Deven nodded her insistence. “Yes, I’m sure,” she said. “I always lock my door.” Her hand tightened and the note crinkled. Deuce had made his presence clear. But now Deven wasn’t so sure if she should share those facts. Because if she did, McKinney would want to know about who he was and what the hell they had been doing over there. The story would sound as crazy as it was, that’s for sure.

Deven tossed a look to Paul who stood watching in the bedroom doorway. They hadn’t really discussed a plan while they waited for the police to arrive. McKinney was already suspicious in her own right, apparent at the station and now as she searched the apartment. Calling her had been complete impulse, fueled by fear at the break-in, but now Deven was starting to regret it. Things weren’t adding up and McKinney was far from stupid. But now everything had changed. Her life was possibly in jeopardy.

On sight, Deven pulled the note from her pocket and held it out for the officer to see. “We know who did this,” she admitted.

McKinney frowned, took the paper, and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the message and she looked up with a questioning gaze. “Who is Deuce?”

“My sister’s boyfriend,” Deven said. She had decided she was going to straddle the fence between the truth and lying by omission. Telling everything now about Kennedy’s connection to Amber Wright would only make her look like an accessory.

McKinney pulled a pen and notepad from her back pocket. “Her boyfriend, you say?” she echoed as she jotted in the pad. “Why would this Deuce character break into your home? What does ‘stay out of it’ mean? Stay out of what?”

“I’ve been looking into my sister’s disappearance.”

“Ms. Reynolds, we confirmed the body in the morgue belongs to Kennedy, remember?”

“Yes, I know. And I’m not saying you’re lying, but that makes absolutely no sense because that woman is not my sister.”

McKinney had stopped writing and she was now staring at Deven with an incredulous look. “Ms. Reynolds . . .” Her lips moved to say something else, but at that point, no other sound came out.

Frantic, Deven rushed on. “You know how when you’re in the Witness Protection Program you go into hiding with a new identity? I think that’s what happened.”

“Ms. Reynolds, if your sister was in the Witness Protection Program, I assure you, we would know about it.”

Deven shook her head and tried again. “I don’t mean literally,” she clarified. “I just think she went into hiding to escape this guy, Deuce. I believe he’s abusive.”

McKinney lifted an eyebrow, her face unreadable. “Have you witnessed some abuse or violent disputes between them?”