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been inside her and loved her. She tried to calm her raging heartbeat, tried to clear her mind of the ugly thoughts of a woman’s severed head and the comment that connected Reece to the crime.
    “It’s not true, Dana. Call Jeraldine De Bolt. She’s an attorney in Boston.” The cop pulled him out of the room, shirtless, barefoot, and with his pants barely fastened. “Tell her I’m in trouble,” he managed to say over his shoulder before they dragged him from the room.
    “Sorry, Dana,” Mickey said. “Just doing my job.” He turned to leave, then turned back, keeping his eyes off her. “You’d better put some clothes on.”
    She glanced down and saw the blanket puddled at her feet.

Chapter Seven
A Day’s Lifetime Change
     
    D ana left a panicked message with Jeraldine De Bolt’s secretary. The lawyer called her back within a few minutes and listened while Dana explained what had happened. De Bolt lost it.
    “Goddamn, Ms. Minette. I’ll catch the first available flight down there. I shouldn’t have any problem acting as Reece’s attorney, unless the dead woman’s the judge’s daughter.”
    “I don’t know anything right now, Ms. De Bolt. Only that Reece asked for you.”
    “Call me Jeraldine, honey. Ms. De Bolt is my mother. No matter that Reece’s twenty-one-year old murder case has been dropped, there’ll always be people who think he did it. From what you’ve told me, the M.O. of this murder is similar to the murder of Karen Sitton .”
    “Tell me what to do.”
    The pause on the line seemed interminable before Jeraldine asked, “How involved are you with Reece?”
    Dana didn’t hesitate. “Very.”
    “Okay, then. That tells me something. First, Reece has stepped back into the world of the living. I gotta tell you. I didn’t think it would happen, so you must be something special. Next, do you know if he has an alibi?”
    “No. I mean, I don’t know, because I don’t know exactly when the murder happened. The police dragged him out of my house with no warning. He left here last night after eight, so I doubt he does, but I can’t be sure. I don’t know where he went after.”
    “So you two were together before that?”
    “Yes.”
    “You need to find out the facts so you can fill me in when I arrive. Won’t be before morning. In the meantime, I’ll have my partner see what he can find out. If there’s no evidence, and the cops are holding Reece’s history against him, that’s not a case, it’s fucking harassment.”
    “Please get down here.”
    “Where’s the closest airport?”
    “Asheville.”
    “I’m bringing my investigator. He’s been looking into the first murder on the side. But I’ll tell you one thing, Reece will not be railroaded this time. Can you meet us?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’ll call you back when I know our arrival time.”
    “Thank you.”
    Dana disconnected and called Harris, hoping she’d find him sober. “You heard?”
    “I heard. Trouble follows that man, doesn’t it?” His voice sounded steady.
    “He didn’t do it, Harris.”
    “You sure? It’s the same M.O. Woman’s head half off, just like the case in Boston.”
    Dana’s stomach took an ugly turn. How could this be happening? “I know it looks bad, but he couldn’t kill anyone. I know him.”
    “Awfully fast, isn’t it, Dana? How well can you know a man in a few weeks?”
    “Well enough to know he couldn’t have done this.”
    “What do you want me to do? I’m a newspaperman. This is a big story. I have to cover it the way I see fit.”
    “Don’t try him in the paper. Find out what they have against him before you write anything. I’ve never asked you for anything in all the years we’ve known each other. I’m asking you now.”
    “How can you say that? You blackmailed me into giving you Daughtry’s address. Seems like I should have stuck to my guns and said no.”
    “That was different. Will they let me see him?”
    “He said he wouldn’t talk to anyone until his