Page 46 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

For some stupid reason, that made him smile. “Yeah,” he muttered.

They had much more serious concerns now, but Luca no longer felt the at-odds things. That was something good to come out of all of this. They were solidly on the same side. But would that last? Luca hoped it would but knew there were no guarantees that Bree would ever be able to look at him and not think of her murdered father.

When they reached the sheriff’s office, Duncan was forced to park out front since the main parking lot was still being processed and cleaned. However, the fire chief, Elmore Dauber, was on scene, and he motioned that he needed to talk to them. Duncan indicated for the chief to meet them inside.

They hurried into the building, but the only people Luca saw inside were the two deputies, Sonya and Brandon Rooney. “Manny and his lawyer are already in the interview room,” Brandon explained. “Sonya searched Manny and read him his rights again.”

Duncan nodded and then shifted his attention to the fire chief when he came in. Elmore was a former deputy turned fireman,with over twenty years of experience under his belt, so Luca knew this part of the investigation was in capable hands.

“We’re nearly finished up out there,” Elmore explained, “and I’ll be doing my report as soon as I’m back in my office. But I can give you the high points now.” He drew in a long breath. “The accelerant was gasoline, and we found the empty can behind a tree at the back of the parking lot. It could have been there for hours. Maybe even days. There were some sticks lying around so it’s possible they were used to cover the can.”

So, this had been planned maybe well in advance. That didn’t surprise Luca, but he wished someone had seen that can before it’d been turned into a weapon.

“A simple trigger device ignited the gasoline,” Elmore went on. “We’ve got what’s left of the device, and it’ll be examined, but this is something anyone can learn to make from the internet.”

“Was it on a timer?” Duncan asked.

Elmore shook his head. “It was set off with a remote control or maybe a phone. Again, not hard to do if you can read and follow instructions.”

Luca considered that for a moment. “How close would the remote or phone have to be to ignite it?”

“Not especially close. We might be able to give you specifics on that once it’s examined, but it’s my guess the arsonist had line of sight of all of you when you exited the building and triggered it then.”

That was Luca’s guess as well. A timer would only be effective if the person had known the exact time they’d be leaving the sheriff’s office.

“I figure we’re looking for someone who was hanging around within a block of the building,” Elmore added. He looked at Duncan. “You’ve requested footage from the camera at the bank?”

Duncan nodded. “The camera was working, but they’re having trouble getting the footage off the server. The techs from the Rangers’ crime lab are assisting, so we should have the recordings soon.”

Luca was definitely hoping for that, and while he was at it, he was also hoping the arsonist didn’t know about that particular camera and hadn’t bothered to conceal his or her face. Of course, Manny and Tara would likely be on the feed since they’d been in the area for interviews. However, there would have been no valid reason for Shannon and/or Aubrey to be on scene. But it was possible that by the time of the fire, Shannon had already been dead.

“Go ahead and see what Manny wanted to tell Bree and you,” Duncan instructed Luca. “I’ve got a few more questions for Elmore, and then I’ll join you. Oh, and record everything Manny says. I don’t want this to be an off-the-record kind of conversation just because Bree is there.”

Luca was glad to hear that. He didn’t want Manny trying to hide behind what he might consider to be private. As far as Luca was concerned, Manny’s right to privacy was over.

“I’m a legal consultant for the Rangers,” Bree pointed out. “Since the Rangers are assisting in this investigation, I can use that to be present during interviews of a suspect.” She lifted her shoulder. “Well, I can as long as Manny’s lawyer doesn’t flat-out object and start some legal wrangling. I can wrangle right back, but I don’t want to do anything to compromise an arrest.”

Duncan stayed quiet a moment, obviously processing that and then nodded. “Get permission from Manny and the lawyer to be there,” he agreed. “I haven’t arrested Manny yet, but let’s all hope he’ll say something to the two of you that’ll make that happen.”

Yeah, that had to happen because if it didn’t, there likely wouldn’t be an arrest. There was no physical evidence to linkManny to Brighton’s murder or any of the attacks. Of course, there was the recording that Tara had made, but it might or might not be able to be used as evidence. Even if it was, the video wasn’t proof Manny had murdered Brighton.

Luca and Bree headed to the interview room, and the moment Luca opened the door, Manny practically jumped to his feet.

“I didn’t murder anyone,” Manny immediately volunteered.

Luca held up his hand in a gesture for Manny to wait, and he turned to Manny’s lawyer. “I’m Deputy Vanetti, and this is legal consultant for the Rangers, Bree McCullough. Do either of you have any objections to her being here?”

“No,” Manny snapped. “In fact, I want her here so I can make both of you understand that someone is setting me up.”

Luca shifted his attention to the lawyer. “No objections at this time. I’m Corey Bennett,” he said. He shook hands with both Luca and Bree, and Luca noted that the lawyer didn’t seem anxious or ready to launch into a tirade about how they were treating his client.

“Someone is setting me up,” Manny repeated, but once again, Luca gestured for him to hold off on that so he could start the recording and read in the time and those present.

“You believe someone is setting you up,” Luca repeated. “Who and why?”

“I don’t know.” Manny groaned and dropped back into the chair. “But someone must be if there was a warrant for my arrest. Why the hell would your sheriff do that?”

Bree and Luca took the chairs across from Manny and the lawyer. “Because we recently got access to a recording of you having a very nasty argument with Brighton Cooper, a woman you claimed you didn’t know well.” Luca leaned in, spearing Manny with his narrowed gaze. “You knew her, and if you lie and say you didn’t, then I’m arresting you on the spot.”

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