Free Devils Among Us (Devin Dushane Series Book 1) by Chastity Harris Page A

Pete’s sake, but there was obviously someone who
hated her enough or was enraged enough to brutally kill her.”
    At that moment Devin had no idea the surprising number of
people she was about to uncover that had reason to murder Laney Bennett. Nor
did she realize that she was already becoming a target herself, because there
was someone in Fenton who wanted this secret kept with the dead.

Chapter 7
     
    Devin had been sitting in her car for almost fifteen
minutes. She was eyeing the bar across the street. Since she didn’t drink very
often, she rarely hung out in bars, and she didn’t relish going into this one,
either.  In just about any type of community, though, the local pub was the
best spot for getting the gossip, both old and new, and this was the bar both
Henry and Adam had recommended for getting to know the locals. So with a sigh,
she slid out of her car and set the alarm.
    The Lucky Ox gave you the feeling that thousands of beers
had been consumed at the long, dark-bar top, and by the smell of it, ten times
that many cigarettes had been smoked there. The ceiling was low, and Devin
couldn’t decide if it made the room cozier or more like a dark, dank dungeon.
She had developed the habit of taking stock of her surroundings any time she
was in a new setting. It was a survival instinct. She took note that it was
fairly empty for a Monday evening, only about a dozen patrons. Henry was
sitting at the bar chatting with the bartender and two other customers that
appeared to be in their early sixties. None of them were paying attention to
the sports replays on the small color TV above the bar. There were four pool
tables in the first half of the long room then a worn juke box that had seen
better days. She doubted if the young blondes playing pool were a day over 17.
    I wonder where kids get good fake I.D.s in Fenton. The rest of the customers were sitting at the tables in the back of the bar,
becoming louder with their freedom from the work day and the more beer they
consumed.
    Devin made her way to the bar and hiked up onto the stool
next to Henry. “Hi, neighbor.”
    He had been engrossed in his conversation and hadn’t seen
her until that moment. “Devin! Here I thought I’d surprise you by meeting you
here this evening, and you’re the one that sneaks up on me.”
    She couldn’t help but like Henry, and she grinned at him.
“Your truck parked out front kind of gave you away.”
    Henry glanced over his shoulder to where his friends sat.
“Guys, this is my lovely new neighbor I was telling you about. Bobby Bennett’s
girl, Devin Dushane.” She didn’t know if she would ever get used to being
introduced as “Bobby’s girl,” but she kept her smile in place. “Devin, this is
Roger Lawson and Pete Meadows.” He motioned his head to the two behind him. “And
the big teddy bear tending bar is Chuck Rinker.”
    The last name struck a cord in Devin’s memory. She scanned
through the files from today in her mind to make the connection. It took only
seconds to click. “Chuck Rinker, as in the Rinkers that owned the Summit?” He was only in his forties, so she knew it couldn’t be the same man.
    “That was my Daddy, as a matter of fact. I’m Charles, Jr.,
but I prefer Chuck. We do still own the property out at the Summit, but it’s
mostly a day use facility for picnics and such. It was never the same after
Laney.”
    Devin could see why Henry had recommended this place. There
were a lot of locals and a lot of memories.
    “Did you know my aunt?”
    “Knew of her is probably more accurate.  On Saturdays we
used to ride our bikes down to the diner and get milkshakes just so she would
wait on us.” He smiled at the memory. “She never treated us like the bunch of
snot-nosed kids we were, she treated us like we were grown. Boy, if you got a
wink from Laney or if she ruffled your hair…whew-ee! That was bragging rights
for a week.” His smile faded a bit. “It was a real shame what happened to