Deven giggled. “Well, since you asked . . .” and she dove in without even realizing she had needed to. The weight of it all felt like a boulder on her back so she talked and talked, grateful for the release. She told him everything, what she found at Kennedy’s apartment, the information she found out from Benji and her mom, the will, even visiting Kennedy’s dad in jail. She could tell the way the frown engraved on Paul’s face that he wasn’t too pleased with that last part, but just as interested in what the man had to say.

“. . . then he told me that his ex, Erika Garrett, is who I need to talk to,” Deven explained. “But he didn’t know how to get in touch with her. So, I went back to Deuce.”

“You did what?” A mix of shock and anger marred Paul’s face as he just stared wide-eyed. “Deven why would you do that? That’s dangerous. You should’ve called Officer McKinney.”

Deven shook her head. “No, I can’t do that. With everything that we found out, you already know it’s a lot of illegal shit that’s going to look even worse. Especially after what happened when she brought in Amber Wright.”

Paul’s frown remained in place, but she could see that he knew she had a point. “I still don’t like you going over there,” he said, finally. “And definitely not alone. What did he say?”

“He said he would find her.”

“Just like that?”

“Hm mmm.” Since he was already on edge, Deven thought it best to leave out the $5000 part. That would just add salt to the wound. “I don’t know exactly how long, but he did say he could do it in a few hours.”

“And then what?”

Deven half-shrugged. She wasn’t sure. She hadn’t gotten that far yet. She certainly couldn’t just bust in the woman’s place wielding fists and demanding information. “I’m going to go check her out,” she decided, the ideas running as she spoke. “Nothing crazy. Maybe go see where she lives and when the time is right, try to talk to her.”

“I don’t really like that.” Paul’s frown had deepened. “We don’t know this lady. How do you know Keith even knows what the hell he’s talking about?”

“I . . .” she didn’t know. “Don’t really have a choice now,” she finished. “I mean, what do you think?”

“Well, I get what you’re saying about not calling the police. I don’t like it,” he added. “But I understand it. So, just promise me you won’t do anything without me. I mean, as soon as Deuce sends you the information, you let me know, and we can look into it together. Okay?”