Page 25 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

Because it would possibly be a conflict of interest, but she didn’t spell that out. No need to make Manny defensive when they brought up the possibility that he could have faked his attack and could be the person responsible for this current nightmare. That was a long shot, but it was still on the radar.

Manny glanced around as if trying to figure out what to do. His nerves seemed to be building.

“Tell you what,” Duncan said. “Why don’t we talk here in my office for now and Bree can stay with us. I’ll still Mirandize you,” Duncan tacked onto that. “It’s procedure,” he said when Manny’s eyes widened, and he started shaking his head. “When we catch the person who tried to run you off the road, we wantto be able to use anything you say to help with the prosecution. If your statement’s official, then it makes things easier.”

That was all true, but Luca knew there was another reason for the Miranda. If Manny said anything incriminating, Duncan would be able to use it without Manny claiming he hadn’t been read his rights.

Duncan waited for Manny to nod before he motioned for Manny to come into his office. When all four of them were inside and seated, Duncan shut the door and Mirandized him.

“I’m going to record this,” Duncan continued, turning on the recorder and stating the time, date and attendees. “Now, Manny, I want you to tell us what happened yesterday when you were driving.”

Manny glanced at Bree, and even though there was still plenty of uneasiness in his expression, he began. “Like I told Bree and the other cops, I was driving from my house into Austin so I could meet with a supplier. A big silver truck came up from behind and rammed into me. The driver tried to push me off the road. I think he was trying to kill me,” Manny added in a hoarse mutter.

“And from what I understand, you didn’t get the license plate?” Duncan asked.

Manny shook his head. “I didn’t even think to do that. I was just so shocked. And I didn’t think to try to follow the truck or anything.”

“Who knew you’d be traveling on that road at that particular time?” Duncan pressed.

“Lots of people.” Manny shrugged. “I live alone, but I had the appointment on my big wall calendar in my office, so anyone who came in there could have seen it.”

“Tara would have known?” Luca asked.

Manny gave another nod, and the sigh that came from his throat was hoarse and filled with emotion. “You think she couldhave done this. You think that’s why she disappeared. But why?” Manny asked.

“Why do you think she would have done that?” Luca countered.

“I don’t know. But if she did it, it must have something to do with Bree since the same thing happened to her.” Manny stopped again, groaned. “It’s just hard for me to believe Tara would try to scare us. Or kill us. But if she did, it could be connected to the questions Bree was asking about that murdered woman. I can’t remember her name,” he said to Bree.

“Brighton Cooper,” Bree supplied. “I found out Brighton had gone to the Hush, Hush shortly before she was killed—”

“Yes,” Manny interrupted, and he reached into his pocket to take out a memory stick. “You wanted the old credit card receipts, and I finally got them from my finance guy. I didn’t have your email address so I put them on this.”

Bree didn’t take the drive though. “Why don’t we go ahead and enter this into evidence?” she suggested. “To preserve the chain of custody.”

Duncan was already moving to do just that. He took out an evidence bag from his desk, dropped in the memory stick and then sealed and labeled it. Luca knew they’d soon be going through that.

“Did you look at the receipts?” Bree asked Manny.

“I glanced through them. You know, just to see if anything jumped out at me. It didn’t. We had a DJ in for the nights you asked about so business was good. Lots of customers, lots of credit card charges. The cash receipts are on there, too, but obviously there aren’t names on those.”

If Brighton’s killer had been there that night—and that was a bigif—it was possible one of the cash charges might belong to him or her. But Brighton’s murder didn’t seem planned so maybe her killer’s name was indeed on those receipts.

“Look, is there any way to keep me out of all of this?” Manny asked. “I mean, I know it’s important to find who did that to the woman, but I don’t want to get mixed up in it. I want to be able to drive to work without someone trying to kill me.”

Duncan gave a sigh of his own. “Your name’s already connected to this,” he said. “Of course, I won’t advertise that you came in today for an interview, but someone might find out about it.” He tipped his head to the bag. “Especially if there’s anything on here to link to a killer.”

Manny groaned and pressed his hands against the sides of his head. He stared down into his lap, muttering some profanity.

“Did you get the sense that anyone followed you here today?” Duncan asked.

“No,” Manny said.

Duncan continued to press. “How about any unusual visitors at the bar?”

That got another “no” from Manny. “The cops said they could do patrols on the road near my house, but that won’t stop a killer. Do you think I should hire a bodyguard?”

“If that’ll make you feel safer, then do it,” Duncan agreed. “It’s probably a good idea not to put your appointments on your wall calendar for a while. Also, shake up your routines if possible. Do you have a security system for your house?”

---