Chapter Eight

Bree certainly hadn’t expected her mother to say what she had. And apparently neither had anyone else in Duncan’s office.

Especially Manny.

He jumped to his feet, and for a moment Bree thought he might try to run, but Luca and Duncan prevented that. Duncan, by stepping in front of the side door, and Luca by blocking the path toward the squad room. Manny cursed and dropped back down into the chair.

“It’s not what you think,” he insisted, aiming that at Luca and Duncan. “I didn’t kill Brighton. I’ve never killed anyone.”

“But you had an affair with her?” Duncan asked. “And you lied about it during an official interview?”

Tara, who was now also standing, spoke before Manny could respond. “You had an affair with her?” She was clearly upset.

Jealous, maybe?

It was hard for Bree to tell, but it seemed to her that Manny wasn’t the only one who’d lied.

“You said you didn’t know Brighton either,” Bree pointed out to Tara.

Tara opened her mouth, closed it and then huffed. “I didn’t know her name. But when you asked about her, I went to Manny to see if he knew her. He said he didn’t,” she practically spat out.

Oh, yes. Jealousy. And Duncan picked up on it. “I take it Manny and you had a personal relationship around this time?” he asked Tara.

Again, she hesitated, and it was Manny who answered. “Not a relationship,” he insisted. “We had sex, and yes, I know that was stupid since I’m her boss.”

“It was more than sex,” Tara muttered, but then she seemed to freeze. Maybe because she’d realized she was spelling out a motive for killing Brighton. “Manny and I were together for about six months, and we agreed to end things.”

“I broke things off with you,” Manny corrected. “And it wasn’t because I was having an affair with another woman,” he was quick to add. “I ended things with Tara before I started seeing Brighton.”

Duncan huffed, and glared at Manny. “I could charge you with lying to a police officer. And I still might do that if you don’t tell me everything about Brighton and how her murder connects to what’s going on now.”

Manny got that panicked look again, and he dragged in some quick breaths. So quick that Bree thought he might hyperventilate. Duncan must have also thought that was a possibility because he got the man a bottle of water from the small fridge behind his desk.

“Talk,” Duncan demanded after Manny had taken some long drinks. “Start with your affair with Brighton.”

Manny nodded. “Like I said, I was having sex with Tara, but it was causing the other waitstaff to gossip. It was hurting morale so I ended things. About a week or so later, Brighton came into the bar, and we started talking. That led to us seeing each other. Not for long,” he quickly tacked on to that. “And I don’t think it was exclusive for her.”

“Brighton was involved with someone else?” Luca pressed.

“I don’t know for sure, but Brighton would get texts when we were out together, and I think the texts were from another man. It was just a feeling I got. She never confirmed it.”

“How long were the two of you involved?” Duncan asked.

“Only about a month.” Manny shut his eyes for a moment. “I’d made dinner reservations at a place in Austin, and Brighton didn’t show. She didn’t call or text so I figured she was ghosting me.”

“And you didn’t call or text her?” Duncan wanted to know.

He shook his head. “I just assumed she was done with me.” Manny paused again. “Then, about two weeks later, I saw something online about her being murdered. The cops were asking anyone to come forward with information, but I didn’t know anything.”

“You should have let the cops decide that,” Duncan snarled. “You should have let us know about the relationship.”

“I didn’t kill her,” Manny snarled right back. “And I didn’t want to get caught up in an investigation.”

Bingo. That was the bottom line, and Bree had to wonder if he hadn’t wanted to be involved because he’d killed Brighton and didn’t want to be on the police’s radar. But he’d come on their radar when she had spotted Brighton on the video outside the bar.

Manny looked at Sandra. “How’d you know I was involved with Brighton? Did she tell you or something?”

Sandra took in some deep breaths as well. “Brighton’s mother and I were best friends, and after she died, I tried to keep an eye on Brighton. I was at her apartment and saw a photo of the two of you on her phone. I asked who you were, but she dodged the question. Why would she do that?”

“Well, it wasn’t because she was afraid I was going to kill her,” Manny protested. “Maybe she just didn’t want to talk to you about her personal life.”

“Possibly,” Sandra admitted. “During that visit with Brighton, she mentioned she’d been going to some interesting bars in Austin. Hush, Hush was one of them, but she named a couple of others. Then, a week or so later when I went to visit her, she was crying. Sobbing, really. And again, she wouldn’t get into specifics, but I think she was having trouble with a man she’d been seeing.”

“Again, it wasn’t me,” Manny insisted. “Brighton and I didn’t have that kind of relationship. It was casual, barely more than friends with benefits.”

Of course, they had no proof that was true. At least, Bree didn’t have proof. Except...

“If it was so casual, then why would Brighton have a picture of the two of you on her phone?” Bree asked.

He leveled his gaze on her. “Who knows? Maybe she liked the way she looked in it, or, hell, maybe she was just in the mood for taking a picture and then didn’t bother to delete it. There’s all kinds of reasons for pictures to be on someone’s phone.”

True, but the photo could be an indicator that the relationship wasn’t as casual as Manny was making it out to be.

Bree turned to her mother. “You went to the Hush, Hush shortly before Brighton was killed. Did you hear anything about her involvement with Manny then?”

“No,” Sandra said. “And I didn’t see Manny either. I went to try to figure out what was going on with Brighton, but then that fight started, and I got spooked. I left.” Her mouth trembled. “If I’d stayed, I might have figured out who’d wanted to hurt her.” She looked at Manny. “I didn’t know who you were, so I couldn’t give your name to the police during the investigation.”

Manny jumped to his feet again. “This inquisition is over,” he snarled to Duncan. “If you want to talk to me again, go through my lawyer. Am I free to go, or do you plan on arresting me right now?”

Duncan took his time, though Bree knew what his answer was likely to be. There wasn’t enough evidence to arrest Manny. Yes, he’d lied, and Duncan could charge him with that, but it was probably best if Duncan used that for leverage to bring Manny back in if anything else did come to light.

“You can go,” Duncan finally said. “For now,” he immediately tacked onto that.

Manny stormed out, and Tara kept her eyes on him until he was out the door. “He wouldn’t have killed Brighton,” she muttered.

“You’re certain of that?” Duncan challenged.

Tara didn’t issue a quick, resounding yes. In fact, she didn’t verify that at all. She merely shrugged. “What about me? What if someone wants me dead?” Her gaze drifted to the door again where Manny had just made his exit, and Bree wondered if the woman was actually thinking—what if Manny wants me dead?

“I can’t provide police protection to you in Austin,” Duncan explained. “But I can call Austin PD and explain the situation. If they feel it’s warranted, they’ll assign someone to watch you.”

Bree figured the cops there wouldn’t consider it warranted, not when the only threat had been the text from an unknown number. Still, that seemed to placate Tara because she nodded.

“Thank you,” she muttered. “I’ll need my phone back, too.”

Duncan motioned for Sonya to bring it back in and the deputy did. “Did you get anything from it?” he asked Sonya.

She shook her head. “The text came from a burner.”

That surprised absolutely no one, not even Tara who sighed and slipped the phone into her pocket.

“Manny and you had a relationship,” he spelled out to Tara. She’d already started for the door, but she stopped. “He broke up with you and yet you still continued to work for him. Why?”

“Because I’m in love with him,” Tara admitted. “Because I want to be near him. Manny wouldn’t have killed that woman,” she repeated as she walked out.

“You think Tara believes that because she’s in love with Manny or because she was the one who murdered Brighton?” Luca asked, taking the question right out of Bree’s mouth.

“She’s definitely a suspect for all of it,” Duncan concluded. “And not just for the murder but for the cover-up attempts that I think are going on now.”

Yes, a cover-up. Bree thought that was what was happening as well. And if so, the cover-up had started with her mother’s kidnapping.

“Tara bears a strong resemblance to the sketch, and both Manny and she have means, motive and opportunity,” Duncan summarized, and then he looked up at Sonya. “Try to find out if either of them own a gun or have had firearms training. I also want their phone records to see if either made calls anywhere near Saddle Ridge yesterday.”

Sonya nodded and went back to her desk in the squad room.

“If we can get their financials, we can check and see if either bought burners or supplies we can maybe match to those taken to the cabin where Sandra was being held,” Luca suggested.

Duncan nodded and looked at Woodrow. “I can request a warrant for that. Everything we’ve got is circumstantial, but it might be enough,” Woodrow said.

“Go for it,” Duncan agreed, and Woodrow stepped to the side to make a call.

Duncan picked up the evidence bag with the memory stick. “You two want to work on this back at the ranch?” he asked, directing the question to Bree and Luca.

They both nodded. Bree was eager to get started on that since it might give them a vital clue. Of course, it could take a lot of searching to find anything, but it’d be worth it if only to close off that particular investigative thread.

“I’ll get this to the techs, then,” Duncan said, “and I’ll have them copy what’s on it and forward it to you as a secure email attachment.” He shifted his attention to Sandra. “I’d like for you to take a look at it, too, in case anything pops for you.”

Sandra nodded and made a soft groan. “Am I responsible for what’s happening? Are all of you in danger because I was digging into Brighton’s murder?”

“I was digging into Brighton’s murder, too,” Bree assured her, and because she hated seeing those fresh tears in her mother’s eyes, she went to her and pulled her into her arms. “We aren’t responsible for what a killer’s doing,” she added, hoping that she would start to believe that as well. It certainly felt as if she’d set all of this in motion, especially since she’d been investigating Brighton’s murder at the time her mother had been taken.

When Bree eased back from the hug, her mother attempted a smile. She failed miserably. So did Bree, but the moment still felt like some kind of turning point, and it was so very good to have her mother back.

“I love you,” she whispered to her mom.

Now Sandra really did smile. “I love you, too.”

Bree hadn’t actually forgotten that they weren’t alone, but then she noticed Luca, Woodrow and Duncan were all looking at them. Not with impatience though she figured they had to be feeling some of that. The investigation had to take priority. Had to. But Bree was hoping they could all have a proper homecoming once the danger was over.

“I’ll have Woodrow and Ronnie accompany all of you back to the ranch,” Duncan explained, motioning for Ronnie to come out of the squad room and into the office. “I want to wait here until the techs have picked up the memory stick, and then I’ll head home, too.”

“Not alone,” Sandra was quick to say.

“Not alone,” Duncan assured her.

He walked with them to the side door, opened it and glanced around the parking lot. He must not have seen anyone suspicious because he stepped back to let them all out. The cruiser wasn’t far, only about ten feet away, and Woodrow and Ronnie went out first. Bree and her mother followed with Luca behind them.

When they reached the cruiser, Bree caught the strong smell of gasoline. The scene barely had time to register in her head before there was a sharp sound, like someone blowing out a huge candle.

And the flames shot up around them.

T HE MOMENT L UCA heard the sound, he hooked his arm around Bree and yanked her back from the cruiser. Thankfully, Woodrow did the same to Sandra, and they fell back on the ground.

Not a second too soon either.

Because the fire blazed over the cruiser and the pavement beneath it. And the flames were spreading, too.

Ronnie, who’d been the closest to the cruiser, had a harder fall than the rest of them. The impact knocked him back, and Luca could hear his fellow deputy’s sharp groan of pain.

“Get back,” Duncan shouted from the doorway.

With his left arm still around Bree, Luca drew his gun and started to bolt toward the still open office door. He stopped though when he saw the fire snaking along a trail of gasoline that stopped there. It had barely had time to register in his mind when the flames shot up there, too, forcing Duncan back into his office.

Luca yanked Bree away from the door. Away from the cruiser and toward the front of the sheriff’s office.

And into what he knew could be extreme danger.

He couldn’t see who’d ignited the gasoline, but he knew the person could be nearby, ready to gun them down. That’s why he moved in front of Bree. Woodrow did the same to Sandra, and he practically dragged the woman toward Luca. Once Woodrow had her there, Luca got to a crouching position.

“Wait here,” Luca told Woodrow. “I’ll get Ronnie.”

Ronnie groaned in pain again, and Luca knew that moving might make his injuries worse. Still, it couldn’t be helped. If he stayed out in the open like that, he’d be an easier target. Luca ran toward him, the heat from the fire stinging his face. He couldn’t see any gasoline in this particular spot, but the liquid and the flames could easily spread.

Something they were already doing.

Luca had no idea how much gasoline had been spilled, maybe only a gallon or two, but it’d obviously been more than enough to create this blaze that could be a cover for another attack.

While he tried to keep watch around him, Luca hooked his left arm around Ronnie, helping the deputy to his feet. Not easily. Ronnie outsized Luca by a good thirty pounds, and Luca had to take the man’s weight so he could get them started across the parking lot.

Each step felt as if it took an eternity, and it didn’t help that everything inside Luca was telling him they could all be gunned down at any moment. Telling him, too, that Ronnie could have serious internal injuries from the fall.

Thick black smoke billowed up from the fire, cutting across his path to the building. For a few terrifying moments, Luca lost sight of Bree, and his mind immediately went into some worst-case scenarios. Maybe this wasn’t a murder attempt but a kidnapping. The killer could be trying to take her.

That possibility gave Luca an extra shot of adrenaline, and he fought his way through the smoke and heat so he could reach the side of the building. He finally saw Bree. Saw the fear and worry that was there, and he cursed their attacker for putting them through this.

Whatever this was.

Bree reached out for him, taking hold of Luca’s arm and pulling both Ronnie and him closer until they were all in a huddle.

“Tara or Manny could have done this,” Bree muttered.

Yeah, they could have, and it wouldn’t have been especially hard if they’d already had the gasoline with them. Manny and Tara had arrived separately and would have used this parking lot. If they’d parked on the other side of the cruiser, the side that wouldn’t have been easily visible from the street, one of them could have poured the gasoline from the door while seated in their vehicles. That theory worked.

But there was a problem.

He didn’t see either Manny or Tara, and their vehicles weren’t in the lot right now. So, how had the flames ignited?

Luca soon came up with the answer.

There were clusters of trees and shrubs at the far back of the parking lot, and one or both of them could have poured the gasoline, driven away and parked somewhere up the street. They could have then made their way back to the trees and shrubs and waited. If the stream of gasoline was nearby, all it would have taken was lighting a match and tossing it. Then the person could have run away and taken up the vantage point to fire some shots.

“An ambulance and the fire department are on the way,” Duncan called out.

Luca glanced at the front corner of the building and saw Duncan and Sonya. Both had their weapons drawn and were firing glances all around. Clearly, they’d braced for an attack, too.

“Try to get inside,” Duncan instructed.

Since that wouldn’t happen from the side door where the fire was still blazing, it meant going through the front. The sheriff’s office was on Main Street and there were buildings on each side as well as across the street. Places for a gunman to hide and take aim. Still, it wasn’t safe where they were either.

Woodrow hurried to the other side of Ronnie and, along with Luca, they hoisted up the deputy. “Stay against the side of the building,” Luca told Bree and Sandra.

At least that way, a gunman would have to shoot through Woodrow, Ronnie and him to get to them. Maybe though the threat wouldn’t come from a gunshot. Luca realized that when he looked at the fire shooting up the front of the cruiser.

Hell.

Luca knew it was rare for a vehicle to actually explode during a fire, but it was possible their attacker had added something to the mix. Like maybe some other chemical that could be toxic to breathe in.

“We need to evacuate the area,” Luca shouted to Duncan, and he tipped his head to the cruiser to let him know what was going on.

Duncan cursed and made a frantic motion for them to move faster. They did, but it wasn’t easy. Ronnie was unconscious now so Luca hefted him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry so he could put some distance between them and the cruiser.

Bree and Sandra thankfully stayed against the wall of the building, and they all moved together. All keeping watch as best they could, considering the slashes of smoke that kept coming their way.

It seemed to take a lifetime or two before they finally reached the door, and the moment they did, Duncan got Sandra and Bree inside. Luca moved to do the same to Ronnie, but he caught some movement from the corner of his eye and whipped around in that direction.

Luca caught just a glimpse of Tara running from the scene.