Chapter Six

Bree watched from the back seat of the cruiser as the house came into view. She’d never thought of her childhood home as cramped quarters, but it certainly felt like that now. Still, she knew this was their best chance at keeping everyone safe.

Well, hopefully it was.

Until they had answers about her mother’s kidnapper and the shooter, they’d never actually be safe. And some of those answers might come from Nathan.

It twisted at her to think of her former boyfriend having a part in this. Or rather maybe having a part in it. Woodrow had verified that Nathan’s name was indeed on the lease for the cabin, but so far, they hadn’t been able to question Nathan about that since he was tied up with a patient in the ICU. Once that was finished though, he’d be given the message to contact Duncan right away.

Rather than wait at the sheriff’s office for Nathan’s response, Duncan had proceeded with the move to the ranch. No easy feat with plenty of moving parts. Literally. She watched as Duncan’s cruiser stopped in front of the house, and Joelle, Slater, their mother and Duncan all got out. Izzie’s nanny, Beatrice Walker, opened the door for them.

Luca pulled up behind Duncan’s cruiser, and as Ruston and he had both done on the drive over, they glanced around, looking for threats. Bree did as well, but she didn’t see anyone other than some ranch hands milling about.

Luca’s gaze met hers in the rearview mirror, and she saw the concern in his eyes. She was no doubt sporting plenty of concern of her own, but somehow they had to make this situation work. They had to do whatever it took to keep Gabriel safe.

Even share a bedroom.

Yes, that was the plan. The house had five bedrooms, but one was being used as a nursery and another had been converted to the live-in nanny’s quarters. Joelle and Duncan had the main bedroom attached to the nursery. That left two rooms, and since her mother would need one of them, Luca and Bree would be roommates along with Gabriel.

That way, they wouldn’t have to be far from Gabriel.

Thankfully, Luca and she wouldn’t actually have to share a bed. Ruston had come ahead of them to set up a cot for Luca and a portable crib for Gabriel. Since Ruston was recently married and had an adopted daughter, he wouldn’t be staying at the ranch but rather at his own house on the outskirts of San Antonio. Slater, however, would and had claimed the sofa in the family room. Coral had offered to use a cot or sofa as well, but since the nanny hadn’t actually been threatened, Bree had decided to give her some time off.

“Go ahead and get Gabriel out of the car seat,” Luca instructed while they were still in the cruiser, and Bree understood why he wanted that. It would minimize their time outside.

She unbuckled a sleeping Gabriel who stirred when she picked him up. It was at least another hour before he would normally want another bottle, but with his schedule thrown off, Bree wasn’t counting on much of anything being normal today.

Ruston and Luca gathered up the diaper bag and baby supplies they’d brought with them and got out of the cruiser. Bree steeled herself for the punch of grief from seeing the spot where her father had died. And it came. It came with a vengeance and momentarily robbed her of her breath. She didn’t give in to it, though. Couldn’t. Because even a slight hesitation could turn out to be a deadly mistake. Gathering Gabriel close to her, she hurried inside.

Joelle and Duncan had kept the furniture. In this part of the house anyway. But for the time being, they’d turned the large formal living and dining areas into a makeshift squad room. Someone had moved in small tables that were serving as desks, and there was even an incident board, and Slater was in the process of pinning up three photos.

Brighton’s, Sandra’s and Bree’s.

There’d no doubt soon be other photos and notes, and the visuals might help them better connect all of this. Duncan was already in work mode, too. He was talking on the phone while he gathered up papers that were churning out from a printer. Luca set down the diaper bag to go help him with that while Ruston carried their things upstairs.

“I’ve put Luca, Gabriel and you in your old bedroom,” Joelle explained to Bree. She was holding her infant daughter who was fussing and clearly ready to eat because she kept turning her mouth to Joelle’s breast. “And Mom will be in Ruston’s old room. Beatrice is up there now, getting everything ready.”

Her mother actually seemed relieved about that. Maybe because Sandra had thought she might end up having to sleep in the room she’d shared with her husband.

“You holding up okay?” Joelle asked their mother.

Sandra’s nod was shaky and not very convincing. “So much happening,” she muttered.

Yes, and Bree figured this was just the start of it. There were five veteran cops in the house, and she knew Duncan was thorough. This would be a leave no stones unturned kind of investigation.

“I could cook if anyone’s hungry,” her mother volunteered.

“Food is on the way from the diner. Lots of it,” Joelle clarified. She studied her mom’s face for a moment. “But if you could put out paper plates and cups in the kitchen, that’d be great. Also, maybe make a fresh pot of coffee.”

Sandra nodded and seemed eager for something to do. Or maybe she was just eager to get a moment to herself to try to wrap her mind around all of this. She certainly didn’t waste any time heading toward the kitchen that had once been hers.

Though technically it still was.

Even though the ranch and the house had belonged to their father, Sandra was his primary beneficiary. Bree knew that since she’d been the one to prepare his will. There’d be legalities and such to work out later about that, but Bree didn’t want to deal with it now.

“Once Duncan finishes with his latest call to Woodrow, he wants to do a briefing,” Joelle added to Bree. The baby’s fussing became more insistent. “But I might be late for that since I need to feed Izzie.”

Joelle hurried upstairs, and Bree glanced down at Gabriel to see if she would need to feed him as well, but he’d gone back to sleep. So, she made her way to the sofa and watched Slater as he added Nathan’s picture to the board. Slater looked back at her.

“You know him fairly well,” Slater remarked. “Is Nathan capable of something like this?”

Bree took a couple of seconds, trying to picture Nathan orchestrating her mother’s kidnapping and the shooting. Also arranging for Manny and her to be run off the road. She couldn’t quite make herself see that.

“Nathan might have the means and opportunity,” she said, “but I can’t figure out a motive...unless maybe it all goes back to Brighton.”

She realized Duncan had finished his call, and along with Slater, both of them were listening to her.

“As far as I know, Nathan has no connection to Brighton,” Bree said. “But this is a small town so he likely knew her.”

“Trust me, I’ll be asking him about that when he’s available,” Duncan assured her. He walked to the board, and sighing, he put up a picture of what she realized was the burned-out cabin. “There’s good news and bad news. I’ll start with the good. Two people came forward and said they’d seen a woman driving a silver truck in the area of the cabin over the past couple of months. They’re working with sketch artists right now.”

That was indeed good news. Even if they didn’t recognize the woman from the sketch, they could put it out to the media and maybe get some hits.

“Now, for the bad,” Duncan went on. “The cabin’s owner never met Nathan or the person posing as Nathan. The rental agreement was all done online and secured with a credit card that has Nathan’s name on it, but it can’t be traced to him. It’s linked to an offshore account under the name of a dummy company.”

Bree groaned. Not only was that sort of account hard to unravel, it also meant Nathan probably hadn’t actually been involved. If he had, he wouldn’t have used his real name. Well, unless this was some kind of reverse psychology deal.

“So, someone wanted to set Nathan up?” Bree asked.

Duncan shrugged. “Maybe. Or it’s possible the kidnapper just used his name. Maybe because the owner of the cabin wouldn’t think twice about renting the place to a doctor.”

Yes, that made sense as well. Then, if things fell apart—like the victim escaping—there’d be nothing to point back to the real culprit. Yes, they’d interview Nathan, but with no actual proof to link him to the crime, he wouldn’t be arrested.

Duncan shifted his attention to Bree. “I need to interview Manny, but since the incident with his vehicle didn’t happen in my jurisdiction, I can’t force him to come here, not without a warrant. I thought maybe since he already knows you, you could talk to him.”

“Of course,” Bree readily agreed, already taking out her phone. Though she wasn’t sure Manny would actually be willing to come to Saddle Ridge. Still, he might if he thought it would prevent him from being attacked again.

“See if Manny will agree to having the call on Speaker,” Duncan added. “That way, I can hear if he has anything to say about his attack.”

She nodded and made the call. However, it wasn’t Manny who answered with a “Yeah?” It was a woman.

“Tara Adler?” Bree questioned.

“Yes,” she verified, and she paused. “Who is this?”

“Bree McCullough. I spoke to you, remember? I asked you about Brighton Cooper.”

“I remember.” There was plenty of uneasiness in her voice. “Like I told you, I didn’t actually know her. You’re calling for Manny?” she quickly tacked onto that. “Because I can get him for you. He left his phone out here on the bar so that’s why I answered it.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were open this early,” she commented.

“We’re not. I’m training some new waitstaff. Let me get Manny,” she insisted.

Tara hadn’t been exactly friendly when Bree had spoken to her before, but the woman seemed on edge now. Maybe because of Manny’s attack? Tara might be worried she could be at risk, too. And she might be if this was indeed connected to Brighton’s murder.

“It’s that lawyer who asked about the dead woman,” Bree heard Tara say, and several moments later, Manny came on the line.

“Bree,” he said, sounding just as uneasy as Tara. “Did they catch the guy who tried to kill us?”

“No, not yet. Manny, I want to put this call on Speaker. Is that okay? I’m with Sheriff Duncan Holder and some of the other deputies from Saddle Ridge. They’re all looking for the person who attacked us, and anything you can tell them might help find him or her.”

“Sure,” Manny said after a brief hesitation. “But I’ve already told the Austin cops everything I know.”

“Yes, and they’re looking, too,” Bree assured him, switching to Speaker. “But the more people searching, the better.”

Manny made a sound of agreement. “All right. But I don’t know what more I can say. Someone in a silver truck rammed into me, that’s it.”

“This is Sheriff Holder,” Duncan said. “And we believe we’ve found the truck. It’s being examined now by CSIs to see if there are any paint flecks on it that match your vehicle.”

“You have the driver?” Manny quickly asked. “You know who tried to kill me?”

“No, we don’t have the driver, but we might have a description soon that’ll help with that,” Duncan explained. “What will help, too, is if we know why the attack happened.”

“I don’t know why.” Manny’s voice took on an agitated edge. “But since the same thing happened to Bree, I have to figure it’s got something to do with all the questions she was asking about the dead woman.”

Duncan didn’t confirm that. “Who else knew Bree was asking questions about Brighton Cooper?”

Manny muttered some profanity. “Well, I didn’t exactly keep it a secret. Anyone who works for me knew. And my financial guy, too, since I asked him to get the old credit card statements Bree wanted.”

Bree sighed. She’d hoped that Manny and Tara had kept this close to the vest, which would have significantly narrowed their pool of suspects. But when Bree had spoken to them, she hadn’t known there’d be attacks. If this was all connected, then someone had gotten spooked and wanted to silence Manny and her.

That, however, still didn’t explain her mother’s kidnapping.

“It’s possible I’ll soon have sketches of your attacker,” Duncan told Manny. “I was hoping you’d be willing to come to Saddle Ridge and have a look at them and so I can get a statement about what happened to you. Then I’ll compare it to Bree’s statement to see if it can help with an arrest.”

Manny certainly didn’t jump to agree to that. “I guess,” he finally said. “I can’t get there today though, but I can come in the morning, maybe around ten. I should have those old credit card statements by then and can bring them with me.”

“Good,” Duncan said just as his phone dinged with a text. “We’ll see you at the sheriff’s office in the morning.”

Bree thanked Manny, ended the call and kept her attention on Duncan while he read the text he’d just gotten.

“The CSIs have found no prints other than Sandra’s in the silver truck,” Duncan explained. “There was a box of plastic disposable gloves on the passenger seat.”

So, the kidnapper had gloved up. That shouldn’t have surprised her, but Bree had hoped the woman had left some part of herself behind. And maybe she had. It would likely take the CSIs a while to go through the entire truck and then process whatever they found. Including those paint flecks that Woodrow and Carmen had seen.

Luca walked toward her and sank down on the sofa next to Bree. “It’s been a hellish long day,” he pointed out. “If you want to try to get some rest, I can watch Gabriel.” He brushed his fingers over Gabriel’s hair.

It had indeed been hellish, and since she was exhausted, Bree didn’t want to turn down his offer, but she figured Luca was worn-out as well. Plus, she didn’t want to pull him away from the investigation.

“I’ll put Gabriel in his crib for the rest of his nap, and then I’ll lie down,” she said to offer a compromise, though both knew Gabriel might wake up the second she tried to put him down.

Luca sighed and went with her out of the room and toward the stairs. “Are you okay about being here with your mother?” he asked, keeping his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes.” That was the truth. Mostly, anyway.

“You believe everything she said about what happened to her?” he pressed.

She considered her answer while they went up the stairs. “I want to believe her. That’s not the same thing.”

His quick sound of agreement told her they were of a like mind on this. “Sandra had no obvious motive to kill her husband. No reported marital problems. No history of violent tendencies.”

“All true. But that doesn’t mean the unthinkable hadn’t happened. An argument that went horribly wrong. An affair that none of us knew about.” She stopped. “But that doesn’t feel right.”

Luca made another sound of agreement. “This is a wild what-if, but what if your dad learned your mother had something to do with Brighton’s death? That could have spurred a violent confrontation.”

She considered it and dismissed it just as Luca added, “But that doesn’t feel right either. Your mother was looking out for Brighton. She was almost like another of her children.”

Again, that was true, and hearing it spelled out like that helped convince Bree that her mom had been a victim in all of this. Just as her father. And it was connected. It had to be. She just didn’t know how yet.

Luca and she were halfway up the stairs when she heard a flurry of movement on the ground floor. She turned to see Duncan and Slater moving fast toward the front door.

“What’s wrong?” Luca asked.

“One of the hands alerted me that Nathan just drove up,” Duncan explained.

Bree’s first reaction was to groan. Or curse. She was beyond exhausted, but Duncan needed to question Nathan about the lease on the burned-out cabin. She hadn’t figured though that the interview would happen here but rather over the phone or at the sheriff’s office. Still, since he was here, she’d be able to listen while he gave his statement.

The nanny, Beatrice, appeared at the top of the stairs, and she’d obviously heard they had a visitor. “Joelle and your mom are with Izzie so I can take Gabriel if you like,” she offered.

Bree glanced down at her sleeping baby and then over her shoulder out the sidelight windows of the front door. Nathan was pulling his car to a stop in the driveway.

“Yes, thank you,” Bree said, and she eased Gabriel into the nanny’s arms.

“You don’t have to deal with Nathan,” Luca let Bree know after Beatrice had taken Gabriel upstairs.

Bree nodded. “But I might be able to tell if he’s lying.” Of course, that was a long shot. She certainly hadn’t picked up on any overly possessive behavior until it’d started to happen.

“Still,” Luca said, “you don’t have to put yourself through this.”

“I never had sex with him,” she blurted out and then immediately wanted to take it back. Good grief. Luca didn’t need to know that.

Luca didn’t seem pleased. Or surprised. Then again, Luca and she had dated for nearly four months before they’d had sex the first time. Nathan and she had only gone out for a couple of weeks.

“I think that’s why his possessiveness was such a shock,” she went on. Since she’d launched into this uncomfortable subject, she might as well get some things clear. “We weren’t lovers, and I certainly hadn’t made any kind of commitment to him. I never mentioned anything about being exclusive. I was just testing the waters, that’s all.”

He nodded. “That happened when I was dating Shona Sullivan. And, yes, I know your dating Nathan had nothing to do with that,” he was quick to add. Maybe because he saw the flash of annoyance in her eyes. “I mentioned it because of the timing. Nathan might have thought Shona and I were in a ‘together forever’ kind of deal, so that could have been why he thought he had a clear path to a long-term relationship with you.”

The annoyance vanished because Luca was right. Everyone knew Luca and she were an item. Heck, they even thought it now. Bree could see the aha look in people’s eyes now that Luca and she had a child together.

She pushed all that aside for now when Nathan knocked at the door, and Duncan opened it. “I got your message that you needed to talk to me right away,” Nathan said. “I went by the sheriff’s office, but the dispatcher told me you were home.”

Nathan looked past Duncan, his gaze settling on Bree as she came down the stairs.

“Are you hurting?” Nathan asked her. “Is that why Duncan called me?”

“This isn’t about anything medical,” Duncan was quick to say. “Come in.” He stepped back, his cop’s gaze focused on Nathan as he came in. Like Luca and Slater, Duncan was probably checking to see if there were any signs Nathan was about to try to attack them.

Bree certainly didn’t see anything like that. If she had to put a label on his expression and body language, it’d be moony-eyed. Nathan always managed to seem as if she held his heart in her hands. She definitely didn’t want that or the look he was giving her.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Nathan asked her. “I called the pharmacy on the way over, and they said you hadn’t filled the prescription I wrote you for the pain meds.”

She certainly hadn’t forgotten about the pain but didn’t intend to fill the prescription. She didn’t want her mind to be numbed. “I’ll take something ‘over the counter,’” she settled for saying.

Nathan opened his mouth, probably to advise her to get the prescription, but Duncan motioned toward the living room. “In here. Slater, will you turn the board around while we talk to Nathan?”

Slater nodded, hurried ahead of them, and she heard the movement as Slater did as Duncan asked. There wasn’t a lot on the board at the moment, but Duncan still probably didn’t want to display an investigative road map to someone who was still technically a suspect.

“Is this about Bree’s accident?” Nathan asked, looking and sounding very concerned.

“Not exactly,” Duncan said once they were in the living room. “I need to ask you some questions, but I’m going to read you your rights first. It’s just a formality,” he insisted when Nathan snapped back his shoulders. He didn’t give Nathan a chance to voice his defensiveness. Duncan just proceeded to Mirandize him.

“You can’t possibly think I’d have something to do with Bree’s car accident,” Nathan said when Duncan had finished.

“Are you familiar with a hunting cabin about twenty-five miles from here?” Duncan asked, obviously not addressing Nathan’s comment. Duncan then provided the exact address.

Nathan’s forehead bunched up. “No. I don’t hunt, so I don’t usually go to places like that. Why?”

“Because it was leased in your name,” Duncan supplied while he watched for Nathan’s reaction. Bree, Luca and Slater did the same.

“What?” Nathan snapped. He reached into his pocket, causing Duncan, Luca and Slater to all put their hands over their weapons.

Nathan froze, and his eyes widened. “Obviously, you think I’ve done something wrong. I haven’t,” he assured them. “If someone used my name to lease the cabin, then my bank account has been hacked or something. I was just going to take out my phone and see if any money was missing.”

“Do that,” Duncan instructed, but he didn’t take his hand from his gun until he saw for certain that Nathan was pulling out a phone.

Nathan muttered something under his breath and started typing in something on the app he pulled up. It took him at least a minute before he shook his head. “No. There are no missing funds, no fraudulent charges on my credit card. Who said I leased that cabin?”

“The owner,” Duncan answered. “Someone used a credit card in your name to secure it and paid for the lease.”

Nathan cursed. “Well, it sure as hell wasn’t me. Someone must have stolen my identity.” He groaned, cursed again. “I need to report that. Do you investigate it or is that something my bank does?”

“We’ll be investigating it,” Duncan said, tipping his head to Slater and then Luca.

Judging from the sudden tight set of his mouth, Nathan wasn’t a fan of having Luca dig into his financials. “I’m guessing something illegal happened at this cabin?” Nathan snarled.

“We’re investigating that, too, but yes, something happened there,” Duncan verified. He didn’t add any specifics though. “We’re also looking at a Ford F-150 silver truck that was involved in several incidents. Have you ever owned or driven a vehicle like that?”

“No. I drive an Audi.” Nathan looked at her again. “Bree, what’s going on?” he asked, but he didn’t wait for her to respond. “Certainly, you’ve told them I haven’t done anything wrong.”

She hadn’t meant to give him a flat look but it came away. After all, Nathan had stalked her. Nathan not only noticed her expression, he also responded. His mouth tightened. His eyes narrowed. And he aimed a glare at Luca.

“I don’t appreciate you trying to turn Bree against me,” Nathan said. “If you’re jealous of her and me—”

“I’m not,” Luca interrupted and stepped to Bree’s side. “And Bree can make up her mind for herself how she feels about you.”

Nathan’s scowl stayed in place, but it was obvious he didn’t have a good comeback for that. “All right,” Nathan said through clenched teeth, indicating that things were far from all right. His expression softened a bit when he shifted back to her. “Bree, if you need me for anything, you have my number. And remember, I care about you. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

He reached out as if he might try to hug her, but Bree stepped back and landed right against Luca. The impact put her off balance just enough that Luca’s arms came around to steady her.

That intensified Nathan’s glare. “Remember what I said,” he muttered. “I care about you.”

With that, Nathan walked out. Or rather, he stormed out. And Bree found herself releasing the breath that she’d been holding. She hated that Nathan could still annoy her like this. Hated, too, that it had felt so reassuring when she’d landed in Luca’s arms. She eased away from him and stood on her own two feet.

“I swear, I’ve told Nathan many times that nothing will ever happen between him and me,” she muttered. “And, no, I don’t need to do a restraining order,” she added to Slater. “Nathan hasn’t called or texted me in months.”

But she was worried that Nathan would use her injury and this interrogation to try to wheedle himself into her life again.

“I plan on doing a deep background check on Nathan,” Luca said, going to the front door to lock it. “It’s possible he has a history of stalking women. Maybe other things, too, that he doesn’t want us to know about.”

“You believe he could have been the one who leased that cabin?” Duncan asked.

Luca shrugged. “On the surface it wouldn’t be the smartest move to use his own name. But criminals aren’t always smart. And sometimes that sort of move might have us thinking he’s not guilty.”

That was true, and Bree tried to play out that scenario. “Even before I went out with Nathan, he was obsessed with me. I didn’t see that until afterwards,” she added. “But I know now, it’s an obsession. It might be far-fetched, but maybe he kidnapped Mom to try to punish me.”

“Or maybe he hoped you’d turn to him while you were vulnerable and grieving,” Slater supplied.

That settled like a fist of ice in her stomach. Because it didn’t seem so far-fetched at all.

“I’ll do that deep background check,” Luca repeated. He looked at her. “You want to try to get some rest now?”

She would have definitely agreed to that, but Duncan’s phone dinged again. “It’s Woodrow,” he said, glancing at the screen. “The artist just finished with the first sketch of the woman seen driving the silver truck.” He looked at it, shook his head and then turned his phone for them to see. “I don’t know her.”

Bree went closer. She didn’t get an immediate jolt of recognition, but it came the longer she studied the image. “I think I might know who that is,” she muttered. “She looks like the bartender at the Hush, Hush bar. I think that’s Tara Adler.”

Duncan, Slater and Luca all exchanged glances. “Do you have her number?” Duncan asked.

She shook her head. “I can call Manny and ask to speak to her.”

“Do that,” Duncan said. “I want to see if I can get Tara to come in with him tomorrow morning for an interview.”

Bree called Manny and put it on Speaker. She thought Tara might answer again, but this time it was Manny.

“This is Sheriff Holder again,” Duncan said. “I’d like to speak to Tara Adler.”

“Tara?” Manny questioned. “Why?”

“It’s routine,” Duncan answered, which, of course, wasn’t an actual answer at all. “May I speak to her?”

“You could if she was here,” Manny grumbled. “Right after I got off the phone with you, Tara claimed she was sick and had to leave.”

Bree couldn’t believe that it was a coincidence. Was Tara really the one behind her mother’s kidnapping and the attacks? If so, this had to be connected to Brighton’s murder. And maybe her father’s.

“She didn’t look sick to me,” Manny added in a snarl. “You want her number so you can talk to her?”

“Yes, I do,” Duncan verified.

Once Manny had given them the number, Bree ended the call with him, and Duncan used his own phone to call Tara. Or rather, to try to call her. Bree’s stomach sank when she heard the recorded message that she didn’t want to hear.

Tara’s phone had been disconnected.