Page 58 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“I don’t think so.”

“Do I have reason to have beef with you?” Dermot pushed, moving a step closer to him.

To his credit, Austin held his gaze, even as his body shook. “You do if you had that guy killed.”

Dermot took a step back. “Then you’re safe because the only murder I know anything about is the one in Pickle Junction two days ago. Come on.” He turned his back and started sauntering toward the truck.

I stared after him, hoping I was hiding my shock. Not because Dermot knew about the Pickle Junction murder but because he’d said the murder had taken place two days ago. As far as I knew, the sheriff’s office had only found out about it yesterday.

What the hell was I doing, jumping back into this world of secrets and half-truths? Of lying to Joe?

I took one look at Austin with tears welling in his eyes, and there was my answer. He was just a kid, and he was scared. What if Mikey or Liam needed help when they were teenagers, and Joe, our friends, and I weren’t around to give it? I’d want someone to step up for them, and I wanted to step up for this boy too. I couldn’t turn him away.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. He’ll treat you fairly.”

“I came to you, not him,” he said softly as a tear tracked down his cheek.

“I’m not in this world anymore,” I said. “So he’s our best resource if you still refuse to talk to the sheriff.” When he didn’t answer, I said, “I could call my husband Joe. I promise he’ll be fair too.”

He slowly shook his head as he said in a defeated tone, “I can’t be talkin’ to the sheriff.”

“Then we’ll talk to Dermot, and if you feel uncomfortable, you tell me, and we’ll leave. Together.”

His mouth dropped open. “You’d still help me?”

“You came to me for help, so I’ll help you as long as you treat me respectfully. Okay?”

He wiped his nose with the back of his long sleeve. “Okay.”

“I’m comin’ too,” Neely Kate said. I was surprised she’d remained silent this long.

“Neely Kate’s part of this too,” I said in a tone that didn’t brook argument. He was smart enough to heed that tone.

I cast a quick glance at Bruce Wayne, but he shook his head. He’d played his role in this, and now he was done.

Smart man. I couldn’t help thinking I should follow his lead.

The three of us walked to the truck together. Austin and I got in the back seat, and Neely Kate sat in the front passenger seat. Dermot was sitting in the driver’s seat, shifting sideways to face the boy.

“Austin,” I said gently, “tell us again what happened. Only this time, give us more detail.”

He swallowed. “Okay.”

“Start with the men coming into the building,” I said. “What were you doing, and where were you?”

“Where was I in the building?” he asked in confusion.

“We know that building better than you’d think,” Neely Kate said.

“I was in an office in the back.”

We knew that office well, but I refrained from telling him that. “And where were the men when they shot the other guy?”

“In that big open area next to the office. They kind of trapped him there, I think. I was sleeping, and I heard shouting and a lot of banging. I think they were chasing him through the place and had him cornered in that area. I was scared one of them was gonna come into the office and find me.”

“Did you see them shoot him or just hear it happen?”

He swallowed again, shaking a little. “I saw it. The door was cracked, so I watched through the slit. He was on his hands and knees, beggin’ ‘em to not kill him, but they kept asking him where the package was. He said he didn’t have it. The one guy got pissed and shot him.”

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