Page 60 of Deputies Under Fire
“This could be a trap,” Rory muttered, and he fixed his gaze on her.
“Yes,” she agreed. “One that the killer set, hoping we’d rush to the scene where we could be killed.”
He nodded and unmuted his phone. “Arnette, move away from the truck and get back in your vehicle to wait for us. Walk backward, retracing your steps, because there could be IEDs.”
That was highly likely since it had been the killer’s preferred method in the previous attack. But Eden didn’t doubt Ike had been taken.
Or hurt.
However, he was likely alive, for now, anyway, if the killer planned to use him as a lure. The killer could have taken Ike and then set up the explosives for anyone responding to the scene.
“An IED?” the lawyer repeated, and now there was some serious panic in his voice to go along with the worry. Eden hoped that panic didn’t send Arnette running because it could get him blown to bits.
“Get in your vehicle,” Rory repeated. “But don’t drive away.”
Good advice, because if Arnette had pulled off the side of the road, he could hit an IED when he tried to leave.
“Stay put,” Rory added. “Help will be there soon.”
He ended the call, continuing to keep his gaze fixed on her, and then cursed. She knew the reason for his profanity, too, so Eden went ahead and spelled out what needed to happen.
“I’ll go with you in a cruiser,” she stated. “You can’t leave me holed up here since the killer could just find another way to get to us. Let’s try to end this now.”
Oh, he didn’t care for that, but Rory knew it was the right thing to do. Like him, it was her job to go after a killer.
He nodded, gave her one last look that was laced with worry and they went back into the squad room. Livvy, Judson and Bennie were all working at their desks, and they must have realized something was wrong because they got to their feet.
“Arnette found Ike’s truck near the rubble of the old Sanderson barn,” Rory explained. “There was blood. Eden and I will respond in one cruiser. Judson and Bennie, you’ll go in a second one. Livvy, I need you here at the station. Call the bomb squad and get them out to the scene. Hell, the fire department, too, in case there are any more of those gasoline bombs. And let Grace and Dutton know what’s going on.”
“What about a roadblock?” Livvy asked.
“We’ll do that after we arrive on scene, but get out the word that the road will be closed indefinitely.”
Livvy nodded, already taking out her phone. “Where’s Ike?”
“No idea,” Rory said, and then motioned for Judson and Bennie to follow them, and they all headed outside.
Rory reached for the door handle of the cruiser and then stopped. “Check underneath for any explosives,” he called out to Judson and Bennie.
That gave Eden a jolt because it was something that she hadn’t even considered. But she sure as heck should have. With thecruisers just sitting there in the parking lot, the killer could have planted IEDs on the vehicles.
All four of them lowered to the ground, and they did a search of the undercarriage. Eden didn’t see anything suspicious, but she didn’t know if the killer had tucked it away, somewhere out of sight. Still, it would have been awfully bold to try to do something like that with the police station only a few yards away.
“Nothing,” Judson said several moments later, and Rory echoed the same.
They got in their respective cruisers, and Eden suspected all of them were doing some praying when they started the engines. But thankfully, the cruisers didn’t explode, so with sirens and lights on, they started toward the scene.
It was bold, too, for the killer to do anything in this area, since it had already been the scene of three murders. Then again, the CSIs were long gone, so maybe the killer figured that cops and responders wouldn’t be around anytime soon. Still, it was gutsy.
“This isn’t on the route from the ranch to town,” Eden pointed out. “So what was Ike doing out here?”
“Maybe he was forced to come,” Rory said without hesitation, letting her know he’d thought of the question, too. “The killer could have been waiting for him in his truck.” He paused. “Or done something to lure him here. Hell, or even taken him from the house.”
All of those possibilities could have happened. There was plenty of extra security at the ranch, but that was mainly around Dutton’s house, and that was for protecting Tyler. Since the main house couldn’t be seen from Dutton’s, it was possible that someone had sneaked onto the grounds, waited and attacked Ike.
“Remember, too, that Ike came to Carter’s scene because of that message he could save someone,” Rory went on. “I doubtIke would fall for that again, but it could have been a different tactic.”
“Like what?” she asked.
