It wasn’t supposed to be funny. But the irony had a laugh erupting. Paul was just as amused, and he chuckled at his own comment.

“It’s really a shame,” Deven mused.

“What’s that?”

“How one woman can do so much damage.”

Lost in thought, she swirled her cup to cause the burgundy liquid to stir. Both of them watched the mini tornado take shape in the bowl of the glass.

“How was she as a kid?”

“Well, she wasn’t robbing banks and going by aliases, if that’s what you mean,” she teased.

“That’s not what I meant.” Paul crossed the room to lean a narrow hip against the bar. “Like did you two get along. Were you close?”

Deven took a considering sip of the sweet liquid. She welcomed the sting of alcohol in her throat. “We were sisters,” she said, finally. “We got along okay, I guess. I’m the oldest and she was just an annoying brat like all little sisters.”

“Hmm, yeah, I got an older and younger brother. So, I get that. But as you get older, I guess it’s not so bad.”

Deven shrugged and took another sip of her wine. “I guess. She moved out when she was twelve,” she admitted.

“Moved out?”

“She went to live with her dad. We didn’t reconnect until she was about seventeen. The move really affected her relationship with our mom.”

“Oh wow. That was a big decision for a little girl.”

Deven didn’t respond and turned back to the Sangria to pour another cup. Weren’t twelve-year-olds old enough to make those types of decisions? She sure had been.

“Well, how did she say it was living with her dad?”

“Rough,” Deven murmured. “She said going to live with him was the biggest mistake of her life but she never said why, and she doesn’t talk about it too much. Mama said it had to be because he was in and out of jail for petty shit. Fraud, burglary, selling drugs . . .” she trailed off, her comment like alarms in her ears.

“Now we see where she gets it from.” Paul’s words echoed her thoughts. “I wonder if she still talks to him.”

“Mama told me he died,” Deven informed him. “Years ago. I don’t think even Kennedy knew. They had lost touch, I believe, as she got older.”

“Oh wow. That’s rough.”

She nodded in agreement, her mind whirring with possibilities. “I was thinking earlier I needed to go back to her apartment,” she said. “I feel like it’s something I’m missing there. Not sure why. I just feel it.”

“Do you think you could talk to your mom, too?” Paul offered. “Maybe she remembers something that could help.”

Deven shrugged but her expression reflected her doubt. “I can try. But you never know with her.”