Mike Reuther - Return to Dead City (25 page)

The Aftermath

Reba, of course, went to jail where she belonged. The trial probably dragged on a little longer than it should have. But once the lawyers were done the jury wasted no time convicting her on first degree murder charges. She got a life sentence.

The trial itself, with its intriguing mix of sports, complicated romantic entanglements, and a murder, attracted a feeding frenzy of media types to town.

And why not? It had its share of moments. I got to say that. The defense tried to establish that someone else may well have had a motive for killing the ballplayer. Mick’s name was mentioned more than once during the trial, and Miller, in a long testimony in defense of his wife, painted a picture of the muscleman’s drug dealing activities. Which didn’t do Mick a whole hell of a lot of good. Not long after the trial ended, the police made a raid on Mick’s Gym. He now awaits trial on drug trafficking. It will be interesting to see how that comes out. League officials, who have the final say on sales of ball clubs, forced him to give up plans to buy the team.

Hampton flew down from New England for the trial and proved to be a key witness for the prosecution, and in the process became somewhat of a celebrity. Each day, with the wrapping up of another day’s proceedings, Hampton and the journalists covering the trial would repair to the Spinelli Hotel’s lounge where the professor would regale them with stories of Centre Town’s sordid past. Last I heard, he had signed a contract with some publishing house to write about the murder.

Emerson and Walter went to New York where the hot shot pitcher won some key September games for the Mets. But over the winter he hurt his arm, and his future in baseball doesn’t look good. And they say there isn’t a God.

I’m continuing on in Centre Town. The publicity from the trial didn’t hurt my business any. In the months following the thing, I was up to my ears in cases, especially those involving wayward husbands. Things got so damn busy I had to hire an assistant to help me with the office work. Interesting enough, I ended up putting Jeannette on the payroll. The woman badly needed a job and proved to be one hell of a secretary.

Pat and me continue to do our little dance. God only knows where we’re going with that. At any rate, it seems as if I’m settling into my old hometown. I actually quit
drinking a few months ago, and even began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at a downtown church. Hey. Everyone but murderers deserve a second chance in my book.