Page 25 of Her Baby, Her Badge

Grace thanked Deputy Mendoza, ended the call and then turned to Rory. “I’ll interview Sheriff Finney in my office. The location won’t lessen any of his anger when he realizes why I want to talk to him, but I don’t want to treat this like an official interview until I see how he reacts to the sketch. I’ll also need to find out if he has an alibi for that visit to the McClennan ranch. For that, I’ll need to narrow down the time that fake electrician showed up.”

“Jamie is still here so I can ask her about that,” Rory volunteered.

“Good,” Grace muttered. “Move Jamie to the break room. I don’t want her in the bullpen when Sheriff Finney arrives.”

Hell. That hadn’t even occurred to Dutton, that Jamie could possibly be at risk for witnessing the “electrician’s” visit.

“I can arrange protective custody for her,” Grace said, clearly picking up on Dutton’s concern.

“Do that,” Dutton insisted. He didn’t want to take any chances with her safety. Then, he looked at Rory. “Ask Diane, too, about the timing of that visit,” Dutton instructed him. “And the ranch hands. One of them might be able to help you pinpoint the exact time.”

If several of the hands or the house staff could verify Jamie’s account, then that would help Grace narrow down whether or not Wilson could have done this.

Grace nodded her thanks for his suggestion and shifted back to Rory. “In the meantime, Livvy is working on securing a warrant for Brian’s house. I also want his clothes bagged for processing and for him to be examined by a doctor or an EMT. I don’t want him to use any possible injuries to get out of anything he’s already said in a statement.”

Rory muttered an agreement and handed her the tablet. “After I get Jamie into the break room, I’ll go in and tell Brian that. He’s waiting on a lawyer?”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “And Brian might insist on not being examined until he talks to his lawyer. That’s fine as long as he’s given medical clearance before any more questions.”

That was a cover-your-butt sort of move for Grace, but Dutton was glad she was taking it. Yes, the image of the fake electrician might resemble Wilson, but Brian still had to be her number-one suspect. Then again, Wilson and Brian could be working together.

But why?

Dutton could understand Brian’s motive. He could have wanted Elaine out of the way so he could pursue a relationship with Felicity. The man might have felt it was the better path for him rather than merely breaking up with her. However, what was Wilson’s motive?

“Do they know each other?” Dutton asked. “Wilson and Brian? I mean, Brian’s fiancée did work for Wilson, so it’s possible they’ve met.”

“I’m not sure,” Grace answered. She motioned for Dutton to follow her to her office while Rory went into the interview room, where she’d left Brian. “So let me try to find that out before Wilson arrives.”

They went into her office, and while Grace didn’t shut the door, she partially closed it, then she sank down into her chair.He saw what he already knew. The toll this was taking on her. She looked exhausted and stressed. Definitely not good.

Cursing under his breath, Dutton went to the fridge in the corner to get her a bottle of water. What he found instead were little cartons of milk.

“This doesn’t seem like comfort food,” he said, setting a box in front of her. “But consider it a substitute for a shot of single malt. Or in your case, a glass of wine, since that’s the only thing I’ve ever seen you drink.”

She didn’t smile at his attempt to keep things light. But she did thank him and drank the milk as if chugging some much-needed wine. Dutton considered it somewhat of a miracle that it seemed to steady her. Or maybe Grace was so deep in cop mode now that she was pulling from a deep well of mental reserves. Either way, she opened her laptop and started typing.

“I’m searching for any connection between Brian and Wilson,” Grace told him.

Dutton took out his phone, sent a text to the PI to check for the same thing and then began his own searches on Google and social media.

“Well, I’m not seeing anything obvious in the thumbnails of their backgrounds,” she said after a couple of minutes. “Brian was born in San Antonio, and Wilson was born here. Wilson is thirty-six. Brian, twenty-seven. Brian went to college. Wilson didn’t. Let me go deeper… .” Her voice trailed off. “Wilson is engaged to a rookie cop at SAPD, Bailey Hannon. Now she might have a connection to Brian since they live just a couple of streets from each other.”

“Check Facebook,” Dutton said, turning his phone screen so Grace could see it. “That’s Elaine’s page, and she posted this picture eighteen months ago when she became a deputy.”

He watched as Grace studied the photo of the young deputy with her boss, Wilson, on one side of her, and Brian on the other.It was clearly a posed shot and in no way proved that the men had teamed up to kill, but they did know each other. That was a start.

“Any other photos?” she asked, and he saw her start her own social-media search.

“Maybe. This is the one that came up in the results because Elaine had tagged both Wilson and Brian.” He added Bailey Hannon’s name to the mix to see if there were any connections.

There was a tap at the door, and a moment later, Livvy stuck her head in. “Fastest warrant ever,” Livvy said. “I sent a request to the judge, listing all the circumstantial evidence we have against Brian, and he immediately issued the warrant. SAPD will send someone out to go through Brian’s house and yard,” Livvy added after Grace responded with a sound of approval.

“Make sure Officer Bailey Hannon’s not on the search team,” Grace insisted, earning her a raised eyebrow from Livvy. “She’s Wilson’s fiancée.”

“Ah,” Livvy said. “I’ll work that out with SAPD. Discreetly work it out,” she added. “I’m guessing you don’t want to send up a red flag about Wilson.”

“You’re right. So maybe just phrase the request as experienced officers to conduct the search. And that’s not unreasonable. If Brian is the killer, then he might have all kinds of evidence hidden away at his place.”

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