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Assault and Batter(50)

By:Jessica Beck






Chapter 18


“Reggie, we know you’re in there,” I said as knocked on his door again. I’d been knocking for three minutes, but so far, he hadn’t been interested in answering.

“Suzanne, it appears that he doesn’t want to talk to us,” Grace said. “Can you imagine that?”

“I guess some folks don’t find us as charming as we’d like them to,” I answered.

“I don’t understand it myself.”

“Enough already. I’m here,” Reggie said as he finally opened his front door. “What are you two doing here? I’m done talking about Jude Williams.”

“That’s not why we’re here,” I said.

“Why should I believe you?” Reggie asked, still standing in the threshold.

“Okay,” I said, “what I should have said was that’s not the only reason that we’re here. Mainly, I’d like to hear more about what happened between him and your daughter.”

“You know it, and so does everyone else in town,” he said.

“I’ve heard all of the rumors about how it ended, but I’m not talking about that. What I want to know is how he managed to get so close to her in the first place? That’s what I don’t understand. From everything I knew about Debbie, she was never one to take up with the bad boys, and Jude was that, if nothing else.”

“She thought she could change him, can you imagine that?” Reggie asked as he finally stepped outside and joined us.

I shook my head. “I can tell you that she wasn’t the first girl to hope that about a boy she thought was worth saving, and she won’t be the last, either.”

“Why do women do it, then?” he asked. I was sure he’d asked himself that same question a thousand times since his daughter died. “I just can’t make any sense out of it.”

“We like to believe that our love is enough to touch their hearts and reform them,” Grace said softly.

Reggie looked at her with a new perspective. “It’s happened to you, too, hasn’t it? I can see it in your eyes.”

“More than once,” Grace said softly, and I felt my heart go out to her. My best friend had experienced one long bad run when it came to the men in her life, and no one knew her pain more than I did.

“Once, maybe I can understand, but what made you do it again, even suspecting how it was all going to end?” Reggie asked as emotion swept over him.

“Where there’s life, there is hope, I guess. I truly am sorry about your daughter.”

“I appreciate that,” he said. “All I ever wanted for her was justice.”

“And did you finally get it?” I asked gently.

“I didn’t kill him,” he said, the edge creeping back into his voice.

“At this moment, I don’t care if you did or you didn’t,” I said. “All I’m asking is now that he’s gone, does it ease your pain even in the slightest?”

He looked as though he wanted to cry. “I wish that I could say that it did, but I can’t. No, I’m just as empty and dead inside as if the man was still walking around today. I guess the only comfort I’ll ever find won’t be in this lifetime.”

What a sad way to feel. “We need to find out who killed him, Reggie,” I said.

“Why?”

It was a fair question. “I’d like to say because his aunt Gabby asked us to, but we were already going to dig into it before she asked us for our help. I suppose it’s because what happened to Jude has hung a low cloud over my good friend’s wedding, and she deserves better.”

“Even though she’s marrying your ex-husband?” Reggie asked.

“Even then,” I said.

“Well, I’m sorry I can’t help you, but I’ve got nothing to left to say.”

He started to walk back into his house, and I could see that Grace was about to say something else, but I shook my head, and she ended up keeping it to herself.

“Why did you stop me?” she asked after Reggie was gone.

“The man’s been through enough,” I said.

“So then we’re just going to give him a free pass?” Grace asked.

“No, but I don’t have the heart to beat him up anymore today. Is that okay with you?”

“It’s fine,” she said as she touched my shoulder lightly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good,” I said, though in truth I was feeling a few different kinds of pain myself at the moment. “Do you feel like tackling Frank Grambling now?”

“We might as well,” she said. As we got into my Jeep, Grace asked, “Suzanne, this feels hopeless. How are we ever going to solve this case before the wedding?”