Murder Deja Vu

law student. Christ, lucky you weren’t disbarred for incompetence. Give it up, Robert. Go pick on someone who can’t fight back. That’s your modus operandi .”
    “You can’t talk to Robert Minette that way.”
    “Speaking of yourself in the third person sounds at best like you’re having an out of body experience and at worst like you have multiple personality disorder. That’s what I think.”
    “Never mind how I refer to myself. I asked you a question. You’ve met the guy. He’s building it for Dana to piss me off, isn’t he?”
    Harris released a long sigh. “Possibly, but far be it from me to figure out why anyone does anything. I’ve been a newspaperman my whole adult life, and I still don’t understand people. Knowing what I know about Daughtry, I seriously doubt he gives a shit what you or anyone else thinks about who he builds fireplaces for.”
    “He murdered that girl, no matter he got off. His semen was inside her. He never disputed that. His lawyer beat it on a technicality. Contaminated crime scene, my ass. That only meant someone hadn’t done his job properly. Daughtry’s guilty. Plain and simple.” Robert pumped a finger at the editor. “You should do a piece on that, Harris. Tell the public we have a murderer in our midst. I tried, but no one listened. He chopped that girl’s head almost clear off. He might do it again too. People like him can’t help themselves. I know. I’ve prosecuted enough of them.”
    “You weren’t listening, Robert. His case was dropped. You should know what that means. Writing what you suggest would be libel, and saying it—”
    “Slander, I know. I’m a lawyer. I know the difference.”
    “Then you’d better be careful. If Daughtry sues you, he’d win. Again. He’s a strange bird, but I’d say fifteen years in prison is good reason why. He’s smart and rich, not some psychotic vagrant, and he doesn’t bother anyone. He’s a quiet man leading a quiet life, and he doesn’t need you screwing it up.”
    “If he’s got so much money, then how come he had a public defender for a lawyer? You’d think he’d have hired someone with clout.”
    “You mean someone like you?”
    Robert straightened, puffed out his chest. “He could have done worse.” The smirk on Harris’s face angered him. “Was that sarcasm, Harris?”
    “I’m waiting to see if the buttons on your shirt pop.”
    “Well he could have done worse. I was a goddamn good defense attorney.”
    “So I’ve heard. You got your clients off, and it didn’t matter how you did it.”
    “Hearsay. Can’t prove a thing.”
    “Daughtry’s attorney held her own against you six years ago. Got a big practice up in Boston now, I hear.”
    Robert snorted. “Because people got all up in arms over the Constitution and rights. They missed the bigger picture. And she didn’t get him off at his trial, did she?”
    “Reece Daughtry was convicted in the press. I know how that works, and if you look up his case, as I did, you’ll see he didn’t stand a chance. Maybe he did it, maybe he didn’t. But the public was looking for a killer, and Daughtry took the fall.”
    Robert slumped in his chair. “Circumstantial doesn’t mean he didn’t do it. I’ve put away plenty of people with circumstantial evidence. Plenty.”
    “Like I said, he could be guilty, but the last time I looked, sleeping with a woman wasn’t the same as murdering her. If that were the case, I’d have been in prison years ago. Besides, the victim made the rounds. That came out at trial.”
    “Yeah, but those others weren’t in bed with her, unconscious. Have they ever found the real murderer? No. ’Cause Daughtry’s it.”
    “No point arguing with you. You twist things to bolster your position.”
    “No point arguing because I’m right. Still, I don’t like he’ll be that close to my wife, building her my fireplace.”
    Harris picked up his red pen, hissed between his teeth. “I give up.”
    “She won’t make it without me. Why do you think she stayed with me for twenty years?”
    “You know why she stayed.”
    Heat circled Robert’s neck. “Don’t bring that up, or you’ll be looking for another job. Have you forgotten who owns this newspaper? Who owns you?”
    “How could I forget? You remind me on a regular basis. Go ahead. Fire me. I’m a good newspaperman. The only reason I’m still here is because I grew up in this town. I like it here. But you fire me, and everyone will know what I know.