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She let out a gasp and covered her mouth.

“It makes more sense to me now why he walked out of the diner the way he did. Robash still moved too quickly, but I suspect if she hadn’t, he might have done something aggressive to make them trigger-happy.”

“How do you know he knew about the cancer? He was homeless and couldn’t afford healthcare.”

“We found a paper trail to a clinic in Miami. My mom was able to get a warrant for the medical records and spoke to the doctor who mentioned that your dad wanted to make his way north one last time to see his little girl.”

She dropped her head to Emmett’s shoulder and sobbed. The tears burned on her cheeks. The pain ripped through her heart. “I can’t believe this.”

“I won’t ever lie to you,” Emmett whispered. “The doctor said your father only had weeks left, and that was six months ago.”

She sucked in a deep breath, doing her best to calm herself. “Thank you,” she managed.

He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head. “I believe one hundred percent that your father didn’t kill anyone, and I’m not going to rest until I prove it.”

* * *

Emmett carriedthe tray of comfort food up the stairs. He crossed the threshold of Trinity’s room and set everything on the desk before closing the door.

“I’m sorry for ruining your boating plans.” Trinity lay on the bed with a glass of wine, her legs stretched out and ankles crossed. Her eyes were a little puffy from crying.

“You haven’t ruined anything.” He brought the food over to the bed and set it in the middle before climbing onto the mattress and pouring himself a small glass of red.

“You don’t have to stay with me. I promise I’ll be okay.”

“I’m sure you will be, but I’m not going anywhere.” He tapped his glass against hers and winked. “No way would I feel right about leaving you alone after the day you’ve had.” He hated that he’d had to tell her about her dad’s cancer. Maybe someone else would have kept that information from her, but she had a right to know.

“I wonder if he was in pain,” she whispered. “What did he look like to you?”

“Not well, to be honest. But I made an assumption about him being homeless and how thin he was.”

“That’s fair,” she said. “I tried to find him before he was accused of being the Adultery Killer.”

“You mentioned that.” Emmett nibbled on the sandwiches that Melinda’s staff had made. God, he missed homemade bread.

“My parents thought I was obsessing over what had happened to him. If he was still alive and where he was living. So did my friend, Kathy.”

“But you found him.”

She nodded. “When it came out that he was the number one suspect in the murders, I thought about trying to find him again.”

“Why didn’t you?”

She fiddled with one of the sandwich squares, pulling a few pieces off and tossing them back to the plate instead of putting them into her mouth.

If she were going to get nutrients, he would have to feed her himself.

“I spent a lot of money the first time and didn’t have the resources to do it again. I also didn’t want to upset and worry my parents. The more the bodies piled up, the more the news coverage pointed toward Jeff Allen being the killer.” She picked up a second sandwich square and picked it apart. “A reporter did a three-part series on my dad. He talked all about how he’d killed Paul and how he hadn’t seemed remorseful at all during the sentencing. He showed pictures and footage.” She glanced up. “But I still couldn’t wrap my brain around him being guilty. Not of these murders. I know he did a bad thing. I’m not making excuses for him. He killed Paul. He deserved to go to prison. However, he paid his debt. In full. It doesn’t make sense to me that he would randomly start killing again.”

“I agree.” He picked up a bite and placed it into her mouth. “So, how many times did you try to find your dad?”

“Once. But, sometimes when I decide to do something, I become too focused. I get so lost in the task that I forget about everything else. Except maybe work. My parents worry about me because of my ex, Alex. They thought I nearly lost myself because of him.”

Emmett continued to feed Trinity and, thankfully, she didn’t protest. She needed the nutrients. “I’m sorry if I’m bringing up painful memories. But was the obsession before or after your loss and breakup?”

“It was after,” she said. “The fact that Alex could move on so quickly and act as if what we’d gone through barely mattered, well…I didn’t understand it. I was still grieving the loss of our child and any future kids we might have had. Meanwhile, he was screwing someone else.”

Emmett set the food and wine aside, wrapping his arm around her body. “I can see how you’d want to understand him and how he could do that.”

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