Page 27 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

Duncan drew in a breath as if that wasn’t the response he wanted. “Well, we know Brighton was in the Hush, Hush shortly before her murder.”

“And that’s why her killer is coming after us,” Tara concluded.

“Maybe,” Duncan muttered. “Where did you go after you got that text?”

It took Tara a couple of seconds to shift gears in the conversation. “Home first. To my apartment. I packed a bag, grabbed the emergency cash I keep on hand and then went to a motel. I put the SIM card back in my phone this morning so I could call Manny and ask him what I should do,” Tara went on. “It went straight to voicemail so I called the bar. Otto answered, and he said he heard Manny talking on the phone about coming to Saddle Ridge for an interview. So, I came here, too.”

“Otto?” Duncan questioned.

“Otto Gunther,” Manny supplied. “He’s the janitor.”

Luca immediately took out his phone to do a quick run on the man. The guy was seventy-three and had no criminal history. That didn’t exclude him from being a killer though, so Luca requested a background check. While he was at it, he ordered that for all of the Hush, Hush employees.

“You can’t think Otto would try to run someone off the road,” Manny protested. “He’s a good man. He’d give you the shirt off his back, which is why I’ve kept him on long after normal retirement age. He loves his job, and the rest of the staff love having him around.”

“Manny’s right,” Tara piped in.

Duncan didn’t address their comments. He opened a folder on his desk and took a printed copy of the drawing that the sketch artist had done. “This woman was seen driving the silver truck that was involved in the incidents with both Bree and you,” he said to Manny.

Manny’s eyes widened, and he turned to Tara. “That looks like you.”

Tara fixed her gaze on the drawing, but she was also shaking her head. “It’s not. There must be a mistake. I’ve never driven a silver truck, and I wouldn’t try to run anyone off the road.”

“Then why does that look so much like you?” Duncan asked, going full cop mode. The muscles in his face had tightened, and his eyes were narrowed.

“I don’t know...” Her denial trailed off, and her gaze shot to Duncan. “Is it my sister, Shannon?”

The moment she asked the question, Luca started the background check on Tara’s sister. He silently cursed when Shannon’s DMV photo came up because while she wasn’t Tara’s twin, the two women did look a great deal alike.

Luca showed the photo to Duncan, and Luca was betting he did some silent cursing as well. They’d believed Tara was their suspect, but now that was in serious doubt.

“Where’s your sister?” Duncan demanded.

“I’m not sure. We’ve lost contact,” Tara said. She paused, then sighed. “Look, Shannon’s a trouble magnet. Always getting involved with the wrong guy. Always in and out of messes. I washed my hands of her about a year ago. Last I heard, she was seeing some lowlife from Bulverde.”

The burned-out cabin was near that particular small town.

“You know this lowlife’s name?” Duncan pressed.

“No. I didn’t want to know,” she insisted. “Like I said, I’d washed my hands of her.” She stopped again, and this time shegroaned. “Oh, God. Is Shannon the one who sent me that text? Is she the one who tried to kill Manny and Bree?”

Luca figured that fell into the “to be determined” category. “Do you have your sister’s phone number?” Luca asked.

Tara shook her head again. “She never had the money for a good phone so she always used cheap disposable ones.”

Burners. Which would be next to impossible to trace.

But if Shannon was indeed behind this, then she probably hadn’t been acting alone. Her low-life boyfriend would also need to be questioned.

“Where were you both yesterday morning starting at nine and going past noon?” Duncan asked, and Luca knew Duncan was trying to see if either had alibis for the incident with Bree and the shooting.

“I was home,” Manny said. “Well, I was after I reported the silver truck to the cops. Why?”

Duncan ignored the question and turned to Tara. “And where were you?”

“At my apartment,” Tara answered.

“Alone?” Duncan pressed, glancing at both of them.

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