The Hours in Between - The Devereaux Case Files Book 5

Chapter 4

It didn't take much for Reed to adapt his appearance to portray his brother. They were only an inch or two different in height, which was barely noticeable when sitting down. Kelly was so arrogant that when Reggie showed up, he could stay sitting, lounging without a care, with a drink in his hand and no-one would know any different. Ten minutes of practicing the slightly higher notes of his brothers voice and he could play Reed Devereaux imitating Kelly Devereaux imitating Reed Devereaux. It was the ruse of a lifetime. He only wondered why he hadn't thought of it first.

"You've been out of the game too long boyo. All that criminal genius is getting replaced with lullabies and sing-a-long kids shows." Reed laughed to himself as he gave himself a last look in the mirror, wondering how the years had flown by. Olive was growing up so fast and yet, for all the years that rolled by, he never noticed it having an effect on Ayah.

Was that a gray hair already? Squinting into the mirror, Reed let out a sigh and brushed his fingers through his hair, making it look messy and unkempt. It hid the treacherous gray hair at any rate. "A gray hair at thirty one. It's the stress kiddo. This danger around every corner is taking its toll on you." He disapproved to himself before retiring to his comfy library chair. He stoked the fire that, with the lights out, would help his disguise along a little. The flames would cast shadows all over the room and the less Reggie saw the better since he was obviously losing his touch.

It was almost an hour before Reggie was shown into the room. Reed had just poured himself a scotch and so he poured out another and waited for Reggie to take a seat, looking rather impatient. But that pleased Reed. The more anxious and frustrated he was, the less likely he was to suspect he was talking to someone other than who he expected to be talking to. "What's this all about? I thought we agreed not to see one another until this was over? And what's with the house?" Reggie asked angrily as he settled into his own seat uncomfortably.

He was red faced and frowning but Reed was glad to see that Reggie had no suspicions about speaking to anyone other than Kelly. So he continued to keep his calm, even though he knew he had been presented with a golden opportunity to threaten or otherwise get rid of Reggie for good. But he was smarter than that.

"Calm down. I just thought I'd see how it felt. How can you pretend to be someone when you don't know how they live?" Reed placed a sneering smile on his lips in the same way he had often seen Kelly look when gloating. He was so involved with his own life that he wouldn't think of answering any other question first but the one that said he had accomplished some sort of greatness. It was just like him and Reggie knew it. He huffed, knowingly and avoided commenting.

"I just wanted to go over the plan with you now that I'm more...sober and I've had time to think it over. I'm not so sure it's a good idea, that's all." He complained, taking a moment to think of the best word to describe whatever state Reggie had last seen Kelly in. He had been submerged in the criminal underworld, but only on an online basis, with the occasional, brief appearance dressed as Reed. No doubt he had been in a bad state when Reggie first made the deal with him, even if that had been in person and not over the phone. He wasn't taking any chances of making a mistake, either way. His brother was a known drinker when depressed and so he used that to his advantage and watched with relief as Reggie ate it up.

"What? You already agreed to this Kelly, don't get chicken on me now. I paid you the money for your part and you're going to get your revenge on Reed just like you want. What more do you want from me?" Reggie got up from his seat in exasperation and began pacing the floor. He was still beetroot and Reed figured that the blazing fire was getting to him. He stoked it and ignored his 'friends' discomfort for the moment, knowing fine well that Kelly wouldn't give a damn if anyone else was uncomfortable.