Page 54 of Obsession

Once she downed half the water, she shook her head as if trying to clear it.

“Before you lock in to this being your brother, we need to do a DNA analysis of the bone you found,” Nate said. He fished the ring from his pocket. “And check with the university about the initials.”

“Unless there’s another RTW who graduated in 2012, it’s Ryan’s.” She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Not much chance of that, is there?”

“I’ll check Monday.” Although Sam felt pretty sure the ring belonged to her brother, it would be easy enough to do the research and faster than waiting for DNA results.

“I kept telling myself he was alive,” she said, her voice cracking. “That I’d know it, no, that I’dfeelit, if he’d died.”

“I did the same thing,” Sam said. “I kept picturing him in Alaska. It’s where he always wanted to go.”

“Why did someone kill him?” Emma took a shaky breath and released it. “He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

Nate tapped his fingers against his leg. “I figure it has to do with that girl’s death. Mary Jo Selby.”

“I never believed he killed her,” she said.

“Someone wants everyone to think he did.” Sam glanced toward the grave. “Whoever killed her even drove his car to Memphis to make it look as if he’d left the area.”

“That way no one was looking for the real killer,” Nate said.

“How did the killer get home from Memphis?” Sam asked.

“Could’ve taken the bus—”

“Or rented a car,” Sam said, finishing the sheriff’s sentence.

Emma took a deep breath and released it. Color had not yet returned to her face, making the dark circles under her eyes even darker. Weariness shadowed her.

She pressed her fingers to her temples, then she raised her head, tears glistening in her eyes again. “My parents ... I have to break the news to them.”

Sam took her hand. “I’ll help you tell them.”

“I don’t think you should tell them until the DNA results are back,” Nate said. “We’ll keep what we’ve found under wraps until then.”

Relief showed in her eyes. “Yes. We want to make sure it was Ryan who was buried here. Where do I take the DNA test?”

“I have a kit down at my office,” Nate said. “You want to drop by in the morning?”

While Nate and Emma set a time, the sun slipped behind the tree line, taking any warmth that had been in the air with it. Sam checked his watch. After five. It was too late to check with the university or the ring company today. What was he thinking? It was Saturday. An alarm on Emma’s phone went off.

“It’s my reminder to get dressed, but I don’t know ... maybe I should cancel ...” Then she shook her head. “No. We need that private investigator’s report now more than ever.”

“What kind of report are you talking about?” the sheriff asked.

“Emma talked with her mom last night, and Dina had hired a private investigator to find Ryan not long after he went missing. She still has the investigator’s report, and there might be a copy of Sheriff Carter’s report in it.”

“I’d like to see that,” Nate said. He turned to Emma. “Are you up to getting it? Otherwise, I can contact your mom.”

“No, don’t do that. It would make her suspicious.” She squared her shoulders and turned to Sam. “Give me ten minutes to grab my clothes and get dressed.”

“I’ll change as soon as you finish.”

While Emma went to change, Nate said, “I’ll take a closer look at Sheriff Carter’s files. It isn’t an active case, and there’s no reason for his report not to be there. Maybe I just overlooked it,” he said. “Files don’t just get up and walk off on their own.”

27

Emma’s fingers trembled as she tied a silver-and-black scarf around her neck. She dreaded the closure that would come if the grave held her brother’s remains. That wasn’t the kind of closure she’d hoped for. In fact, she wanted to pray the remains belonged to someone other than Ryan because if they were his, her hopes of finding him were destroyed.

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