Page 119 of Obsession

“I found them after she died and figured they were threats from Adam.”

Sam checked his watch. It was a little after one. If he was going to pick up Jace for his soccer game, they needed to leave. “Thank you for your help.” He handed her a business card with his cell number on it. “If you think of anything or remember the name of the man who befriended Kimberly, give me a call.”

As they hurried to his SUV, Sam turned up the collar of his jacket against the north wind. It had turned much colder whilethey were in the house, and like Jenny said it would, the rain had ended. As they pulled out of the drive, Emma said, “I can’t believe we’re considering Trey or Gordon as murderers. There has to be someone else.”

Sam wasn’t so sure. Emma hadn’t seen the sordid underbelly of society like he had. “Did you recognize the handwriting on the cards?”

“They were printed, and while they look the same, it would be hard to know for sure. Maybe a handwriting expert could tell.”

“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s harder to analyze a hand-printed document because many of the distinguishing features that are in a cursive text aren’t there.” Sam tapped the steering wheel. “Let’s figure this out. We know Gordon and Trey were in Natchez when Mary Jo was killed. How would we find out where Corey Chandler was?”

Emma was quiet a minute. “Wait—Mom said Corey interned for Wendall Peterson’s law office at some point. Maybe it was then.”

“How can we find out?”

“I doubt Mom will remember the year, but I know Wendall Peterson’s administrative assistant. I have her number in my contacts. Melanie didn’t stay on when Corey took over the office, but she’d been there forever. I’ll call and ask.” She checked her phone. “When I get reception.”

“If Corey was in Natchez, that gives us three suspects for Mary Jo and Ryan’s deaths.”

“What if h-he wasn’t killed the same night as Mary Jo?”

The hitch in Emma’s voice caught his attention. This was hard for both of them. “You okay?”

Her eyes were wet when she raised her head. “Yeah.”

Sam nodded at her notes. “Is anything making sense to you?”

“I see a pattern. Trey and Gordon were a year behind Ryan and me even though we were about the same age. Something about their birthdays made them start school late. For the murder thatoccurred in Oxford, they would have still been at Ole Miss.” She leaned against the seat. “And Corey too—probably in law school.”

“How about the Fisher-Clark murders in Raymond? Which of our suspects were in Jackson?”

She flipped through her notebook. “I made notes on that case too. Gordon was in Jackson at the medical center when Kimberly and Adam were killed. And according to my mom, Corey worked for a prestigious law firm there from his graduation from law school until three years ago when he relocated to Natchez. I’m not sure where their office is, but it could be by the medical center. Trey is the only one who probably wasn’t living in Jackson at the time of their deaths—he would have already completed his law enforcement training at the academy.”

“He would’ve been two hours away ... unless he was in Jackson doing additional training. I need to check that out.”

“What are your plans from here?” Emma asked.

He thought a minute. “Until I can put Corey in Natchez ten years ago, I think I’ll stick with interviewing Trey and Gordon, starting with Trey—find out if he was in Jackson when Kimberly was murdered. He fits the profile best.”

“Why him?”

“He has control issues—you said yourself he tried to change you and that’s why you broke it off with him.”

“It’s just so hard to think of him that way,” she said. “After Trey, I assume you’ll talk to Gordy, I mean Gordon?”

“Yes. I’ll save Corey for last. I may not even have to interview him.”

She checked her phone again. “I have a couple of bars. Do you still want me to call Wendall Peterson’s administrative assistant?”

“It won’t hurt. There’s a pullout just ahead. We’ll stop there.”

Emma gave a small gasp. “I need to charge my phone. Do you have a charger?”

“Should be one in the console. Oh, wait. I took it out. Do you want to use my phone?”

“She won’t recognize your number. I think I have enough juice to call her.”

At the pullout, Sam checked his phone. He had a call from Charlie Shaw. It must have come in while they were in a dead zone. He listened to the message while Emma scrolled to the administrative assistant’s number and called.

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