Page 23 of The Sheriff's Baby

That no doubt meant Slater was going to try to find Hamlin’s old girlfriend, Erica. Duncan hoped he could manage it since Erica, who’d now be in her mid-twenties might be able to provide them with some insight into Hamlin.

Duncan and Joelle sat across from Brad and didn’t say anything for several minutes. They just waited for Brad to cry it out. When he finally reached for a tissue to dry his eyes, that was Duncan’s cue to get started. However, Brad beat him to it.

“Who killed Shanda?” Brad asked. The anger was back in his voice now. “Was it my mother?”

Duncan didn’t respond to that. Well, not a direct answer, anyway. Instead, he read Brad his rights, and he didn’t think it was his imagination that Brad became more incensed with each line of the Miranda warning.

“Do you understand your rights?” Duncan asked when he’d finished.

“Of course, I do,” Brad snapped. “You’re covering your butt, but there’s no need. I didn’t kill my wife.”

“Do you understand the part about your right to have your lawyer present?”

“I do, and he’ll be coming in soon, but I don’t want to wait for him to get answers. I need to know now. Did my mother do this?”

“Your mother is under guard at the hospital,” Duncan reminded him. Of course, that didn’t mean Kate hadn’t hired someone to do it. He leaned in and stared at Brad. “Did you kill Shanda?”

Outrage bloomed across his face, and his mouth dropped open. “No, I did not.” Brad snapped out each word. “I loved her, and we were getting back together.”

“Maybe,” Duncan concluded. “I talked to Shanda right before she was killed, and she didn’t confirm a reconciliation. Just the opposite.”

No trace of Brad’s tears remained, and his eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you. You’re lying to provoke me.”

“I’m repeating to you what she told me.”

Duncan withheld anything else about that conversation he’d had with Shanda, and he let the silence roll through the room. In his experience, most people being interrogated or interviewed were uncomfortable enough with the silence that they started talking.

It worked.

“Shanda wanted me to see a shrink,” Brad finally admitted. “She wanted me to rehash the past.”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing with the civil suit?” Joelle asked.

Now Brad turned those narrowed eyes on her. “No. That’s retribution. That’s payment for a wrong that you and your father did.” He stopped and visibly reined in some of the anger. “I thought the best way for Shanda and me to move on was to get back together and start that family she’s always wanted.”

Interesting. Not the familywe’dalways wanted. “You wanted to have a child with Shanda?” Duncan came out and asked.

“Of course.” Brad had gone back to snapping. “And now that won’t happen because she’s dead.”

Brad made the sound of a sob, but Duncan saw no fresh tears in his eyes. Being the cynic that he was, Duncan wondered if the man had tapped his supply of fake drama.

“I understand you called Shanda after you and I had our phone conversation,” Duncan said, shifting the conversation a little.

Brad nodded, attempted another sob, and he must have given up on that because he pressed a tissue to his eyes. “I told her what was going on, and I said I wanted to see her. She said we could meet for lunch after I was done with my interview.” He stopped again. “If I’d gone over to her place then and there, she might not be dead. I could have stopped her from being killed.”

Maybe that was true. But not the truth if Brad had been the one who’d pulled the trigger.

“Where were you from the time you got off the phone with me and Shanda’s murder?” Duncan pressed.

“Home,” Brad was quick to say.

Duncan was just as quick with a response. “Can anyone verify that?”

“I was alone,” the man snapped. “But I tried to make some calls to my mother so it’s possible those can be pinpointed to my house.”

Yeah, it was possible. But it wasn’t proof. Someone could have used Brad’s phone to make it look as if he were home. And even if Brad had personally made the calls, it didn’t mean his hired gun hadn’t been doing his bidding. Still...

“I want permission to get access to your phone records,” Duncan insisted. “If you don’t agree, I’ll assume you have something to hide, and I’ll get a search warrant.”

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