Murder Deja Vu

doorbell. She’d never heard it rung before. She peeked out the front door’s glass sidelight. Robert stared back at her.
    What in hell was he doing here? She promised herself she’d be civil for the sake of her sons, even if civil behavior was anathema to her ex-husband. She took a deep breath and, against her better judgment, opened the door.
    “May I come in?”
    “I’d rather you didn’t, Robert. We have nothing more to discuss.”
    “This is about Reece Daughtry.”
    Knowing Robert, anything he had to say wouldn’t be good. He’d probably heard all about her and Reece, not that they flaunted their relationship in public. Regal Falls was a small town, and gossip, good or bad, spread like a contagious disease.
    “You’ve met his attorney, I hear. Speak to her.”
    “This has to do with you too. Please, Dana.”
    Was this a new Robert? Contrite, yes, even civil? She wanted to tell him to leave, but if anyone knew anything about Reece’s case, it was Robert. “Okay. Come in. But I haven’t a lot of time.” She moved aside, and he walked past her into the house.
    “This won’t take long.”
    She led him into the great room so he could see the fireplace. Spiteful, she knew, but so what? It was the kind of thing Robert would do, and he’d taught her well. He studied it, and for once Dana couldn’t read his expression. He said nothing about it.
    “He’s a murderer, Dana. He’s killed two women, and I’m going to prove it this time.”
    So, Robert wasn’t contrite. He was the same manipulative bastard, only dressed in contrite clothing, like the wolf in sheep’s skin. How foolish of her to believe otherwise. She wanted to scream that he was more capable of murder than Reece Daughtry, but she reined in her anger, unwilling to let Robert incite her worst inclinations. She’d spent twenty years allowing him to do that, and if she lost control, he’d win.
    “Why are you telling me? I’m not interested in your posturing. If you have a case, take it to trial.”
    “Oh, I will. Because Reece Daughtry knew the victim, and we have a witness who said he saw him with her Friday night. I have someone on the way to talk to him.”
    The statement made Dana dizzy. She’d fought to bury the possibility when Jeraldine mentioned it, but banishing a thought was pointless. It stayed in your brain like a blood stain on fabric. Dana hoped Clarence outflanked Robert’s investigator.
    She sat down, trying not to look as if she needed to, but her knees felt rubbery beneath her. Robert surely saw. She’d never been good at hiding her reactions. “It wasn’t Reece.”
    “You want to bet your life on that?”
    She took a deep breath, stared at him, and held her voice steady. “Yes.”
    His cool didn’t last long. It never did. “Jesus, how stupid can you get? You believe him because he told you so? Is that it?”
    This was quintessential Robert. If Dana didn’t agree with him, she was stupid or childish or a hundred other derogatory epithets. Thirteen years older and worldly, Robert had swept her off her feet, saying everything a woman wanted to hear. More importantly, her father was a state senator, which made Dana good enough for Robert Minette. But she wasn’t as easy to control as he’d thought.
    He scowled. “Are you going to answer? Do you believe him because he told you so?”
    His snarky tone brought her back to the present and sliced through her like a paper cut. “Reece hasn’t told me anything because, as you know, the police locked him in a cell. Whatever he tells me, I’ll believe, because I know he couldn’t kill anyone.”
    Robert snorted, twisting his face into a familiar grimace. “How loyal of you. More loyal than you were to me.”
    “I don’t want to have this conversation.”
    “No, I don’t expect you do. Daughtry’s a murderer. Not once, but twice.”
    “Have you even talked to him, Robert? No, I’ll bet you haven’t. All you see is your shot at a high-profile case. You’ve made up your mind like you always do and, goddamn, Robert Minette is never wrong, is he?”
    “Daughtry asked for a lawyer immediately, and when she got there, she wouldn’t let anyone near him.”
    “Well, good for him and good for her. He knows what it’s like to be railroaded, and she’s not going to let it happen again. Because that was how it went down twenty-one years ago.”
    “Is there no end to your stupidity? After you humiliated me, I should have thrown you out. But I didn’t, did