Murder Deja Vu

Dana breathed a sigh of relief.
    Until she saw Reece’s Civic on Lynn Shore Drive, heading straight for Beach Road on a collision course with the two cops and their parked car.

Chapter Thirty-Three
Tomorrow

    R eece saw Lana running across the street toward the apartment building as he turned onto Beach Road. Why? Was something wrong with Frank? He panicked. She hailed two men walking toward a dark sedan. Then he understood. She was warning him not to park the car and get out. He’d already turned into the street. Nothing he could do but drive by. She pointed toward the Lynnway, drawing their attention away from him.
    Here I go, right past them. He hoped she distracted them long enough to ignore the passing car. He drove by at a normal speed and kept going, checking the rear view mirror once as he passed. Lana got into the car with the two men. Whatever she said worked. They didn’t even look his way. Reece pulled out of the street, made a half-turn around at the rotary—called a traffic circle in any other part of the country—and headed toward Nahant.
    He didn’t want to drive to the end of the long causeway, because the dinner crowd would be filling the restaurant parking lot there. He pulled into one of the public beach spaces halfway down and parked. It was after six. A few people still populated the beach.
    Seeing his hands shake in front of him confirmed he wasn’t cut out to be a fugitive. He punched in Frank’s cell number, hoping his friend had taken his phone with him.
    “Where are you,” Frank said in his raspy voice.
    “Parked on the Nahant causeway. Who were they?”
    “Feds. Stay where you are for a while. I don’t know what Lana is doing with them or when they’ll come back. Sit tight. I am.”
    “I plan to. I saw Lana. Where are you?”
    “Sitting on the promenade. I can’t make it back alone, so I’m enjoying the nice view.”
    “I wish I could come get you.”
    “Don’t even think of it. I’ll call you when it’s safe.”
    Reece eased back onto the headrest and gazed at the ocean. After a few minutes, he felt his tension lessen. Why did he find the constant undulation of waves so calming? He remembered the feeling as a boy in Portland.
    Reflecting on his youth brought back a vision of his father. Though Carl facially favored Thom Daughtry , Reece had inherited his height and build. Maybe he should have given in to Carl’s insistence and gone to see him. He’d never have another chance. But his father’s rejection had cut too deep, and Reece couldn’t cast aside the pain it caused, even now.
    Lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed the last stragglers leaving the beach until he realized it was now empty. He remembered from his college days that the strip was famous, or infamous, for steamy cars—targets for the Lynn Police to break up the mischief. Even though it was still light, he needed to move on before one of them became suspicious. He was already heading back when his phone chirped.
    “It’s safe,” Frank said and rang off.
    To be sure, Reece drove past the apartment building and circled the rotary again until he felt confident enough to pull into the street and park. He took a deep breath and got out. Someone in the apartment must have been watching because the buzzer sounded and the door clicked open before he reached it.
    Dana pulled him inside and closed the door, trembling in his arms. Guilt overwhelmed him. Now she was as much a fugitive as he. “It’s okay.” He lied, of course. Nothing was okay and would likely get worse. “Shh, shh.”
    He saw Frank watching. His old friend appeared more gaunt than he had that morning. He should be in bed. Frank would say he’d be resting for eternity soon enough . Why rest now?
    The aroma of something heavy and rich filled the stuffy apartment. The overhead fan whirred, blowing hot scented air around the room.
    Dana’s hold tightened. “I was so scared. I watched you head straight for the two cops. If you had parked and gotten out, they would have seen you.”
    “Hard to ignore Lana running across the street, waving her arms. She couldn’t have warned me off more clearly if she’d carried a red flag.” Reece turned to her. “Thanks. If it weren’t for you, I’d be locked up. What did you say get those agents to leave with you?”
    “When they talked to us at the beach—”
    “Not talked, questioned,” Frank said. “Of course they wanted to know if I’d heard from you. Lucky we were sitting over