Page 66 of Deputies Under Fire
Eden looked behind them to see Diedre running up the trail toward them. Bennie was right behind her, and he practically tackled the woman before she could get to Rory and her.
Diedre shrieked, and there was probably some pain that went along with the tackle. But Eden was glad Bennie had done that because they had no idea what the woman’s intentions were.
“Where’s Frank?” Diedre called out, her voice breaking into a sob. “Did Helen kill him?”
“Sorry,” Bennie said. He was huffing and fighting to hang on to Diedre, who was trying to wriggle out of his grip. “I didn’t see her until she started running right past me. She didn’t drive up in a vehicle, and she must have cut her way through the woods, so Judson didn’t spot her.”
So Diedre had sneaked onto the scene, and Eden couldn’t think of a single good reason for her to do that.
“Did Helen kill him?” Diedre repeated, and she was flat-out crying now.
Maybe it was an act, but if so, she was certainly putting a lot into it. Then again, she might need that effort to try to convince them she wasn’t there to kill them.
“Why are you here?” Rory snapped.
“For Frank,” Diedre said quickly. “I know he’s here…somewhere.”
“And how would you know that?” he asked.
“Because I put a tracker app on his phone,” Diedre blurted, but then stopped and gasped as if she hadn’t meant to say that aloud. “I, uh, I thought he was seeing Helen or someone else.”
So…jealousy. Or a way to track him so she could kill him. But if so, then it was stupid of her to admit that she was tracking him.
“I went to his house, and when he wasn’t there,” the woman continued, “I used the tracker, and it led me here. To her,” she spluttered, her gaze landing on Helen. There was rage in Diedre’s eyes now. “Did you kill him?” she shouted to Helen.
“What makes you think Frank is dead?” Eden asked.
“There was blood on his porch. So he’s been hurt. She hurt him and brought him here to kill him the way she did Brenda and Mellie,” Diedre said.
Rory was quick to respond to that. “You’re certain Helen killed them? You have proof?”
“No, but she did it,” Diedre snarled. “She must have so she could set up Ike.”
Diedre’s gaze met Eden’s, and suddenly the woman didn’t seem so certain of that. Again, it could all be an act, but there seemed to be some doubt now.
“Oh, God,” Diedre muttered, her gaze slashing to her left, where there were more of those clustered cedar trees. “Frank?” The sobbing came to a quick halt, and there was shock coating both her voice and her face.
Eden was still on her belly, but she automatically turned in that direction, too, bringing up her gun. Beside her, Rory did the same. And they both took aim at Frank, who stepped out from behind one of the trees.
He didn’t have a gun, but there was something else in his hand. Something that Eden knew could kill them all.
Frank was holding an IED.
RORY BOLTED TOhis feet, getting in a firing stance.
But he didn’t have a safe shot.
Not with Frank’s fingers on what Rory was pretty sure was the detonator of that IED he was holding.
“This ends here,” Frank said, glancing at all of them. “It’ll end for Ike, too, since he’ll be blown to bits in ten minutes or so. Those IEDs are all on timers. And there won’t be enough time for the bomb squad to get in here and defuse them.”
Rory silently cursed. So Frank was cleaning house. Or rather, that was his plan, anyway, but Rory didn’t intend to let that plan come to fruition. Somehow, he had to stop this.
But how?
And why had Frank gone off the deep end like this?
Diedre had started sobbing again, and she was muttering stuff that Rory couldn’t make out. But she wasn’t the only one making sounds. So was Helen. She was moaning, regaining consciousness.
