Page 12 of Deputies Under Fire (Renegade Canyon #2)

Eden didn’t mind having words with Ike, but it would be a waste of breath. Besides, she figured Arnette was on the verge of filing a complaint of police harassment, and it was better not to add any fuel to that.

The moment she and Rory were in the cruiser, Eden made a call to Leslie, putting it on speaker, and the nanny answered right away.

“We’re all settled in,” Leslie said. “And Tyler is having a blast with the toys in the playroom.” As usual, the nanny sounded upbeat, but Eden still detected the worry. “Is everything okay with Rory and you?”

“We’re on our way to interview a person of interest,” Eden explained. “We just wanted to see how Tyler and you were doing.”

“Listen for yourself,” Leslie said, and she must have moved her phone closer to Tyler, because Eden could hear Tyler babbling. And laughing.

That did her heart good to hear her baby so happy. Thankfully, he was too young to understand what was going on.

“Grace and Dutton have been great,” Leslie went on. “They’ve put Tyler in the nursery since baby Nash is still sleeping in their room. I’m in the guest suite directly across the hall from Tyler. I’ll keep a close eye on him.”

“Thank you,” Eden and Rory said together.

It was Eden who continued, doling out the news that Leslie needed to know. “Ike will likely be released if he hasn’t been already. We didn’t have enough grounds to hold him.”

Leslie stayed quiet a moment. “Dutton insisted his father wouldn’t get near this place.”

“And he won’t.” She hoped. “Just keep Tyler inside for a while, all right? Maybe it won’t be long before we get all of this sorted out.”

“Yes,” Leslie muttered. “Stay safe,” she added, and after saying their goodbyes, Eden ended the call.

Eden’s sigh was a little louder than she’d intended, and Rory reached across the seat to take hold of her hand. Somehow, it seemed just as intimate as a kiss. And Eden welcomed it. Having their son in possible danger was bad enough, and she couldn’t imagine going through this without Rory.

Since she had to get her mind off Tyler, Eden eased her hand from Rory’s and used her phone to start getting some work done. She located the number for the Elm and called the restaurant.

It took her a couple of minutes to work her way up to the manager, but once she got through, it was confirmed that Diedre had indeed made reservations there. She got the info she needed from the manager, ended the call and then groaned.

“Five and a half months ago,” she said to Rory. “That’s when Diedre made a reservation for three at the Elm.”

“Five and a half months,” he repeated. He didn’t groan. He cursed.

And she knew why. That was shortly before Mellie’s murder.

It could be a coincidence. In fact, it probably was because she was still having a hard time imagining three of Ike’s enemies plotting murder over a meal.

“I don’t suppose the manager could recall anything about the lunch?”

Eden shook her head. “And they only keep security-cam feed for a week.” She went to a search engine to see what she could find. “I’ll look through social media to see if Diedre posted or was tagged in a photo of the lunch.”

Though she was having a hard time imagining that as well.

If this trio had been discussing anything remotely criminal, they likely wouldn’t have wanted to document the occasion.

And that’s why Eden widened her search to anyone posting a photo from the Elm during the time and date of Diedre’s reservation.

Data mining could be a tedious process, but she’d gotten lucky a couple of times using this angle.

She looked up from her search and realized that Rory was firing glances in the rearview mirror. “Everything all right?” she asked, automatically turning to have a look.

“It’s good. I’m just keeping an eye out,” he assured her.

There were a couple of cars behind and in front of them now, but she couldn’t see a threat. Then again, the threat could be there so she was glad Rory was staying vigilant. She did, too, while she continued her search.

“No photos or posts for the time of the reservation,” she told Rory.

“But Diedre is very active on social media. She has a lot of bad things to say about Ike.” She continued to scan through the dozens of daily posts.

“The woman documented most of her meals, the weather and even her schedule. She made it very easy for the killer to know exactly where she would be.”

“Most meals,” Rory repeated. “But not the one at the Elm.”

No, she hadn’t, and that in itself could be telling. However, it didn’t make her a killer.

“More posts about Ike,” she went on. And she reached the ones that would have been while Rory’s mom was still alive.

Good grief. Diedre hadn’t hidden the fact she was involved with a married man. She didn’t specifically name him, but there were a few photos of her with Ike.

And that brought her back to her concerns about Rory.

“Are you okay with seeing Diedre?” she asked as he took the final turn toward her neighborhood.

“I’m never okay with it, but I can manage it,” he insisted. “What I feel for Diedre is all rolled into the same ball with the grief over losing my mom.”

His father’s cheating was in the mix, too. Then again, Ike apparently did a lot of cheating over the years.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

He shrugged. “Dealing with Diedre will be worth it if we get answers about the murders.”

Yes, but that didn’t mean this wouldn’t put Rory through an emotional ringer.

And that’s the reason she gave his hand a squeeze as they drove into Quarry Heights, an upscale neighborhood on the far east edge of San Antonio.

There was no security gate, though, so they were able to drive straight through to Diedre’s.

They got out, but before they even reached the front door, it opened, and a concerned-looking Diedre met them.

“I’m glad you came,” she blurted, ushering them inside. “Please tell me you’ve arrested Ike.”

“No,” Rory answered.

Diedre groaned. “I was hoping you had good news. I thought that’s why you wanted to see me.”

Rory gave Diedre a glance before they followed her into a living room that looked more like a showroom for expensive furnishings than an actual living space.

“No,” he repeated. “We’re here to ask you some questions. And before we start, I’m going to read you your rights.”

That put some alarm in Diedre’s eyes.

“It’s for your protection,” Rory informed her. He recited the Miranda warning. Then waited, no doubt to see if Diedre was going to demand a lawyer. When she didn’t, he launched into the interview. “Tell us about the lunch you had at the Elm five and a half months ago.”

Diedre had been in the process of sitting down on a silver leather sofa but that stopped her. She froze. Blinked. “Lunch at the Elm. Why would you want to know about that…?” She sank down onto the sofa and rolled her eyes. “Because Ike saw me there, and he told you. What did he say?”

“He recalled seeing you.” That was all Rory admitted while Eden and he took the love seat across from Diedre. “Tell us about it,” he repeated. “Who was there with you?”

Diedre took her time answering. “Helen and Brenda.”

So she hadn’t denied it, and Diedre still seemed confused as to why they would be questioning her about this.

“I’ll be talking to Helen,” Rory went on, “but could you tell me what the three of you discussed during the lunch?”

Diedre opened her mouth but didn’t answer. Probably because of the sound of approaching footsteps. All of them turned in the direction of the arched entry, and Eden saw the woman step into view.

Helen.

What the heck was she doing there?

Rory’s aunt didn’t offer up any explanation. Or even any kind of a greeting. The glances she gave Eden and him were laced with annoyance.

“So you two are friends now?” Rory asked Helen as she sat down on the sofa. Not right next to Diedre, but on the far end. “Because after Mom died, I recall you having some nasty things to say about Diedre.”

“Rightfully so,” Diedre murmured.

Helen shot the woman a glance and wasn’t able to mask the venom that was still there.

“I suppose you could say that Diedre and I have reached a truce because of our mutual hatred for Ike. He helped my sister into an early grave with the stress he put on her. And Ike has done his level best to destroy Diedre both personally and professionally.”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Diedre said. “I mean, it’s the reason Mellie and I got close.”

Eden had known that Diedre and Mellie sometimes talked, but she wasn’t sure Mellie considered the woman an actual friend. She could be wrong about that, though, and Mellie and Diedre could have indeed bonded over Ike’s mutual hatred for them and vice versa.

“And now Ike is trying to destroy me,” Helen interjected. “Did he claim Diedre and I are setting him up for the murders?”

Neither Rory nor Eden responded to that, but Eden decided to backtrack a little, and she read Helen her rights just as Rory had done to Diedre. Helen didn’t seem bothered by that, and she didn’t request a lawyer. She just gave Eden a cool stare.

“Why was Brenda at the lunch with you two?” Eden asked once she’d finished with the Miranda.

“Another enemy of my enemy,” Helen said quickly. “In fact, it was Brenda who wanted to meet with us. The lunch was all her idea.”

“I made the reservation because I eat there often and already had the app on my phone,” Diedre added. “But, yes, Brenda arranged it. She wanted to find out if there was a way to make Ike pay. Nothing criminal,” she added.

“Then, what did she have in mind?” Rory replied.

Helen and Diedre exchanged a glance. “She wanted to hire someone, a PR expert, who could start a smear campaign. She had already tried to talk Mellie and Frank Mott into going along with it, too, but I think they both turned her down. That didn’t stop Brenda, though.

” She paused. “Simply put, she wanted to ruin your father.”

“And did you want that, too?” Rory asked.

“We did,” Helen admitted.