Chapter Twelve
Luca kept watch as they made the drive into town to the sheriff’s office. He was in the back seat with Bree who was firing glances around, too. Ditto for Woodrow and Duncan who were in the front. Luca figured Slater, Joelle and Carmen were doing the same back at the ranch, along with the hands and reserve deputies who were still patrolling the ground.
They had put a lot of security in place to keep Gabriel safe while they made this trip. There were now nine armed cops or ranch hands guarding him, and Luca had to hope that the small army would be enough. Had to hope, too, that maybe this journey wouldn’t turn out to be a big mistake. But pretty much anything they did at this point could fall into the “big mistake” category.
That included doing nothing at all.
Yes, they’d likely be safer if they stayed put inside the ranch house. Likely . But if they’d done a correct interpretation of those notes in Shannon’s trailer, then no place was truly safe. And they had to do something about that for Gabriel and everyone else who happened to be in the path of this killer.
That something meant Bree and him traveling into town to the sheriff’s office to have a chat with Manny.
Manny hadn’t resisted the warrant and had immediately come in for an interview, but he had demanded to speak to Luca and Bree. Luca had considered refusing, or leaving Bree at the ranch, while he went to hear what Manny had to say. Hell, he’d considered a lot of things, but this was a murder investigation and at least some of the things had to be done by the book. That included holding the interview at the sheriff’s office since that’s where Manny had surrendered himself. It was also procedure for Manny to have his lawyer with him—which he did.
However, it wasn’t the norm for a suspect to ask to speak with two of the people involved in the attacks. Still, Luca had reasoned that Manny might finally be ready to spill all. And spilling all could finally put an end to the danger to Gabriel.
During his visual sweep of their surroundings, Luca’s gaze collided with Bree’s. She was worried all right. And exhausted. Too bad he couldn’t do squat about either of those things.
“A few days ago, our biggest concern was how we were going to co-parent Gabriel while being at odds with each other,” she muttered.
For some stupid reason, that made him smile. “Yeah,” he muttered.
They had much more serious concerns now, but Luca no longer felt the at-odds things. That was something good to come out of all of this. They were solidly on the same side. But would that last? Luca hoped it would but knew there were no guarantees that Bree would ever be able to look at him and not think of her murdered father.
When they reached the sheriff’s office, Duncan was forced to park out front since the main parking lot was still being processed and cleaned. However, the fire chief, Elmore Dauber, was on scene, and he motioned that he needed to talk to them. Duncan indicated for the chief to meet them inside.
They hurried into the building, but the only people Luca saw inside were the two deputies, Sonya and Brandon Rooney. “Manny and his lawyer are already in the interview room,” Brandon explained. “Sonya searched Manny and read him his rights again.”
Duncan nodded and then shifted his attention to the fire chief when he came in. Elmore was a former deputy turned fireman, with over twenty years of experience under his belt, so Luca knew this part of the investigation was in capable hands.
“We’re nearly finished up out there,” Elmore explained, “and I’ll be doing my report as soon as I’m back in my office. But I can give you the high points now.” He drew in a long breath. “The accelerant was gasoline, and we found the empty can behind a tree at the back of the parking lot. It could have been there for hours. Maybe even days. There were some sticks lying around so it’s possible they were used to cover the can.”
So, this had been planned maybe well in advance. That didn’t surprise Luca, but he wished someone had seen that can before it’d been turned into a weapon.
“A simple trigger device ignited the gasoline,” Elmore went on. “We’ve got what’s left of the device, and it’ll be examined, but this is something anyone can learn to make from the internet.”
“Was it on a timer?” Duncan asked.
Elmore shook his head. “It was set off with a remote control or maybe a phone. Again, not hard to do if you can read and follow instructions.”
Luca considered that for a moment. “How close would the remote or phone have to be to ignite it?”
“Not especially close. We might be able to give you specifics on that once it’s examined, but it’s my guess the arsonist had line of sight of all of you when you exited the building and triggered it then.”
That was Luca’s guess as well. A timer would only be effective if the person had known the exact time they’d be leaving the sheriff’s office.
“I figure we’re looking for someone who was hanging around within a block of the building,” Elmore added. He looked at Duncan. “You’ve requested footage from the camera at the bank?”
Duncan nodded. “The camera was working, but they’re having trouble getting the footage off the server. The techs from the Rangers’ crime lab are assisting, so we should have the recordings soon.”
Luca was definitely hoping for that, and while he was at it, he was also hoping the arsonist didn’t know about that particular camera and hadn’t bothered to conceal his or her face. Of course, Manny and Tara would likely be on the feed since they’d been in the area for interviews. However, there would have been no valid reason for Shannon and/or Aubrey to be on scene. But it was possible that by the time of the fire, Shannon had already been dead.
“Go ahead and see what Manny wanted to tell Bree and you,” Duncan instructed Luca. “I’ve got a few more questions for Elmore, and then I’ll join you. Oh, and record everything Manny says. I don’t want this to be an off-the-record kind of conversation just because Bree is there.”
Luca was glad to hear that. He didn’t want Manny trying to hide behind what he might consider to be private. As far as Luca was concerned, Manny’s right to privacy was over.
“I’m a legal consultant for the Rangers,” Bree pointed out. “Since the Rangers are assisting in this investigation, I can use that to be present during interviews of a suspect.” She lifted her shoulder. “Well, I can as long as Manny’s lawyer doesn’t flat-out object and start some legal wrangling. I can wrangle right back, but I don’t want to do anything to compromise an arrest.”
Duncan stayed quiet a moment, obviously processing that and then nodded. “Get permission from Manny and the lawyer to be there,” he agreed. “I haven’t arrested Manny yet, but let’s all hope he’ll say something to the two of you that’ll make that happen.”
Yeah, that had to happen because if it didn’t, there likely wouldn’t be an arrest. There was no physical evidence to link Manny to Brighton’s murder or any of the attacks. Of course, there was the recording that Tara had made, but it might or might not be able to be used as evidence. Even if it was, the video wasn’t proof Manny had murdered Brighton.
Luca and Bree headed to the interview room, and the moment Luca opened the door, Manny practically jumped to his feet.
“I didn’t murder anyone,” Manny immediately volunteered.
Luca held up his hand in a gesture for Manny to wait, and he turned to Manny’s lawyer. “I’m Deputy Vanetti, and this is legal consultant for the Rangers, Bree McCullough. Do either of you have any objections to her being here?”
“No,” Manny snapped. “In fact, I want her here so I can make both of you understand that someone is setting me up.”
Luca shifted his attention to the lawyer. “No objections at this time. I’m Corey Bennett,” he said. He shook hands with both Luca and Bree, and Luca noted that the lawyer didn’t seem anxious or ready to launch into a tirade about how they were treating his client.
“Someone is setting me up,” Manny repeated, but once again, Luca gestured for him to hold off on that so he could start the recording and read in the time and those present.
“You believe someone is setting you up,” Luca repeated. “Who and why?”
“I don’t know.” Manny groaned and dropped back into the chair. “But someone must be if there was a warrant for my arrest. Why the hell would your sheriff do that?”
Bree and Luca took the chairs across from Manny and the lawyer. “Because we recently got access to a recording of you having a very nasty argument with Brighton Cooper, a woman you claimed you didn’t know well.” Luca leaned in, spearing Manny with his narrowed gaze. “You knew her, and if you lie and say you didn’t, then I’m arresting you on the spot.”
Manny had already opened his mouth, but he closed it, huffed and leaned back in his seat. “A video,” he repeated. “How did you get it and what’s on it?”
“I’m not at liberty to disclose who gave it to us, but it’s obvious from the recording that Brighton and you were lovers, and you were enraged when she ended things. Lie to me about that, and you’re under arrest,” Luca repeated.
Manny’s lawyer started to speak, but Manny lay his hand on the man’s arm. “Tara,” Manny grumbled. “She recorded something and gave it to you. She’s the one trying to set me up.”
“Why would she do that?” Bree wanted to know.
Manny made a duh sound. “I’ve already told you that Tara’s upset because I dumped her. She’d do anything to get back at me.”
That was possible, but Luca didn’t voice that to Manny. “Tara didn’t make you lie to us about Shannon,” Luca pointed out. “You did that on your own.”
“I did,” Manny admitted. “But lying about my sexual partners isn’t the same as committing multiple felonies.”
Maybe not. But it could be red flags.
“What about Aubrey Kincaid?” Luca pressed. “Is she a lover, too?”
Manny’s forehead bunched up. “No. Why are you asking that? Did Tara claim I’d slept with Aubrey?”
Luca didn’t respond to that either. He just sat quietly and stared at Manny until the man was practically squirming in his seat.
“I didn’t sleep with Aubrey,” Manny insisted. “I’ll admit to having an affair with Brighton, and she did break up with me. But I didn’t kill her, and there won’t be anything on any video saying otherwise.”
Luca gave that some thought. Manny could probably say something like that because perhaps he’d never come out and threatened Brighton with violence. The violence could have still happened though.
“I was in love with Brighton,” Manny added, his voice lowering to a whisper. “I loved her, but she was seeing someone else.”
“Who?” Bree immediately asked.
Manny shrugged. “It’s all speculation. You’re not the only one who investigated Brighton’s murder,” he said.
Luca and Bree exchanged glances. “What does that mean?” Bree pressed.
“After you called and asked me to give you those old receipts, I talked to some of the regular customers who were around back then. No one could confirm it,” Manny explained, “but a few people recalled her having some conversations with that doctor.”
Everything inside Luca went still. “What doctor?”
“Dr. Nathan Bagley,” Manny spat out like profanity. “That snake oil quack who lives right here under your own nose.”
Luca made a circling motion for Manny to continue just as Duncan came in. Duncan announced himself for the recording and took a seat at the end of the table.
“Manny here was just telling us that he suspects that Brighton was seeing Dr. Bagley,” Luca summarized.
Duncan’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything because Manny continued. “I don’t have proof of it so don’t try to charge me for withholding evidence. And I only found out about this two days ago after Bree wanted the receipts.”
“Why don’t you just tell us what you do know about Brighton and the doctor?” Duncan prompted, not addressing the withholding gripe.
“I knew Brighton was seeing someone else,” Manny quickly confirmed, “and like I already told Luca and Bree, a couple of people I talked to said they recalled seeing her with Dr. Bagley.”
Duncan pushed a notepad Manny’s way. “Jot down the names of those people.”
Manny huffed, but he wrote two names and passed the notepad back to Duncan. Luca glanced at the names but didn’t recognize them. Bree shook her head, indicating that she didn’t either.
“So, these two people saw Brighton with Nathan Bagley,” Luca went on. “Did you know she was seeing the doctor?”
Manny wasn’t so quick to respond this time. “No, but once she came in the bar sporting bruises on her arm. They were clearly marks left by fingers. It was obvious to me she’d gotten them when someone manhandled her.”
“Bruises?” Bree questioned. “When was this?”
“About a month or so before she died,” Manny answered.
Luca had studied the photos of Brighton’s lifeless body, and while there had been bruises on various parts of her torso and arms, there hadn’t been any that resembled marks made by fingers. A month though would have been plenty of time for them to have healed.
Manny lifted his arm and clamped onto the fleshy part between his elbow and wrist. “There with the thumbprint underneath and the other four on top. I was furious that someone had hurt her like that, and I wanted her to come to my office so we could talk about it. She wouldn’t. She said the bruises were nothing and that I should mind my own business, but then she admitted she was having trouble with someone she was seeing.”
“Did she specifically say she was seeing Nathan Bagley?” Luca asked.
“No.” Manny sighed. “But one of the bruises was bigger than the other, and when I pointed to it, she mumbled something about the guy wearing a class ring and that the stone in it was tilted to the side on his finger.”
Luca tried to picture Nathan’s hands, trying to recall if he had worn a ring with a stone, but he couldn’t recall one. Apparently, neither did Bree because she shook her head again.
“I was trying to rein in my temper because I knew if I got mad, Brighton would just walk away,” Manny went on, “so I tried to get her to tell me more about the bruise by saying it must have been a big ring. She said it was one of those chunky gold ones from Texas A&M.”
Bree took out her phone, and Luca knew what she was doing. A couple of moments later, he got confirmation when she showed him the hospital information page with Nathan’s bio. There it was.
He’d attended the Texas A&M School of Medicine.
Again, that was nowhere near proof that Nathan had murdered Brighton, but it was a connection that needed further investigation. They already knew from the receipts that Nathan had been at the bar the night Brighton was murdered, and if he had been involved in a volatile relationship with Brighton, then that would give him motive.
“Any reason you didn’t tell us sooner about seeing those bruises on Brighton?” Duncan asked.
“Because I forgot about it. Hell, it’s been five years, and I’d moved on with my life. Or rather I had moved on before you guys started trying to accuse me of things I didn’t do.”
“Then why didn’t you tell the original investigating officer?” Duncan pressed. “You hear about a woman you claim to have loved had been murdered, and you know someone bruised her up just a month earlier, and you didn’t think that was something the cops should know?”
Some of the color drained from Manny’s face, and he shook his head. “Her death gutted me, and I wasn’t thinking about anything but my own grief.”
Duncan made a sound to indicate he wasn’t totally convinced of that. Neither was Luca. Manny had had plenty of time to work out what to say so he didn’t sound like a killer. And maybe he wasn’t. But Luca wasn’t taking him off the suspect list, and he doubted Duncan or Bree would either.
“I need to have a word with my client,” the lawyer said.
Duncan nodded, stood, and Luca, Bree and he went back into the hall. “I want to get old work schedules for the hospital,” Duncan said, keeping his voice low. “I need to see if Nathan was possibly on duty when Brighton was murdered. We know he was at the bar that night, but we don’t have an exact time of death for her. I want to know where he was in the hours leading up to and after she was killed.”
“Good idea,” Bree muttered. “If he wasn’t on the schedule, then he can’t claim that as an alibi.” She paused. “Nathan could have murdered her,” she added. “Not premeditated but in the heat of the moment.”
Luca turned to her so fast, he heard his neck pop. “You said Nathan never got violent with you.”
“He didn’t,” she insisted, “but I thought maybe the potential was there because of his temper. It was always there, simmering just beneath the surface.”
Luca had to rein in his own temper over hearing that. Not anger aimed at Bree but at the SOB Nathan. And anger wasn’t going to help solve this investigation.
“Did you ever see Nathan wearing a Texas A&M ring?” Duncan asked her.
Bree shook her head. “And I think I would have noticed. Those class rings are usually big, and since I went to A&M’s rival school, University of Texas, I probably would have made some kind of joke about it.”
Luca considered that for a moment. “You dated Nathan long after Brighton had been murdered so maybe he quit wearing the ring after he killed her. He might have believed the ring had left a mark on her. Like the bruise on her arm.”
Both Duncan and Bree made quick sounds of agreement. “Nathan might not have thrown the ring away,” Bree added. “He could have just stopped wearing it.” She looked at Duncan. “What are the chances of getting a search warrant to go through Nathan’s house?”
“Nil on the evidence we have.” Duncan groaned, shook his head. “Which as you know isn’t much. Yes, he was in the bar the night Brighton was murdered, but with her estimated time of death, she wasn’t killed until about four to six hours or so after she left Hush, Hush. Nathan could have been home. Or at work.”
Bree groaned as well, not because she was disagreeing with Duncan, but because she knew all of this was true. It also wasn’t a mark of guilt that two people had seen Nathan talking to Brighton. Neither was Manny’s speculation that Nathan had put those bruises on her.
So, yeah, nil chances on the search warrant.
“We can’t just ask Nathan if he has a ring like that,” Luca spelled out, “because if he’s guilty, he could toss it. If he hasn’t already done it, that is.”
They all went quiet, and Luca knew they were trying to figure out a way around this.
“I can pay Nathan a visit and try to have a discreet look around,” Bree threw out there.
Luca gave her a flat look and was sure Duncan was doing the same. They both voiced a firm “no” together.
“I wouldn’t take the ring if I spotted it,” she went on. “I could leave it in place and then you could get a warrant. If the ring is still there, it could have Brighton’s DNA on it since she was stabbed to death.”
“No,” Duncan repeated, and Luca shifted his flat look to a narrow-eyed stare.
“You’re not going into the house of a potential killer,” Luca insisted. “And even if he didn’t murder Brighton, Nathan has a temper and a short fuse. You could be hurt. Or worse.”
“I could have my phone on,” she suggested. “And Duncan and you could be waiting nearby to run inside the house if anything goes wrong.” She stopped and shut her eyes for a moment. “Look, I don’t want to be around Nathan, but these attacks have got to stop, and this might be the way to do it.”
“No,” Duncan said for a third time.
Bree clearly didn’t like that because she huffed. “Then, what? We can’t just ask around to see if anyone recalls Nathan wearing a ring because it’d get back to him and he’d ditch it.”
True, but an idea flashed into Luca’s head. “We can search through social media and look for any photos of Nathan that might have been posted of him wearing a ring. Coupled with Manny’s statement, that might be enough to get a warrant.”
Duncan didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “Let’s do that.” He took out his phone. “I can get Joelle started on it right now. She’s been chomping at the bit to get more involved in the investigation.”
Yes, she had, and when Bree and Luca got back to the ranch, they could search as well. Newspaper archives might have something as well.
At the sound of footsteps, they turned to see Brandon making his way to them, and the deputy had his attention on a laptop he was carrying.
“We just got back the footage from the bank camera,” Brandon explained, turning the laptop toward them and hitting Play.
Luca watched as Main Street came into view. Not the sheriff’s office since it was tucked just out of sight of the camera, but as the feed advanced, he saw the smoke billowing out of the parking lot.
He soon spotted the woman.
Luca instantly recognized her because he’d seen her driver’s license photo. It was Aubrey. She was on the sidewalk, moving in the opposite direction of the sheriff’s office and the fire, but she was glancing over her shoulder.
And she smiled.
Luca cursed. The woman was actually happy that she’d put them in danger like that.
“I want an arrest warrant for her,” Duncan snarled.
“I’ll make that happen,” Brandon assured him. “For now, keep watching,” he instructed, though he sounded just as angry at the smile as the rest of them were.
Someone had already zoomed in on Aubrey so they watched as she lifted her phone that was already in her hand, and she made a call right before she walked out of camera range.
“The techs believe they can enhance the footage and get the number she called,” Brandon said. “What do you bet she was calling her boss to let him or her know the job was done?”
There were no bets because that would have almost certainly been what she’d done.
“What are the odds they can get the number?” Duncan asked.
“Good,” Brandon verified. “In a couple of hours, we might know the name of the killer.”