Page 33 of Her Baby, Her Badge

“I was,” Grace said. “Your fiancée’s murder must have triggered some memories of your girlfriend’s death.”

Again, nothing obvious flashed on Brian’s face. “It did, but like I said, I’ve tried to put all of that behind me.”

“Is that why you changed your name and appearance?” Grace asked.

“In part,” he readily admitted. “But my parents disinherited me after my arrest, and I thought it best if I didn’t have any association with them. Name included, since Keith is also my father’s name. As for the hair color, well, that’s just a personal preference. I wasn’t fond of the ginger and thought this better suited me.”

Grace stared at him for several moments.“Arrests,”she said.

It seemed to take Brian a moment to realize she was correcting his use of the singular. “Yes, arrests.” Now his voice did tighten a little. “That happened so long ago that I don’t even think about it. But I suppose I should. It made me turn my life around.” There was some cockiness to his tone now.

It was short-lived, though.

Because he must have recalled what had prompted him to end the earlier interview and call in a lawyer.

“You’ll want to know about Felicity,” Brian volunteered. He glanced at his lawyer. “I’ve made a full disclosure to her, and now I’ll do the same for you. I had an affair with Felicity Martinez.Had,” he repeated. “I ended things with her two weeks ago, and she was very upset. I suspect she had some not-so-pleasant things to say about me.”

So Brian was trying to get ahead of this, probably by lying, since Felicity hadn’t mentioned a breakup. It was possible ithad happened, and maybe that would come out when she was interviewed by Austin PD.

“You broke up with the woman you were cheating with?” Grace asked.

The lawyer huffed and looked ready to object, but Brian touched her arm to silence her. “Yes, I broke up with her because I realized just how much I loved Elaine. I wanted to marry her and start a family.” His voice cracked. “And now, I’ve lost her.”

Grace gave him a moment, but Dutton figured she was thinking this could all be an act. He wished suspects were equipped with a built-in lie detector that would go off during questioning.

He stopped, replayed that notion and nearly smiled. Yeah, sometimes he did think like a cop.

“Is it true that Elaine was on the verge of breaking up with you?” Grace asked. And she asked it with a straight face, too. Dutton knew it was a bluff, that she hadn’t gotten even a whiff of that so far in the investigation.

Brian’s eyes widened. “No. What? No,” he repeated and was visibly flustered. “Did Felicity tell you that, because if so, it’s a lie.”

“That didn’t come from Felicity,” Grace assured him, maybe so Brian wouldn’t take aim at his former lover.

“Then, who?” Brian demanded. Now it was his lawyer who touched his arm as if to settle and silence him.

Grace fixed her hard stare on Brian. “I’m not at liberty to divulge that.”

Oh, that didn’t please the man, and Brian looked on the verge of a verbal explosion before he seemed to rein it all in.

“Well, whoever told you lied,” Brian concluded. “Or maybe you’re the liar. Cops can do that. They can lie through their teeth and try to entrap innocent people.” He rammed his thumb against his chest. “I’m innocent, and I won’t be railroaded bysome cop who clearly doesn’t have a clue how to investigate my fiancée’s murder.”

Grace didn’t appear fazed by the insult. “Shortly after Delaney’s death, you made threats against the Renegade Canyon Police Department.”

Dutton didn’t know that for sure, but it was a good guess on Grace’s part. Brian had been a hotheaded teenager and had probably done some threatening. Maybe even on social media. And since that might be an avenue to explore, Dutton sent another text to Jake so he could add the search to his to-do list. He also told the PI to employ as many other investigators as needed to get the job done quickly.

“I was upset,” Brian responded after a whispered conversation with his lawyer. “So I possibly said some things I shouldn’t have.”

“You made threats,” Grace repeated. “You attempted to assault the sheriff during the lawful arrest she made on you. Obviously, you have quite a temper, so I have to wonder if that temper ignited when Elaine wanted to end the engagement.”

There. Dutton saw it in Brian’s expression. The anger, yes, but there was something more. Maybe the truth. And in that moment, Dutton realized this was a man who could kill.

But had Brian done that?

It was possible, but he could say the same thing about Cassie or Wilson. And both of them had motive to include Dutton in the death threat. Brian didn’t. As far as Dutton knew, he’d never crossed paths with the man. He made a mental note to check that. It was possible they’d had an encounter that he didn’t recall.

He was about to do a Google search with both Brian’s name and his own when his phone rang, and he saw Jamie’s name on the screen. Dutton instantly got a bad feeling, since the girl rarely called him.

“Anything wrong?” Dutton asked the moment he answered.

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