Page 40 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

“This is all too pat for my liking,” Slater said, reading through something on his laptop screen.

That got Bree’s and everyone else’s attention, and they turned to Slater, waiting for him to explain that.

“Shannon had a short stint in the army before she was dishonorably discharged,” he said. “She would have gotten firearms training. She also had a record for drugs and B and E. Everything I’m seeing in her background indicates she couldn’t stay out of trouble and had issues with authority.”

Bree figured she knew where he was going with this. “So, how could she have stayed on task for the eleven months Mom was held captive?”

“Exactly,” Slater agreed. “She doesn’t seem to fit the profile of someone who could have done this on her own. Yet, she also doesn’t fit for someone taking orders either.”

“I guess that could depend on whoever was giving the orders,” Duncan suggested. “If it was someone she trusted...or loved, then maybe that allowed her to stay on task.” He paused, shook his head. “And it’s possible that Shannon is being used as a scapegoat in all of this.”

Luca made a sound of agreement. “And if so, that points back to Tara.”

It did indeed. But Bree knew they couldn’t rule out Nathan or Manny. Especially Manny who’d admitted to knowing Shannon. That made Bree wonder if Nathan would admit to knowing the dead woman as well. She was on the verge of asking Luca, Slater and Duncan if they should ask Nathan that when Luca’s phone rang.

“Tara,” Luca said when he looked at the screen. The relief was in his voice, but the concern was still on his face. He took the call and immediately told Tara, “I’ve got the call on Speaker. Sheriff Holder, Deputy McCullough and Bree are here with me.”

“What’s so important?” Tara responded, the ice practically dripping off the question.

“I need to talk to you in person,” Luca explained. “Can you come back to Saddle Ridge? If not, I can arrange—”

“I’m not going back there,” Tara interrupted, “and I’m not talking to any Austin cops either. If you’ve got something to say to me, just say it fast because you’ve got exactly thirty seconds before I hang up and then block you.”

Duncan nodded, giving Luca the okay to tell her about Shannon. Normally, this was something done in person, but it was obvious Tara wasn’t going to consent to a visit with cops.

“Tara, I regret to inform you that your sister, Shannon, is dead,” Luca stated.

There were a couple of seconds of silence, followed by a sharp gasp. “What?” she demanded but didn’t wait for an answer. “You’re lying. You’re saying that so I’ll meet with you.”

“I’m saying it because it’s true,” Luca spelled out. “A positive ID was made of her body just minutes ago.”

Tara muttered something Bree didn’t catch. “Her body?” she repeated. “Shannon’s dead.”

“Yes,” Luca verified but didn’t add more. He was no doubt giving Tara some time to let it sink in.

“How did she die?” Tara asked a couple of moments later.

“We believe she was murdered,” Luca said.

No gasp this time, but Tara’s moan was plenty loud enough. There were some rustling sounds, and Bree thought maybe Tara was dropping down into a chair. “Who killed her?”

“We don’t know yet. We were hoping you could help us with that,” Luca explained.

More silence. “You’d better not be trying to pin this on me because I didn’t kill my own sister.”

The denial sounded adamant enough, but Bree knew that some people were top-notch liars. She had no idea though if Tara was one of them.

“Any idea who’d want Shannon dead?” Luca asked.

“No,” Tara said, and her tone had softened some. “But you thought she was involved in what was going on with Manny and Bree, so maybe Shannon got mixed up with the wrong person. That wouldn’t be a first,” she added in a mutter. “I want to see her body. Where are you sending her?”

“To the county medical examiner. I don’t have the number off the top of my head, but if you call the Saddle Ridge dispatcher, they can connect you. Then you can arrange a time to see your sister.”

“Good,” she said in a hoarse whisper, and she repeated it a couple of times as if using it to try to steady herself. “Please tellme you know who killed her because I want the SOB behind bars.”

“I don’t know, not yet, but there are a lot of cops investigating Shannon’s murder. We’re—”

“Did Manny kill her?” Tara blurted out.

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