Murder Deja Vu

is it?” Dana asked.
    Reece covered the receiver. “Did you wake up last night?”
    “No,” Dana said, yawning. “In fact it was the best sleep I’ve had in months. A brass band couldn’t have woken me.”
    He spoke into the phone. “Gotta go, Jeri. Thanks for calling.”
    “You’re too calm, honey. What are you going to do?”
    “I’m getting the hell out of here.”
    “Don’t do it, Reece. It’ll look like an admission of guilt.”
    Reece bounded from the bed and pulled his satchel from the closet. “I know how this works. Guilty until proven innocent, and as far as the world is concerned, I’m guilty. No, Jeri, I’m not spending another night in a cell while Minette concocts evidence. He has the dead woman’s affidavit. That’s enough.” He whispered into the receiver. “I can’t stay. I love you.” He hung up and went into the bathroom for his shaving kit.
    “What was that all about?” Dana asked.
    Reece told her.
    “But you were here with me.”
    “And you said you slept like a corpse. They’ll say I slipped out, and you didn’t know.”
    “That’s ridiculous. You wouldn’t do that. What if I did wake up?”
    “You didn’t. I won’t put you through this, and I don’t want you to lie. For all you know, I could have left and come back.”
    She jumped out of the bed and grabbed her slacks, yanking them on as she followed Reece around the room. “You’ll look guilty if you leave.”
    “And they’ll label me guilty if I stay. Don’t you see? Someone wants me out of the way. I don’t know why, but I’m not sticking around to find out.”
    “I’m going with you.”
    “No, you’re not. This is something I have to do myself.” He pulled her toward him. “You don’t get it. I can’t go back inside.” He touched her cheek. “I won’t make it this time.”
    “You need me. You won’t be able to show your face. No one knows me.”
    “They will. Your ex-husband will make sure your photo is in every newspaper, broadcast on every network. He has a hard-on for the two of us, so forget it. I need you to stay here and take care of the animals.”
    “No. I’m coming. You have to stop at my house so I can pick up some clothes.”
    “I don’t want you involved, Dana. You’d be an accessory to murder, and if things don’t work out right, you’d go to jail for a long time. I couldn’t stand that.”
    “Don’t you understand? I’m already involved. Besides, I have my father’s pickup in the garage. It’s old but in great shape. No one will know what you’re driving. You take your pickup and you won’t make it out of the county. Even if you take mine. Dad’s car will give us some time.” She raised her voice. “You need me, goddamn it.”
    “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. Stuff I haven’t gotten to yet. If you knew, you might think differently.”
    “I know all I need to know. What’s in my heart.”
    Reece didn’t want to take her, but he didn’t want to leave her either. He gathered the notes from last night, along with his notebook, and put them in his satchel. Then he punched some numbers into the phone. “Wilma, sorry to call you so early.”
    “Reece? What is it?”
    “I need to go out of town for a few days, maybe longer. Can you take care of the animals?”
    “Sure. Nothing serious, I hope.”
    Nothing a new life wouldn’t cure. “No, nothing serious. A guy in Nashville wants me to build him a fireplace. I thought I’d tack on a few days’ vacation. Grand Ole Opry, and all that.”
    “Have a good time. Don’t worry about a thing.”
    “Thanks. I’ll put some cash in an envelope and leave it under the first pile of slate.”
    “Not a problem, Reece. You can pay me when you get back.”
    If I get back . “No, I’d rather do it this way. Thanks.” He hung up.
    “Who was that?”
    “The tech at the vet’s. She takes care of the animals when I go out on a job.”
    “That means I’m going, right?”
    He looked at her, so willing and eager. “I know I’ll regret this.”
    “You won’t.”

Chapter Eighteen
Déjà Vu All Over Again

    C larence and Jeraldine were still in bed when the call came from her snitch in the courthouse. He saw the frown of disbelief on her face. She called Reece, listened, then slammed down the phone.
    “Damn. He’s taking off. You know what that means.”
    “I can’t blame him,” Clarence said. “It’s happened before; he’s not letting it happen again.”
    “When the police nail him,