Page 86 of Obsession

“Are you going to tell me what it is or do I have to drag it out of you?”

“I can’t let you get involved in this any deeper, now that it’s definitely a murder investigation,” he said.

“Fine,” she snapped. “Take me home.”

He turned and pinned her with a frown. “What are you going to do?”

“What I do doesn’t concern you.” Emma calculated the time it would take to get an Uber to take her to Mount Locust for her truck. Two hours at the most and then she would drive to the Selbys without Sam.

“I’m not going anywhere until you promise you’ll let me handle this.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not promising youanything. You might be able to lock me out of the official case, but you can’t stop me from asking questions.”

“Come on—”

“Don’tcome onme. Ryan was my brother, and I intend to find out who killed him. I’d rather do it with your help, but either way, I will get some answers.”

“And get yourself hurt, or killed,” he said.

“That’s why I’d rather work with you. I figure you’ll try to keep me safe.” She pointed her finger at him. “But if you shut me out, I’ll find a way around you.”

Sam gripped the steering wheel and stared out the windshield, his jaw clenched and the muscle in his cheek working. Gradually his jaw relaxed and the muscle calmed. “If I let you tag along this time,” he said, turning to face her, “will you then leave the solving of this case to Nate and me?”

She took a shaky breath. She’d won the battle, but not the war. “I promise I won’t do anything without running it by you. Now, let’s go talk to the Selbys.”

47

Emma and Ryker were going to see Mary Jo’s father. He checked his watch. The conversation he’d listened to took place twenty minutes ago. They were probably already at Selby’s house. He cursed the situation that kept him from tuning in to their live conversation. But his job required certain obligations, and until he went off the grid, he had to fulfill them.

Ryker wouldn’t learn much at the Selbys’, and he tried to let that information calm him. The mother had died, and Mary Jo had always complained that the old man never paid any attention to her.

The sister. What if they talked to her?

When he and Mary Jo dated, she lived with the Wyatt woman, and he’d met her briefly when he arrived early for a date with a bouquet of daisies in his hand. What if the sister remembered him ... or mentioned the flowers?

His name had not come up in the first investigation, and it couldn’t come up now. Maybe he needed to pay another visit to the nursing home. Make sure he had no worries there. In his last visit, he could see that the dementia had advanced significantly, and if the new sheriff, or even Ryker, interviewed him, they would quickly discount anything he might say.

Stay on target.Right now, Sandra Wyatt was his concern. He couldn’t take the chance of her identifying him. He grabbed his keys and picked up the .22 caliber rifle. No. He laid it back down and grabbed the pistol.

48

Letting Emma tag along wasn’t a good idea, but for Sam it was safer than her going out on her own. Something he had no doubt she would do. At least this way he had a little control. GPS directed him to turn left off the highway and then again a mile later. Maybe the Selbys wouldn’t be home. Then he could come back later by himself. When he reached the address he’d programmed into the map, a car sat in the drive.

“Oh, good,” Emma said. “It looks like someone’s here.”

She didn’t wait for him to come around to the door but scrambled out and met him in front of the SUV. Sam rang the doorbell. The man who opened the door looked much older than the sixty-five Sam’s research had indicated George Selby would be. Sallow and thin, he gave the impression that time and circumstances had taken their toll on him.

“Can I help you?” the older man said.

“Are you Mr. Selby?” Sam asked.

He pushed black horn-rimmed glasses up on his nose and ran his gaze up and down Sam, stopping briefly at his gun. “Who’s asking?”

“Sam Ryker. I’m a law enforcement ranger with the US Natchez Trace Park Service.”

Selby blanched when Sam mentioned the Trace. “What do you want?” he asked, his attention moving to Emma.

“I’d like to ask a few questions about your daughter Mary Jo,” Sam said, softening his voice.

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