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Jeff. Or Dad. Whichever you prefer.

“That was rough.” She swiped at her cheeks. “Sounds like my dad didn’t have any fight left in him.” Her heart broke into a million pieces. She half-assed trying to find her father for years. Fear had stifled that effort. Now, it was too late.

“He looked as though he’d been living a hard life for a while,” Emmett said. “But many homeless people do.”

“What else was in that envelope he had for me?”

“I didn’t bring the printouts, but here.” He held up his cell. “This is the sketch of the man he said was following him. I ran it through our database but got nothing. My brother, Rhett, the private investigator, is trying to find out who the man is. Do you recognize him?”

“No. I can’t say that I do.” She studied the image but got nothing.

“If you swipe to the next image, it’s a ledger of every place Jeff saw that man. Dates. Times. Places. Your dad also started tracking the victims. Unfortunately, that is working against him since he was seen going into libraries and using their computers. He did Google searches on some of the past victims. And that makes him look guilty.”

She handed Emmett his phone back. “Where do we start?”

“Well, I’m going to start with the feds. If you’re cool with it, I’d like you to meet with my brother Rhett and go over some things with him. Do you think your mom and her husband would be willing to speak with us?”

Trinity nodded. “They want to believe my dad is innocent, but it’s a struggle for them sometimes.”

“I get it,” Emmett said. “One other thing. I don’t want you telling anyone about the contents of that envelope. Not even your parents. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes. But why?”

“For starters, if the feds found out, they could make things difficult for me. And my mom. I’m not ready to show my hand yet. If anyone finds out, we’ve lost our leverage.” Emmett glanced at his watch. “I need to get going. Are you going to be all right here?”

“Are you kidding?” She waved her hand toward the inlet. “I’m going to sit here, enjoy the view,”—she raised her wine—“get a little buzzed, and then go to bed.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He leaned over and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. It seemed a little too intimate, but she welcomed the human contact. “I’ll see you first thing tomorrow. Call me if you need anything.” He squeezed her shoulder.

“Thank you doesn’t seem good enough.”

“I’m just doing my job,” Emmett said.

“This goes above and beyond the call of duty.”

“Maybe. But every citizen is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Not the court of public opinion. Just because your father is dead doesn’t mean this case is closed. Not by a long shot.”

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