Manny stares at me. “No.” His jaw sets. “It was just me.”
“Why did you kill the patient?”
“Because he deserved it.”
“Why?”
Anger replaces the fear in Manny’s eyes. “He left my dad to die. He and the others.” His voice rises. “They just left him there. They didn’t even try to save him. That man I killed, he deserved to die for what he did!”
Webb flashes me a puzzled look.
“Who was your dad?” I ask.
“He died!” Manny shouts. “He died because of them! So it’s only right that they die, too.”
“Okay.” I lift my gun away from his forehead. “You’ve done a good job so far. And Ithinkyou’re telling me the truth.”
His gaze follows my gun. “Iam.”
“So tell me if I’ve got this right. You killed the patient—his name was John Adamson, but I’m sure you already know that—and someone saw you. A woman named Jenna Richards, by the way, and you decided to kill her before she could put two and two together and realize you were responsible.”
I release his neck. Manny nods. “Yes.”
“And Beatrix got dragged into this how?”
“The woman?—”
“Jenna.”
“Jenna,” he confirms. “I went after her. And I heard her on the phone. Talking to someone. After I killed her, I looked to see who it was. I didn’t know what she told her. If she saw me. If she knew Adamson had died yet. I couldn’t… It was too risky. I had to do something.”
“So you had no idea if Beatrix actually knew anything?”
Manny shakes his head. “I wasn’t sure. But then… I… I had the idea. To frame her. Wait for her to come into the locker room and make it look likeshekilled the woman. Then no one would believe anything she said. And the plan could continue.”
I’m so fucking furious I could easily shoot this asshole right now.
He killed an innocent woman. Framed another for it. All for some fucked up plan I still don’t understand.
“So you waited for Beatrix,” I state. “And you knocked her out. Put the knife in her hand. Made it look like Jenna scratched her. Is that right?”
Manny’s lips thin. His chin takes a defiant tilt. “Yes. I couldn’t let her ruin the plan.”
Though I know there’s way more to unpack, I want to hear Manny say it himself. “Tell me again. Real clear, so I don’t misunderstand.” I lean close so he can see the threat in my eyes. “Who did you kill?”
He grimaces. “The woman. Jenna.”
“And?”
His brow furrows in confusion. A beat later, comprehension dawns. “Oh. Adamson. I killed him. Like he deserved.”
“Who did you attack?” My jaw clenches painfully. “How did you hurt her?”
He gulps. “Beatrix. The woman that was supposed to be here. I slammed her head against the locker. Then I made it look like she was the killer.”
My molars nearly shatter. “What if you’d killed Beatrix? Hurting her like that?”
Manny hesitates. “Either way, she’d look like the killer. So it didn’t really matter.”
