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Chapter 93

I found myselfstill holding the cigar tube in my hand. My mind worked overtime. I desperately wanted to find some reason that discounted Bobby as a suspect in Emily’s death.

Mrs. Parker dug around in the box a little more. Then she said, “I thought maybe her ring was in here. It wasn’t found by the police when they recovered her body.” She choked on the word body.

My brain was working on a different frequency. I barely heard her.

Laura said, “Her emerald ring?”

Now I looked up, and Mrs. Parker explained it to me. “When the girls were little, I took them to Tennessee. When we were in Pigeon Forge, Emily wanted to go to the campy little place where you buy sacks of sand and strain it through an old-time waterwheel. Like panning for gold. She found an emerald, and we had it made into a ring. We had to resize that ring six times as she grew older and refused to take it off.”

I noticed Mrs. Parker look off wistfully. I knew she at least had good memories of her daughter. To confirm it was the same ring I recalled, I said, “Can you describe the ring?”

“It had a thin gold band that twisted into a heart at the top. The little square-cut emerald sat right in the middle of the heart. It was sweet. She held it very dear.”

Yes, that matched my memories as well.

I lifted the cigar tube with the pen inside. “Can I hang on to this for a little while?”

“You may have it. In fact, I’d like that.”

I appreciated the sentiment, but I promised I’d give it back.

We packed everything back into the box. Just as I opened the door, I heard a familiar voice. It made me freeze in place. Then I peeked out the crack in the door and saw Bobby Patel chatting up a secretary. He was a different guy in this setting. Cheerful, charming. He even looked well rested.

I had to get Mrs. Parker out of here. We were already committed to going down the hallway. I didn’t want her to have to face Bobby Patel. Even if she didn’t have any idea why she shouldn’t be seeing him.

I quickly ushered the women out of the room. I didn’t take the route the personnel director had mentioned. We turned at the first corner. It made for a much longer trek to the lobby, but I felt like we were moving away from Bobby.

My heart pounded. I couldn’t even think what I’d say if we ran into him. And I certainly didn’t want Bobby to know I was here.

We burst through the door and found ourselves in the opposite corner of the lobby again. I tried not to be obvious as I rushed Mrs. Parker and Laura across the lobby and through the front door. Then I walked them directly to Laura’s Chevy Suburban.

Mrs. Parker gave me a long good-bye hug. This time I was a little better prepared. I was also touched. Then, just as she was about to get into the SUV, she leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek.

She said softly, “We’ll get through this, Michael.”

I couldn’t tell her that now I thought maybe we would.

I watched them drive away, feeling exposed as I stood in the FBI field office parking lot. I didn’t even turn to look back at the building. In my imagination, Bobby Patel was watching me from a window.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I was getting paranoid.

I forced myself to turn and peek. I wanted to relieve my anxiety. Instead, I swear I saw someone standing by a window, staring out at me.

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