Fulfilling Promises (Red Starr, Book Five) (4 page)

Isaac was a smart man and mumbled something about getting Diesel a bowl of water. The door shut behind him and Devyn highly doubted the Shepherd would be getting that drink any time soon. She set the plate of food down with a thud on her desk, all hunger having fled the moment those cold cuffs had been placed on her wrists. The coffee? Well, that was almost worth having to answer Trigger’s questions.

“Joey kept notes on his customers in the margins of the work orders,” Devyn blurted out, not really caring about his reaction anymore. Her emotions had been a roller coaster, but she was pretty stable at this moment. She wanted to keep it that way. The busier she was, the easier it would be to face the fact that her brother was gone. “I’m going through every one of them to see if anything stands out. I promise I’ll return all of your files when I’m done sorting through them.”

Silence filled the office until all Devyn heard was the low murmurs of her clientele through the thin walls of the tavern. She carefully took a drink of her coffee, not wanting to burn her lips. Her hands were somewhat steady now, so she took advantage of it. She let the warmth of the bitter liquid soak into her, but it did nothing to alleviate the bone-chilling fear that she would be found guilty of Joey’s murder and never be able find the person responsible. It also didn’t come close to easing her grief that only seemed to get heavier as the day progressed.

“Exactly what kind of notes are you talking about?” Trigger asked cautiously, leaning down and reaching over Diesel for one of the files.

Devyn winced when he opened one up, finding exactly what Joey had written about Mr. McBaucenn. The fifty-seven-year-old cook at the diner had kept hotel receipts stuffed inside of his glove compartment. He would go out of town the first weekend of every month and stay up near Memphis. Joey questioned what he was doing and if he was having an affair on his wife, but his conclusion had never been reported. Countless of residents had been scrutinized, from Justin Yeatman to Brian Gathright. Both had gone to school with Joey, so why had he picked apart what they had done in their spare time?

“I know it looks bad, but it became a habit of Joey’s during the downtime between jobs.” Devyn hadn’t meant for her statement to come out so defensively. She crossed her arms, wishing the coffee had warmed her. “I got to thinking that maybe he was killed for something he found out while doing some work on a customer’s vehicle.”

“Devyn, all of this,” Trigger announced as he tossed the folder on the floor and then waved a hand over the papers, “is going to the police. I don’t care if you call the investigating officer, the detective in charge, or a lawyer. This could be evidence that could clear your name as a suspect. How stupid could you be to go and take these files before the police got to them? You—”

“Stop right there.” The sweeping anger was more than welcome as Devyn interjected facts Trigger wasn’t aware of. She would just educate him, because she was the only one doing what needed to be done. She didn’t have anyone to watch out for her anymore. She was on her own and he didn’t get the right to dictate to her what she could and couldn’t do. “The police
have
been to your garage. They didn’t find anything worth taking, according to the officer who questioned me. It’s not my problem if they overlooked the fact that Joey was keeping notes in the margins of all of his customers’ orders. I can use—”

“It
is
your problem, Dev.” Trigger closed the distance between them, but she refused to back down from his arrogance in thinking he always knew what was best. He didn’t, or else he would know she was barely hanging on by a thread. The only thing keeping her sanity was
doing
something besides curling up in a ball and being afraid she would never stop crying. “You were officially questioned for Joey’s murder. It doesn’t get to be more problematic than that. You could be withholding the one thing that might point them in the direction of the scumbag who actually did this.”

“I’ll give them everything once I finish going through those folders,” Devyn promised, not liking the sinking sensation in her stomach that Trigger might actually take the choice out of her hands. “There were only two people on this earth that I trusted—me and my brother. He’s gone, so that leaves me to see this through.”

“Are you saying I haven’t done enough to earn your trust?” Trigger inquired in a rather intimidating manner, but Devyn wasn’t going to be sidelined by his hurt feelings because she was being honest for a change. “We’ve been friends all of our lives. I was by your and Joey’s sides when your mom passed away. I stood with him at your graduation. Jesus Christ, Devyn, we even slept together because we felt an attraction to one another. How can you stand there and say you don’t trust me?”

Devyn shook her head at just how obtuse men could be in general, but she’d never been one to sugarcoat things. He wanted the truth? So be it.

“Do you know the first time I ever saw Joey cry was when you left for boot camp?” Devyn wasn’t sure how she got that out without releasing the sob that had gathered in her chest. She’d tried to keep the good and bad memories at bay, because thinking of Joey in such an emotional manner made her want to scream aloud in anguish. It made her want to physically hurt something or someone so that she could deflect her pain. Now there was no stopping it and tears started to pour down her cheeks. “He
loved
you, John. He was so proud of you, but you were everything he couldn’t be. You were always just a bit better at things. Joey kept every single letter you ever wrote him. He would brag about you to anyone who would listen, boasting at how his best friend was changing the world and keeping us safe back here at home. He never once harbored any resentment toward you for living out your dreams, but I was the one left behind to witness the struggles he went through to piece his life back together without his best friend. I was the one who kept him from falling into the wrong crowd of people, from making
more
poor decisions, and bailing his ass out of jail for buying fucking drugs that made him not feel anything at all. You want to know why I don’t trust you? You left him behind at the drop of a hat. Not once, but twice. And Joey wasn’t the only one, John. You left me, too.”

‡

T
rigger was at
a loss for words. He stared at this beautiful woman standing in front of him with her tear-streaked face and wanted to deny everything she’d just said. And yet he couldn’t, at least not in the way that counted. She hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true. He was seeing things in a different light. It was as if he were hearing a song from the eighties and realizing he’d had the lyrics wrong all these years.

“I didn’t leave you, Dev,” Trigger said gruffly, his version of events the only thing he could base his understanding on. The ability to speak was somewhat difficult. He reached out to her, but she stepped back and swiped at the moisture gathered on her face. There were dark blemishes underneath her green eyes that had nothing to do with her mascara. “I didn’t leave anyone behind. I always came home. I know how hard it was for Joey when he was denied medical review and PMR’d, but he came to terms with it. I wrote every chance I could and I always talked to Joey before calling Mom and Dad. He was my link to sanity during my first deployment. He knew how important he was to me.”

“He wasn’t your lifeline, John.
You
were his.” Devyn shakily drew in a breath and picked up her coffee as she turned away from him. She tucked a strand of her long black hair behind her ear as she composed herself. “Did you ever wonder why Joey stopped working at the garage after you left? He couldn’t take facing Mac every day, knowing how he’d disappointed him. Joey hid so much from you and he eventually just shut all of us out.”

“Joey told me the reason he’d quit Mac’s Auto Repair was to concentrate on school. He’d enrolled in community college. I had no reason to doubt him.” Trigger experienced a slice of anger that Devyn was blaming him for Joey’s poor choices. He’d done everything he could to ease his friend’s despondency over having to take a different path than he’d originally planned. “Devyn, what would you have had me do? Not join the Marines? Not continue on with my life? I maintained my ties to my family, to this town, to Mac…Joey, you. I know how hard this must be for you, but—”

“Don’t,” Devyn practically spit out in anger, spinning around with a finger pointed straight at him. “Don’t you dare placate me. Joey was the only family I had left and now this entire town thinks I’m involved with taking his life. Why wouldn’t they? I’m a Wilde, aren’t I? Like my father? Like my mother?”

This conversation had gotten completely out of hand and Trigger wasn’t sure how to get it back on solid ground. Devyn was obviously running on little sleep and anything he said would only cause an emotional reaction. The shock of her brother’s death had hit her hard and then to be questioned on top of that? Yeah, he’d be damned upset too. She was lashing out at the only available target.

“Don’t go there,” Trigger warned anyway, never having liked it when Devyn degraded herself. She and Joey hadn’t had the best upbringing or the best parents. Their father had taken off for parts unknown before either one had reached their teenage years. Folks said he’d died in a robbery up north somewhere. Lila Wilde had made some bad decisions when it came to making money, sometimes even selling drugs or her body when times had been rough. Lila’s choices had affected Devyn’s reputation before she’d even hit high school, but no one had taken the time to really get to know her. “I have never treated you with any disrespect. You are one of the most loyal and caring women I have the pleasure of knowing. The only reason I never took things further than a casual relationship was because
you
had made those stipulations up front. You set the limits. My list of those I completely trust is short, but you are damn well on it. Don’t make me out to be someone I’m not.”

Devyn wasn’t usually someone Trigger would play poker with considering she could bluff her way out of a revival preacher’s sermon. He was still able to catch the surprise in her bloodshot eyes before she looked down at the coffee in her hands. Somehow the conversation turned to them when they hadn’t even resolved the fact that she didn’t trust him anymore. She did, but she was in too much pain right now to see through the grief clouding her vision.

“We’ll get through this,” Trigger said gently, needing her to know that he was there for her and would be there until the end. He wouldn’t abandon her. “We’ll find out who did this to Joey and we’ll make sure the person responsible is put away for a very long time or feeding the gators.”

“Then let me keep these boxes until I’ve gone through them.” Devyn leaned back against her desk. Trigger was honestly surprised she hadn’t collapsed yet, but she was resolute in her determination to search through everything Joey had in those files. “You say you want to help? Then show me.”

“You’re twisting my words to suit yourself, Dev.” Trigger didn’t like being placed in this position, knowing the right thing to do would be to turn all of this over to the police. They hadn’t done a good enough job in searching Joey’s place of work for evidence. He could understand why Devyn didn’t have that much faith in the system. He wondered if he could work this situation to his advantage. “One more day, but only if you get some sleep first. I’ll even go through them with you. When we’ve combed through every one of them, we then turn the work orders over to the authorities.”

Another knock sounded on the door. Trigger squeezed his fist tighter in annoyance at the interruption. Neither one of them had yet to really resolve what had been said, but Devyn didn’t hesitate to answer it.

“Oh, honey.” Jenna Rhodes already had her arms open wide with her bracelets clinking together when the door opened. She was a little eclectic in her style, especially with her pink and blue spikey hair. Trigger didn’t know her that well since she’d only moved here less than a few years ago. Calling her Devyn’s friend was a bit of a stretch, but at least it appeared Jenna thought herself more than just an acquaintance. “I just got back from my mama’s house in Corinth and heard what happened. Are you okay? Did they tell you anything?”

Devyn held up her coffee mug so that it wouldn’t spill and returned Jenna’s hug. Trigger fought the urge to ask Jenna to leave, but figured her presence might be a good thing. He didn’t want to leave Devyn alone, but he really needed to make some calls.

“Jenna,” Trigger acknowledged with a nod. “It’s good to see you, although I wish it weren’t under these circumstances.”

“It’s just so sad,” Jenna said, tears filling her eyes as she kept an arm wrapped around Devyn. She wasn’t the touchy feely type, so it didn’t surprise him when she moved away and walked back to her desk. Jenna put her manicured hand to her lips, holding up her fake red nails as she shook her head back and forth in commiseration. “I can’t believe Joey is gone.”

Trigger glanced Devyn’s way, knowing Jenna’s words weren’t helping the situation. Since when had Jenna become so friendly with Joey? Devyn didn’t need this now. She needed support, which was exactly what he was going to give her as soon as he took care of some business.