Page 9 of Deputies Under Fire (Renegade Canyon #2)

Rory didn’t know who the hell who had sent those texts to Brenda. And he couldn’t even be sure they were true. But he still made the call to Sheriff Grace Granger.

“Tyler,” Eden said, her breathing suddenly way too fast, and he saw the alarm all over his face.

Rory was sure he was showing some alarm, too. Not because Ike might be coming after Eden and him, but because their son might get caught in the crossfire.

Thankfully, Grace answered on the second ring, and while he hated to bother her on maternity leave, this was important.

“What’s wrong?” Grace immediately asked.

“It’s possible Eden and I are Ike’s targets,” Rory said. “Livvy has transcripts of Brenda’s texts that she’ll be sending you so you can see what I mean. This might be overkill, but I need Tyler protected. I’m thinking his nanny can bring him to stay with Dutton and you—”

“Absolutely,” Grace interrupted. “Dutton and several of the ranch hands can go out to Eden’s place and get them now.”

Rory glanced at Eden to see if she was all right with that, and she gave him a quick nod while she was typing a text. No doubt to Leslie to let her know what was going on.

“Don’t worry,” Grace assured him. “Ike won’t get near Tyler, and I’ll have Dutton post some ranch hands around the house to keep guard.”

That eased some of the worry inside him. Then, he cursed the fact that the threat was even a possibility. Eden and he were cops and had signed on for dangerous situations like these, but the danger shouldn’t extend to their baby.

“Eden and you are welcome to stay here, too, for as long as you need,” Grace went on. “How valid is the threat from Ike?”

“We don’t know yet,” he admitted. “We’re about to leave the hospital and observe Ike’s interview. He’s lawyered up to his eyeballs, but if he’s guilty, Livvy might be able to coax it out of him.”

Grace paused. “You really think Ike’s behind these murders? I want your gut feel, not only the circumstantial evidence against him.”

Hell. That wasn’t an easy question, but Rory did as she’d suggested and went with his gut. “I believe someone could be setting Ike up. And, no, I’m not saying that because he’s my father. I’m saying it because if Ike wanted to eliminate his enemies, I doubt he’d choose to go about it this way.”

Eden muttered an agreement. “Ike would have hidden the bodies better. He probably would have made the deaths seem like a botched robbery or suicide. Right now, everything points to him, and if he’d planned the murders, he should have had the evidence leading us to someone else.”

“Yes, all of that makes sense. But I’ll play devil’s advocate.

What if Ike intentionally made it seem as if he’d been set up?

After all, even with a botched robbery and a suicide, he would have come under suspicion because of his bad blood with the victims. Ike could be playing a cat-and-mouse game with the belief that if he is charged with anything, his lawyers can get him off. ”

Rory couldn’t dispute a single word of that. Which was why Ike was still their top suspect.

“Even if Ike isn’t the killer, the threat to Tyler is still there,” Rory continued. “Because the person who responded to Brenda’s text could be the killer. Along with setting up Ike, this person might indeed come after Eden and me.”

“Yes,” Grace confirmed. “And that’s why the two of you will take precautions. FYI, Dutton heard what you said, and he’s already heading to Eden’s with the ranch hands. When Tyler and Leslie are safely here, I’ll text and let you know. I’ll also be watching Ike’s interview through a live feed.”

Good. The more eyes and ears on that interview, the better. If Ike was indeed trying to outsmart them with this sick plan, then he might give away a clue or two in something he said.

“Who else was named in those texts?” Grace asked.

“Frank Mott,” Rory said. “And, of course, the person replying to Brenda’s texts. No ID yet on who that is.”

Grace stayed quiet a moment. “You want me to contact Frank and give him a heads-up?”

“I’ll do that,” Eden offered, probably to limit Grace’s duties since she was on maternity leave. “And I’ll ask him to come in for an interview.”

“Good.” Grace ended the call with a final “Be careful,” and Rory stared at his phone a moment, hoping he’d done enough to protect Tyler.

Beside him, Eden located Frank’s number, but the call went straight to voice mail. She left a message for the man to contact her ASAP.

As Eden put her phone away, Rory looked at her, ready to try to reassure her that their son would be all right, that he would be safe with Dutton and Grace. Before he could say anything, though, Eden reached out and pulled him into her arms.

“God, Rory. We can’t let the killer get to Tyler,” she muttered.

“We won’t,” he promised.

It was probably a mistake, but he slid his arms around her as well and eased her even closer to him.

Touching Eden was always risky. Because of the blasted heat between them.

Because that heat could muddle his thoughts and cause him to lose focus.

But in this case, it only helped him focus even more.

They had so much at risk.

But they were a united force in protecting their child. Even with the heat, they wouldn’t lose sight of that.

Rory stepped away from her when Beatrice came back in the room. The nurse gave them a long glance and seemed to be on the verge of asking them if she was interrupting. Rory nipped that in the bud. He definitely didn’t want to discuss anything going on between them.

“You have the paperwork for us to sign?” he asked.

Beatrice nodded, produced some forms and two pens. Eden and he glanced over them, signed and headed out. Because of that threat looming over them, they kept watch as they went to the cruiser, got inside and pulled out.

Rory hadn’t even made it out of the parking lot, though, when his phone rang, and he saw the unfamiliar number on the screen. Still, with all the moving parts of the investigation, he figured he’d be getting lots of calls from people not in his contacts.

“Deputy McClennan,” the person said when Rory answered. “I’m Rachel Sanchez from Caldwell County CSI. I’m heading up the team that’s been searching the residence of Ike McClennan.”

Rory felt his chest tighten. “Did you find something?”

“We did. Three listening devices.”

So it was true. “Where?” Rory queried.

“Two in his office and another in his bedroom. Do you know if Mr. McClennan planted the bugs himself?” Sanchez asked.

“No idea. Were they well hidden?” Rory continued.

“Two were. One was on a bookshelf. It was attached to the spine of a book. Once we found that one, we looked for others and did a thorough sweep of the house. We’ll send them to the lab so they can be checked for prints or trace. They might be able to tell who was receiving the info from them.”

That would be very useful information. Ditto for the prints, especially if they belonged to Ike.

“The lab will contact you if they find anything,” the CSI added.

Rory hung up. And cursed.

“Yes,” Eden muttered, and she expressed what had caused this latest round of frustration. “Ike will use this to say he was set up.”

“He will,” Rory confirmed.

And, heck, it was possible he had been.

The killer could have used the info gained from the bugs to determine where Ike would be, to ensure he didn’t have solid alibis for the murders.

“Who would have had the opportunity to plant bugs?” Eden asked.

“Too many people,” Rory replied. “All the cleaning staff and the cook have the entry codes. And just last week, Asher and Kitty had a group of friends over.”

That meant getting that list of friends, along with any maintenance or repair people who’d been in the house… Rory stopped, groaned. Because the bugs could have been there for months. Whover had planned these murders could have started the process ages ago.

Even though Rory was nearly at the police station, he went ahead and called Livvy to let her know about the listening devices. She would have to bring them up during the interview if for no other reason than to get Ike’s take on them. He might be able to pinpoint who could have planted them.

While gloating that the bugs “proved” his innocence.

Yeah, that’s exactly how it would play out.

With that thought and this whole dangerous mess weighing down on him, Rory parked and, still keeping watch, they went inside the station.

Straight into the buzz of activity.

All of the day deputies were present, each of them on the phone. Their conversations clashed with the sounds of the printer spewing out pages and yet more phones ringing. In the middle of that bustle, the black cat came sauntering toward Eden.

Sherlock was the unofficial adopted mascot who only doled out attention to a handful of people.

And Eden was one of them. The cat rubbed against her legs, and Eden leaned down to give him a scratch on the head.

Apparently, that was all Sherlock intended to tolerate because he turned and headed in the direction of the breakroom, where his litterbox and food dish were located.

Rory glanced in Grace’s office and saw Livvy. Not alone but with someone he recognized.

Frank Mott.

The man was in his midfifties with salt-and-pepper hair, but he still sported the build of a wrestler that had apparently won him some state competitions. Photos of him were displayed in the gym at the high school.

Rory was glad the man was here so they wouldn’t have to track him down. Good. They could alert him that he might be in danger.

When Livvy looked at them, Frank followed her gaze, and then he immediately started in their direction. “I just listened to your voice mail,” he said, directing the comment at Eden. “I was just up the street at the hardware store and came right down.”

Eden nodded, and she motioned for Frank to go back in the office. They followed, and Rory shut the door.

“Something has come to our attention,” Rory began, “and it’s possible you could be in danger.”