Jake wasn’t entirely surprised. Either O’Brien’s accom­plice had turned on him, or the same person who murdered Ava had now gone after O’Brien and attempted to make it appear that he suicided over guilt from killing his sister. Was it Mason Campbell? Could this be a case of co-conspirators turning on each other?

Jake could see the possibility of Ava, Liam and Mason all being involved in the abuse of the girls at the home. Ava’s desire to tell someone about Amelia’s back­ground could have prompted O’Brien and Campbell to turn on her.

Might O’Brien then have struck Campbell over the head in the manor kitchen in an effort to remove him from the equation, and once O’Brien invoked their code word that seemed to require Mason giving Liam money, could Campbell have responded with murder?

The scenario didn’t quite work. Given O’Brien’s knees, even with Campbell they would’ve found it near impossible to move Ava’s body. And they’d have left two sets of tell-tale footprints in the mud around her body, not one.

Unless Jake reverted to chasing down the unknown former residents of the home, or possibly a woman who had given birth there, who else was left as a suspect?

‘Jake, are you there?’

‘Yes, sorry, drifted off.’

‘The DNA results on Campbell have started to come in. They’re not complete yet, but there’s a definite connection with Max Campbell.’

Jake’s heart dropped. Had he been duped by Max’s good guy act? ‘Is he the father?’

‘His Y chromosome is a match for the child’s … but no, he’s not the father. He’s more closely related than, say, a grandfather or half-brother or uncle, but less related than a father.’

‘What could account for that?’

‘I think the consanguinity I’m seeing in the child’s DNA comes from the Campbell line. How many close male relatives does Max have?’

‘Just one that I know of.’

Jake heard the sound of Meena opening her mouth to speak, then stopping herself, several times.

Lilith’s face rose in Jake’s mind … that’s why she looked so familiar. ‘If Max was the baby’s grandfather on his maternal side—meaning he’s Lilith’s father—what would account for the inbreeding you’re seeing in her baby’s DNA?’

‘If Mason Campbell is Max’s only male relative that would make him both the baby’s great-grandfather and …’ Meena stopped, sounding too sad to articulate the thought.

Oh God. Poor Lilith.

*