Fulfilling Promises (Red Starr, Book Five) (13 page)

“I don’t regret it.” Trigger wanted that out there. Devyn carried on as if she hadn’t heard a word he said. He waited until they were securing the soft top under the boot. She would have turned to go back around her side once she’d buttoned down her share of the black canvas and stowing the plastic rear window had he not reached for her. “Talk to me.”

“Why?” Devyn said, gently removing her wrist from his hand. The smallest of breezes moved a few strands of hair into her face and she tucked them behind her ear. He still couldn’t see her green eyes to gauge what she was thinking. “Nothing I say gets through to you, John. You think I don’t know the detective has a job to do? You think I don’t know why he brought me in? I saw the family photos on his desk. He’s a husband and a father, most likely a very nice guy. But you know what? He’s messing with my life and my dislike for him following protocol has nothing to do with my upbringing.”

Devyn made an attempt to return to her side of the vehicle before facing him again, having changed her mind. She drew her sunglasses up so that her dark hair was pulled away from her flushed cheeks. Trigger braced himself for whatever accusation she was about to hurl his way…he just hadn’t counted on her being so close to the truth.

“Your problem is you don’t give me enough credit. You consistently underestimate me in every way that counts. You might have loved me like a woman on your last visit home, but let’s face it—you still treat me like your best friend’s kid sister when it comes to dealing with life in general. Let me know when that changes, and you might get another glimpse of the woman who was able to bring you to your knees.”

‡

T
he Laughing Griffin
was busy for a Wednesday night, but Devyn wasn’t that surprised given recent events. The conversation was of course flowing, most likely still about Joey, and music drifted from the jukebox for the sole purpose of covering what was being said between conspirators. The regulars were always seated at the bar as if there was assigned seating, while Luke and Cody were playing pool. A group of men she remembered from high school were congregated around the dartboard with longnecks in hand. The night was proceeding smoothly and she hoped it stayed that way. With all the extra hours Isaac was pulling, she’d need the extra income to pay him.

Devyn closed the door to her office behind her, ensuring Diesel was by her side, and caught sight of Isaac tending bar up front. Their cook, Erwin Foy, was in charge of the small order kitchen and appeared to have everything under control while churning out one order of wings after another. She decided to remain in the shadows in order to tamp down the gossip mill and was just about to head upstairs to her apartment when the sound of a shrill voice stopped her.

“Hey, Jenna,” Devyn greeted with a wince, but still turned around with a small smile on her lips. Jenna really was a sweetheart and it wasn’t her fault that Devyn just wasn’t in the mood for company. If she’d wanted to avoid people, she should have stayed in her office. “I appreciate the flowers you sent.”

“Oh honey, anything to brighten your day.” Jenna glanced over her shoulder and wiggled her fingers, although Devyn couldn’t tell who the recipient was. “I heard you went to the police station today. Did everything go okay?”

“As good as can be expected given what’s happened.”

Devyn sensed Trigger’s presence before she saw him, as did Diesel. Trigger had been gone for most of the day visiting his family and getting the door to the garage replaced after the locksmith had said it was totally shot. She’d stayed back at the tavern to go over the work orders he’d made copies of before turning them over to Detective Chaisson. There hadn’t been much to go on, but she did make a few phone calls that yielded something interesting she wanted to talk to Trigger about when he returned. It appeared that would be sooner rather than later.

“What in the world?” Jenna muttered right before someone else interrupted the peaceful atmosphere of the bar. “Isn’t that…”

“Where is he, Isaac?” Pam Crouse asked furiously as she made her way around the bar. “He promised me he’d stop coming here during the week.”

“Pam, he’s not here,” Isaac replied with a shake of his head. “I haven’t seen Gil since he was here with you last Friday. You can ask anyone here.”

“I feel so sorry for her,” Jenna said softly, rubbing her hands up and down her arms as if to ward off a chill. She shot a sideways look at Devyn. “I used to be married to a man like that. It doesn’t get any better with age.”

Devyn wasn’t one to talk about her customers, but she sympathized with Jenna and Pam. Jenna’s move back home to Amberton had been to get away from her ex-husband back in Corinth. She’d moved on with her life while Pam still clung to the hope that her husband would change his ways. Gil Crouse liked to drink, socialize, and womanize more than most men. He wasn’t what his friends would call a bad guy, but he certainly hadn’t settled down the way a man should in his thirties who was married with crumb crunchers still in diapers.

“Jenna, it’s good to see you,” Trigger said, coming up to both women with his usual half smile in place. This was the man Devyn remembered. Joey’s murder had dampened everyone’s disposition, but it was nice to see a little familiarity in one’s close friends. It reminded Devyn that she needed to start planning the memorial celebration Joey had wanted, but she refused to consider it until the person responsible was behind bars. “Devyn, do you have a minute or two?”

Devyn sighed and tried not to show how exhausted she was. Nothing had really changed from this morning and going over it again was as useless as pissing into the wind. She’d eliminated three work orders from the stack Trigger had pulled out as needing to be vetted. She’d based her decisions to exclude them on knowing more than she should about the residents of Amberton. It was simple math—subtract those who couldn’t have done what they’d accused her of doing and the remainder was your suspect pool. Want to know what goes on in a small town or who might be capable of real trouble? Visit the bar and watch the day-to-day interactions of the townsfolk.

“Yeah,” Devyn said somewhat reluctantly before telling Jenna that she’d catch up with her later. “Let’s go back into my office.”

Devyn had purposefully chosen neutral ground due to her ill-timed emotional outburst this morning. What had prompted her to goad Trigger with their personal issues at a time like this? Now wasn’t the right time and he would most likely be long gone before either of them did anything about it, so what was the point anyway?

“Isaac, we’ll be upstairs for a bit,” Trigger called out, resting his hand on the small of Devyn’s back. It reminded her of this morning and she realized that maybe he’d taken her provocation to heart. Speaking of hearts, hers just accelerated in a manner that wasn’t welcome at the moment. “You, Ms. Wilde, have some explaining to do.”

“Me?” Devyn asked, her mind now preoccupied with whatever he was suggesting. She continued to walk up the stairs off the lower hall until she entered her apartment open to the landing above, ignoring Trigger’s annoyance at the fact that she’d left it unlocked and the door was standing open. She’d only been downstairs for less than an hour, so there hadn’t been a need. “I’ve told you everything I know and then some. I did cross off three people from the stack of work orders, but I think Hugh Locket is definitely worth checking into. I’ve never seen the name before and he’s obviously not from Amberton. His address is listed as Corinth, so why drive all the way out Highway 72 and down 354 to get an oil change? He could have gotten it cheaper in town at the Quick Stop. Joey jotted down the same curiosity, along with the fact that Hugh Locket was asking a lot of intrusive questions about the residents and the town in general.”

“You need to start keeping your doors locked,” Trigger advised, closing the door behind them. Diesel had already had his dinner, but he did make his way over to the water bowl. “Someone called Detective Chaisson and purposefully impersonated me, giving him the security code to the garage. That’s something we need to follow up on first thing in the morning, but right now…I drove out to Joey’s trailer, Dev.”

Devyn hesitated before going over to the refrigerator and reaching in for a bottle of flavored water. She took her time unscrewing the cap and taking a sip of the orange concoction, already knowing what this was about. It wasn’t Trigger’s business and he really should have warned her he was driving out that way. She would have told him about the changes, but there hadn’t been a need to bring it up.

“Did you find anything?” Devyn asked, playing obtuse. She really didn’t want to get into it and they had more important things to cover. “The police were there on Monday night, I went Tuesday morning before you showed up, and neither I nor the police found anything that would point us in the direction we need to go.”

“Jester told me that you bought the property lot next to your brother’s trailer park when a developer came in and wanted to develop the land for retail purposes,” Trigger said in a somewhat accusatory tone. Devyn took offense to that, but she made herself count to ten instead of replying. “You did that so Joey wouldn’t have to move and find a new place to live.”

“The only overhead I have is running this place and I’ll make that back threefold. Let’s face it,” Devyn pointed out, wishing Trigger wasn’t making such a big deal out of this, “Joey couldn’t really afford anything but the trailer. I used all of my savings to make sure he didn’t have to move. What’s wrong with investing in real estate?”

“Nothing at all,” Trigger replied softly and in somewhat admiration, which only fueled her anger.

“You make it sound like I’m not a nice person,” Devyn snapped, setting her water bottle on the counter with a thud. “I didn’t want to see the trailer park renovated into another shopping center or witness those people lose their homes. I lived there. It’s still my home too, you know.”

“Did you ever think the police might be swayed by the fact that you paid a hefty price just so your brother wouldn’t have to leave the only home he’s ever known?” Trigger pointed out, closing the distance between them and joining her at the small counter. She could literally feel the heat from his body against the side of hers. “It shows how much you care for him.”

“Maybe to you, but not to the police.” Devyn was getting tired of pretending she had such a pristine reputation. “Wake up, John. They see a hometown girl who had a reputation of running around with the boys and ending up opening a bar for those same men to come drink and hang out with her every day. It doesn’t matter if I really slept with all of them or not. I don’t have a college education, my shotgun was used as a murder weapon, and my temper got the best of me—which was recorded for the police to hear word for word.”

“No more,” Trigger warned, his dark simmering eyes meeting hers head on when he trapped her against the counter with an arm on either side of her. Devyn hadn’t been expecting this kind of reaction, but she should have. She didn’t purposefully disparage herself to gain his sympathy, but he had to understand other people’s judgments. She put her palms flat on the shirt he was wearing, expecting him to move when she pushed against his solid frame. He only pressed closer. “You are every bit as respected as any other woman in this town. You came to the wrong conclusion that people thought less of you because of how little you had growing up based on a couple ruthless reactions from those who didn’t simply understand or really matter. Julie Pernell, Kate Schaffer, and Autumn Remeyn are some of the girls who come to mind from back then. Look at them today for all of their efforts. They have nothing on you and your character, Devyn.”

“I appreciate your vote of confidence dealing with my reputation, but facts are facts.” Devyn didn’t want him to think she sat in this apartment night after night pitying herself and her lot in life. She should drop her hands, but his heat all but soaked into her and gave her the warmth she needed at this moment. “I’ll admit I did some things that were a little wild in my day and only added fuel to the fire, but I’m at peace with who I am today. That doesn’t change the fact that the police might see me a bit differently. I just need to prove them wrong, which is why we have to locate Hugh Locket to find out what he’s up to. He’s the only lead I’ve come up with thus far, unless Detective Chaisson is really looking elsewhere and finds something to lead him in another direction.”

“You never cease to amaze me.” Trigger’s words came out rather raspy and her body responded in kind. Was it so bad to want to be close to someone during a time like this? He’d held her while she cried yesterday, exposing her vulnerability to him in a way she hadn’t done before. Yes, he’d be gone at the end of his two weeks’ leave, but Joey had been their connection here. She still wanted to hold onto that thin promise and reiterated to herself that it was only temporary. “You’re such an enigma and you always keep me guessing.”

“There’s no guessing here, John,” Devyn whispered, really considering taking him up on what he was most likely offering. “We’re attracted to one another. That’s it. It’s physical.”