Page 57 of Mine to Save

“Why was he following my dad?” Trinity asked.

“Our working theory is that someone hired him to make it look like your father was killing those men. When in reality, he was the one doing the murdering.” Phil leaned back and swirled the chair left and right. “The question is who. Jack, my father-in-law, did some digging into Bugsy’s background.”

A tap at the door startled Trinity. She jerked, twisting her back.

“What did I miss?” Emmett asked as he stepped across the threshold, quickly closing the door. He stood behind Trinity, placing his hands on her shoulders and massaging.

“Not much,” Phil said. “But I’m glad you’re here. The information Jack obtained about Bugsy is interesting, to say the least.”

“We know he had some disciplinary issues while enlisted,” Emmett said.

“It goes much deeper than that.” Phil tapped his fingers on top of the stack of papers in a rhythmic motion. “I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did in the Navy. He wanted to be a SEAL.” Phil handed some of the papers to Emmett. “But he did poorly on his Computerized Special Operations and Resiliency Test.”

“What’s that?” Trinity asked, wanting to understand everything that Phil was talking about.

“It measures personality traits, psychological resilience, and things like that so the Navy can decide if you’re mentally prepared for the training and the job. It’s put together with performance testing—running and swimming—to see if you have both the mental and physical capacity to be a SEAL. It’s only one part of a group of tests,” Phil said.

“What did that test say about this Bugsy guy?” Trinity glanced between Phil and Emmett.

“He had no problem with the physical aspect,” Emmett said as he thumbed through the stapled grouping of papers. “But it seems he had some issues with his personality and was rejected from the SEAL program because the Navy felt he wasn’t a team player.”

“That’s a nice way of saying that those in charge felt Bugsy was the kind of man whose outside-of-the-box thinking was reckless and not innovative,” Phil said. “And that he’s difficult to work with. On a SEAL team, that’s not a desirable trait. Hell, it’s doesn’t fly anywhere in the military.”

Trinity’s head spun with all the information. She wasn’t sure what to make of all of it. Never in a million years would her mind have gone in this direction on its own. She turned to Lucy Ann. “How did your father get all this? And why do we believe this man would frame my dad? I’m not able to wrap my brain around this.”

“My dad is high up in the DoD,” Lucy Ann said. “When we told him what happened, and Emmett gave him what he found out today, he did some checking.”

“What did you find out?” She looked at Emmett.

He sat on the edge of the desk, facing her, and took her hand. “Right now, Rhett is on a plane to Manhattan to have a little chat with Shawn Lewis.”

“Paul’s son? As in the kid of the man my dad killed when I was a baby?” Her chest tightened. Heat filled her veins like a lit match dropping into a full tank of gas. “You think he’s holding a grudge and wanted my father back in prison?”

“Exactly,” Emmett said.

“That makes so much sense. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it,” Trinity said. “Wasn’t there a daughter, too?”

“We can’t find her. Anywhere.” Emmett released her hand and stood. “We don’t even have a picture of her, except for when she was a young girl. There’s nothing about her on the internet. We checked passport and license records and she doesn’t have one.”

“My father is having his contacts check to see if she possibly changed her name, but that’s not easily hidden. It’s public record unless it’s done illegally,” Lucy Ann said.

“It’s possible if she wanted to fly under the radar, but she’d have to know people, and it would cost money,” Phil said.

“Shawn’s wealthy,” Emmett stood in front of the big window with his arms folded. “They could be in on it together, so it would be nice to know what she looks like and have a last-known address. The one we have is her grandparents’, and they have since passed away.”

“Let’s hope your brother finds out something in New York.” Phil stood and stretched out his arm, taking his wife’s hand. “We’d best get going. Our babysitter has a date tonight.”

“Thanks for all your help,” Emmett said.

Trinity slumped back on the chair and stared at the ceiling. “Is this all for real? I mean, I feel like I’m stuck in an episode ofThe Twilight Zone.”

Emmett lifted her from the chair and took her into his arms. He held her close to his chest and ran his arms up and down her back.

“There is something else I need to tell you, and it’s not going to be easy for you to hear,” Emmett said.

She stared into his kind, caring eyes. They conveyed a strength and gentleness that touched her soul. She felt safe in his embrace, and she knew it wasn’t a fleeting moment. “What is it?”

“The autopsy on your dad came back. He had terminal cancer.”

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