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She couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Joe. Or anyone else on the tactical team.
Joe pulled over to the side of the road. “Her house is the brown ranch second in on the left side of the street. Keep your head down, Elly.”
“Okay.” She ducked in her seat, hugging her knees. “I didn’t see anyone, though, did you?”
“Not yet.” His tone was tense, and she belatedly realized her talking was a distraction. Something he and the rest of the team could ill afford. She tried to hold back from asking any more questions, although it wasn’t easy. She was naturally a chatty person.
The possibility of this being a trap gnawed at her. Hard to imagine that Eloise would have done such a thing, but obviously some people had no moral code.
Like the shooter himself.
A shiver skimmed down her spine. She didn’t like this one little bit.
“Grayson and Steele are here,” Joe said for her benefit. “They’re going to canvass the area.”
“By themselves?” She turned her head to look up at him. “They should wait for more backup.”
“Raelyn and Brock are en route.” His expression could have been carved from stone. “I’m sure other officers will arrive on scene soon too.”
She was glad more team members were on their way. “What about Eloise? What if the shooter is inside?”
“Good point. I’ll check.” Joe made the call, a few seconds passing before he said, “Eloise, are you okay?”
She strained to hear the response but couldn’t. Likely the frightened woman was hiding in the bathroom as Joe had instructed her to do.
“Okay, sit tight. We don’t see anyone out here yet, but I have the team encircling the area.” Another pause, then he added, “We’ll let you know.”
“She’s okay, then?” Elly asked as he put his phone away.
“Yeah.” Joe sighed. “It looks like the immediate area is clear. Maybe he took off, or maybe she saw someone else. I’d really like to go inside to talk to Eloise in more detail.”
“You should.” She understood he was holding back because of her. “I’ll be fine.”
Joe held her gaze for a long moment. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then turned away and slid out from behind the wheel. “Grayson? I want you to stand guard over Elly. Raelyn and Brock, I want you stationed on either side of the property. Steele, you cover the back. I’m going in to speak to Eloise.”
“You shouldn’t go in alone,” Steele said. “I’ve cleared the back. Let me come with you.”
Elly held her breath, praying Joe would go along with that plan. She didn’t know why she had a bad feeling about this.
“Fine.” Joe’s tone was clipped. “But I want Raelyn and Brock to keep an eye on the rear side of the house too. Maybe position yourselves catty-corner so you can watch both the back and the front.”
“Done,” Brock agreed.
“Let’s go.” Joe slammed the car door shut. Elly lifted her head just enough to watch Joe and Steele approach the brown ranch to speak with Kyle’s widow. She thought about how Kyle had tried to talk to her before he’d died. He’d called her name.
Or maybe he’d mistaken her for his wife, Eloise.
She replayed those frantic moments in her mind. Kyle had recognized her, calling her Elly. He’d been to the homestead often enough.
She’d assumed Kyle had wanted to give her a message for his wife, Eloise. But what if he’d been trying to warn her? Mere seconds before he’d lapsed unconscious and died in the street.
She told herself not to think about all the blood oozing from Kyle’s body. She needed to stay focused on what had happened that night.
It didn’t seem likely that the shooter would come to the parade simply to kill Kyle while he was on duty. Why not take the cop out when he was working on the yard or running errands? As it was, the bullet had struck Kyle in the upper thigh, right beneath the location of the vest, which is why he’d bled out. That didn’t seem to be a shot taken on purpose.
Or was it?
She didn’t know what to think. Or what to believe. But something wasn’t right here, and the longer Joe and Steele stayed inside, the more she felt certain this was a setup.
