Page 28 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

Manny and Tara nodded.

“Did you see or speak to anyone during that time?” Duncan continued.

“No,” Tara was the first to say, and then Manny repeated it. Manny also repeated his, “Why?”

Before Duncan could answer, there was a knock on the side door of the office. “It’s me,” Woodrow announced. “Sandra’s appointment was quick so I brought her back here.”

Duncan unlocked and opened the door. He got Sandra in as quickly as possible.

“The doctor did some blood tests,” Sandra said. “And I should have the results soon.” She stopped when she glanced at the others in the room. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m interrupting—”

Sandra gasped when her attention landed on Manny.

“It’s you,” Sandra muttered, and the color drained from her face.

“You know Manny?” Duncan was quick to ask.

Sandra nodded. “He’s the man who was having an affair with Brighton.” She swallowed hard. “I think he might have been the one to kill her.”

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.

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