Page 56 of My Cruel Salvation

The door burst open.

“Saint, dammit, we have to—oh, shit.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Jesus Christ,” I say, struggling to adjust my clothes as Devlin does the same. Not that Lamar hasn’t seen me in my underwear. But as far as I know, he’s never seen me having sex. And I don’t think that we need to expand our friendship into that dimension. “Don’t you knock?”

Devlin scowls at Lamar, who’s repeating “Sorry, sorry,” his words coming out on top of ours. “But—”

“You can’t just—” I begin. Then the words die on my tongue as Brandy steps out from behind Lamar, mascara-tinted tears staining her cheeks. “Oh, no.” I grapple for Devlin’s hand, then squeeze. “What happened?”

Lamar’s expression is tight as he gestures to the seating area in Devlin’s office.

“I’m really sorry,” Lamar says. “I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to get to both of you.”

“It’s fine,” Devlin says dismissively, though my cheeks are still burning with embarrassment. “I should have thought to lock it. What’s going on?”

Devlin settles into a chair across from the sofa where Lamar and Brandy are now seated. I perch on the armrest, letting Devlin’s hand at my back steady me.

Lamar looks at both of us, his expression completely miserable as he holds Brandy’s hand. Brandy is silent, but tears still track dark lines down her face. Fear cuts through my gut, replacing what earlier had been irritation.

“Lamar, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“Christopher,” Brandy whispers, her voice raw and rough and very audible.

I look to Lamar. “Oh, God. Is he hurt? What happened?”

Brandy chokes back a sob as she tries—and fails—to answer.

“I’m so sorry, Sherlock,” he says gently, as if the nickname will soften a blow. “But he was driving the SUV. The one that almost killed you.”

I gape at Lamar, then turn to Devlin. I’m completely shell-shocked, unable to believe it. We’d vetted him. Hell, we were with him last night, laughing on the couch, and everything had seemed perfectly normal. There was nothing—nothing—to suggest he was keeping such a huge secret. And yet now that I’m looking at Devlin’s face, I realize that this isn’t a surprise.

Quickly, I look back at Lamar, but I see nothing on his face to indicate that he knows that Devlin is one step ahead of him. And that, of course, means that Devlin wants Lamar to believe that he’s just as surprised as I am.

“This is crazy,” I say, which pretty much sums up all of my emotions. “Are you sure?”

“Tell us what happened. What’s your source? Is Christopher in custody?” Devlin steadies me so I don’t slide off the chair as he stands up. Then he heads to the bar. “I need a drink. Anyone else?”

“I’m on duty.” Lamar says, as Brandy shakes her head. I get up and go sit by her, and she reaches out for my hand.

“Well, I’ll take one,” I say. “Scotch. Straight up.”

Devlin brings the drinks back and nods at Lamar. “Well?”

“A few minutes ago, someone called the station asking where they could send evidence in Ellie’s hit and run. The sergeant gave him the email for the department, and a few minutes later a message came in. No text, no explanation. Just a photograph. Three photographs actually showing multiple angles, and all of Christopher in the car.”

He looks at our faces in turn as if to make sure that we’re paying attention. I can’t speak for Devlin or Brandy, but as for me, I’m completely rapt. “Could it have been Photoshopped?”

“Theoretically, but I doubt it.” He grimaces. “The sergeant forwarded it to me since I was working the case, and he knows that you and I are friends. He remembered what happened when you were almost run down.”

“So you’re digging into one of the foundation’s lovely desserts when you get a text with three images.”

“That’s pretty much it.”

“And he got the call from the sergeant when we were talking,” Brandy says. She’s wiped her cheeks with a tissue and some of her color is coming back. “Christopher was supposed to meet me here to listen to Devlin, but he didn’t show. I’d been calling and texting, but nothing. I was telling Lamar how worried I was getting.”

“Once Brandy told me he’d stood her up, I had a black-and-white go to his AirBnB. No one had been dispatched yet, since they didn’t have a positive ID until I saw the photos, and even then there was no way for LCPD to know where he was staying. Not easily. We got lucky, since I was with Brandy.”