Murder Deja Vu

person to cut through bone and muscle to almost sever a woman’s head.”
    Dana gasped, then covered her mouth.
    “I’m sorry, Dana,” Jeraldine said. “It was an ugly murder. I doubt any woman short of Xena, Warrior Princess, could have committed it.”
    “I know. I wasn’t thinking.” She glanced at Reece, and he reached for her arm and stroked it.
    “I spent fifteen years not thinking,” Reece said, “and another six being grateful not to be behind bars. But I need to clear myself, or this will follow me for the rest of my life. Every time there’s a murder in the area, some cop will come to my door and question my whereabouts. I can’t go through life like that. The Harold County sheriff visited me soon after I came. Wanted to make sure I wasn’t luring women to my lair, or something.”
    “The way I see it,” Clarence said, “there are two scenarios. One—the same person who killed Karen committed the latest murder. Maybe my looking into the case had someone scared I’d uncover something. What would be the best way to deflect exposure? Commit another murder with the same M.O. so Reece looks guilty all over again. It’d be brilliant, really.”
    “What’s the other scenario?” Dana asked.
    “A new murderer. I’ve eliminated revenge. Why wait six years?”
    “Revenge for what?” Reece said. “What could I possibly have done that could exact that kind of revenge? I hardly know anyone around here.”
    Clarence pushed his plate away. “Or the killer is using you so the cops won’t look at the real reason he murdered Rayanne Johnson. They questioned her on-and-off-again boyfriend, but people swear he was at the bar all night. I’ll check him out anyway. The downside of that theory is it seems unlikely that someone in a small town like Corley would have heard about Reece’s trial. The police chief only knew because of Minette’s suit against Reece to block the sale of this property. So I’ll work on scenario number one: that Karen’s murderer came down here to pin another murder on Reece to protect himself from being discovered. Also, let’s remember why Reece became the prime suspect in the murder. That kind of murder is usually a crime of passion. Someone knew her well. These other guys appeared to be quickies. One of them wasn’t. We have to find out which one. I’ll check who left town for a day or two, though whoever did this was probably smart enough to cover his tracks. What do you think?”
    “I think Clarence is right,” Jeraldine said. “What did I tell you, honey? Clarence Wright is right almost one hundred percent of the time.”
    Dana couldn’t hide a smile. She saw now that Clarence wasn’t the milquetoast she first thought. He appeared studious—glasses, thinning hair, mild manner. She’d describe him as anonymous. Nothing about him said cop. “You must have been quite a detective, Clarence. You’re very disarming.”
    “Yup. I always played the good cop in the good cop/bad cop act. Worked out well.” He smiled at Dana, adding a wink. “So, Reece, let’s look at this list.”
    Dana sat back while Clarence went through the four men at the table the night of Karen Sitton’s murder, including Reece’s brother Carl. She could see Reece straining to remember. He made his own notes.
    “I’ve talked to everyone but Carl,” Clarence said, “but the others couldn’t or wouldn’t add anything new, especially after twenty years. We know they all had a go at Karen and claimed their relationships with her were strictly sexual. A kind of bam-bam, thank-you-ma’am thing.” He glanced up from his paper. “One of them is lying. Now, with this new development, I’ll be much tougher when I get back up north.”
    “I’ll think about these guys tonight. Try to get a clear picture in my mind. They were Carl’s friends, not mine. I didn’t know them well, but they seemed okay. No one I’d ever think capable of murder.”
    “Were they with girlfriends?” Dana asked.
    “Carl was with his girlfriend,” Reece said. “He married her. They’re divorced now. There were other girls with them, apparently friends. Jordan Kraus left with a girl from the next table. You could have knocked me over when I found out they’d all slept with Karen.” He rubbed his neck, a now-familiar gesture. “Man, what a sap I was.”
    “There’s not a guy who hasn’t been there, Reece,” Clarence said.
    “Yeah, but they didn’t spend fifteen years in prison for