Bear was Damen’s business partner; at least that’s what Damen had called him. When Demarco had asked if he was getting into trouble again, his brother had joked and said, “only a little.”
Demarco now knew that it was far more than a little. He was sick with it.
“I’m looking for Damen. Have you seen him?” Demarco moved deeper into the living room and faced Bear.
“Not in a few days. I’ve talked to him, though. He went up to Wolf Creek.”
That immediately sparked an alarm. “Why did he go there?”
“He didn’t say. Vacation, I guess. Or just to get away and clear his head. After all, his girlfriend was just killed.”
No, Damen did not go there to get away. There had to be another reason, and it popped into his head right then. “He went after Korbin Maguire. Korbin has a friend who owns a cabin there.”
“No way, man,” Bear said in surprise.
There weren’t many other places in Wolf Creek that Korbin could go, and as long as no one told the cops, it was a great place to hide. The only reason he knew about it was that Korbin had taken Damen hunting one year and Damen had talked about it.
“He was pretty busted up over his girlfriend. Maybe he went to cap him. Finish him off.”
So, his brother had told Bear that Korbin had killed his girlfriend. “What did he tell you about her murder?”
“That he saw Korbin leaving Collette’s house. That’s what he told the cops. Now Korbin is their prime suspect.”
He’d actually told the cops Korbin had killed her, or alluded to it. If Korbin had been at her house at the time of the murder, he’d look guilty.
“Where was he when he saw Korbin?”
“He didn’t say. He just said that he found her dead after that.”
Demarco smothered a scoff. Found her dead. He was probably the one who killed her.
“He cared for Collette. He told me he was going to ask her to marry him. If somebody killed my sweetheart, I might go after him, too.”
Demarco refrained from saying there had to be another reason Damen went after Korbin. “That’s what worries me.”
“Yeah. Damen can be dangerous. You have to watch him, but Korbin—” Bear shook his head “—I wouldn’t go up against a guy like that. Damen might be the one to get hurt.”
Korbin did have a formidable reputation. Demarco was afraid that he was innocent and Damen had framed him. Korbin would be no match for a gun.
Damen was a jealous man. And he was especially jealous of Korbin. He often complained about him, but never cut him out of his life. Korbin was good at what he did, that’s why. Damen was more interested in making money than the way he felt about Korbin. Maybe he’d caught Korbin with Collette and sought revenge. And then something else had happened. He and Collette argued and things got out of hand? Whatever the reason, Damen hadn’t intended to kill her. And it made no sense for him to go after Korbin, not when he’d already set him up for murder. So what was going on? What was his brother up to now?
Demarco saw movement in the kitchen to his left and had to stop a physical flinch. On the beat-up wood table were piles and piles of money. Wads of cash that someone was dividing.