his leg. “Well, if there’s nothing else, I need to be somewhere.”
His dad’s shoulders drooped. “Sure. I just wanted to try to make amends before . . .”
“There are some things in life you can’t undo.”
“I know. And I’ll have to live with what I did to you and your mom the rest of my life. However long that will be. I thank God every day that she’s forgiven me. I certainly don’t deserve it.” He cleared his throat. “And I wanted you to know how proud I am of you,” he said, his voice breaking.
The words Sam had wanted to hear his entire childhood threatened to buckle his legs. He stiffened his back and folded his arms across his chest. He was not forgiving his father. Not tonight. Not ever.
The older man sighed. “I just have one more thing to say, Samuel, and then I’ll leave you alone. If you hold on to this hatred, it will destroy you.”
With those words, he closed the window, and the car slowly rolled toward the Trace. Was it possible his father had changed? “You’ll never amount to anything.” The memory of the words hardened his heart, and Sam turned and walked to his SUV.
He checked his watch. A little after eight. Emma probably wasn’t home from her dinner with Corey Chandler, and Sam certainly didn’t want to go to his sister’s and face that inquisition. Why was his dad driving Jenny’s car, anyway? If Sam were a betting man, he’d bet his dad lost his in a card game. Drinking and gambling had been his vices of choice.
When he parked in front of Emma’s apartment, her lights were on. Sam climbed out of his SUV and used the key she’d given him to unlock the front door. Once inside, he hurried up the stairs and rang Emma’s doorbell. Surprise showed on her face when she opened the door.
“Sam? I wasn’t expecting you tonight.” She stepped back. “Come on in.”
“Are you busy?” he asked as he crossed the threshold into the entry hall.
“Just posting a few things on Facebook,” she said.
“You seemed surprised when you opened the door,” he said. “Didn’t you check the camera app?”
“I did. I’m just surprised you came back. Would you like a cup of decaf?”
“Not tonight. I thought you might like to know what I found out from RISS.” He couldn’t keep from noticing she wore makeup and that she’d dressed up. For Corey? Not necessarily for him, but he had taken her to a nice restaurant, and it was only natural she’d dressed accordingly. Maybe it was time he asked her out to someplace special.
“Well?” She followed him into the living room. “What did you find out?”
Sam brought his attention back to the case. “Are you off tomorrow?”
She nodded.
“You want to drive up to Jackson in the morning?” He explained what he’d discovered. “I have a nine thirty appointment with the detective in charge of the investigation at the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department.”
“I’d love to.” Then she eyed him suspiciously. “But I thought you were cutting me out of the investigation.”
He didn’t want to tell her he feared she might get into more trouble on her own than if she was with him. “You want to go or not?”
“Of course I do, but—”
“Okay!” He raised his hands. “If I’m not going to be in town, I like knowing you’re safe.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh. How about Oxford? Will we go there as well?”
“It depends on how much time it takes in Jackson. Oxford is not quite two hours from the capital, but it’d be a four-hour trip back.”
“What time do you want to leave?”
“Seven thirty, quarter to eight?” His cell phone rang. Nate. “Ryker,” he answered.
“I have the directions to Trey’s cabin,” Nate said. “I’m emailing them to you.”
“Thanks. Which direction is it in?”
“It’s thirty miles south of Natchez off 61, back in the boonies,” Nate said. “You don’t want to try to find it at night.”
“Do you know how long he planned to be off?” Maybe he could wait until Trey returned to work.
“He said a few days.”
“I’m going to Jackson tomorrow morning. If I get back in time, would you like to ride along to his cabin?”
“Probably a good idea. I’ve at least been there once.”
Sam disconnected and turned to Emma. “Sorry.”
“What was that about?”
“Trey. Did you know he worked for the park service maintenance crew during the summers when he was in college? And he operated the backhoes.”
“You’re kidding. That means he would be familiar