“Nothing yet, but they’re searching the grounds,” Sam said. “So far, there isn’t anything new.”
Sam introduced Lee to Jill, and the well-trained attorney didn’t miss a beat as he acknowledged her with a quick handshake and a very confident smile.
“Tessa, finding the drawings is good for your case. I’m not going to stay now, as I want to get this new information to the DA right away, but I do want to warn you that I have scheduled a meeting with Rosa tonight, eight o’clock, here at your house. I hope I’m not overstepping my boundaries?” Lee explained.
Though Tessa had given him full authority to do whatever he needed, she was surprised at how quickly Lee had arranged the meeting. Using her house as a base for any meeting was for her protection from the media, something that he had told her on his last visit to the prison.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about Rosa’s returning to her home. If it helped locate Liam, or any new evidence to prove her innocence, she would have to deal with the emotional aspect of her housekeeper’s betrayal—her not coming forth before the trial—after she heard what Rosa had to say. According to Lee, Rosa was now a legal resident and no longer feared deportation. She had not asked how that came to be, and truly, she didn’t care. All she wanted to know was what Rosa had witnessed on the day her family was slaughtered.
“No, you’re not overstepping any boundaries. I’m grateful, Lee,” Tessa told him. “If not for you and Sam, I’d still be locked up. I wouldn’t have had this . . . second chance. I’ll meet with Rosa tonight. Actually, I’m anxious to hear what she has to say.”
“Good, then we are all set for this evening. I’ll let you know what the district attorney says as soon as I know something concrete,” Lee said, then headed toward the front door.
“Go out the back,” Sam said. “Those damn newshounds are still hanging around.”
“Good idea. I had to push my way through them just to get past the gates to the community. Let’s not alienate them just yet since we may need to use them to our advantage. I’ll see you all later this evening.”
Lee disappeared through the back door as fast as he’d entered through the front. Tessa saw that the forensic team was still sifting through dirt, digging up the perfectly maintained lawn, searching, for something, anything they deemed possible evidence. She didn’t care if they excavated the entire grounds. Actually, if she were to believe Lee and Sam, and she was exonerated, she planned to demolish this entire house. She would sell the lot and move on with her life, at least as much as she could. It would never be the same, but at least she would be in control of her life again.
“Do you want me here when Rosa shows up?” Jill asked. “It might make things easier. For both of you.”
Unsure, Tessa looked to Sam for direction. “A good idea or not?” she asked.
“Jill knew her, too. It might make it a bit easier, but that’s not my decision to make,” Sam said.
“Stay.” Tessa decided that having Jill present for the interview with Rosa was best for her, and she didn’t care what Rosa felt. Sadly, she had really admired the woman at one time. Enough to leave her in charge of her girls. But knowing she might have been witness to what happened to them and had not gone to the authorities, whether she was in the country legally or not, she no longer felt any such admiration.
“I’m going to call Darlene, so she can start searching for the person who packed up the house. She wasn’t working for Jamison Pharmaceuticals at the time, but she will know how to find out. Be right back,” Sam said, then left her and Jill alone in the kitchen.
Neither woman spoke as they waited to make sure he was out of earshot.
Jill was the first to speak. “Do you trust him?” She nodded toward the living room, where they heard Sam talking in a hushed voice on the phone to someone Tessa presumed was Darlene.
“I do. Very much. He’s a good man. I never really gave him much attention when Joel was alive. Once I left Jamison Pharmaceuticals, my entire focus was on the girls, my family. He had been friends with Joel since college.” Tessa didn’t know why she added that last bit of information, but she needed Jill to know that Sam was legit. Odd that they weren’t familiar with one another as Jill had visited all the time and had attended a few of the dinner parties she had hosted. She felt sure that Sam had been in attendance, too, and probably more than once.
“I think I remember him,” Jill said. “From a party way back in the day. He’s a real hunk, don’t you think?” She grinned. “That’s not very appropriate, Tessa. I’m sorry.”
Tessa thought him quite easy on the eyes, too, as any woman in her their right mind would. Was Jill looking for an introduction? A fix-up? She couldn’t remember if that was the right terminology, but it didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to play matchmaker. Sure that Jill was only trying to lighten the somber atmosphere that hung over all of them, still, Tessa wasn’t sure she liked the idea of Jill and Sam together. As in a couple. He wasn’t Jill’s type. Or was he? She had been away for a very, very
