It was obvious to Tessa that Rachelle hadn’t mentioned Joel in the heavenly sense.
“Tess, Joel’s mother fell down a staircase when he was twelve. There were suspicions back then, but they have never been confirmed.” Sam stood behind her chair and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them in a reassuring way.
“This is all so unbelievable. I don’t know, I didn’t know how his mother died. Joel told me that she had died in a tragic accident; I’m sure those were his words. I guess I just assumed she had died in a car accident or . . . I don’t know what I thought. He never wanted to talk about her. Or about his father.”
“Lee, call me when you have something concrete about this and after this Rosa woman takes and passes the polygraph test. Obviously, if the girls and the adult male were still alive on Saturday, Mrs. Jamison, Tessa, could not have killed them on Friday. I feel like wringing the coroner’s neck for this. Anyway, I’ll keep my word and go to Crider. I’ll let you all solve the family mystery. For now.”
Michael Chen hefted his bulk from the chair, leaned across Lee’s desk, shook his hand, then came up behind Tessa’s chair where Sam stood, and shook his hand, too. Tessa smelled that rotten-onion odor emanating from his body. She wanted to throw up but took several deep breaths as soon as he stepped away.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Lee said before Chen left.
As soon as he was out of the room, Sam spoke. “Does that man ever take a shower?”
“I don’t believe he even knows that they exist,” Darlene said, with a giant grin on her face. “Miss Tessa, I look forward to seeing more of you in the future. Something tells me between Mr. Lee and Sam, you’ll get a second chance. Now, I have just a bit more Christmas shopping to do for those grandsons of mine, so if you all need me, call me on the cell phone. I’ll be at the mall.” With that announcement, Darlene practically floated out of the room.
Tessa was unsure why they’d had the meeting with Chen. What, if anything, had the state gained by her and Rachelle’s conversation? It wasn’t as formal as Lee had expected it to be, that was more than obvious.
But then she realized that before she and Sam arrived, Lee must have told him about Rosa’s story and the polygraph test she was going to take. That is the only way he could know that the people she supposedly murdered on Friday were still alive on Saturday, when she was on the mainland the entire day.
“I have a feeling the second Harry comes up with something ‘concrete,’ as Chen put it, he’ll go to Crider and ask for a dismissal of all charges,” Lee said with a grin.
“But beyond Rosa’s story, we have nothing at this point,” Tessa said, “except for Poppy’s drawings, do we? While I think that’s more than enough to show she was being abused, are you that confident he’ll do what he says?”
“I am,” Lee said. “He’s a big show-off, but his legal career is his life. He would not allow new evidence to go unnoticed.”
“I’m not so sure,” Tessa said. “Remember where I have spent the past ten, almost eleven years? He convicted an innocent woman without even bothering to listen to my story. Why should I or any of you trust him now?”
“She’s right, Lee. He’s a swine,” Sam said.
“In the true sense of the word for sure, but I have a feeling he knows he’s screwed up on this case. Big-time. And in one sense, it might not even be his fault. Yes, the investigation was about as slipshod as one can find. But he is not the person who decided that the murders took place on Friday, when Tessa could have committed them, rather than Saturday, when she could not have. And he is not the one who identified the adult male as Joel.
“He’ll do whatever it takes to make himself out to be a hero, regardless, so I trust he’ll take the evidence provided by Rosa, assuming she passes that polygraph test, and whatever evidence Harry comes up with and, if it’s in our favor, which it has to be, then he’ll be the media’s darling for a few days when word gets out that he’s released an innocent woman and found the real killer. Forget that he is the person responsible for locking Tessa up. He is a manipulator for sure, but I feel good about this.”
Tessa began to object to the assumption seemingly being made that the real killer was Joel but held her tongue. Instead, she asked, “Can we go?”
Then she said, “Rachelle . . .” Tessa never thought in a million years she would say what she was about to say, but she swallowed her past doubts about the woman, and asked, “Why don’t you come back to the house with us? Sam can make us lunch. He makes omelets to die for.”
“That’s a great idea,” Lee said. “I’ll let you know how Rosa’s polygraph turns out. Phil Dormands is the best polygrapher in the state. He should be here soon. I’m sure Cal is tired of babysitting Rosa in the lunchroom.”
“You mean he’s still with her?” Tessa asked in amazement.
“He is,” Lee said.
“Rachelle, are you coming with us?” Sam asked. “We’ll give you a ride.”
Rachelle seemed to be considering the idea but shook her head. “I appreciate the invitation, but I’ll stay at my hotel. It’s just down the block. I don’t want anyone to feel obligated to . . . manage me.”
“I am sincere,” Tessa said. “I don’t believe you could be managed even if I wanted to, which I don’t.”
“Thank you, Tessa, but I want to go back and rest. Maybe another time?”
“All right, but do you mind if I ask you a question before you go?”
“Not at all.”
“Why
