Murder Deja Vu by Polly Iyer Page B

of what looked like a yearbook picture from his shirt pocket. “Recognize her?”
    Reece studied the photograph. “I don’t know. Maybe. How old is this?”
    “She was thirty-two. This is a high school shot, so…maybe the picture’s fourteen years old.
    Reece looked at it again. “Add a few years, a few pounds. Me, a few beers. Could be someone I—” He shot Dana a glance. “You know.”
    “It doesn’t matter,” Jeraldine said. “Dana’s right. Even if you did, doesn’t mean shit.”
    Clarence raised his hands to stop the conversation. “Before we go off half-cocked, Jeri and I want to go over some old history—the events the night you were arrested for Karen’s murder. I know you’ve gone over them a hundred times with Jeri and in your own head, but not enough with me. Maybe you missed something. Some small fact, a connection. I tried to talk to your brother, but I’m sorry to say he refused to speak to me.”
    “Not surprising. Carl supported me before and after the conviction, but in my heart, I don’t think he wanted to talk about it for fear he’d find out I was guilty, even though I swore I wasn’t.”
    “Could Carl have been sleeping with Karen Sitton?”
    Reece snorted. “Seems half of Cambridge slept with her. Why not Carl?”
    “What about the others that night?” Clarence flipped open the pad. “I have the names of the male suspects questioned before your trial.”
    “Only men?” Dana asked. “No women?”
    “A few were questioned, but it took a strong 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