Sweet Vengeance

by Fern Michaels

  “Thanks, Sam. Really. I don’t know what I did to deserve your devotion, and all of this.” She gestured to the car, her clothes. “I don’t know if I can ever repay you.” Financially, of course, she could and she would. That part was easy, but there was no price for gratitude.

  “You have thanked me enough. Wait until your new trial is over or the case against you dismissed, and maybe then you’ll have something to really thank me for.”

  A warning voice sounded in her head. What did he mean? Did he expect something more? She needed to clear this up now.

  “Sam, I’m not interested in—”

  “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. If you’re proved innocent, that’s what I meant. You can thank me then. For that only. Nothing more, Tessa. Joel was my friend. I . . . you know what I mean.”

  Not really. It wasn’t as though they’d been in constant contact since her imprisonment. Yes, he was in charge of Jamison Pharmaceuticals; after all, he was the CEO, and he gave Lara what she needed, but she really didn’t know Sam well. Yes, he’d been good friends with her husband, but that had been their friendship, not hers.

  Uncomfortable silence, then Tessa said, “My social graces need polishing. It’s going to take a while for me to get used to this.” She looked out the passenger window. “My last car ride was to prison. This is all so . . . unexpected. You just keep on doing what you have been doing, and I plan to take one day at a time.”

  “Good plan,” Sam agreed.

  Thirty minutes later, they were driving up Alligator Alley, which was what the locals called I-75. Because of the many accidents that had been caused by the gators in the nearby swamps coming onto the highway, not to mention the endangered Florida panther, the roadside had been fenced off. Not, everyone understood, to protect the drivers, but rather to protect the wildlife. Tessa had always been afraid to travel this desolate road, and now some of the old panic of her past filled her as she stared out at the nothingness. Dried grass, swamps. It wasn’t the sunny Florida of postcards and sandy beaches.

  “I have never liked this part of Florida,” she said.

  “Not much to like,” Sam commented.

  For the next hour, they rode in silence, both of them thinking their own thoughts. Tessa was glad. It would take time to absorb her new reality. People seemed different, and uncaring, at least the few she had had contact with. She had always been the caring type, wanting to make things right for those around her. In doing so, she had ruined so many lives. It had cost her everything that was dear to her.

  Wanting to know but afraid to ask, she wondered what kind of changes had been made to her home on the island. She had always thought the place was much too extravagant, too flashy. After a few years of living there, she had gotten used to seeing yachts moored in the deep canals, Bentleys and Lamborghinis casually parked in driveways, their owners uncaring of the damage from the brutal sun. Fearful, yet curious, she wanted to focus on anything but the day that her life fell apart. She knew that once she arrived home, she would break.

  Maybe this was all a bad idea. Maybe she should ask the driver to turn around and take her back to the place she had called home for the past ten years. She had accepted the fact the she would spend her life behind bars, and now, this. She was getting a chance to start over, a chance to prove her innocence, and the thought scared her to death. Tessa knew what she would have to do to make things right.

  And she would. In due time.

  Chapter 6

  This was almost worse than prison, almost, she thought, as the obnoxious female deputy adjusted the bracelet on Tessa’s left ankle. Tessa tried to pull her khaki slacks over the giant black ankle bracelet, but they weren’t wide enough. Cuffing her slacks into a pair of makeshift capris, she would have to remember that whatever type of slacks or jeans she was able to get her hands on in the next few days would have to be either flared or boot cut.

  “While you’re wearing the ankle monitor, you must not drink or use drugs; if you leave your assigned area, your monitor will notify authorities; you must pay any and all court costs connected with the use of the ankle bracelet; you must have a job, and you will meet with an officer weekly.” The female deputy recited her spiel with about as much enthusiasm as a dead rat. “Do you understand these terms?”

  What if I said no?

  “Yes,” Tessa said instead. “I understand.”

  “Sign here.” The deputy shoved a clipboard in Tessa’s face.

  Tessa skimmed through the form, stating she was responsible for the care and maintenance of her bracelet.

  “I don’t understand this. What if it breaks?” She returned the clipboard to the woman without signing it.

  “It’s fine, Tessa. It’s just a formality,” Sam said.

  The deputy handed the clipboard back to her. She scanned the paper, then signed and dated it, giving it back to her. “If this thing is faulty through no act of mine, what am I supposed to do?” Tessa directed her question to the deputy.

  “Ain’t no free pass. It means you violated your terms, and you’re going back where you belong.” The deputy smirked.

  Sam held his hand up, preventing Tessa from speaking. “If there is a malfunction in the unit, they’ll issue you another. Isn’t that the correct procedure”—Sam glanced at the name on her badge—“Deputy Pierson?”

  “It depends,” she answered.

  “On what?” Sam asked, his tone sharp, demanding.

  “Ask her,” the deputy said. “She ain’t about to keep that on her leg once she gets to that fancy mansion. It’s all over the news here. I remember you.” She practically spat out the last word.

  “Let’s get out of here before I break the law,” Sam said, giving the deputy a withering look that promised he would not forget how she had behaved and that she had better hope he didn’t use his position in the community to make sure that her career in law enforcement would soon be over.

  Turning his back in disgust on the soon-to-be-unemployed poor excuse of a deputy, Sam took Tessa’s hand and led her out the side entrance, where their SUV waited.

  He opened her door, and she climbed inside, settling in the backseat again. She fastened her seat belt, leaning back in the leather seat, which seemed frivolous now. Being in prison, she had learned that one only needed the barest necessities to live. Even with a fortune at her disposal, Tessa couldn’t see herself as the woman of power and position she had been before. She couldn’t be that woman ever again, and she didn’t want to be.

  “Sorry about her.” Sam turned his head and said as soon as he was seated next to the driver. “Power-hungry. With any luck, she won’t be a deputy much longer.”

  “I’m used to it,” was all Tessa could say.

  “Maybe you can begin to get ‘unused’ to it?” he asked.

  Tessa looked at him, saw he was smiling. “I’m not putting the cart before the horse, Sam. If I have learned anything in the past ten years, it’s to expect nothing. That way, I’ll never be disappointed. Being locked away changes a person. If I’m convicted again, I’ll go quietly. That deputy’s words meant nothing to me.” She had heard so much worse, but she wouldn’t burden Sam with stories of her time in what many called the Big House.

  “Then let’s keep our fingers crossed. Lee Whitlow is one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the country. He will win this, Tessa. I know him. He wouldn’t have taken your case on if he thought there was even the slightest chance of losing. I have been friends with him for years,” Sam continued.

  She had to know. “Why didn’t he step up and take my case in the very beginning?” If he is that good, then why did he wait? she wondered.

  “Lee’s wife, Jen, was undergoing treatment for breast cancer at the time of your trial. He came to me then, knowing Jamison was about to launch a clinical trial of a new breast-cancer drug that has since proved to be promising. Unfortunately, Jen passed before we could get her into the clinical trials. We became even better friends. With my background in law, we ha
d that in common, plus he was interested in Jamison’s clinical trials, at least the cancer trials.”

  That explained all the pink ties he wore. “Poor Lee. I had no idea.”

  “He’s been an avid supporter of cancer research since,” Sam explained.

  “Whatever the reason, I owe him,” Tessa said.

  “We can talk about Lee’s fees later. Your case is the challenge he needs. He’s a powerful man and superb attorney. Wait until you see him in a courtroom. Most jurors hang on his every word.”

  Tessa was only half listening to Sam. They had arrived at the dock and driven onto the ferry now. As they made their way across the bay, she viewed the giant royal palms planted by Thomas Edison in the late 1800s lining the shore of the approaching island. They looked about the same as before, maybe just a bit taller. Most of the finest homes in San Maribel were along the shore. Some of the buildings looked to have been restored, some former homes had been turned into coffee shops, cafés, and high-end boutiques. Not much change. She was glad for that, but as the ferry docked on the shore, on the island on which she and her family had lived, her stomach knotted, and her hands began to shake. This was a bad idea.

  “Sam, can’t I stay at a hotel? I’m not comfortable returning to you know . . . the scene,” she told him.

  He leaned across the front seat and reached for her hand, taking it in his own. “I wish we could, but the judge insisted on your going to your home since you actually own it. I don’t know why. Maybe Chen, who’s district attorney now, put a bug in his ear. He’s a real prize. Still hasn’t learned what deodorant is for, but he’s made a bit of a name for himself. I suspect he’s going to run for governor in the next election.”

  Tessa grimaced. “I remember how disgusting he was. I guess some things never change. I just don’t see how he could influence the judge if that’s what happened.”

  “I don’t know that he did for sure, but he’s very tight with Judge Crider. Having the conviction in one of his most sensational cases overturned solely on the basis of his own conduct and having to retry the matter are bound to cause the man a great deal of concern. Remember, there was not a shred of forensic evidence to tie you to the murders. Despite the weakness of the case against you, he has used it to promote himself in the local halls of power. I’m guessing he is one major pissed-off DA.”

  If Chen’s distress were for any other reason, she might have laughed, but it wasn’t. She had lost her family, and nothing could ever replace them or make it right again, as far as she was concerned. Nothing about what had happened to them or to her as a consequence was at all funny.

  “Trust me, Tessa. You’ll be walking into a completely different home. I think you’ll approve of the changes. Since the crime that took place there brought a lot of reporters and just nosy people in general, I took it upon myself to remove the place that seemed to hold so much mystery.”

  “Why didn’t you ever give me details?” she asked. It wasn’t his place. Even though he’d had power of attorney over her finances, he had not had her permission to remodel the entire house. Yes, he’d mentioned changes, but at the time she had not cared to ask what they were. Now, however, she couldn’t help but be curious.

  “I don’t know. It didn’t seem important at the time. I realize I was wrong not to get your permission for all the remodeling, but as I said, I think you’ll be pleased with the changes made.”

  She had been trying to work up enough courage to ask about her daughters’ bedrooms, but she just couldn’t. There would be time for her to see for herself, and she wanted to be alone when she did. Unsure if Sam had remodeled their rooms, she tried not to think about it. She would find out soon enough.

  As they approached Tessa’s former neighborhood, it was as Sam had expected. Television vans were parked along the road, news crews paced back and forth, cameramen and -women hovered nearby, all hoping to catch the first glimpse of her.

  “Why don’t you drop down so they can’t see you? Since I’m in front with Cal, maybe they’ll focus their attention on me.”

  So the driver actually had a name, she thought as she unfastened her seat belt. She folded herself into a fetal-like position on the floorboard, tucking her head between her knees.

  “Just stay down until I tell you,” Sam instructed. “We’re about to make the turn.”

  “Okay,” she called from her position on the floor in the back.

  She could hear the shouts from the reporters, several tapping on the rear window, all trying to get their attention as they slowly drove through the throngs of people. Reporters, gossipmongers, whoever. She was a damned sideshow at the moment.

  Is this a mistake? Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to this. I’d already accepted my fate, so why chance it now? Too late, she thought as she heard the shouts.

  “Do you think the residents of the island want a child murderer in their neighborhood?”

  “Are you afraid for your safety?”

  “How much did you pay your new witness?”

  Tessa placed her hands over her ears to block out the questions reporters shouted at the vehicle. She had not done this since she was a child.

  “Don’t pay attention to them,” Sam called over his shoulder. Tessa didn’t answer. She just wanted out of the SUV and a few minutes alone; though with Sam acting as her guardian, she wondered if she would ever have a few minutes to herself. For a moment, she wished she were back in the confines of her prison cell, where she had had all the time in the world to herself.

  “People are standing in the street, Tessa. Stay down. Looks as if the entire neighborhood has stepped out for a view. Cal, drive around the block, get out of here, and let’s see if these gawkers are willing to stand outside for a while. If we drive around for half an hour, they’ll get tired of waiting.”

  Tessa heard Sam.

  “The only way out of this neighborhood is the way we came in. Go to the house, please. I can’t put this off forever,” Tessa said. “And I’m getting up. My back isn’t used to this.” She got off the floor, then scooted onto the middle seat. “Go to the house, Cal. I want to get this over with.”

  And she did. What had she expected? This had been a major news story; her release, albeit temporary, was a big deal. People liked to gossip, and her return to the exclusive neighborhood was going to bring a lot of nutcases out of the cracks.

  “Sam?” Cal inquired.

  “Go to the house. Tessa’s right. There’s no point trying to avoid the neighbors,” Sam said. “She’ll have to face them sooner or later.”

  “Sam, stop talking like I’m not here.”

  “Sorry, I just want to make this as easy as possible.” Sam did sound a little bit contrite.

  “I know, and I do appreciate it. But I’m not a delicate little flower. I know people are curious. This was a tight-knit community once upon a time, though I’m not sure that it still is. Many of the people who lived here were snowbirds, and I barely knew them. I’ll be fine.”

  “I know you will,” Sam responded.

  As they were driving through her former neighborhood, she could not help but think that this was the place where her girls had spent their entire lives, where they’d celebrated birthdays, had pool parties, where they’d all lived out their lives as a family. Tears filled her eyes when they made the turn onto Dolphin Drive. Several people stood on their professionally manicured lawns as though a circus had come to town, and they were waiting patiently to see the star performer show up.

  What had she expected? A welcome home party? Homemade casseroles? An offer to house-sit when she returned to prison?

  She tried to keep her focus on the back of the front seat, but her eyes kept darting to the people who came out to witness her homecoming.

  “This was expected,” Sam said, and nodded to the small groups gathered around the gates to the private entrance of her former home. “Take a deep breath, Tessa.”

  She nodded but said nothing. Cal punched in the code and the gates swung open. Mor
e shouting could be heard as the gates closed behind them. He drove slowly up the drive, and what she had expected to see wasn’t there.

  Her memory of her former home had been erased. Gone were the eight full-grown coconut palm trees that had flanked the driveway, the emptiness obvious as there were no plants or shrubs replanted in their place. The outside of the house, formerly a soft antique white, had been painted a pale blue. Black shutters had been added, and it appeared as though the glass in the windows had been replaced with something darker, possibly to prevent anyone brave enough to chance a glimpse inside. The automatic garage door opened, and Cal pulled the SUV into the garage. Before she could slide across the seat, the giant door closed, blocking her view of the other changes made to the exterior of the house.

  Tessa opened her door and stood next to the vehicle. Waiting. Cal remained in the SUV, and Sam was at her side before she even gave him a thought. This was all so familiar, yet odd. Four cars could fit in the garage along with a million other things, yet it was empty. Hollow. Like her.

  Had she expected to see Poppy’s and Piper’s bicycles leaning next to the door that led to the kitchen? Hers and Joel’s, too? The crates of toys she had stacked neatly against the wall ready to be donated to charity? She saw nothing remotely familiar. As though the life she had shared with her husband and daughters had been totally and completely wiped away. Like a stain. One minute it was visible, then, with the swipe of time, gone.

  Only memories remained.

  Images flashed before her. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, trying to block them out, as they were not memories of their life as a happy family.