Moleskine mystery

At this moment in life, Life itself seemed so short. Thomas Trabek was a lead prosecutor for the City of Vero Beach Florida and life as he knew it had ended in the blink of an eye, or maybe the slip of a foot.

Thomas Trabek sat in the back of the courtroom listening to testimony in the murder trial involving his college friend James Tate; who stood accused of killing his wife of twenty-two years, Sadie Mae Trabek. Due to obvious ties to the case the lead prosecutor was unable to try the man facing murder charges for allegedly killing his wife. Her body was found by divers seven hours after the 911 call was placed from the boat where James stated she fell after drinking too much during their day of sailing. A large hemotoma on her forehead seemed to tell another story to forensic pathologists. Mr. Tate's response under cross-examination was that she was so drunk she fell and hit her head numerous times on the boat before she eventually fell overboard. He stated he dove in after her when she fell but because she was so drunk she was fighting with him until he lost his grip on her. She then went under and he lost her due to the murky water and failing light at dusk. It was a classic case of very little circumstantial evidence. The prosecution had three friends of Sadie Mae take the stand and testify of a fling in college with James Tate before she had met her husband but said she ended the fling when she met Thomas and realized they were friends.

The relationship ended suddenly they said because she was so in love with her future husband Thomas that she knew it was the right thing to do. The fling remained secret and James and Sadie remained friends but Sadie's friends stated James had always wanted more.

James Tate's statement of jumping overboard to try and save Sadie was backed up the the fact that the Coast Guard found him in the water when they arrived on scene, as he was unable to get back in the boat because he had not put out the ladder. This seemed to reinforce the theory that he had jumped in the water quickly after dialing 911 and had no time to remember to fasten the stairs to the boat so he could re-board.

The long day in court left Thomas exhausted but he knew he had to find out directly from the source what had happened. His old friend James Tate would take the stand on his own behalf the next day but Thomas couldn't wait. He knew it could jeopardize the entire case but he needed to hear what exactly happened on that fateful afternoon to his wife. He needed to hear it from James himself. It was late at night and his hands were trembling as he drove to his friends house. He wasn't sure of what he was about to do but he knocked anyway and then James opened the door, James gave him a surprised look but allowed Thomas to enter without a word spoken. James gestured toward a chair and after Thomas sat, James just began to cry. "I can't believe the shell I've become Thomas, but I did not kill your wife because I truly did love her" James stated. "I invited her onto my boat to make one last play for her as I have never gotten over losing her to you." Thomas then asked, "Why didn't you tell me all this years ago?" James then shared how Sadie said she didn't want to come out on the boat at all and she only agreed to do so when he threatened to reveal the secret fling in college. She was so upset she was drinking way too much as she pleaded for James to just let her be. After arguing for hours she fell and hit her head on the railing at which time James stated he went to get her some ice and when he returned he saw she had fallen overboard. He then described calling 911 jumping in the water and struggling to save Sadie. James was shaking as he spilled the whole story and Thomas took it all in with no reaction, quietly getting up from his chair stunned at how the two friends had gotten there. Thomas left in a fog not knowing how to help his friend and more importantly not knowing how to go on without his wife. Thomas had received the explanation he needed and believed in his heart that his friend, however misguided, did not kill his beloved wife.

In court the next day, as James was on the stand profusely sweating and testifying he seemed in particular distress. Unbelievably while he was describing Sadie slipping under the water and not being able to help, he grasped his left arm and collapsed onto the courtroom floor By the time paramedics arrived he had to be revived and then whisked to the Emergency Room. James Tate was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital from a massive coronary infarction.

As unbelievable as it sounds James' heart just gave out as all he wanted in life had slipped through his hands. Weeks and months passed as his entire estate was in flux because James had no family left alive and no offspring to be his heir. The executor of his will was just about to give up when a little black book was found in his storage unit that contained what they all were searching for the entire time. A last will and testament was found amongst all the old addresses and phone numbers from years gone by. He had even gone so far as to have it notorized. The will was very short but specific, in it he explains his unrequited love of Sadie Mae and how he bequested his entire unknown fortune in bitcoin to her, thus leaving nothing to anyone else. He wrote, "I leave all of my 12 million dollars in bitcoin to Sadie Mae Trabek." The circumstances were unbelievable but since Sadie Mae had no children and her extended family had all passed years ago; the entire fortune went to Thomas Trebek.