he looked good, Haley thought. Better than usual, though she couldn’t say what it was about him. But she forced her attention back to the two deputies because another question, one she wasn’t sure she wanted answered, hammered at her. “Is he okay? Ray?”
Sarah and Micah exchanged glances. “No,” Micah said. “He’s dead. That’s why we need to know if you noticed anything at all unusual about him.”
“He seemed fine,” Haley repeated. “Not much different from high school, except maybe thinner. He’s dead? He’s really dead?”
It fully hit her then. A man she had been talking to a short time ago, a man she had known for her entire childhood, was dead. Tremors started to run through her and a tunnel seemed to grow around her vision.
“Focus,” Sarah said gently. “Focus, Haley. We need to know if you noticed anything at all unusual about Ray.”
“He seemed fine,” she repeated, hearing the flatness of her own voice. Her mind was trying to draw into a cocoon, she realized, just as it had when she first heard her mother’s diagnosis.
“So there was nothing off-kilter, nothing unusual?”
The restaurant, which had seemed to be receding, suddenly snapped into sharp focus as she remembered. “Not really. Not when he came in here. But beforehand…” She hesitated because it seemed so unimportant to a man’s death. An accidental death.
“What?” Micah prompted.
“I’m not sure exactly. When I came to work there were two trucks parked back-to-back. That’s unusual. They usually park side by side.”
“So he didn’t park normally.” Sarah scribbled something in a notebook.
“It’s probably meaningless,” Haley said. “It’s unusual, but there weren’t any other trucks out there at the time. They could have parked sideways for all it mattered. I thought I caught sight of them moving crates between the trucks. Just briefly, but I can’t be sure because it was so far away and with all the light in here, the parking lot isn’t easy to see.”
“Well, that wouldn’t have caused an accident farther down the road,” Sarah said and closed her notebook. “Thanks, Haley. If you think of anything else, just let us know, okay?”
“I will.”
The deputies rose, leaving immediately. Haley jumped up, still feeling shaken, but needing to take care of her favorite customer. Her favorite customer? What an odd thought, considering he didn’t talk all that much. But he was nice. Then it struck her that he never came in with the rest of the waves. He always came alone.
Move. She needed to move. She felt as if news of Ray’s death had tossed her brain like a salad, if only because she had once known him and he seemed so young to end this way. Keeping busy seemed like the only antidote.
She grabbed the freshest coffeepot, a cup and saucer, and headed for Devlin’s table. “Hi, Mr. Devlin,” she said, trying for a smile as she poured his coffee. “What’ll it be tonight?”
“An omelet with green peppers and onions, and rye toast, please.”
Unlike others, he never imagined she would remember his usual order. He always told her, and rarely did he change it.
“Coming up,” she said as cheerfully as she could.
Then he startled her by calling her by name. “Haley?”
She turned at once, surprised, and found those deep, dark eyes fixed on her. “Yes?”
“There was an accident?”
“Yeah. A truck went off the road east of here. One of your company’s, I think. At least it looked like your truck.”
He nodded slowly. “I heard some of what you said. Mind telling me about it?”
She hesitated, then decided there was no reason not to. The place was nearly a graveyard right now, and there was no reason not to chat for a few minutes.
“Sure,” she said. “Let me just put your order in. Want me to leave the coffeepot here?”
For the first time since she’d met him months ago, a faint smile touched the edges of his mouth and sparkled quietly in his eyes. It seemed to reach out and touch her, and made her tingle. “Sure. And bring a cup for yourself if it’s okay with the boss.”
Hasty, as usual, didn’t have a problem. “As soon as I make his meal, I’m heading out back for a smoke. Go ahead and take a break. Damn, ain’t that some news about Ray? Used to go to my church before the family fell away.”
After serving his meal, Haley got herself a cup and joined Devlin at the table. He stuck out a large hand. “Buck Devlin.”
She shook it. “Haley Martin.”
“Wild night, huh? Do you want something to eat?”
She shook her head. “Thanks, I’m okay. Hasty lets me eat whenever I want.”
“One of the perks of working here, I guess. He sure makes a great omelet.”
“You should try some of the other things on the menu sometime. He’s good at them all.”
Again that faint smile in the corners of his eyes. “So you’ve noticed I’m a creature of habit.”
“When it comes to what you eat here, anyway.”
“I guess it comes from all the years when I didn’t have any say about much.” He fell silent, eating his omelet, munching on a bite of toast. She refilled his cup when he half drained it.
“So,” he said a couple of minutes later, “you knew the driver who was in the accident?”
“I went to school with him. This is the first time I’ve seen him in a few years. Do you know him? It looked like he drives for the same company. His shirt was like yours and his truck, too.”
“I didn’t know him. I don’t spend a whole lot of time hanging around the terminal.”
“Oh.” She wondered what that meant about him. Maybe he didn’t have a whole lot of time between trips. Or maybe he wasn’t like the other drivers who, when they came in here, at least, seemed to crave the company of other drivers. He did seem self-contained.
“Must be a shock for you,” he said.
“I guess.” She hesitated. “I don’t know, Mr. Devlin—”
“Buck,” he interrupted.
“Buck,” she repeated obediently. “Honestly, I haven’t seen Ray in six years. It was a surprise to see him again tonight. I thought he’d left for good. So, yes, it was a bit of a shock, but not a huge one. If you know what I mean.”
He nodded. “I understand.”
Something about his face suggested he did.
“Maybe he fell asleep at
