“Hi, Fabiana. I’m Nina, and this is Charlie,” I said, taking the lead. “We’re really sorry to bother you, but we’re here about Justin Harris.”
A look of fear wafted through Fabiana’s blue eyes. Her mouth opened in a tiny O. “What about him?” she said, collecting herself after a moment.
“You mean you don’t know?” I said.
She shook her head. “Know what?” she said.
“Justin Harris is going to be executed, Fabiana,” Charlie said. “In two days, he’s going to receive the death penalty for killing that girl, Tara Foster.”
Fabiana pinched her chin as she stared wide-eyed at the tiled floor. “Are you from the police?” she said.
“No, we’re here to help Justin,” I said. “We’re his lawyers. We want to save him. But we need everyone to tell the truth once and for all so that he will not have to pay for a crime he didn’t commit.”
Fabiana walked over to a stainless-steel counter where a large mortar and pestle sat. “I loved Justin,” she said as she began violently grinding a pile of spices. “He was a good man, always a gentleman. He had a car. He would take me everywhere. I never knew that the world could be so wonderful. He said he was going to marry me. He said he was going to take me away from Mama.
“Then the police said that he had done a bad thing with that white woman. That he had done nasty things to her at his job. He lied. He was no gentleman. Mama was right. I could never love such a man.”
“But he was with you on the day the girl was abducted, Fabiana. We know that he was. You went to the Miami Seaquarium together.”
“That never happened,” she said as she dropped the pestle. “On that day, I was with my church group. Mama will tell you. Justin was mistaken. I must get back to work.”
“Wait,” I said, grabbing her wrist. “What Justin did with Tara Foster was wrong. To treat you in such a manner was unconscionable. But he shouldn’t have to die for it. If he was with you on that day, then everyone needs to know. Or you’ll be the one who is responsible for his death.”
Fabiana shook her head. “I have nothing more to say. You must leave now. I must get back to work.”
“Yes,” Queen Isabelle said, coming through the swinging door. “Leave now.”
“Fine,” Charlie said, putting his hand into his jacket pocket. “You know the South Beach Marriott?”
“The hotel around the corner?” Fabiana said, puzzled. “Yes. What about it?”
Charlie handed her his card with a room number scrawled on the back. “Well, we’re going to be there for the next two days. If you want to come by, you can watch the coverage of your ex-boyfriend’s execution with us.”
“But you said you were his lawyers. Won’t you be there to help him?” Fabiana said, confused.
“It’s out of our hands, Fabiana. You’re the only one who can help Justin now,” Charlie said as we left.
Chapter 93
“ROOM SERVICE?” Charlie said into our phone at the Marriott ten minutes later. “Please send up two turkey clubs and a pitcher of—”
I kicked Charlie in the back of the knee with my pump.
“Um, lemonade,” he finished, hanging up.
I dropped my laptop and briefcase in a heap by the couch. I walked across the suite and drew the drapes. Reeling with disappointment and exhaustion, I shook my head at the too bright Florida sky, the too bright glittering ocean.
My return to Florida wasn’t going as I had hoped. I’d wanted to avoid Peter, but I failed. I was continuing to lie to someone I was starting to have feelings for. And now, after we’d finally found Fabiana, she was refusing to help Justin. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment. What the hell were we going to do now?
Behind me, Charlie kicked off his shoes and lay down on the couch.
“Do you think Fabiana will take the bait?” I said.
“Do I know?” Charlie said, closing his eyes. “Depends on how much she hates Justin, I guess. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, right? It’s looking like Justin must have scorned the living crap out of Miss Desmarais. Is it actually possible for a woman to hate a man to death?”
“You’d be surprised,” I said grimly. “How long do we wait?”
Charlie let out a tired breath. “Two, three hours at the most,” he said. “If she doesn’t show, then we won’t have any other choice. We’ll have to go with Plan B.”
“Which is?” I said.
“We still go up to meet with the clemency board in Tallahassee, but instead of Fabiana recanting her testimony, you’re going to have to tell the board your bizarre life story instead. It’s gonna suck, and it probably won’t even work, but it’s like you said. Other than that, we don’t have a damn thing.”
I pieced through that excruciating scenario. I’d had trouble enough telling my secrets to Charlie. How exactly was I going to give them up to the governor of Florida?
A long hour later, after my third game of solitaire, I was heading out onto the balcony to give Emma a call when there was a soft knock on the door.
“Lunch. Finally,” Charlie mumbled from where he lay dozing on the couch.
“No, please don’t get up. I got it, really,” I snapped as I crossed to the door.
My mood definitely lifted when I opened it.
It wasn’t room service.
I stepped back and let Fabiana in.
Chapter 94
“THANK YOU SO MUCH for coming, Fabiana,” I said. “I promise that when you testify that—”
“I haven’t changed my mind. I’m not testifying. I came to give you this,” she said, taking a sheet of newspaper out of her pocket.
I unfolded it. It was a yellowed page of classified ads from the Miami Herald. I held my breath after I spotted the date in the corner. It was from June 19, 1993. From reading and rereading the case and trial transcripts, I knew that was the day after Tara Foster had been abducted.
“What is this, Fabiana?” I said, quickly scanning the classifieds.
Fabiana took it out of my hand and turned it over. My eyes fell immediately to the photograph at the bottom. A group of people were sitting in some stands by a pool with a woman in a wet suit and some dolphins.
“Floridians beat yesterday’s heat at the Miami Seaquarium,” said the caption.
“Justin and I are in the picture,” Fabiana said. “Right there in the front row. You were right. I lied.”
I peered at the photograph more closely. It was true. You could just make out Justin and Fabiana sitting in the front row.
“Charlie!” I yelled, handing him the page. “You’re not going to believe this. Look!”
He took the newspaper page out of my hands, looked at the picture, looked at the date.
“Yes!” he said with a triumphant grin. “Finally, a break!”
“All you need to do is show this to the authorities, and my lie will be exposed,” Fabiana said. “Then they can set Justin free, yes?”
“Actually, well, no, Fabiana,” Charlie said. “It’s not that simple. This is extremely helpful, but you need to come to Tallahassee with us and bring this forward yourself. You’ll have to give your testimony as well.”
“I’m absolutely not willing to do that,” Fabiana said coldly.
“Why not?” Charlie said.
“Nina?” Fabiana said, looking at me. “Can I speak to you alone?”
I eyeballed Charlie to get going.
“Fine. I’ll be out in the hall, I guess.”
“Don’t judge me,” Fabiana said after Charlie left.
I shook my head. “Of course not, Fabiana.”
“Seventeen years ago, Justin made me pregnant. He told me that he couldn’t afford a baby and a wife, but that if I… got rid of the baby, he would eventually marry me. He even bought me a ring. So I agreed. I didn’t want to kill my baby, but in the end I decided I didn’t want to lose Justin more. It was three months later that I found out through a friend that he was cheating on me. Not with just one woman, but with several.”