remains in the grave hadn’t been Ryan’s, but the odds were 99 to 1 that it was his body. “I’m not going to tell you I know exactly how you feel, but I know how guilt feels. My sister wouldn’t be limping today if I’d watched her like I was supposed to the day she got hit by a car.”
“That wasn’t your fault. You were what? Ten?”
“Eight, but the age doesn’t matter. She was damaged for life. Do your parents know that it was you who dented the car?”
Emma sighed. “No, and I surely don’t want to tell them now.”
“Try it. When I feel really guilty, I try to remember what Mom told me. That even if I should have been watching Jenny, that was the past. It’s over and done and can’t be changed. Jenny has forgiven me, and I’m sure if Ryan were here, he’d forgive you for letting him take the blame.”
“You really believe that?” Hope was in her voice.
Most days he did, but sometimes watching Jenny struggle with her bad leg hurt him to his core. And truth be known, he’d gone into law enforcement looking for something big to redeem himself and prove his dad wrong—that he was good for something. But working for the park service hadn’t brought him the acceptance he needed. He wasn’t sure what would. Maybe like Emma, it was finding Ryan and Mary Jo’s killer.
She brushed her hand across her cheek. “Thanks.”
He took his eyes off the road briefly. Her eyes were wet, breaking his heart.
“You’re telling me I need to forgive myself.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“I don’t see that happening, but thanks for letting me get it off my chest,” she said as his phone rang.
Sam started to ignore it until Balfour Ring Company showed up on his dashboard screen.
46
Sam had pulled off the highway to answer the phone, and Emma stared out the car window at the curtain of Spanish moss hanging from a large live oak tree. Her breathing slowed as she listened to Sam’s end of the conversation with the ring company.
“Yes,” he said, then listened to whoever was on the other end of the call. “I see. Well, thank you for letting me know.”
He ended the call but made no attempt to resume their trip to the Selbys, and her stomach took a nosedive.
His phone rang again. “I have to catch this.”
She nodded. Why couldn’t he let it go to voicemail? He knew she was waiting to hear what he’d learned.
“Ryker,” he said.
She strained to hear what was being said on the other end of the call, but Sam’s side was all she could hear.
“Really.” He was quiet again, then his shoulders slumped. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll tell Emma.”
“What will you tell me?” she asked after he hooked the phone on his belt.
Sam stared through the windshield, not answering.
“Sam . . .”
He licked his lips. “The first call was from the ring company. Their research showed only one ring was shipped to Mississippi State in 2012 with the initials RTW. It was made for Ryan Thomas Winters.”
“Maybe someone stole it.” She knew better, but right now she was looking for any lifeline she could find. Emma would almost rather believe Ryan had dropped it digging the grave. At least that way her brother would still be alive.
Silence. He cleared his throat, then he turned to her and the answer was written in his face. “The last call was from Nate. Turns out the private testing company has the integrated microfluidic system . . .”
“And? Spit it out, Sam!”
“It’s a Rapid DNA testing machine. The DNA in the toe bone was a match to yours.”
Cold shot through her body, leaving her head swimming and her muscles useless. She sank against the seat.
“It’s not official and won’t be until the state results come in,” Sam said. “But . . . it was Ryan’s body in the grave.”
His voice penetrated the murkiness filling her head. No matter how many times she’d prepared herself, it wasn’t enough. Her brother was dead. Her mouth was so dry, she couldn’t swallow.
“I’m sorry, Emma,” he said. “Do you want me to take you somewhere? Maybe to see your dad? We can talk to the Selbys later—they’re not expecting us.”
Ryan is dead. And his murderer had gotten away with it for ten years. Emma sucked in a life-giving breath and willed steel into her backbone. “No. We have to find out who killed Ryan, and we have to start somewhere.”
She