Page 18 of Lone Star Showdown

Everything about the man, his expression, his stance, his tone, was all anger so it was hard to sort though and figure out if the anger was to hide his guilt. Or if he truly was innocent.

Rachel glanced at Manson who was standing six feet back from her father, her hands folded across the front of her Marilyn Manson tee. So, maybe not named after a killer after all.

“Can we cut the bullshit and get on with the questions?” Manson asked, directing that at Bree. “I’m guessing you’re the sheriff that called me in?”

“I am,” Bree verified. “And we can indeed get on with this.” She motioned toward one of her deputies. “Deputy Alice Wright will show you to an interview room. She can get started, and I’ll be in after I speak to your father.”

Manson barely spared Rachel and Jericho a glance as she started by them. But then she stopped. “My father is a certified asshole,” she said plenty loud enough for Paulie to hear. “I hope you lock him up and throw away the key. If anyone’s to blame for my mother’s death, it’s that piece of shit.”

With that, the young woman strolled away with the deputy.

“My spawn obviously doesn’t like me much,” Paulie commented, aiming a glare at Manson. “I didn’t kill my wife. You did,” he said to Rachel.

“No, I testified against a child abuser, and she rightfully went to jail,” Rachel fired back. “I’m sorry Marla was killed there, but I’m not taking the blame for that.”

“Should you be taking the blame, Paulie?” Jericho asked. He tipped his head to where Manson had just been standing. “Why did she say you killed Marla?”

Paulie lifted his chin, taking on a haughty pose. “Because Manson got it wrong that’s fucking why. Yeah, I wasn’t always the best husband to Marla. Wasn’t always the best dad to the brats. But I didn’t leave my wife in a puddle of blood in a jail cell.”

“No, two other inmates did that,” Rachel provided. “They’ve both been charged with murder and are awaiting trial.”

Paulie’s eyes narrowed. “Like I said, Marla wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for you and the do-gooders who locked her up.”

“Some of those do-gooders are now dead,” Rachel was quick to say, but then she stopped and turned to Bree. “Sorry, these are some of the things you’ll be addressing in interview.”

“I certainly will,” Bree agreed. “But you have a right to ask questions, too. After all, someone tried to kill you tonight.”

“Well, it sure as hell wasn’t me,” Paulie snarled, and his voice had risen considerably again.

“Anything else you want to ask him?” Bree offered, ignoring Paulie.

Rachel considered it, but then she shook her head. This was best done by the book so she moved to the side so Bree could lead Paulie to an interview room.

“The observation area is between the two interview rooms,” Bree explained as the four of them headed down the hall.

The area wasn’t much larger than a closet, but it had the advantage of Jericho and her being able to see both rooms. And listen as well since both rooms had speaker functions that fed into observation.

Rachel immediately saw Manson, already seated at the table, with Deputy Wright across from her. The deputy was in the process of reading Manson the Miranda warning. When Wright got to the part about Manson having the right to having a lawyer present, Rachel wondered if the woman would insist on that.

Manson didn’t.

“Let’s just get this bullshit done,” was all Manson grumbled when the deputy had finished.

“We will as soon as the sheriff joins us,” Wright assured her.

Jericho muted the sound of that room and turned on the other one where Bree was leading Paulie inside. Paulie glared at the two-way mirror, but like his daughter, he sat while Bree turned on a recorder and began to Mirandize him.

“Even if Paulie’s not the killer, he’s dangerous,” Jericho remarked. “And now we have Arnez pissed at us, Maybe pissed enough to try to do us some harm.”

All of that was true, and it sickened Rachel to add yet more levels of danger to what was already a dangerous situation. Not just for Jericho and her. But for everyone on that list who had anything to do with Marla.

“I hope your boss and Marco have managed to contact the judge and the rest,” Rachel said.

“If they haven’t, they’ll find someone who can get in touch with them. Maverick Ops has plenty of resources.” He paused while Bree filled in the basic info for the recording. Date, time, names. “I can help you fake your death. It’s going to take some planning, and you have to understand what this means. No more contact with Tilda or your kids.”

Rachel had already considered that. Had already felt some of the heartache over letting them believe she was dead.

“I know,” she said. “But they’ll be safe. And it might not be a permanent situation. Once the killer is caught, I can, well, get on with my life.”

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