They’d met three years ago at Trader Joe’s, while Deb was working as a cashier. Mike got in her line even though it was longer than the others, because he thought she was pretty. Her hair was dyed red and she had a ring in her nose. She was friendly with the customers, asking how their days were going and commenting on the products in their baskets. Later, she’d tell Mike the chit-chat was part of her job, but he still thought she did it better than most. When it was Mike’s turn at the register, he made a joke about the pumpkin display by the entrance—it was a mess, pumpkins falling all over each other—and she laughed in a way that seemed real. Last fall, Deb had moved into Mike’s house in Live Oak, a suburb northeast of San Antonio. She’d quit Trader Joe’s, with Mike’s encouragement, to focus on finishing her degree. Mike figured they’d get married soon and start a family, though whenever he broached the topic, Deb said she had to get through school before she thought about what came next.…