Page 47 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

Manny had already opened his mouth, but he closed it, huffed and leaned back in his seat. “A video,” he repeated. “How did you get it and what’s on it?”

“I’m not at liberty to disclose who gave it to us, but it’s obvious from the recording that Brighton and you were lovers, and you were enraged when she ended things. Lie to me about that, and you’re under arrest,” Luca repeated.

Manny’s lawyer started to speak, but Manny lay his hand on the man’s arm. “Tara,” Manny grumbled. “She recorded something and gave it to you. She’s the one trying to set me up.”

“Why would she do that?” Bree wanted to know.

Manny made aduhsound. “I’ve already told you that Tara’s upset because I dumped her. She’d do anything to get back at me.”

That was possible, but Luca didn’t voice that to Manny. “Tara didn’t make you lie to us about Shannon,” Luca pointed out. “You did that on your own.”

“I did,” Manny admitted. “But lying about my sexual partners isn’t the same as committing multiple felonies.”

Maybe not. But it could be red flags.

“What about Aubrey Kincaid?” Luca pressed. “Is she a lover, too?”

Manny’s forehead bunched up. “No. Why are you asking that? Did Tara claim I’d slept with Aubrey?”

Luca didn’t respond to that either. He just sat quietly and stared at Manny until the man was practically squirming in his seat.

“I didn’t sleep with Aubrey,” Manny insisted. “I’ll admit to having an affair with Brighton, and she did break up with me. But I didn’t kill her, and there won’t be anything on any video saying otherwise.”

Luca gave that some thought. Manny could probably say something like that because perhaps he’d never come out andthreatened Brighton with violence. The violence could have still happened though.

“I was in love with Brighton,” Manny added, his voice lowering to a whisper. “I loved her, but she was seeing someone else.”

“Who?” Bree immediately asked.

Manny shrugged. “It’s all speculation. You’re not the only one who investigated Brighton’s murder,” he said.

Luca and Bree exchanged glances. “What does that mean?” Bree pressed.

“After you called and asked me to give you those old receipts, I talked to some of the regular customers who were around back then. No one could confirm it,” Manny explained, “but a few people recalled her having some conversations with that doctor.”

Everything inside Luca went still. “What doctor?”

“Dr. Nathan Bagley,” Manny spat out like profanity. “That snake oil quack who lives right here under your own nose.”

Luca made a circling motion for Manny to continue just as Duncan came in. Duncan announced himself for the recording and took a seat at the end of the table.

“Manny here was just telling us that he suspects that Brighton was seeing Dr. Bagley,” Luca summarized.

Duncan’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything because Manny continued. “I don’t have proof of it so don’t try to charge me for withholding evidence. And I only found out about this two days ago after Bree wanted the receipts.”

“Why don’t you just tell us what you do know about Brighton and the doctor?” Duncan prompted, not addressing the withholding gripe.

“I knew Brighton was seeing someone else,” Manny quickly confirmed, “and like I already told Luca and Bree, a couple of people I talked to said they recalled seeing her with Dr. Bagley.”

Duncan pushed a notepad Manny’s way. “Jot down the names of those people.”

Manny huffed, but he wrote two names and passed the notepad back to Duncan. Luca glanced at the names but didn’t recognize them. Bree shook her head, indicating that she didn’t either.

“So, these two people saw Brighton with Nathan Bagley,” Luca went on. “Did you know she was seeing the doctor?”

Manny wasn’t so quick to respond this time. “No, but once she came in the bar sporting bruises on her arm. They were clearly marks left by fingers. It was obvious to me she’d gotten them when someone manhandled her.”

“Bruises?” Bree questioned. “When was this?”

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