“Really?” Rosa asked, amazement in her voice.
“It’s very possible you won’t even have to testify,” Jill said, turning to look at Tessa.
“She’s right, but as Sam and Lee said, there are no guarantees. I’m only here now because of a new ruling by the Florida Supreme Court. If there is no new, convincing, provable evidence, I will return to prison and serve out the remainder of my three life sentences.”
“I stand behind what I saw. I am not quite sure how the court works. I have always been told to tell the truth. This one time in my life, I ran like a coward. About that, you were absolutely right. I will tell the court the truth about that, too. But I cannot lie about what I saw, Miss Tessa. I know it was Mr. Joel I saw running from the house. I worked for you and him for ten years. There is no way I could mistake anyone else for him. I don’t understand, uh . . . the circumstantial way so much, but I understand truth.”
Sam came back into the room. “Lee has arranged for a polygraph tomorrow morning, as soon as his meeting with Rachelle is over. He couldn’t give me an exact time but wanted me to ask Rosa if she would be willing to wait in his office.”
“I will do what I must. I have told Miss Tessa and Miss Jill that I will tell my story. I will tell exactly what I saw that horrible day.”
Rosa seemed to have a newfound confidence. Why, no clue, but Tessa wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing given what she said she had witnessed. There was no way it could be possible, but if it’s what she believed, and if the DA thought it worthwhile, then so be it. But even if the DA did not believe what she says she saw, the fact that it was Saturday and her family was still alive meant that she could not have been the killer and the state’s case was impossible since it relied upon the deaths having occurred on Friday, not Saturday or later.
She was so very tired, mentally and emotionally. At this point, all she wanted to do was right the wrongs of the past, and if it took an insane story by her former housekeeper to convince the DA and the judge that there was new evidence that meant she could not have killed her family, then it is what it is.
Chapter 23
Sam arranged for Cal to take Rosa home and remain near her house for the rest of the night in case she decided to take a sudden trip. He would remain there until it was time for him to take her to Lee’s office the following morning. Of course, Sam didn’t mention the surveillance part to Rosa.
“I hope she doesn’t climb out the window,” Jill said. “Though I am convinced she thinks she saw Joel. I don’t understand, but if she did see the . . . bodies, then this could be her way of coping. People are unique in finding ways to cope when they have been traumatized. It’s my professional opinion this is what Rosa has been doing all these years to cope with her guilt.”
“She seems so damned sure of what she saw. We all know it’s impossible. I don’t know if we, Lee and his team, will be able to convince her that she could not have seen what she says she saw. Sam,” Tessa asked, “what do you make of her story?”
He rubbed the dark stubble on his cheeks. “She’s convinced she saw what she says she did. She thinks she saw Joel, so it might be something worth checking into.”
“You’re not serious, I hope,” Tessa barked.
“I am very serious, Tess. Tomorrow, we’ll have more to work with. Harry’s put the rush on the DNA, so we will have physical evidence if we can get a match on the bones. And remember the watch. Harry was able to get DNA from that as well.”
“And we all know Joel’s DNA will be on his watch. I can’t see how that is going to prove anything other than that the watch belonged to him.”
“It’s not the DNA so much but the time the watch stopped, the date. And where and when the watch was located. I packed that myself, so I can testify to that if it comes down to it, but personally, neither Lee nor I think this will ever hit the courtroom a second time. Michael Chen is an ass, but for an ass, he’s actually pretty smart. If his big, history-making case turns out to be a disaster, as it will since the victims were still alive after you had arrived in San Maribel, he’ll find a way to use it to his advantage. Lee seems to believe he’s going to make a run for governor.”
“Sam, do you think Rosa is telling the truth? You said you packed Joel’s watch yourself. It was in his desk. This was after his death. How do you explain that?”
Sam took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t.”
“So what exactly does this mean? I know I’m wiped out, and you are as well, but I don’t think any of us actually believes that Joel put that watch in his desk for you or anyone else to find. Given the significance of the date and time, it’s impossible.”
Tessa was so mentally drained, it was becoming hard for her to apply reason and logic to the facts as they were becoming available to them.
“You’re probably right, Tess. But right now, I’m virtually certain that Lee can get your case tossed out; meanwhile, we will continue to dig deeper into what we
