Her Last Scream Read Online Free Page A

influence.”
    He grunted. “She’s a kid, Carson. She should be in college.”
    Harry looked across the lawn. I followed his eyes to Reinetta Early. There was something coltish in her motions, gangly but graceful, framed in laughter as she carried a bowl of salad to a table, chattering with the women. But she seemed to appear a lot older to me than she did to Harry.
    Harry was summoned by a group of men beside the horseshoe court for arbitration on a leaner. I found a sturdy live oak to rest against, sipping beer and watching women trade photos, pointing at the pictures with bright smiles on their faces as snippets of conversation blew past.
    “ … look how she’s grown in just a few short … ”
    “ … Teri and Shaun’s new house in Memphis has a … ”
    “ … so handsome in his graduation gown. Where will he … ”
    My childhood photos were mainly in my mind, portraits dark with tones of fear. My father was a civil engineer who specialized in building bridges, an irony, since his pathological insecurity and anger cut chasms between everyone in our family. My mother was a mouse of a woman who pretended to a storybook life; when my father began his insane rants she would shuffle to her room to sew wedding dresses, the grinding of the sewing machine obscuring sounds beyond her door.
    My brother Jeremy, six years my elder, was my hero, loose-limbed and blond, with a piecing intellect and gentle demeanor behind his blue eyes. But he bore the brunt of our father’s savagery and, at age sixteen lured the man into a nearby woods and tore him apart with a knife. Jeremy escaped detection and went to college, but was later implicated in the horrific murders of five women. Judged insane, he had been institutionalized, escaping under mysterious circumstances three years ago.
    I was mulling dark thoughts when a voice arrived at my shoulder, Reinetta Early.
    “I suppose Harry’s been telling you what a screw-up I am, moving to Mobile and joining the police force instead of continuing with school.”
    I took the diplomatic route, smiling and saying nothing.
    “He thinks I’d have graduated college, spent two years as a female Clarence Darrow, then ascended to the Supreme Court. The truth is I’d be sitting at a desk surrounded by a gaggle of other lawyers.”
    “Gaggle?” I asked. “Is that the collective?”
    She stuck a finger toward the back of her throat. “ Gag- gle.”
    “Studying law’s not for you?”
    “When I was growing up Harry told me a hundred stories about being a cop. It was like watching heroic movies in my head: good guys and bad guys, the good guys not always winning. Starting eight or so years back, you co-starred in the movies. After seeing you guys in my mind for so long, everything else seemed tame.”
    “The money’s better in lawyering,” I said.
    She laughed. “Then I’ll be a cop a few years, write a book, become the next Joseph Wambaugh.” The laugh faded, turned serious. “I don’t think you know my history, Carson. If you did, you’d realize I have a lot to pay back. Being a damn good cop – like Harry – is the best way I can think of to return all I’ve been given.”
    I had no cogent reply. Reinetta Early’s smile returned. “So whatever Harry thinks of my decision, it’s done and he’ll adjust. I just don’t want to become known in the department as Harry’s niece, that Nautilus girl .” She gave me a lifted eyebrow. “Can I trust you’ll be discreet about my secret?”
    “Mum’s the word,” I said, zipping my lips, thinking Is this a bad decision?

7
     
    The reunion ended two hours later, wrapped and bagged for another year. I said my farewells and found Harry in the driver’s seat of the Volvo, leaning forward, head on the steering wheel. He didn’t look up when I opened the door.
    “Moping?” I asked.
    “I’m tired,” he said, pushing from the wheel. “You drive.”
    I retraced our path back to Mobile. Harry stared out the window, not even