Page 32 of To Die For

At the other end of the trailer was obviously Betsy Odom’s room. It looked like a typical preteen’s room, whatever that actually meant these days, although he saw no computer or other electronic device. But Devine knew she had her phone with her. Piles of clothes and stacks of books, which he noted had been borrowed from the public library. The girl’s tastes were eclectic—fantasy, sci-fi, a couple of what looked to be romances, a primer on flowers and herbs, a cookbook, three biographies on women who had pulverized glass ceilings and… He sat on the bed and looked at the last book in the stack.

Think and Grow Rich.It was a revised and updated version of the longtime bestseller.

He opened it and saw that there was a stamp on the inside cover:BOOKCAVESECONDHANDBOOKS.With a price tag of one dollar.

Devine flipped through the book and saw many underlined sentences and margin notes written presumably in Betsy Odom’s hand. Things like, “Remember the part about believing in yourself.” And “Youcando this too.” And lastly, “Iwilltake care of my parents.”

Okay, that qualifies as heart-wrenching.

He slipped the book into his jacket and looked around at the mess of clothes. They must not have let her come back here after her parents’ deaths, or else someone had gotten Odom a few things to wear.

He then remembered her complaint about her tight clothes and shoes. He looked around, found an empty duffel bag, and piled as many clothes, shoes, books, and other things that the girl might want or need into it as he could, and zipped it closed.

He was about to head out when through a window he noted movement in the woods on the left side of the trailer. He squatted down and peered through the glass. When he saw who it was, Devine rose and walked out the rear door, the duffel hefted over his shoulder.

“What are you two doing back here?” he asked.

Korey Rose and Nate Shore, both looking startled, walked out of the woods and came over to him.

“Hey,KoreyandNate, good to see you again,” said Devine.

Rose said sheepishly, “You talked to Betsy, right? She told you who we was?”

“She also said you were nice guys who helped out around here.”

“They helped us mor’n we helped them, that’s the dang truth,” said Shore.

“She also said you were a great cook, Korey.”

“I know my way ’round a stove and skillet,” he replied modestly. “People got to eat, or so my old granny told me.”

Shore eyed the duffel suspiciously. “Hey, you ain’t takin’ stuff, are you?”

“Clothes and books and other essentials for Betsy. She didn’t have much with her.”

“Oh, okay,” said a relieved Shore. “I thought…” But he looked embarrassed and didn’t finish.

“Don’t tell me you have drugs stashed in the trailer somewhere?” said Devine sharply. “That would not be good.”

“Ain’t no drugs in there, ’cept Advil, swear to Jesus,” replied Rose. “We ain’t doin’ that shit no more. We well on the way to the road to recovery.”

“Okay,” said a clearly not convinced Devine.

“I think Nate was worried ’bout his ‘magazine’ collection. Some classics in there all right,” added a smiling Rose, giving his partner a nudge with his elbow.

Devine looked relieved as he got what Rose was referring to. “Right. FYI, I left the oldPlayboymagazines right where I found them. A vintage collection for sure. The dumbbells, too. Eighty-pounders. Impressive.”

Rose laughed. “They ain’t mine. I can’t lift even one of ’em with my whole body. But old Nate tosses ’em ’round like cupcakes.”

Shore growled, “Exercise kicks in the endorphins. Natural drug, you see. Then I don’t need the other shit.”

“And thePlayboys stimulate him, too, just in another way,” noted Rose. That got him a punch in the arm from his mate.

“They was my grandaddy’s and he left ’em to me. I ain’t throwin’ ’em in the trash. They worth somethin’ all right. Money in them pages. Just got to find the right buyer is all.”

“Well, since you’ve had them things for a long time now, I ain’t sure you ever gonna find the right buyer, Nate.”

Devine said, “How’d you two make it to Seattle and then back here?”

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