Page 45 of Silent Neighbor

Sheila turned to Gomez, her voice urgent. "We need to check if anyone was seen carrying a tripod in the area recently. Can you put out a call to your people?"

Gomez nodded, already reaching for her radio. "All units, this is Ranger Gomez. We need to know if anyone has seen an individual carrying a tripod in or around the Razorback Ridge area within the last twenty-four hours. Please respond."

As they waited for a response, Sheila found herself pacing, her eyes continually drawn back to the tripod marks in the dirt. Had the killer set up a tripod to document their attack? Or had it been the victim's?

The radio crackled to life, startling Sheila from her thoughts. "Gomez, this is Ranger Johnson. I saw someone with a tripod early this morning, around five am. They were on a bike, heading away from Razorback Ridge on the main access road."

Sheila's heart leapt. This could be the break they needed. "Ask for a description," she urged Gomez.

Gomez relayed the question, and they waited with bated breath for the response. When it came, Sheila couldn't help but feel a stab of disappointment.

"I'm sorry," Johnson said, his voice crackling over the radio. "The rider was wearing a full-face helmet and moving fast. All I can say for sure is that they were of average height and build, wearing dark clothing. The bike was a mountain bike, dark color. The tripod was strapped to the back."

Sheila sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration. It wasn't much to go on, but it was more than they'd had before. "Thank you, Ranger Johnson," she said, nodding to Gomez to relay the message.

As Gomez signed off, Sheila turned to Finn. "We need to get a team out here to do a thorough sweep of the area," she said. "Every inch of this place needs to be gone over with a fine-tooth comb. And we need to check every camera in the vicinity—traffic cams, security cameras, anything that might have caught our cyclist."

Finn nodded, already pulling out his phone to make the necessary calls. As he stepped away to coordinate the search, Sheila found her gaze drawn once more to Ellen's body, still suspended high above them on the cliff face.

The sun had fully risen now, bathing the scene in harsh, unforgiving light. Sheila could see details that had been mercifully obscured in the pre-dawn gloom—the unnatural angle of Ellen's limbs, the dark stains on the rock where blood had seeped into the porous stone.

A lump formed in Sheila's throat as she thought about Ellen's final moments. Had she known what was coming? Had she fought back? Or had death come so swiftly that she'd had no time to be afraid?

Sheila shook her head, pushing the morbid thoughts aside. She couldn't afford to get lost in speculation and emotion. Not now, when they finally had a tangible lead to follow.

She turned back to Gomez, who was watching her with a mixture of concern and curiosity. "Ranger, I need you to coordinate with your team to set up a perimeter around this entire area," Sheila said. "No one comes in or out without being thoroughly checked and logged. And I want every inch of this place photographed and documented before we even think about moving the body."

Gomez nodded, her expression grave. "Understood, Deputy. We'll get right on it."

"It's also high time we shut the park down," Sheila added. "We need to keep the community safe."

Gomez took a hesitant breath. "I'm not sure that's gonna work."

"Why not?"

"Remember the wildfires last year? The ones that nearly reached the park's borders?"

Sheila nodded, not sure where he was going with this. "Of course, but what does that have to do with this?"

"The park is a designated emergency evacuation zone for the entire county," Gomez said. "After those fires, the state mandated that it must remain accessible at all times."

Sheila's heart sank. Hearing it said aloud, she suddenly remembered this was in fact correct.

"The surrounding towns don't have the infrastructure to house everyone if another natural disaster hits," Gomez continued, as if trying to convince her. "This park is the only place within a hundred miles that can accommodate that many people on short notice. Closing it would violate state safety regulations and leave thousands vulnerable in case of an emergency."

"I understand," Sheila said, disappointed. "Thank you, Ranger Gomez."

As Gomez moved away to begin organizing her team, Finn rejoined Sheila. "Search team's on their way," he said. "And I've put out an APB on our mystery cyclist. It's not much to go on, but maybe we'll get lucky."

Sheila nodded, her eyes fixed on the cliff face. "We need more than luck, Finn," she said softly. "We need a break. Something, anything that will help us get ahead of this bastard before they strike again."

Finn placed a hand on her shoulder. "They'll mess up, believe me. It's just a matter of time."

"Maybe so," she murmured. "The question is, how many more will die before they do?"

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