by Lynette Mae
Jessie cocked her head in the direction of the break room. “You ready to eat?”
“Absolutely,” Devon said, pushing up on her crutches to follow Jessie down the hallway. The break room was a twenty-byfifteen space with three tables, a refrigerator, sink, and microwave. No frills, but functional, and most importantly, afforded them a little privacy since very few people ever used it. Whatever Jessie had in the bags smelled wonderful. “You’re a lifesaver. I owe you.”
“You just remember that,” Jessie teased.
“If I don’t, I’m sure you’ll remind me.”
Jessie winked at her and scooped out Szechwan noodles and steamed vegetables onto plates.
Devon reached into the other sack, snagging an egg roll. She took a large bite. When Jessie raised an eyebrow, she smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m starving,” she said through a mouthful, which made Jessie laugh at her.
“What’s new with the investigation tonight?” Jessie asked.
“Thanks to a very intelligent and beautiful officer, we now have a great lead on what is probably going to shape up as busting the largest auto theft ring in the department’s history.”
Jessie blushed. “Stop.”
“What? It’s true. On both counts. Anyway, your little caper was the missing piece on all of Kelsey’s unsolved grand theft autos. So, I spent some time today going back over the cases.” She stopped to shovel a forkful of noodles into her mouth. “Now I have everything divided into categories. First, I weeded out the cases that we were able to solve based upon the property recovered in related reports. Then I consolidated the open cases to check on this VIN altering. And last, but not least, we’ve got the gun cases relating to our buddies on the wire. Those may or may not be actually related to Roy, but my money’s on Junior being involved somehow.”
“You have been a busy woman. What can I do to help?” Jessie offered Devon a second eggroll.
“Thanks.” Devon said. “Other than keeping an eye out for anything fishy going on at Roy’s, do you think you could dig a little into Honeycutt’s background? I’m hoping something might turn up to help us find him. I’ve checked motor vehicles, property records, and even utilities. Nothing so far. The last driver’s license he got was before he went to prison, and that’s expired. When these guys get released, they’re supposed to give a valid address, but you know how that goes. Some clerk just punches in whatever they rattle off. The address he gave doesn’t even exist.”
“Isn’t he on probation?”
“He never checked in with his probation officer, so that’s a dead end, too.” Devon popped the rest of the eggroll in her mouth and let out a sigh of exasperation.
“Relax,” Jessie said. “You can’t digest properly when you’ve got yourself all worked up. I’ll make a call to the P.O. and get him violated. Not that one more warrant is going to help us find him, but at least it’s one more charge when we can hit him with.”
“It’s been over four weeks since he’s used that payphone, Jess. Where is he?”
Jessie took a bite of noodles, thinking as she chewed. “You’ve been checking Vincent Honeycutt, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I presume you’ve checked Martin Honeycutt as well. I’ll check his mother’s or even another family name against the property records. Maybe something will turn up there.”
Devon smiled appreciatively at Jessie. “Like I said, beautiful and smart. That was my next move. You know, if I were your girlfriend, I’d never let you out of my sight.”
“You are my girlfriend.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s right.” Devon loved that little quirk that lifted the corner of Jessie’s mouth, and a memory of kissing that exact spot in the afterglow of their lovemaking the night before made her heart stutter in her chest.
“Had enough to eat?” Jessie’s eyes were shining as though she could read Devon’s thoughts.
“For now.” Devon bit her bottom lip, still caught up in the vision. She managed to redirect her focus back to the present.
Jessie’s radio squawked.
“Do you have to go?” Devon asked.
“Not yet. What time are you heading home?”
Devon glanced at the clock while Jessie cleaned up the table. “Probably about eleven. You’re staying tonight, right?” The weekend had slipped by and she hadn’t gotten around to having a serious conversation with Jessie about moving in. It wasn’t often, but Jessie sometimes opted to stay with her folks.
All at once, Devon knew she didn’t want to have to ask that question anymore. She reached out to grasp Jessie’s hand. “Jess, would you move in with me? I mean for good. I know this isn’t the best time or place to ask, and I probably should’ve asked sooner. I didn’t want to pressure you. I just don’t want this to be a question anymore.” She realized she was starting to ramble, so she clamped her jaw shut and waited.
Jessie smiled, but there was something beneath the surface in her eyes that Devon couldn’t read. Hesitation, maybe. Shit. “I’m sorry. No, actually I’m not sorry. It’s all right if you don’t want to. We can keep things the way they are, but I’m glad I asked. I want my home to be your home.”
The radio on Jessie’s hip sounded. “That’s me this time.” She looked at Devon apologetically before responding to the radio call.
“It’s okay. Be careful.” Devon forced a smile through the disappointment and followed Jessie through the door of the break room. Had Jessie completely dodged the question? She kicked herself for bringing the subject up at work when she’d had so many opportunities at home. She could have asked the night before while they talked quietly before falling asleep. They had made love, sharing their very souls with one another, and for Devon nothing was more sacred than what she shared with Jessica. Why didn’t she ask her then? Or when they were watching movies together the night before? Jessie probably wondered the same thing. Devon supposed she had been born with some dominant stupid gene when it came to relationships—good intentions but a failure to execute.
Jessie turned around suddenly. Devon nearly collided with her, choking out, “Wha—”
“Yes.”
Momentarily confused, Devon shifted in order to stay on her feet.
“Yes, I want to live with you. We both know that there are no guarantees, so yes.” She smiled brightly, and for Devon it was like the morning sun banishing her darkness.
Jessie said, “I’ll see you at home.”
Home. Devon watched her go, feeling absolutely giddy, and knowing she wasn’t going to get any more work done tonight.
HONEYCUTT GLANCED AROUND while the phone rang in his ear. His caution was automatic, behavior he’d learned in the hard knocks school of prison. Even when you thought you were completely safe, you never let your guard down. Nothing was taken for granted.
The truck stop service station was quiet at nearly eleven p.m., except for a guy climbing out of a rig loaded with timber. Nobody was paying him any attention.
Someone picked up on the third ring. “Yeah?”
“It’s me.” He shielded his eyes as a semi-truck rumbled down the road, kicking a cloud of dust in the air. He wished the gas station had a real phone booth with a door.
“I haven’t heard from you in a while,” the man on the other end of the line said.
“I needed to lay low. Did you get the information I asked about?
“Yep. I checked all of the names, just to be sure.”
“No problems?”
“No one will question why I wanted the information.”
“So, what have you got?”
“I think you may have hit the jackpot. I confirmed that McKinley is a pilot with Tampa.”
“Okay, what else?” Honeycutt asked.
“A check on Jillian Gray shows she’s a sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando. I can’t believe they’ve managed to gain such respectable positions. This is what happens when they allow a degenerate like Gray to get away with an honorable discharge.”
“Absolutely. I pulled all of their service records. I’ll fax the information to that number you gave me last week.”
“I appreciate the help,” Honeycutt said. “I won’t need anything else after this.”
“Well, if you do, I’m here. Your father was a good friend.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll complete the mission this time.”
Honeycutt hung up and stared off into the darkness, finding it hard to believe that after all these years he was this close to ending what his father had started. He thought about how fortuitous it was that his dad’s cabin was right between the two cities where those bitches worked. Fate was a beautiful thing.
He fed more money into the phone and punched a series of numbers. “You got any work for me?”
“I might,” Roy said. “Two weeks a shipment’s going. My associate says you’ve been to see him?”
“Yeah, he let me pick up a little cash doing some welding. He’s kind of an asshole.”
“He’s a paying asshole.” Roy’s tone was openly hostile.
“You’re right, money is money.” With his key, Honeycutt scratched the words fuck you into the metal shelf in front of the phone.
“Exactly. He’ll let you know where and when. Do what he tells you to do, and I’ll make sure you get paid.”
“Two weeks. Got it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“YOU MADE IT after all!” The sight of Mac stepping onto her lanai made Devon smile broadly. “Jessie said you’d be in Orlando.”
“Change of plans. Can I help you prep that grill?”
“Nah, I got it.”
Devon had become fairly adept at getting around in spite of her cast. Her crutches were propped nearby, but she had no problem leaning against the grill to accomplish her task. She gave Mac a hug.
“How’s the leg?” Mac asked.
“Good. I see the doc tomorrow and if all goes according to plan, I’ll be free of this damned cast.” She struck a stick match on the side of the grill, causing it to hiss and flare to life. Devon touched the fire to the charcoal and watched as the flame gradually caught and spread through the pile. A great deal had happened since their lunch together and Devon hadn’t even had the chance to get the latest updates on Jillian’s visit the weekend before. She said, “Dinner will be in about forty minutes, so you’ve got good timing.”
“It helps when Jessie calls to say what time to be here.” Mac chuckled. “It was really nice of her to invite us.”
“Us?” Devon took a swig from her beer and swallowed loudly. Trepidation crept into her chest and her gaze shifted past Mac to the house.
“Jill, of course. She’s over for the weekend. You don’t mind, do you?” They moved away from the heat and fumes shimmering around the now blazing fire. Devon leaned against a horizontal rail of the screen enclosure’s aluminum framework.
“No,” Devon said. “It’s just…I told Jess that you were dating Jill, but haven’t gotten the chance to talk to her about everything in my past, and—”
The sound of voices approaching stopped her in mid sentence. Jessie arrived on the deck with Jillian, laughing at something Jill had said. Their build was quite similar, with Jessie’s only slightly more slender. Devon and Mac shared a brief look before Jessie spoke. “Jill was just telling me about the first time you were in a gay bar.” She smiled warmly, stopping next to Devon and sliding an arm around her waist. “Jillian is the woman you mentioned a few weeks ago?”
“Uh, yeah.” Devon cleared her throat and downed the rest of her beer.
Jillian said, “It was a long time ago. Seems like a different lifetime now.”
Devon nodded and pulled Jessie more tightly against her side, having the strange sensation of standing in some limbo world between past and present versions of herself.
“I need a beer. You ready?” Mac asked Devon, subtly redirecting the conversation.
“Sure, thanks. There’s some out here.” Devon pointed to a red and white cooler behind the patio table.
Mac nodded, but still took Jillian’s hand and led her inside. Devon watched them go, once again grateful for Mac’s innate understanding and boundless compassion. Mac quietly afforded Devon and Jessie a private moment, while wordlessly supporting Jillian fully.
When they were alone, Jessie turned to study Devon, waiting for her to speak, perhaps. Devon worked through her thoughts, wondering what she could or should say, given that Mac and Jill would be their guests for the evening. She didn’t see how she could get into the entire story with Jess.
After a few moments of silence, Jessie placed a palm on Devon’s cheek and tilted her head to catch her eyes. “It’s okay.”
“What is?”
“Jillian being your first love.”
Devon was stunned. “How could you know that? I told you she was my girlfriend, but—”
“I picked up on a few clues. She took you to your first lesbian bar, which doesn’t necessarily mean anything. She’s gorgeous. And you looked as though you might faint when we came out here together.” She laughed at Devon’s deep blush.
“I was going to tell you about everything,” Devon confessed. “I just hadn’t gotten around to it.”
“You never have to explain yourself to me.” Jessie kissed her.
Devon hugged Jessie tightly. “I want to explain myself to you. Only, sometimes I don’t know where to even begin.”
“Honey, I never thought for a minute that you were celibate before we met, and I’m not one to spend time worrying about the past. I know what I see when you look at me.”
Devon grew serious. “What do you see?”
“My future,” Jessie said simply. “Besides, I like her. Now, I’ll get the rest of our table set. It looks like your coals are nearly ready.”
Jessie started to move away but Devon pulled her back. She wished she had the ability to come up with some witty or romantic line, but instead she kissed Jessie fully, putting every ounce of emotion into the embrace. Someone coughed discreetly from the doorway and reminded her they weren’t alone. Mac and Jillian returned to the deck, all smiles.
“Yell when you’re ready for the burgers, baby,” Jessie said as she headed back inside.
Mac wandered to the far side of the pool while Jillian handed Devon a cold beer. “I hope my being here isn’t a problem.”
“Nope. We’re both glad you are.”
“Sorry I didn’t get to visit since the hospital. I was out of town at a SWAT thing.”
“Not a problem. Mac said you were away. She also said you checked in every day. Thanks for the concern.”
“Always. You’re looking a lot better than my last visit. It’s good to see you up and around again. You had us all worried.” Jillian’s gaze bounced around, unable to settle.
Devon waved her hand dismissively. “I’m like a stubborn weed, I keep coming back.” They laughed together and the tension eased. I can do this, Devon thought. The new dynamic between them was bound to be a little awkward for a time, but for all of their sakes, she wanted to move beyond their past. She figured the investigation was a good topic to get the conversation moving. “What about the auto thefts? Did your friend come up with anything that smells of a cloning operation?”
Jillian looked relieved by the shift. “He’s still checking some of our unsolved cases for possibilities. If these guys are shipping them to Miami and then overseas, there’ll be no way to say conclusively.”
“True.” Devon smiled as Mac joined them.
“Something came up yesterday that might be of interest to you,” Jill said. “Did you see the alert about the murder two nights ago?”
“Yeah, I review those interagency bulletins. I remember seeing it.” Devon scrubbed the cooking grate with the wire brush while they talked.
“The victim was the owner of a body shop that my buddy says our detectives have long suspected of shady dealings. He’s got a rap sheet a mile long. Dealing in stolen property, grand theft, and fraud, to give you the highlights. The video from the shop is pretty grainy, and not very useful. It appears that the attacker was a white male. We think the victim knew him because they’re talking at first. Then I guess one must have said something to piss the other off and an argument ensued. The suspect pulled out a handgun and shot. He then darted out of camera range, can’t tell the direction of travel.”
“What’s this guy’s name?” Devon asked.
“Jorge Rivera. They call him Chino. Does the name sound familiar?”
“No.”
Mac said, “We don’t have a name yet for Honeycutt’s Orange County connection though.”
“I’ll have somebody check our dead guy’s known associates,” Jillian said.
“That’s good.” Devon checked the coals and noted they were nearly ready. “I know it’s a homicide investigation, but can your buddy get access to the shop and check the vehicles for VIN tampering?”
“Probably. Do you really think there’s a connection with your cases?”
“Wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. Honeycutt is in your area, and we heard Roy tell him they’d have a job for him soon. I’d be very interested to know what was going on that got the shop owner killed. What kind of evidence was recovered at the scene?”
Jill shook her head. “Not much. Weapon used was a nine-millimeter. Other than that, nothing.
“Grill master,” Jessie called from the doorway, “here ya go.” She handed the plate of hamburger patties to Mac, who delivered them to Devon. “I hope our secret recipe burgers will be all right for you both.”
