Page 65 of Deputies Under Fire
“The killer could have put her here,” Rory added.
Yes, that could have happened, but like Ike, this could be a ruse. A deadly one.
“Helen?” Rory shouted.
There was still no response, and the woman still wasn’t trying to shift that gun around and shoot them. Was she waiting forthem to get closer so she could get a better shot? Heck, was she even alive? Unlike Ike, there was no blood, but there were no obvious signs of life, either.
“I’m moving closer,” Rory said.
Since he didn’t order her to stay put, Eden didn’t. When he started to belly-crawl closer to Helen, so did she. If this took a turn for the worst, she wanted to be by his side to help him.
Rory kept his attention pinned to his aunt, and Eden continued to keep watch behind and around them. She also kept an eye out for IEDs, and that was a little easier to do with her face only inches from the ground.
She cringed when she saw another of those deep holes off to the side. Any minute now, there could be an explosion. Any minute, Rory and she could die.
Of course, living with that threat of possible death was part of the job, but they had so many reasons to live, and she hoped she got a chance to tell Rory how she felt about it. She promised herself then and there if they made it out of this alive, she wouldn’t put up another barrier between them.
And she would tell him that she loved him.
For now, she had to push that thought away and keep moving.
They finally got close enough to Helen for them to see there was indeed tape around her torso and her neck. Her hand, too, the one holding the gun in place.
Had the killer done that so that they would see the weapon and then shoot first, killing her? Or was this all Helen’s doing? Maybe a way to try to make herself look innocent of the other murders since she was now seemingly a victim, too.
She was alive because Eden could see her chest moving. But her eyes were closed, and the woman definitely wasn’t responding when they called out to her.
“I don’t see any IEDs around her,” Rory whispered.
“Neither do I.”
Eden wasn’t sure what to make of that. Again, if this was the killer’s doing, then he or she hadn’t staged the scene like Ike’s.
There were differences in Mellie’s and Brenda’s stagings as well, with Brenda left at the back of the barn and Mellie’s body toward the front. And Carter’s murder was nothing like the other victims except for the cause of death. That’s the only thing that all of them had in common.
They’d been stabbed and left to die.
As far as she knew, Ike hadn’t been stabbed. Judging by the lack of blood, neither had Helen. So as far as Eden was concerned, both of them stayed on the list of potential suspects.
Eden thought back to the way Ike had been tied up against that tree, and that was something he could have done himself. Ditto for the head wound. It would have taken a lot of guts to hit himself on the head, but it might be a small price to pay to make himself look innocent.
And it was the same for Helen.
They had no idea if that tape went all the way around the tree so Helen could have posed herself this way and be lying in wait. A clever way to get them closer and kill them. Still, that didn’t feel right. If the plan was to pin all of this on Ike, then why hit him and tie him up? Helen could have probably figured out a way to get him on scene, so he could be blamed for the latest attack.
Eden didn’t voice that thought, and she continued to move with Rory, inch by excruciating inch. They were still a good ten feet away from Helen when Eden saw another of those holes in the ground.
Right in front of Helen.
If they’d charged toward her, they would have fallen in. Maybe landing right on an IED that would have then exploded.
“Frank!” someone shouted.
Eden groaned because she instantly recognized the voice. What the heck was she doing there?
Diedre.
“Frank,” the woman shouted again.
