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”—she 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
