Lee scribbled something on his legal pad, then asked Rosa, “Did you plan on changing your normal cleaning routine that day or was it spontaneous?”
She looked to Tessa, then Jill as though they had answers. Tessa was not going to help in making this easier for her, and neither was Jill.
“I don’t understand,” Rosa stated.
“When you headed upstairs while the girls were eating breakfast, was it your intention to strip the beds first?”
“Yes, yes, it was.”
“And all of a sudden, out of the blue, you’re in Mr. and Mrs. Jamison’s bedroom and decide to do the toilets first? You don’t know why? You had a sudden change of mind for no reason at all?”
Rosa seemed confused. “I don’t know, I just decided to do the bathrooms. That is all I can tell you.”
Lee made another note on his legal pad. Tessa watched Rosa and could see that the woman was nervous, uncomfortable at being questioned so closely.
“Okay, you had a change of mind. I’ll accept that. Do you recall how much time you took cleaning the bathrooms?”
“Maybe fifteen minutes. I only did the toilets. Not the showers, tubs, or floors.”
“Okay, you finished the bathrooms. Walk me through your next round of duties,” Lee instructed. He was relaxed, and Tessa could see that he was in his element questioning Rosa. She could only imagine the effect he’d have on a jury while questioning or cross-examining a witness.
With all eyes focused on her, Rosa adjusted her position, her rigid stance slackening. She tucked stray hairs back into her bun. “I went to Poppy’s room first. She is, was very particular about her bedroom. She always helped me to clean. That morning, she had made her bed, so I didn’t want to undo her work, so I decided I would change her bed the next day. I went to Piper’s room and stripped her bed.”
Lee held up a hand. “Stop for a minute.”
Rosa nodded.
“Did you replace the sheets on Piper’s bed then or later?”
“Then. I remember I used the lavender sheets. They were her favorite. She liked all shades of purple.”
Tears filled Tessa’s eyes as she listened to Rosa talk about her daughters and their likes and dislikes.
“What did you do after that?” Lee asked.
Rosa appeared troubled at the question. Her eyes downcast, she picked at her nails. “I was going to change the linens in the master bedroom, but when I went into the hall, I heard voices downstairs. Very loud voices. Angry-sounding voices.”
Tessa’s heart rate sped up and skipped a beat. She leaned in to hear Rosa’s next words.
“Go on,” Lee encouraged.
“They were yelling, the men, and it frightened me. I had never heard Mr. Jamison scream and carry on like he was. I called Roberto, my brother, from the portable phone he had brought me that day. I asked him to come back right away. I did not want to stay at the house. I wanted to go home so I did not have to listen to the men hollering. I was scared stiff.”
Men? Tessa was shocked.
“You say ‘men.’ How many?” Lee asked.
“Two. At first,” Rosa said, “Then Mr. Jamison . . . he just stopped yelling. The other man stopped, too. I heard a loud, very fast banging on the front door. That is when the yelling stopped. I waited because I thought that Mr. Jamison and the other man are arguing about business and have forgotten that they are not at his office. I wanted to check on the girls, so I went downstairs.” Rosa hesitated and looked at Tessa. “I stopped when I heard the other man.”
“Why? Did you know this other man?” Lee asked her. “What made you stop, and where exactly were you?”
“I was there.” She pointed to the bottom of the stairs. “The wall that used to be there blocked the view from the kitchen, where I heard the voices coming from. I didn’t see the other man. Just heard him, and I had never heard him before.”
“Was this other man in the kitchen?” Lee asked.
“Not at first. I think that Mr. Jamison let him in, then the man followed him back to the kitchen.” Rosa shot a pleading look at Tessa again, as if she were begging for her forgiveness.
“Where were the girls during this argument?”
“I think they were still in the kitchen at that point.”
“So, the girls are in the kitchen, presumably having their cereal, their father is screaming at one man, then another knocks on the front door, Mr. Jamison answers it, invites this strange man into the house, and this third man then follows him back to the kitchen, where the first two men continue to yell and argue? Would you agree that this statement is accurate?” Lee looked at Tessa and gave a slight nod.
Tessa was trying very hard to keep her emotions under control and not react. Lee had obviously sensed this. It was all she could do to remain seated. She wanted to strangle Rosa, wanted to shake her until she . . . what? Tessa took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It would not be a good idea to lose her temper at this point.
“Yes, that is a true statement,” Rosa agreed.
“Did you recognize the two men, or at least their voices? Had you ever heard them before that day?” Lee continued with his questions while they waited.
Rosa nodded. “I knew the younger man, Mr. Jamison’s brother, Liam. He was in the kitchen with Mr. Jamison when the other man knocked on the front door.”
“What did I tell you!” Tessa shot off her chair. “That worthless son of a bitch killed my family! I want him found now. I don’t give a good rat’s ass how much it costs or what you have to do to find him!”
“Tess, calm down.” Sam reached her in three giant steps and wrapped his arms around her. “This isn’t going to help us right now. Give us a minute, okay?” Sam tossed over his shoulder as
