The Rose That Got Away - Christina C. Jones Page 0,21

see that no one else had.

And even if I did, there wasn’t shit I could prove.

So ultimately, it all boiled down to the fact that we didn’t know if May had killed Tommy Turner or not.

She swore she didn’t, but… she wasn’t exactly the most reliable character.

“Seems like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

I looked up, surprised, as Tamra took a seat next to me, looking and smelling like she was fresh from a shower.

She’d made herself at least somewhat comfortable around here.

Good.

“Well,” I said, giving her my attention, “The woman we set out to protect is now in police custody on murder charges for the man we were supposed to be protecting her from. So I’d say there’s a lot to think about.”

Tamra smirked. “You really think so? Because I am feeling light as a bird. As far as I’m concerned, with everything she’s done to put that little girl in danger, prison is exactly what she deserves. I’m only sorry that Amelia has to suffer.”

Right.

Amelia.

I wasn’t taking this as personally as it seemed Tamra was – I didn’t hold any animosity towards May beyond the obvious.

If I assumed her actions had ill-intent behind them.

Either way though, Amelia was really the primary concern here – none of us wanted to see a little girl grow up without her mother if she didn’t have to.

None of the alternatives – even the latest one – were desirable.

“You know family services is going to turn her over to the wife, right?” I asked Tamra, watching her face for a reaction.

As expected, her brow furrowed, nose wrinkling in distaste. “Seriously? Handing the husband’s illegitimate child to the bitter wife? That’s…”

“A very large therapy bill waiting to happen,” I finished for her, shaking my head. “And that’s probably the best-case scenario. Who knows what kind of resentment she’s going to work out on that child because of what her parents did? I mean, maybe she’s a good person – maybe the concern is unfounded, I don’t know. But I do know that something about this isn’t sitting right with me.”

Tamra pushed out a sigh, slumping back in her chair as she nodded. “Yeah… I keep playing through it in my head, and coming up with more questions than answers. Research team is already on it, I know, but… there really is too much that doesn’t make sense.”

“So you think she might be innocent too, is what I’m hearing.”

“Innocent is a stretch,” Tamra huffed, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, I’m still pissed that she drugged me. Really pissed. But… I don’t understand why she’d stick around, after doing something to Turner to induce a heart attack. I mean, unless she was sticking around to make sure it worked, but she didn’t keep him in sight. She went to the bathroom, and was about to leave with us. And I didn’t get the impression she was antsy about timing, nothing like that.”

“Maybe she’s just a terrible murderer,” I offered, but Tamra shook her head.

“Or maybe she’s being set up. It’s not even a little far-fetched to think Lana Turner might be in on this. Why did she come straight for May as the first suspect? Your husband dies of a supposed heart attack at a public event, and the first thing you do is go hunting down a woman in the bathroom? That makes sense to you?”

“No, actually,” I admitted. “I saw the whole thing unfold – we saw that little bit of contact between May and Turner before she stormed off, but Lana was all over him. Lana smacked him, hard. Minutes later… he’s on the ground.”

Tamra nodded. “Think about the things we’ve used to eliminate a target before – the methods we’ve employed. An induced heart attack… that’s chemical. May shoved him, but that’s just touching his clothes. If Lana had some kind of toxin on her hand…”

“With a protective barrier underneath so she wouldn’t expose herself to it…”

“So you see what I see?”

“I do,” I agreed. “And really… what would May gain from Turner being dead? He still owed her money, even if she’d come to a place of accepting he had no intention of coughing it up.”

“She says he owed her money. We really don’t know for sure what kind of agreement they had. We’ve gotta find out if there’s any proof. Text messages, recordings, anything that can corroborate May’s claims. If Turner owed her money, and the wife knew about it…”

“Along with the affair, and Amelia… it could be proof of