“Start from the moment you woke up. It would have been October sixteenth. A Tuesday.”
“Oh, I know exactly what day it was. I’ve replayed it over the last thirty years and I don’t imagine there is a detail I’ve forgotten.”
“Tell me.”
He hesitated and then nodded. “Like you said it was a Tuesday. And it was warm that day. Really warm. I had to get up early to work at the garage. There was a transmission job that needed to be done by lunch. A ’71 Cutlass. Green. Anyway, I wasn’t feeling so good that morning. Hungover. I’d won money in cards the night before and spent it on extra rounds at the bar.” His gaze grew distant.
“What are you thinking?” she prompted.
“About my boy. He was nine at the time. I could have come home the night before and spent time with him, but I chose to go to the bar. At the time I thought I deserved a special night for myself. Thought I was owed a good time. So I left Kirk at home with his mom even though I’d been promising to spend time with him.”
Jeb’s poor parenting had been a painful regret that he’d expressed to her often. He’d said several times that he didn’t want to go to his grave branded a murderer in his boy’s eyes.
“What happened next?” she prompted.
“I grabbed a smoke and left the house about five. The transmission would take every bit of six hours and I didn’t need to lose this job.” He sniffed, shaking his head. “I spent the day at the garage working on the car. Took longer than I’d imagined and I didn’t knock off until six. I could have gone home but I took a detour.”
“Where did you go?”
His gaze dropped. “I drove by Annie’s house.”
“Why?” When he didn’t answer, she added, “Jeb, there’s no downside.”
“’Cause I wanted to see her,” he ground out. “I couldn’t get her off my mind.”
“Why?”
“Because back then I figured I was in love with her.” Rachel’s off camera sigh cut through the silence. “When did you first meet her?”
“About a year before. I was doing work for her landlord. She was living with those two girls.”
“Joanne and Beth.”
“That’s right. They were roommates.” He shook his head. “Those girls was pretty enough, and that Beth girl had a boyfriend that lusted for Annie. I couldn’t blame the guy. When I saw Annie . . . she made the other two look plain. She was a hard woman to forget.”
The office door opened and Colleen breezed into the building. Rachel hit pause. “Hey.”
“What brings you in on a Saturday?”
“Work. A dismal personal life.” Colleen’s gaze skimmed Rachel’s computer screen, which now paused on Jeb’s craggy face. “Why are you watching the interview again? Haven’t you seen it a dozen times?”
“At least. I’ve read my copies of the Annie letters this morning. I thought if I watched the interview again I might pick up a new tidbit. Annie was in love with someone she called Sugar. He gave her nice jewelry and took her on fancy vacations.”
“I can’t believe that was Jeb.”
“No. Neither can I.”
Colleen poured herself a cup of coffee and pulled up a chair beside Rachel. “What did the letters say?”
“I’ve emailed you copies. Basically, they’re love letters. Annie is crazy about Sugar for most of the letters and then she turns bitter.”
“Ah. So it goes with love. She use a name other than Sugar?”
“She never mentioned his real name. Always Sugar.”
“That’s sweet.” No missing the hint of sarcasm. “What about the man she married? What was his name?”
“Bill Dawson. I’ve left him several phone messages but he’s not returned my calls.”
Colleen shrugged. “I can’t imagine he’d want to revisit his wife’s death.”
“I don’t want to hurt anyone but there are questions that need asking.”
Colleen traced her finger along a strand of pearls. “So she could have been writing her husband-to-be?”
“It’s possible.” Rachel glanced at a legal pad full of her scrawled notes. “But Annie is careful about his identity and I get the vibe Sugar wanted their relationship kept secret. Bill wouldn’t have had a reason for secrecy. He was an up and coming guy fresh out of college.”
“Could his family have disapproved? College boy and honky-tonk singer. Like a Romeo and Juliet?”
“He wasn’t from money. He worked his way through school. No family legacy. No wife or girlfriend from what I can find.”
“What’s he do for a living now?”
“He’s a successful businessman. Owns a string of gas stations and convenience stores.”
Colleen eyed the computer screen. “Is this really a valuable use of your time? You don’t know if the DNA is going to help Jeb.”
“You’re right. I’ve paying work to tackle. But I can’t let this go.” Rachel held up her hand as Colleen opened her mouth to object. “And before you speak, this is not lingering guilt over Luke. Not today anyway. I’ve a gut feeling that there is much more to this case.”
A raised brow broadcast Colleen’s skepticism as she crossed for coffee. “So you’re going to reinvestigate the case?”
“If it comes to it.”
Colleen studied her. “When is the last time you slept a solid eight hours?”
A half grin tipped the edge of her mouth. “What month is it?”
Pearls jangled when she reached for more sugar, which she spooned into her coffee. “We both work hard but you work the hours of a crazy woman. You need to lighten up.”
“I know.”
“When will it stop?”
She glanced at Jeb’s frozen face on the screen. “When DNA proves he didn’t kill Annie and he’s out of jail.”
“Isn’t that what you said when you were working on your brother’s case? I mean you did what you set out to do. You cleared his name.”
“I created reasonable doubt, but I never found the real killer. And Luke is dead.”
Colleen’s voice softened. “Killing yourself is not going to bring him back.”
A rush of color flushed her cheeks. “I know that.” Colleen sipped her coffee. “How many days after Luke died did you contact Innocence Project?”
Rachel faced her computer. “I don’t remember.”
“I do. You told me it was twenty-four hours. You told me you rose early that morning, opened your laptop and sent them your résumé. What was the name of the first case you received?”
“Bobby Franklin.” He’d been seventeen when arrested for rape. He’d been imprisoned twelve years when Rachel took the case.
“And you dug into his case for six months before police reopened it.”
“DNA proved he wasn’t involved in the attack. He was released.”
“I know. You are an angel. And then there were a couple of other cases. All good endings. It wouldn’t hurt to slow it up.”
“I did take a break.”
“Three months. And you worked the billable hours like a crazy woman. Innocence Project called you about Jeb and you were off again.”
“Okay. What’s your point?”
“Be careful, Rachel. You can’t keep this pace up forever.”