Devils Among Us (Devin Dushane Series Book 1) by Chastity Harris Read Free Book Online

the sheriff’s
department and state police had focused on Henry as their prime suspect.
Although he had never been able to provide an alibi, there had been no other
evidence to suggest he was guilty, so they had been forced to release Henry,
and by that time all other leads had grown cold. With no new evidence they had
proclaimed that the murder had been committed by an outsider passing through. A
random act of violence.
     “You think you can solve this on your summer vacation?
Hundreds of man hours have gone into this investigation over the years.” Henry
tried to sound casual, but there was an undercurrent of hopeful longing in his
voice.
    Devin smirked at him, “Maybe that’s the problem—too many man hours have gone into this. I think it’s time this murder was looked at from a
fresh perspective, and I have a unique set of skills that could get me a little
further than your average detective.”
    Henry cocked a quizzical eyebrow at her until she
elaborated. “I work for the major crimes unit, my partner and I solve the
unsolvable, it’s our… was our specialty.” She ignored the pang at the
mention of Greg.
    “It’s been thirty-five years. Where do you even start
looking? Who’s going to remember anything?”
    “Well,” Devin sighed as she looked over the worn house and
overgrown yard. “First I have to get settled in here, and then I’m meeting with
the sheriff on Monday morning to take a look at the case files. I’ll need your
help identifying who I should talk to and help with introductions. People will
be more likely to talk to me if I’m not an outsider. They’ll remember more than
you think, and besides—the evidence never forgets.”
    “I think you’re going to need my help with the yard, too.”
Henry smiled ruefully as they both turned to face the house.
    Devin spent the rest of Saturday scrubbing, bleaching and
making trips to the grocery and hardware stores. Everything in the house was
covered with a layer of dust and grime, and there were endless repairs and
replacements that needed to be made. Obviously her father had only provided
basic maintenance over the years leaving the bulk of the responsibility to his
renters. It was not a decision that had paid off. For today, she was just
concentrating on getting the house livable; she’d have to check with her father
about doing any painting or renovations. If he would let her that would be a
great project for her alimony money. She was sitting on quite a nice nest egg
that Carter had provided for her. The house had been built in the 1940s, and
nothing had really been changed since 1960. In fact her father had locked up
Laney’s room, and when he committed his mother to the mental hospital, it
remained a shrine to Aunt Laney’s wasted youth since the night she died.
    As twilight settled in, Devin collapsed into a chair on the
front porch with a diet soda, almost wishing it were something stronger. She
was now filthy, but the house had been improved 110%. The hundreds of tiny white
tiles that covered the bathroom floor and half the wall sparkled after she had
scrubbed each and every one, and she looked forward to sinking into a hot bath
in that heavy porcelain tub.
    The retro appliances in the kitchen still worked, and once
she scrubbed the Formica counters down and discovered the pale green boomerang
pattern, the room had a hip vibe that she thought would be complemented nicely
with some fresh apple green paint. Most importantly right then, her
grandmother’s roomy bedroom that looked down into the front yard and the street
had been scrubbed, aired out and outfitted with fresh linens. The aged green
and gold wallpaper had darkened over time and made the room feel like a cave. She
was itching to tear it down and paint the room an airy ocean blue and replace
the heavy golden drapes with long gauzy white curtains. She wanted to sleep in
a room she could breathe in, might as well soak in the country air while she
was here. Tonight though she