Murder Deja Vu

butcher he thought, but the other son was.”
    Inside the car they went silent for a few minutes until Tobey broke it. “I guess you’ll go back to your life in North Carolina, huh?”
    Reece took Dana’s hand without looking at her. “Yes.”
    Never since Jeraldine wangled his release from prison, had he felt truly free. People still thought he’d committed a heinous crime, no matter what the law said. He felt Dana next to him. Adjusting to freedom would be a lot easier now.
    * * * * *
    D ana didn’t think she’d ever seen a grin as wide as Jeraldine’s when they entered the police station. The attorney rushed to Reece and checked the blood stain on his shirt.
    “You okay, honey? We heard you went to the hospital.”
    “I’ll be fine, Jeri.”
    She drew Reece into her arms like a protective mother. Tears filled her eyes. “I wondered if this day would ever happen. What did Dr. King say? Something about free at last?”
    “That’s what everyone says,” Reece said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet.”
    Clarence waited his turn and pulled off a man hug. “You didn’t need me after all.”
    “Not true,” Reece said. “We wouldn’t be at this place without you.”
    “It’s all over, honey,” Jeraldine said. She pulled back, met Reece’s gaze with her own. “Nothing you could do about Carl. He made his bed.”
    “I know. Doesn’t mean I feel good about that part.”
    Reece’s smile seemed oddly strained, but genuine. His character didn’t allow him to forget Carl while he reveled in his freedom. Even though his brother had framed him for two murders and tried to kill him, Reece still empathized with what lay ahead for him. Because he knew.
    At that moment, Dana’s heart almost burst with a mixture of joy and sadness for the generous spirit of the man. She loved Reece more than she could imagine loving anyone, except her children. But a mother’s love differed from the love between a man and woman.
    Jeraldine completed the necessary paperwork, and a judge cleared Reece of all charges. Reece called Frank to tell him how things had worked out, and Frank invited everyone to his apartment for a celebration.
    “I’ll bring out the good stuff,” Frank said.
    * * * * *
    F rank looked better now than when Dana and Reece had first arrived in Lynn. The old man’s smile extended across his sunken face from ear to ear, and he found the energy to rise from his chair without help. Reece embraced him. Dana choked up and looked away before anyone saw.
    “Good scotch, the best Russian vodka, and Lana’s cooking,” Frank announced. “What could be better?”
    Laughter rang through the apartment. The people upstairs banged on their floor, a warning to keep down the noise. Frank yelled, “Shut up, we’re celebrating. Call the police if you don’t like it.”
    Reece laughed like Dana had never seen. Later, Reece called Mark Cabrini, Steve Yarrow, and Jordan Kraus, filled them in, and thanked them for standing behind him. They were sad calls, considering Carl turned out to be the culprit.
    Jeraldine and Clarence parted with more hugs, more words of getting together in North Carolina, more thanks. After they left, Dana phoned her sons. It was a long conversation of explanations and confessions and words of love. Tears came again, but this time she didn’t care if the whole world saw. Reece slipped his arm around her shoulders.
    When the two of them were in bed, Reece said, “I can say it now because I’m finally free. I love you.”
    “And I love you,” she said, “from the minute you called me a smart-ass.” Dana hadn’t mentioned what her sons told her about their father. This was Reece’s day, and she would do nothing to spoil it.
    “Settled, then,” Reece said, pulling her close. “Let’s go home.”

Chapter Fifty-Seven
The Bitter Truth

    Harold County, North Carolina

    D ana marveled at the sheer beauty of the rocks and stones and slate.
    “What do you think?” Reece asked, stepping back from the fireplace wall.
    “It’s more magnificent than I could have imagined.”
    Reece wiped his hands on a rag and nailed her with those smiling eyes. “I don’t think I’ll have as many moods as I used to. Somehow, I can’t get into one when I’m around you. But if I do, kick me in the ass.”
    He moved toward her. She loved the way he walked. Long strides, like a panther. He wore shorts and a T-shirt, his legs and arms muscled and tan. She loved everything about him, including the smile that