Murder Deja Vu

honey. Still waiting outside.” She glared at Larkins. “Agent Larkins barely threatened her.”
    “Doing my job, Ms. De Bolt. This is a complicated situation.”
    “And why is that?” Jeraldine asked.
    Larkins and Tobey exchanged glances. “We really need to talk to Mr. Daughtry.”
    Reece closed his eyes again. “And I’d love to talk to you, but not until I see Mrs. Minette. After, you can put me on the witness stand. I don’t care. But right now, I’m really tired. The meds are wearing off. I’m in pain, and I’m cuffed to this bed. That makes me cranky.” He winced. “Jeri, could you get the nurse to give me something? I feel like there’s a knife in my chest.”
    She started toward the door, but Tobey beat her to it and came back with the nurse. She leaned over Reece to check the IV. She smelled of mouthwash and talcum powder and reminded Reece of the woman who used to clean his parents’ house. She took his blood pressure and temperature, put something in his IV, and the room started spinning. Oblivious to the sounds around him, he slipped back in time amid the comforting aromas. He heard her say, “The doctor will be here shortly, Mr. Daughtry.” And then, “You men need to come back later. The patient is recovering from surgery. He’s in no condition to talk this long.”
    Reece wanted to hug her, but the sounds faded as she shooed everyone out. The doctor came in and checked Reece’s chart and said some things Reece couldn’t make out in his semi-conscious state. He wanted to see Dana, but he was so tired he couldn’t keep his eyes from closing. He felt like he was floating. Floating. Floating.

Chapter Fifty-Three
What’s Going On ?

    C larence held Jeraldine’s arm as they joined Dana in the waiting room. He was pissed off that the fed tried to evict him from the room and was glad Jeri stood up to him. Little did it matter when the nurse kicked them all out. He watched as Larkins and Tobey took chairs on the other side of the room.
    “How is he?” Dana asked.
    “Your name was the first word out of his mouth,” Clarence said, “so I guess he’s okay. He’s sleeping now.”
    “Christ, the man came out of surgery less than a day ago,” Jeraldine said, “after they took a friggin’ bullet from his chest.”
    Dana sighed. “Thank God he’s okay. I was so worried I almost forgot the FBI and the Portland Police were grilling me.”
    “You did fine,” Jeraldine said.
    Clarence asked, “What did you tell them?”
    “The truth. They asked why I assisted a fugitive, and I said because I knew Reece was innocent. I told them if he’s bulldozed again I wouldn’t care what happened to me. Jeraldine tried to shut me up, but I meant every word.”
    Jeraldine shook her head in disgust. “No shutting up those two when they have something to say. They’re a match made in heaven.”
    “Do you know what they’re going to do?” Dana asked.
    “No,” Jeraldine said, “and I don’t like being kept in the dark.”
    Clarence watched Tobey and Larkins huddled in deep conversation. “Something’s going on. I need to talk to them.”
    “Make nice, honey. We don’t want them all over Reece’s case because they don’t like us.”
    Clarence thought it might be too late, considering the antagonism that sparked between Larkins and him earlier. “I’ll put on my nice hat.” Clarence commandeered the chair next to Tobey, definitely the friendlier of the two. “You guys got a minute.”
    “Yeah,” Larkins said. “We’d like to speak to you too. And the ladies.”
    “It’s about damn time.”
    * * * * *
    R eece woke to Dana’s beautiful face and immediately felt better. “Hey, Bonnie” he said. “You okay?”
    She leaned over the bed and kissed him. “I am now, Clyde. What about you?”
    “I’d feel better if it weren’t for this.” He jiggled the cuff securing him to the bed. “They let you in here all by yourself, huh? Weren’t they afraid I’d get loose and chop off your head?”
    “Stop it.”
    Reece grimaced. “Sorry. A momentary slip of sarcasm.”
    “Jeraldine said you’d never talk to them until you saw I was okay.”
    “Right.” He tried to raise his hand to touch her face, but he couldn’t. “Unfasten my hand, will you? Take the tape off holding my arm to the board. I need to touch you.”
    “I won’t take out the needle.”
    “Fine. Just release me.”
    She walked around the other side of the bed and unfastened the tape, then pulled down the