Murder Deja Vu

like Klugh was a gun for hire. If he had to go to Atlanta to check him out personally, he would. In fact, the idea appealed to him. No better way to research.
    After his bathroom chores, room service arrived with his order. This must be what junkies felt like when they needed a fix. He blew the steam off the top of his coffee, took the first sip, and followed with an appreciative sigh.
    He connected with Jeri’s voice mail. “Hey, babe, give me a call when you’re free.” Ten minutes later she called back.
    “Sorry, I had court, and my source didn’t call until early this morning. Okay, here’s the deal. Dana’s theory about Robert’s case in Charlotte was on the money. This is straight from the horse’s mouth. Though they couldn’t prove it, the bosses believed Minette was directly involved in the witness’s disappearance. He acted cocky, as if he had the case cinched when he clearly didn’t. Minette resigned and moved back to his home county with a job in the DA’s office. There must have been a deal, but no one knows what it was.”
    “Stroud told me the same thing, only I think he has proof.”
    “Will he talk?”
    “No. Minette has something on him. I couldn’t get him to budge, and I tried. Can we talk to the boss?”
    “I already went that route. He’s dead. Died a couple of years ago.”
    “Sounds like Minette had something on the boss, doesn’t it?”
    “Like Dana said. He wants to know where everyone’s bodies are buried. When he left the firm in Charlotte, he told his co-workers that he’d had enough of getting off guilty slugs. The case is old news, Clarence. Cold and dead. I doubt we could prove anything now unless we flip Stroud.”
    “I’m sure you’re right. This fits Minette’s profile. He doesn’t lose well. Any other scandals?”
    “Not that I’ve found. He made a name for himself in the DA’s office, and the governor appointed him to the judicial district encompassing Harold County. He’s not well liked, and some question his methods, but he’s put away some bad people, so the voters keep re-electing him.”
    “Yeah, his methods. That’s what Minette is all about.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I’m going to see the sheriff one more time, then I might detour to Atlanta to see what else I can dig up on Minette’s hatchet man. I have a contact there who’ll help if I need him.”
    “You’ll fly home from there?”
    “Unless I get sidetracked again.”
    “Be careful.”
    Clarence cut the connection and called Sheriff Payton to make sure he’d be in his office. Yesterday, when he drove to the Harold County Sheriff’s Office, Clarence thought it was way the hell out in no man’s land, and it took forever to get there. This time, he took in the scenery. The area, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, wound through small towns along forests, rivers, and lakes. He liked this area. The majestic, serene beauty beckoned him to return some day when he wasn’t on a case.
    The sheriff had someone with him when Clarence arrived. After a few minutes Payton called him inside. Clarence took a seat. “I wanted to let you know what I found out before I took off, Sheriff.”
    “I appreciate that. I’ve been conducting my own investigation, as any cop with two murders on his plate would do.”
    From the beginning, Clarence pegged Payton for a sharp cop, so he had no doubt the sheriff stayed on top of things. “I’m betting one of the men with Reece Daughtry that night in Cambridge killed Rayanne Johnson. All four have alibis, including Reece’s brother, and no one could shake them. But I have an idea how the murderer did it.”
    “Want to share?”
    “Not yet. First, I’m going to Atlanta to check on the man I think killed Lurena Howe.”
    “Harry Klugh?”
    Yeah, Payton was a smart cop. “How’d you know?”
    “One of my deputies saw Minette with someone at a diner way out of town yesterday. He thought it strange, so on a hunch he took down the Georgia license plate. I ran it, found out a little about him. I wondered what Minette had to do with an out-of-town PI, so I pulled his phone records. He never called Klugh, but Klugh called him. Proves nothing. Just curious.” He pursed his lips. “Not really kosher to check on the district attorney of your own county, is it?” Payton didn’t look one bit ashamed.
    “I’d do it if I thought he was doing something crooked. My boss says Minette keeps getting re-elected because he’s