Nash snapped his head around. “I’m not Wyatt’s father.”
Alice asked, “Do you know who is?”
At Alice’s question, Emily pinched his side. She didn’t have to worry. He didn’t plan on getting into the whole sorry mess right now.
“I don’t know—for sure.” He waved a hand at the laptop, where Jaycee’s frozen image beseeched him. “Didn’t Jaycee mention the father? Did she give any hints about who was after her or why she was in danger?”
Espinoza shook his head. “Unfortunately, she didn’t get into any of that. When I saw that she’d created a video two days ago, I had my hopes up, but all her thoughts were with her son.”
Nash braced his hands on the counter, on either side of the laptop, almost nose-to-nose with Jaycee on the monitor. “What happens now?”
“We’ll take care of Wyatt.” Alice touched her finger to the baby’s nose. “Detective Espinoza has already contacted Jaycee’s next of kin, and we’ll do some research into Wyatt’s father. This is all going to have to wend its way through the courts.”
“Wend?” Emily stroked Wyatt’s leg. “That makes it sound like a long and tortuous process. Wyatt needs his forever home as soon as possible.”
“There is a procedure that has to be followed, but we always have the child’s best interests at heart. We have many foster families who would take excellent care of Wyatt and treat him as their own.”
Emily ducked and picked up Wyatt’s diaper bag and kicked her own large duffel on the floor. “These are his things, and we have a car seat in the truck. When are you taking him?”
“Not for a little while yet. I have paperwork to fill out with Detective Espinoza and a few phone calls to make.” Alice took the diaper bag from Emily. “He’ll be fine here. Agent Dillon, you can decide whether or not you want to take on this responsibility, and then file a petition when we bring Wyatt’s case to family court. The mother’s wishes on that video and the fact that she left Wyatt with you when she went on the run will both bear strong witness to your claim.”
A father? Hell, he never even kept food in the house for himself. Jaycee had dropped off Wyatt with him because she wanted her son protected, not nurtured. Had she believed Wyatt would be in danger even after she died? From whom? What did these people want with a little baby?
Wyatt squirmed in Alice’s arms and reached out for Emily.
Emily dropped her head, allowing her hair to create a rosy veil around her face, but Nash spied a teardrop quivering on the end of her chin.
There was no way they could stay here waiting for Alice to take Wyatt away. They might not see him for months. Nash clamped a hand over his mouth. Who was he kidding? Emily would probably never see Wyatt again.
He put an arm around her hunched shoulders. “Maybe we should get some lunch and leave Wyatt with Alice. He’ll be fine.”
Emily’s head shot up and she dashed the back of her hand across her cheek. “A man who claimed to be Wyatt’s father tried to kidnap him last night.”
Detective Espinoza crossed his arms, resting them on his paunch. “Brett Fillmore?”
“Yeah, has he been around here?” Nash squeezed Emily’s shoulder.
“No, but his fingerprints are in Jaycee’s car, and we know that because he’s in the system. She also has pictures of him on her phone. Let’s just say Mr. Fillmore is a person of interest right now. Did he happen to say where he was going after you foiled his kidnapping attempt?”
“No.” Nash rubbed his knuckles against his stubble. “He told us he and Jaycee were supposed to meet in Mexico and she never showed. She’d put a GPS tracker on Wyatt’s car seat, and Brett followed us to Tombstone.”
Espinoza’s eyebrows bunched over his nose. “Did he know Jaycee was dead?”
“Said he didn’t.” Nash shrugged. “I’m not sure why he’d want to kill her, though. Those two were involved in some scams together. We also need to talk about someone else who may be involved in all this. Let me know when you want to interview me.”
“Looks like one of those scams got her killed.” Espinoza smacked his hand on the counter. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, and that little boy will have a good, safe home, whether it’s with you, Dillon, or someone else. I’ll be in touch. We’re still processing items from the crime scene.”
Wyatt started to whimper, and Emily cupped his foot with her hand. “It’s okay, big guy. Can I hold him for a minute to say goodbye?”
“Of course.” Alice handed Wyatt off to Emily, and she held him close, resting her head against his. “It looks like you two took good care of Wyatt. It’s no wonder why Jaycee left him in your care, Agent Dillon.”
Emily whispered to Wyatt as she cuddled him, and Nash blinked his eyes.
Emily gave the baby a final kiss on the head and held him out to Alice. “Do you need that car seat?”
“No, I have one in my car.” As Alice turned to take Wyatt to the back of the station, Nash skimmed his hand across Wyatt’s back.
“Bye, buddy—for now.”
Then he grabbed Emily’s wrist. “Let’s get lunch. Espinoza, call me when you’re ready. I have a confusing tale to tell you.”
“It’ll be sooner rather than later, but we’re putting out our feelers for Fillmore right now.”
Nash entwined his fingers with Emily’s and tugged her hand. “We still need to pick up your car by the border.”
Emily shuffled her feet beside him, and when they stepped outside into the dense heat, a sob broke from her throat.
He drew her into his arms and rested his chin on top of her head. “That was tough, huh?”
She wiped her nose. “I can’t believe how attached I got to that little boy in such a short time. And he was attached to me, too, wasn’t he? I didn’t imagine
