Page 102 of Obsession

“Good deal.” After exchanging a few more words, Sam hung up and walked to the door. He frowned. Was that a motor running? Maybe Clayton had returned from his rounds. When he opened the door, a tan Civic that looked a lot like his sister’s car idled in the parking lot. What was she doing here? If there wasan emergency, she would have called. It was too dark to see who was driving, and he rested his hand on his gun as he approached the car. The window lowered, and Sam stepped back when he recognized his father behind the wheel.

“Hello, Sam.”

“What do you want?” he asked through a rigid jaw.

“You won’t come to me, so I thought I’d come to you,” his father said, then he took a deep breath. “I want to apologize and ask your forgiveness.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I’m not.” His dad’s gaze skittered away, and neither of them spoke. He lifted his chin and looked Sam in the eye. “I was a terrible father, and I’m sorry for everything I ever did to you.”

Sam narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you think it’s a little late for an apology?”

Even in the dim light from overhead, his father’s face turned white. Or had it already been white?

“I don’t blame you for being angry, son—”

“Don’t call me that.”

His dad dipped his head, and he pressed his lips together. “All right, but I wanted you to know I’m not the person I used to be.”

He waited for his dad to continue, but the silence grew until it was broken by the haunting sound of an owl’s hoot. Sam tapped the side of his leg. “Well, if there’s nothing else, I need to be somewhere.”

His dad’s shoulders drooped. “Sure. I just wanted to try to make amends before...”

“There are some things in life you can’t undo.”

“I know. And I’ll have to live with what I did to you and your mom the rest of my life. However long that will be. I thank God every day that she’s forgiven me. I certainly don’t deserve it.” He cleared his throat. “And I wanted you to know how proud I am of you,” he said, his voice breaking.

The words Sam had wanted to hear his entire childhoodthreatened to buckle his legs. He stiffened his back and folded his arms across his chest. He was not forgiving his father. Not tonight. Not ever.

The older man sighed. “I just have one more thing to say, Samuel, and then I’ll leave you alone. If you hold on to this hatred, it will destroy you.”

With those words, he closed the window, and the car slowly rolled toward the Trace. Was it possible his father had changed?“You’ll never amount to anything.”The memory of the words hardened his heart, and Sam turned and walked to his SUV.

He checked his watch. A little after eight. Emma probably wasn’t home from her dinner with Corey Chandler, and Sam certainly didn’t want to go to his sister’s and face that inquisition. Why was his dad driving Jenny’s car, anyway? If Sam were a betting man, he’d bet his dad lost his in a card game. Drinking and gambling had been his vices of choice.

When he parked in front of Emma’s apartment, her lights were on. Sam climbed out of his SUV and used the key she’d given him to unlock the front door. Once inside, he hurried up the stairs and rang Emma’s doorbell. Surprise showed on her face when she opened the door.

“Sam? I wasn’t expecting you tonight.” She stepped back. “Come on in.”

“Are you busy?” he asked as he crossed the threshold into the entry hall.

“Just posting a few things on Facebook,” she said.

“You seemed surprised when you opened the door,” he said. “Didn’t you check the camera app?”

“I did. I’m just surprised you came back. Would you like a cup of decaf?”

“Not tonight. I thought you might like to know what I found out from RISS.” He couldn’t keep from noticing she wore makeup and that she’d dressed up. For Corey? Not necessarily for him, but hehad taken her to a nice restaurant, and it was only naturalshe’d dressed accordingly. Maybe it was time he asked her out to someplace special.

“Well?” She followed him into the living room. “What did you find out?”

Sam brought his attention back to the case. “Are you off tomorrow?”

She nodded.

“You want to drive up to Jackson in the morning?” He explained what he’d discovered. “I have a nine thirty appointment with the detective in charge of the investigation at the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department.”

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