Page 126 of The First Gentleman

Only a couple other cars are in the parking lot on this cloudy day with beach season officially over. I can see the gray Atlantic stretching out past a scrubby green lawn.

But no Teresa.

I pick up my phone to see if she left another text while I was driving.

Suddenly, I hear knuckles rapping on my window. My heart jumps.

It’s her.

Teresa seems calm, not as edgy as I’ve seen her in the past. She’s puffing on a cigarette, taking deep drags. “Thanks forcoming,” she says as I get out of the car. She points toward the beach. “Let’s walk.”

I don’t know quite how to deal with Teresa. I believed her when she told me about Cole Wright threatening her sister. But the police clearly didn’t find her credible. And she hasn’t been called to testify at the trial, which means the AG didn’t find her credible either. But she seems straight today. Her eyes are clear and she’s walking steadily.

“How are you doing, Teresa?”

She pulls a small medallion out of her pocket. “Six months sober today.”

Wow. That’s a change.“Teresa, that’s great. I’m proud of you.” I really am.

She nods. “Thanks.” Then she puts her hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry about your partner.”

“Thank you. I miss him.”

I think about what Teresa and I have in common now: Cole Wright was one of the last people to see Suzanne alive. And one of the last people to see Garrett alive.

“So you’ve been at the trial?” she asks.

“Every day.”

“How is it? How did my mom do?”

“Your mom did great. I know how hard it must’ve been for her.”

“Yeah. It was. I wish I could have been there for her,” Teresa says, “but I just can’t make myself go to the courthouse.”

As we walk, I’m wishing I’d brought a heavier jacket. The wind is really whipping off the water.

“Did they show pictures of my sister?” Teresa asks softly. “Her bones and everything?”

“They did, Teresa. They had to. But they also showed pictures of her in her cheerleading uniform, and she looked really, really beautiful.”

I immediately sense that this is not what Teresa wanted to hear.“I was so jealous of that uniform,” she says, looking out over the water. “Suzanne had everything. Pretty face. Perfect body. Great job. Famous boyfriend. Me? I hadshit.”

“You were mad at your big sister, I get it. She seemed to have it made. It was natural to feel a little envious.”

Teresa nods. “I wanted what she had so bad. At least a piece of it.” She takes a drag of her cigarette and blows out the smoke. “I wanted a boyfriend too.”

“I remember your mom talking about your teenage crush.”

“Oh, it was more than a crush. First Tony Romero, then Cole Wright,” says Teresa. “We were all here one day, the three of us.” She points to a spot on the sand. “It was right there. I could tell Suzanne didn’t like me tagging along so much, but Cole was cool with it. It was really hot that spring, and when Suzanne went into the water to cool off, that’s when I told him.”

“Told him what?”

“That I wanted to have sex with him.”

“Teresa! How old were you?”

“Old enough. But I was no virgin.”

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