destroy had she been given the opportunity, but that was the past, and the past was prologue. And in her case, it was all she had to cling to—her entire life of happy memories resided here in this house. “Just do whatever you have to. I don’t want to know the results unless they provide some new . . . lead.” She could not bring herself to use the word evidence again.
“All right, I’ll get started first thing tomorrow,” Sam promised. “Or I can start right now. You’re the boss,” he said, then added, “I’ll make sure Lee is on board before I call in the big guns.”
She rolled her eyes. “I think tomorrow is soon enough. I need some time to get used to all this.” She motioned with her hand to the space in front of her. “Freedom. Temporary, I know.” Suddenly changing the topic, she said, “I want to see Lara. Does she know about my release?”
“I told her when I spoke to her last week.”
For a brief moment, Tessa’s heart lightened, but then she realized that her sister was basically nothing more than a complete stranger to her now and had been for many years before now. Why the hurry to reunite, to bring up bad memories and broken promises of the past? she thought, but kept it to herself. “And?” she coaxed.
“She told me she would call when she could,” Sam informed her.
Tessa nodded but remained quiet, wondering exactly what Lara was up to that would prevent her from making a simple phone call. Eventually, she would have to
