For the past week, coverage of the drive-by shooting that claimed the life of Duke Marshall was the only thing the town of Harmony could talk about as Eve drove to the coffee house. A few days ago, Devin had called to let her know that he was back in town and wanted to meet her at the coffee house to talk the next morning. The way he sounded over the phone gave Eve a chill down her spine, he didn’t sound right at all when he spoke and that had her worried. She thought back to last week after he came from his father’s room and to her office. The look that he gave her before leaving her office that day was a look that she would never forget.

{Flashback}

After Eve told Devin that his father wanted to see him, she headed back to her office to get some work done. Fifteen minutes had passed and she grew worried about him. She didn’t know why she was feeling this strongly towards him but she knew she had to be there for him, it felt like it was her motherly duty to. She was just getting started on her paperwork, when he walked through her office door.

“Devin how is he?” she said in a worried tone, then got up from behind her desk and walked over to him.

“He’s dead.” He said in a dull voice.

“Oh baby… I’m so sorry.” Eve said as she pulled him into a loving hug. Devin’s arms hung loosely by his side before he hesitated a bit and hugged her back.

“Don’t be.” Devin said to her softly as he continued to hug her. A few moments later, he pulled back from Eve, and then looked her square in the eyes.

The way he was staring into her eyes startled Eve a bit, so she took a small breath to calm her nerves before speaking to him again.

“Is there anyone you would like me to notify about your father’s death?”

“No, it’s just me.”

“Devin, I know we haven’t known each other very long, but if you need anything, let me know alright?” she said as she caressed the side of his face with her right hand. Moving his hand over hers, he held onto it softly before replying.

“Just you being here for me… is all I’ll ever need.” He said as he removed her hand from his face then slowly leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, like a son would kiss his own mother. “I have to go, I have to take care of some things.”

With that said, he walked towards the door, opened it a little then turned and looked back at Eve for a moment before heading out and closing it behind him. After he left, Eve went and sat back behind her desk deep in thought. The look Devin had just given her before leaving was a look she remembered only ever seeing on one person in her life, and that was Julian. So why would that image of Devin remind her of Julian?

{End of flashback}

Devin was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee waiting for Eve to arrive. After Duke’s funeral, he flew from Virginia straight to Boston the same day. He needed to get as much information as he could about her past and her siblings. He knew from what she had told him weeks ago that she had lived in Boston before coming to Harmony.

For the first three days, he went to random places to see if anyone knew about her or her family. By the fourth day, he had been to at least twenty places before he got the break that he needed.

{Flashback}

While walking down the street back to his motel room, Devin heard the sound of music playing from afar. It was beautiful music too. The sound of the music playing was coming from around the corner to his left. When he got the corner and turned it, he came face to face with legendary jazz club the Blue Note. After walking inside and looking around for a while, he came across a wall of pictures by the entrance of the club. There were many people on the wall but only one picture stood out the most. It was a picture of Eve. She had to be about nineteen on this picture, so pure and so innocent, that it moved him to tears just looking at it. He was still staring at the picture when this man walked up to him.

“Ah kid you alright?”

“Yeah…I’m fine.” Devin said as he wiped away the tears that were falling from his eyes.

“I see you’re looking at the picture of Eve Johnson. Man, she was a beautiful woman, sang like an angel. I was the bartender when she use to sing here.”

“You knew her?” Devin said as he turned towards the man.

“Yeah I knew her, what’s it to you?” the man snidely.

“She’s my mother but… she never got the change to raise me.” Devin said somberly as he looked down. “I just want to know what kind of person she was like back then.”

“You’re Eve’s boy huh? Well come on, follow me.” The man said to Devin as the two of them walked over to an empty table. “From the beginning?”

Devin nodded.

“Ok. Eve started working here when she was eighteen. She was a college student during the day and a sultry jazz singer by night. She told me that her parents didn’t approve of her singing and wanted her to be a doctor. I don’t even think she knew that her older brother was always here, you know, keeping an eye out for her.”

“Her brother…do you remember his name?” Devin asked curiously.

“Yeah, I think it was…Pierce. He was her stepbrother so they didn’t have the same last name. What was his last name…?” the man thought to himself. “I remember…Sanbourne, Pierce Sanbourne.”

“Pierce Sanbourne huh?’

“Anyways, all the guys wanted her and all the girls envied her but it was this one particular guy that won her over. Man… she loved him so much. He got her hooked to drinking and doing drugs, but before that, she was a sweet and innocent girl. They were together for about two years before he left her.”

“He what?”

“Oh I forgot to tell you, he was a white rich dude, and he left her when she was pregnant. Bastard! Everyone here knew he used her, then threw her away like yesterdays garbage.”

‘I don’t believe it!’ Devin thought to himself but continued to listen to the man talk.

“And to make matters, she lost her baby too. Eve was never the same after that. She would just come here drink herself stupid and then pour her heart out singing about him. Her voice was so full of pain and sorrow. Then one day, she was gone just like that. No one has seen her in Boston since. Look I gotta go kid. I hope that was enough.” The man said before he got up and left.

Devin covered up his face with his hands and it let everything he heard sink in. Julian had got her hooked to drugs and drinking, and then he left her when she was pregnant with him. You would think that she would hate Julian for what he did to her, but looking at the two of them together now, all you saw was love and respect. He couldn’t just judge Julian without knowing his side of things and when the time came he was going to ask him. He had found out some things about Eve’s past that night and in the process found out her brother’s name too and that was all he needed.

{End of flashback}

Pulling up into the parking lot of the coffee house, Eve got out of the car and headed inside to meet Devin. After walking inside, she scanned the area until she found him. And just like the first time she lunch with him, he was sitting by the window staring out again.

Devin turned his gaze from the window when he saw Eve walking over towards him. He got up from behind the table and gave her a warm welcoming hug before pulling back. She gave him a nice smile and sat down across from him. He had so many things to talk about, so many questions to ask her.

“I’m glad you came Eve.”

“The way your voice sounded over the phone had me worried.”

“I know and I’m sorry.” Devin said then ran his hand through his hair before speaking again. “I know that Harmony has been in a uproar since my father’s murder and I know that you may have some questions about my last name.”

“Actually your last name was something that I thought about for a while, so which is it, Johnson or Marshall?”

“My full name is Devin Johnson-Marshall. I haven’t used Marshall since I was eighteen.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Eve asked curiously.

“Like we talked about a while ago, I had a troubled childhood. When I was thirteen, my father beat me up because I asked about my mother. He continued beating me until I was eighteen and that’s when I started going by my mother’s maiden name.”

“I’m sorry if I brought up any bad memories because I asked.”

“It’s alright.” He said as a small reassuring smile appeared across his lips, so Eve just smiled back. “Recently I found out that the things my father was saying about my mother were false.”

“Really. You mean he lied to you about your mother?”

Devin nodded.

“He also lied about being my father too. I found out that he’s really my uncle.” Devin said as he looked down at his hands.

“Wait a minute…your father is really your uncle?”

“Yeah. He told me everything before he died.”

So for the next ten minutes, Eve just sat there and listened as Devin told her more about his family’s background. Just like she assumed all those weeks ago, his past was something like hers, but a little different. He had been lied to his whole life and didn’t really know anything. She too had been lied to, and didn’t really know anything either. Just then she decided to open up to him just like he had opened up to her about his past.

Devin had been studying Eve’s face as he told her some more things about his past. The emotions that swirled around her face was something that he would have never seen or believed if Duke had had his way. Devin continued to watch her and was suddenly caught off guard by her voice.

“My past was something like yours also.” Eve blurted out all of sudden.

“Sorry…what did you say?” Devin said as he blinked a few times and tried to regain his composure.

“I said my past was something like yours.”

“How so?” But Eve never got a chance to tell him as she looked over his shoulder and saw Pierce suddenly appear inside of the coffee house.

Devin followed her eyes and came into contact with the person that she was looking at. Eve suddenly whispered something and he barely caught what she said. She had called that man she was looking at ‘Pierce’. ‘Well now I don’t have to ask her where he is.’ Devin said to himself. He studied Pierce’s appearance and how he suddenly looked over to Eve and smile lecherously at her. Devin then turned back and found her trembling.

“Eve?” Devin said.

“I’m sorry, why you don’t stop by the Crane mansion later on and we’ll continue talking. I have to go.” She said as she got from her chair still trembling.

“Is there something wrong?”

“My stepbrother is here and I don’t want to be anywhere around him.”

“Ok. We’ll both leave right now, and I’ll follow you back to the mansion. I’ll be close by, I won’t let him come dear you.”

“Thank you.” She said to him and gave him a small smile.

As Devin got up from his chair and followed Eve out of the coffee house, he suddenly felt Pierce’s eyes following them. Devin then got this idea as he walked Eve to her car then got into his. Now that he knew how Eve’s brother looked, after he made sure that she was home safely, he was going to come back and confront Pierce for the first and hopefully last time. He was going to get some answers now.