Chapter 16

"Perhaps time's definition of coal

is the diamond."

–Khalil Gibran

Rayne

There was little that I liked to do less on my day off than babysit a bunch of criminals. I had started staking out every place I knew Declan could be shortly after they'd driven Evelyn's body away.

A knock on the man's trailer door had turned into me obtaining an early morning warrant. I did a quick search of the small and extremely dirty place and found a handful of party drugs, a lot of alcohol, and a few firearms with their serial numbers filed off.

The man's car had been in the barn and we had towed it in. But after a glance, I could tell it wasn't the vehicle that had plowed into Evelyn in the alleyway. It didn't even have an engine in it and wasn't running.

Since the only other vehicle registered to the man was a motorcycle, which I assumed he was currently riding around somewhere just out of reach.

One thing was sure—it wasn't a damned hog that had done that to the woman. More like a large truck or something bigger.

I hadn't been the one to knock on Mrs. Hart's door and tell her that her daughter was dead. I hadn't been there to see the woman's son, Tristan, cry when he was told his mother would never return. That wasn't my job.

My job was to find the SOB that killed her.

Hit-and-runs happened all the time but this one felt personal. If Declan hadn't been released, I was positive Evelyn would still be alive.

After I found the man and hauled him down to jail again, my next step would be to find out exactly why he had been released.

I watched the man's home and workplace all day. I knew the rest of the Reapers were at the bar, so I sat waiting. When Declan didn't show, I followed Ben. Everyone in town knew Declan followed the man around like a shadow.

Watching Jameson and Ben disappear on their bikes together shortly after sundown, I knew that whatever was happening, I'd get an update from Jameson when possible. So I held back and returned to my place to eat dinner, shower, and change before heading back out to sit at a smoky bar for the rest of the night, waiting for Declan to show.

Randy had hired a company to come in and replace my front window and remove everything that had been damaged. Gone was my comfortable sofa, replaced with an old one that had sat in my parents' den for years. The lamp and end tables would have to be replaced when I had time.

At least for now things were as normal as they could be. While I downed a cold turkey sandwich, chips, and sweet tea, I watched the local news.

The report on Evelyn was brief and to the point. They'd left out a few major details at my request.

When my doorbell rang, I glanced at my security system and groaned. I debated whether to open the door to Sabrina. When she started hitting the button repeatedly, I sighed and walked over and yanked the door open.

"It's not a slot machine," I said as she smiled at me.

"Have a moment?" she asked with a bright smile.

"No," I said, starting to shut the door in her face. I should have seen the old stick-a-foot-in-the-door routine and planned accordingly. But I had yet to sleep and was extremely tired. "Go away," I groaned.

Sabrina easily pushed open my door and stepped inside.

"Hey sister, that's called breaking and—" I started, but she held her hand up for me to stop.

"I have something you will want to hear," she said firmly.

I took a few deep breaths and then motioned to my new sofa. "Five minutes," I warned.

She nodded and moved over to sit down. "Can I have some of that?" she asked, motioning towards my tea.

"This isn't a diner," I warned, but when she tilted her head and just looked at me, I rolled my eyes and poured her a glass. Since I didn't have a coffee table any longer, I handed her the glass. "Talk."

"I have information that Declan O'Malley is not in Gemsville," she said after taking a sip.

"Where is he?" I asked as I sat across from her.

She shrugged. "Felix disappeared with him shortly after you found Evelyn."

My eyes narrowed. "Felix himself?" She nodded. I had seen Felix at the bar before following Jameson and Ben out of town. If he was back in town without Declan, then he was the man I had to talk to.

She pulled a picture out of her purse and held it out for me. "I also have information that this guy is not who he says he is."

I reached for the photo and my hand paused halfway through the air when I heard this. Frowning, I took the image of Jameson from her fingers. "Oh?" I asked, trying to sound bored.

Sabrina chuckled and held out another photo. "And I think you know something about it."

I took this photo and frowned at an image of Jameson and me at the bar that first night.

"Who do you think he is?" I asked, holding onto the images. There was no way I was going to give them back to her.

She shrugged. "I'm on the fence there. Whoever he works for has connections." She leaned back on the sofa. "FBI, DEA." She chuckled. "IRS. Does it matter? There is no way that man is who he says he is."

I leaned my elbows on my knees. "What do you know?" I asked.

She mimicked my moves. "Nothing."

I narrowed my eyes. "Sabrina," I warned.

She smiled and suddenly leaned back again. "I know you." She pointed at me. "I know there is no way in hell you'd be caught dead with a Reaper" She pulled out another photo, this one of me sneaking up Jameson's stairs the night before. "Which means you know exactly who he is. And since I know you like men who are bad boys on the outside but you wouldn't be caught dead messing around with someone who was bad on the inside, that makes Mr. tall, dark, and"—she made a hissing sound with her teeth—"sexy as hell an honest-to-god good guy on the inside." She tucked the last photo back into her bag.

"You're treading on thin ice," I warned. Sabrina smiled back at me, waiting. "Your five minutes is up," I said, standing up.

"Tell me, off the record," she said. "Rayne." Her voice changed as she motioned around. "I'm worried about you. We used to be friends."

"Used to be," I added, motioning towards the door.

"There is no way I'd run with the story," she said, and I walked over and yanked her arm until she stood up. "Like I'd want his or your death on my hands." She scoffed. "Seriously, I'm smarter than that."

"What's your angle?" I asked when she wouldn't budge.

"My angle…" She turned suddenly and looked at me. "Seriously?" She motioned towards my house again. "Someone shot at you." She frowned at the sofa. "Wasn't that in your parents' den?"

I rolled my eyes and took several deep breaths. "Sabrina."

"Rayne," she retorted. "Just… assure me he's a good guy and I'll drop it. But when the story does break, I get the scoop."

I stared into her eyes for a moment. I'd known her my entire life. At one point, we had been a trio—me, Aria, and Sabrina. I had trusted her with my early teenage secrets and she'd trusted me with hers.

But this wasn't some teenage crush I had on Jameson. If I spilled his secrets and she dropped her guard to the wrong person, it was the life of the man that I was growing to love on the line.

"I can't." I shook my head. "If you trust me, then that should be enough."

Sabrina reached up, took my shoulders, and surprised me by pulling me into a hug. "That's enough for me," she said easily. "Be safe. Please."

I stood there in total shock as she let herself out of my house.

When that wore off, I headed down to the BBB and watched Felix as I waited for Jameson and Ben to return.

When Nadia purposely bumped into me, I was ready for a fight. I wanted nothing more than to knock the woman's teeth in. It was obvious the entire Reaper gang was out in full force that night except Declan. Which meant they were all hiding a murder.

Did Evelyn mean so little to them? She'd been part of their gang. Part of their family.

Did Izzy and the other women realize how little their lives mattered to them?

After that run-in with Nadia, all of my energy seemed to drain. Besides, watching Izzy paw the man I wanted to be with more than anything sucked the life right out of me.

After heading home and clocking out for a handful of hours, I headed into the office first thing after sunup. I was eager to find out all I could about Evelyn's death.

"Isn't it your day off?" Sam Davis, a younger cop, asked. Sam was one of the men in town who was a constant flirt. He used his charms on both women and men and usually walked away with whatever he wanted. I liked the guy but knew better than to work side by side with him, lest I fall prey to those charms.

Instead of answering, I glared at him.

"Okay." He held up his hands as if he were surrendering. "Maybe it will cheer you up to know there are donuts in the break room." He quickly turned away.

I smiled as I took a large chocolate-covered, cream-filled donut. I usually never got anything more than a stupid glazed one when someone brought them in.

I poured myself a mug of fresh coffee, balanced my donut on top of my mug, and headed back to my office.

The scent of freshly brewed coffee and the sugary aroma of a giant donut instantly lifted my spirits. It was going to be one of those days fueled by caffeine and carbs, and I was ready to dive headfirst into the case that had kept me tossing and turning last night.

With a satisfied sigh, I settled into my chair and waited for my computer to boot up. The stack of files on my desk beckoned, each one representing a piece of the puzzle in the mysterious death of Sharon Taylor.

I was no further on that case than I had been the day I'd discovered her, which just really pissed me off. For now, I needed to set that aside.

First things first. I needed to dig into the autopsy reports for Evelyn. I pulled up the documents on my computer screen, my fingers flying over the keyboard as I scanned the details. It didn't take long for the pieces to start falling into place. Based on the severity of her injuries, Evelyn had been struck by a large vehicle. Time of death was just before three in the morning, which meant she'd lain there for less than half an hour before I'd discovered her.

Just as I was about to delve deeper into the evidence, a knock on my office door interrupted my concentration. I looked up to see Quincy standing in the doorway with a curious expression.

"Hey." His voice was casual but with an underlying tension that set my senses on edge. "Got a minute?"

"Sure thing," I replied, gesturing for him to come in as I tapped my keyboard and set my computer to sleep. "What's on your mind?" I leaned back and took a sip of my now lukewarm coffee.

Quincy stepped into my office, his eyes darting around the room before returning to me. "I was just wondering if you'd made any progress on the mayor's murder case," he said, his tone carefully neutral.

I felt a prickle of suspicion at his question, but I brushed it aside, chalking it up to the usual curiosity among colleagues. "I'm following a few leads," I said, deciding to keep my response vague.

Quincy nodded, but there was something in his gaze that made me uneasy. Was it just my imagination or was there a hint of fear behind his eyes?

We'd only officially been an item for a few weeks, maybe a month, but I liked to think I knew the man. This behavior was different than I'd seen from him before. He looked on edge for some reason.

"Didn't you have today off?" he asked, suddenly.

"Evelyn is mine," I told him firmly. He slowly nodded.

"What's the word on that?" he asked.

"I just started."

This wasn't the first time he'd poked his head in my door. Actually, I think it was one of the reasons we'd gotten together in the first place. That and he was my type.

But since I didn't do cheaters, he was now off that list forever.

"Anything else?" I asked.

He took one more glance around and shook his head. "Just, uh…" He glanced around and then stepped inside my office and shut my door. "There's a new rumor going around about you and that Reaper. I thought we talked about this." There, there was the old Quincy. The man who thought he could tell me what to do because we'd spent a few heated nights together.

I rolled my eyes and tried to blow him off. "Since when are you into gossip?"

"So it's not true?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Quincy," I warned, "you gave away all your rights to know what is and isn't going on in my sex life when you cheated."

He sighed and then nodded. "Fine, but at least let me warn you."

I held up my hand. "Step down," I warned him.

He threw his hands up. "As a friend," he started again, but stopped when I cocked my head.

"I hear you're seeing Clara," I countered. From the look on his face, I could tell that I'd hit a nerve. No one in the office, and I do mean no one, knew that I'd seen Clara and Quincy heading into the file room together. "I thought she was with Wyatt Taylor?" I countered.

Thankfully, Quincy turned and stormed out of my office without another word. There, I'd put him in his place at last.

I returned to my task and scanned over every inch of the report from the coroner. He had taken into account her broken arm, cuts, and bruises from the previous attack and determined that Evelyn had been killed by a simple hit-and-run.

For the next few hours, I ran through every vehicle registered to any past or present Reaper member, including those associated with the gang, such as the countless women that hung around the male members.

By lunchtime, I was so frustrated I needed a walk to clear my head.

The police station sat next to a very nice large park. When I'd been in grade school, we'd had many class trips to explore the flora and fauna in the area.

I'd been more interested in pretending to find clues and trying to match the footprints of the school kids than paying attention to the names of the plants. Picking a park bench, I sat down for a while and replayed Evelyn's last day in my head.

She'd been released from the hospital a few hours after she'd woken up and had some scans that cleared her. Her medical report showed that she'd had a blow to the back of the head along with the broken arm, which had been put in a bright blue cast. She also had some cuts and bruises which had been treated.

From what they could tell, she hadn't been hit in the face, just the back of the head.

I replayed the scene of Declan hovering over Evelyn. He'd pulled back his arm as if preparing to hit her. Hadn't he? Maybe I was biased? Maybe I'd seen what I had wanted to see?

In Declan's interview, he'd stated over and over that he'd found her that way. When he'd shown up to hang out with her while she opened up the bar and she hadn't opened the back door for him, he'd busted through it. Which could have accounted for the banging I'd heard. The back door had been broken off its hinges. If Declan had shouted after finding Evelyn unconscious, that would also match the timeline.

But then, who had Evelyn argued z with? The officers had initially been called out to the scene because of shouting and screaming. Maybe she'd been arguing with the real perp? The one who, possibly, ran her down.

Could Declan be innocent?

Did Evelyn's death have anything to do with the mayor's murder?

The lines just weren't crossing. I couldn't see any connection. Still, when Jameson had told me about the Reapers dropping money off at the Taylor residence in the middle of the night, something had felt off.

I had to try and connect the two deaths and the place to start was by looking fully into Henry Taylor.

But first, I needed food. Real food. I locked up my office and headed down the street to the sandwich shop. I downed an entire Italian sub along with their largest chocolate chip cookie

When I stepped back into my office, I could tell someone had been through my things. This time, I was sure of who it was.

When I stormed into Randy's office, he was on the phone and the stack of files, my files, sat in front of him.

"What in the hell?" I said, not caring who he was talking to.

"I'll call you back," Randy said and hung up the phone. "Problem?"

"Those are mine." I pointed to the files.

"You are supposed to have the day off," Randy returned.

"Well, I'm here." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Can I have my files back?"

He nodded but then put his hand over them. "If you agree that you'll take tomorrow off."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You need time to rest. I can tell when you're burning the candle at both ends. Go spend time with your mother or, better yet, hang out with Aria and Charlotte. Go out for a movie, to a bar. Do something to relax."

I deflated and sat across from him. "This is relaxing to me."

He smiled. "I never imagined when I found you all those years ago just how determined you'd become. I should have known. I mean, no kid survives what you did without being stubborn." He chuckled. "Take your files. Just promise me that you'll get some rest tonight."

I nodded and smiled, then picked up the stack of files and returned to my office. I was riding on the high of the win as I sat back down and dove into exploring the new angle.

Every day that week, I stayed late, hoping to find something, any clue connecting the two cases.

They had buried Evelyn days after her death. It was sad to see how few people showed up for her funeral. Besides her family, members of her mother's church were the only guests. Not a single member of the Reapers had been in attendance.

I'd seen Jameson a handful of times. Every time, he'd been surrounded by Reaper members or Izzy. From what I could tell, he was still successful at keeping the woman at arm's length and was growing extremely frustrated at the woman's advances.

I desperately wanted some alone time with him. Even though we'd texted one another on his private number a few times, I wanted face to face time soon.

Having spent so much time in my office looking at computer screens and the small print in the files, I was exhausted and just wanted to go home. I grabbed my keys from the desk and stepped out of my office.

"I'll see you in the morning," I told Sherry as I passed her desk. She glanced up from the phone and waved at me.

Even though it was just past noon, it was the dead middle of summer, and I was drenched in sweat just a few seconds after stepping outside. This time of year, people shuffled from the air-conditioned indoors to their cool cars quickly and only enjoyed spending time outside in the early mornings or long after dark.

I wasn't surprised to see Jameson's Harley in front of the bar along with a row of other bikes next to it. When I walked into the place, I ran my eyes over the normal after-lunch crowd. Most of the Reapers who had the day off or didn't work sat in the back at a booth. It looked like the smaller group was holding a meeting.

None of the groupies were in attendance, which I found odd.

Deciding not to play it cool just this once, I walked straight over to the table and sat down next to Felix.

"Hey, gang." I smiled at each member. "What's shaking?"

I watched Jameson's eyes narrow slightly at me.

"Detective," Felix said slowly.

"Is this a bonified card-holding, members-only event or can anyone have a beer?" I waved at Faye and shouted, "A round for the table on me."

Faye stopped in her tracks, blinked a few times, and then hurried away.

I turned back to the eight men, all of whose files I had just spent days extensively studying, except for Jameson.

"Plotting your next bake sale?" I leaned on the table. When no one answered, I turned to Felix. "I noticed not a single member or groupie of your little group attended Evelyn's funeral. I thought Reapers took care of their own?"

"You're overstepping," Felix said in a low tone. Then he turned to Jameson and growled, "Rein your bitch in."

"Oh no." I laughed, getting everyone's attention again. "He's your bitch. So is each man at this table." I leaned closer to him. "So why didn't you give a fuck about Evelyn?" I stared Felix directly in the eyes. "Only boys are family members?"

The man was easily twice my size. He stood at six-two and his dark blond hair was shaved on the sides of his head, leaving the top flopping over his eyes. A makeshift mohawk of sorts. My guess was that he styled it that way to showcase the tattoos above each ear. His full beard was slightly red, and he'd even added a few braids to his beard at one point.

The man, as with most of the Reapers, was packed with muscles and always seemed to be wearing black or leather.

"You're pushing your luck, detective." Felix leaned closer to me.

All I could see in his cold blue eyes was power. The power he either believed he held or the power he used to control his emotions.

"Do yourself and Evelyn's son, Tristan, a favor. I don't give a damned where you get it, but her mother is struggling to pay the bills now that her daughter isn't working here to support them." I motioned around the bar. "If you, any of you"—I glanced around the table slowly—"ever gave a damn about her, you'd anonymously donate to the boy's fund." I stood up suddenly as Faye delivered a tray of beers. "I don't give a fuck if the money is dirty in any way. Not when I've seen firsthand just how that kid felt after losing his mother." Setting a couple of twenties on Faye's tray, I added, "Otherwise, everyone in town will know you're all pieces of shit. Enjoy the beer." I decided I'd had enough fun for one day, so I stormed out of the building and drove home.