Page 27 of Ranger Belief
He found the paper he was looking for and offered it to Jonah. “Eddie’s background check came back clear, but his ex-wife filed a restraining order on him about a year ago while they were going through their divorce. She claimed he slapped her across the face during an argument. He also showed up at her home at all hours of the day and night.”
Laney looked dumbfounded. Her mouth dropped open, and she struggled for a moment before saying, “I’ve never seen a hint of anger from Eddie, even during stressful situations. What happened to the restraining order?”
“It expired, and the ex-wife never renewed it.”
Chief Deputy Williams leaned back in her chair. “I know Eddie Sorenson. My sister is married to his cousin. Eddie’s divorce was contentious, and his ex-wife unsupportive and not well liked in the family. I have to side with Laney here. Eddie’s not the violent type.”
Jonah respected her opinion. And Laney’s. But cunning people could hide their dark side. He’d seen it too many times in his career. “Still, we need to question Eddie again. I’ll handle that.”
Laney’s jaw tightened. “I’m going with you.”
THIRTEEN
Dark clouds hid the sun, heavy with the promise of rain. Laney kept pace with Jonah as he headed for the boathouse. She was reeling from the news that Eddie’s ex-wife had taken out a restraining order against him. It seemed hard to believe, so when she spotted her deputy ranger, Andy, speaking with Zoe near a park bench, she touched Jonah’s arm.
“Wait, before we talk to Eddie, I want to speak to Zoe again about Ava’s volunteer work this spring. And I’d like to know if Andy had any knowledge of the restraining order.”
Every piece of information they gathered would help suss out whether Eddie was telling the truth. She preferred to have as many answers to her questions as possible before interviewing a person of interest.
Jonah nodded, and then he fell into step beside her as she moved to join them. Zoe spotted them first, her lips curving up into a welcoming smile. Her ranger uniform was dusty, as if she’d been hiking the trails, and in one hand, she held a canteen of water. “Hey, boss, good timing. We were just talking about you.”
“How come?” Laney asked, coming to a stop in the grass. She expected to feel Scout beside her, but then remembered she’d left the dog in the conference room with Ryker and Tate. Scout was getting up there in years, and needed more rest.
“We need to complete the agenda for the TDPW site inspection on Tuesday morning,” Zoe said.
Laney's stomach dropped. She'd completely forgotten. The TDPW had scheduled this months ago, and as acting superintendent, it was imperative that she be in attendance. She’d been planning for weeks to ask them to increase the budget for projects and repairs that needed to be made. “Tuesday morning.”
“Ten o'clock,” Andy supplied, adjusting his ranger hat against the threatening weather. The lines in his weathered face were deeper, and he looked as exhausted as Laney felt. “They want a full tour of the facilities, then a working lunch meeting to discuss budget priorities and operational challenges.”
He gave her a pointed look. One that needed no interpretation. Screwing up this meeting would sink any chance she would have of being superintendent. If she wanted the job.
With everything going on, Laney hadn’t even had time to think about it.
Regardless, she couldn’t blow this meeting off. For the park’s sake, if not her own. Convincing TDPW to increase their annual budget would go a long way toward funding necessary upgrades. “Let’s set a time to go over the final details.” She checked her schedule on her phone. “Two o’clock tomorrow work for everyone?”
Both Andy and Zoe agreed. Laney made a note in her calendar. With that matter handled, she moved on. “Zoe, it’s come to my attention that Ava Morrison volunteered here. In fact, she worked our Spring Jamboree last year, in the wildlife center.”
Zoe gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth. “That’s why she looked so familiar to me. I kept staring at her picture, thinking I recognized her from somewhere, but dismissed the notion as a figment of my imagination.” She lowered her hand, her expression troubled.
“Do you remember working with her?” Jonah asked.
“No. We had so many volunteers that week…” Zoe pulled out her phone. “Wait, let me check something. I email out the volunteer schedule at the beginning of each event.” She tapped on her screen, scrolling through old messages. “Here—Spring Jamboree, March 18th. I sent the assignments to all the volunteers and staff supervisors.”
She squinted at her phone, reading. “Ava Morrison... yes, she's on here. Assigned to the wildlife center for three days, Wednesday through Friday of that week. Eddie Sorensen was her direct supervisor.” Zoe looked up. “She was one of his volunteers. He would’ve worked with her directly. Maybe he remembers more about her.”
“We’ll check with him,” Laney said. “Speaking of Eddie, I know there were some challenges with him during the Spring Jamboree. Do you recall if he had any troublesome interactions with volunteers or issues with anyone on staff?”
“No, Eddie gets along great with everyone. My biggest issues with him were work related. Showing up late, slacking on projects, sloppiness. Every time I called him out on it, he always apologized. I think he was just going through a rough time back then. His dad had just died, and Eddie took it hard. Plus, he was in the midst of a troublesome divorce. His wife had never gotten along with his family, and Eddie knew they had real problems in the marriage, but he was brokenhearted about the separation.” A blush crept across her cheeks. “I covered for him more than I should have, but I felt bad about what he was going through.”
“I understand.” Laney would never fault one of her subordinates for having a kind heart. And Zoe’s description of Eddie was similar to her own. A small measure of comfort. “Thanks for your help. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Zoe gave a small wave and then strolled away.
Laney waited until she was out of earshot before turning to face her chief ranger. “Were you aware that Eddie’s wife took out a restraining order against him?”
Andy blinked in shock, his mouth falling open. It was rare to catch the older man by surprise. “Absolutely not.” His gaze skipped to Jonah before landing back on Laney. “You…you thinkEddiecommitted these murders?”
No, she didn’t, but that wasn’t the point. “He’s keeping secrets. Eddie didn’t mention working with Ava during the Spring Jamboree, nor did he tell us about the restraining order. How I feel about Eddie is irrelevant. We have to follow the evidence where it leads us.”
