Page 108 of Edge of Steele
Russ cocked his head. “I’ll be needed elsewhere.”
“I won’t let Ryleigh go alone.” His adamant tone would give even the strongest of men a pause. “And before you suggest some green-behind-the-ears deputy accompany her, that doesn’t work for me. If you don’t go with her, then I will.”
Russ frowned. “I can’t have a civilian in on the arrest for when Vick goes to trial.”
Finn didn’t speak right away, and Ryleigh could easily imagine he was looking for the words that would get him his way.
“I’m going no matter what,” he finally said. “So deputize me too if you want things to be by the book.”
Shadows darkened Russ’s face, but Ryleigh could imagine his frustrated expression.
“You don’t have any law enforcement experience,” he stated plainly.
“I’ll let Ryleigh take the lead,” Finn said. “And I’ll just be backup in case she needs me.”
“I don’t know.” Russ sounded like he was wavering.
Ryleigh would love to have Finn as backup, and she could help get Russ to side his way. “Finn does have experience where it counts. Apprehending very bad guys. If Vick gets violent, Finn would be great backup. Better than a young deputy for sure.”
“Fine,” Russ snapped. “The visitor center opens at eight-thirty tomorrow. Meet me at my office at six so I can swear you in and still give enough time for the two of you to get there before opening.”
“Will do, and just so you know.” Finn paused for a long moment. “There’s no way I’ll face a murder suspect without a weapon. I’ll be carrying whether you like it or not.”
24
With the arrest warrant for Vick in her pocket, Ryleigh looked around the chilly Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve visitor’s center. She and Finn were waiting for the ranger in charge to join them. And because she was outside Russ’s county, they also waited for a deputy of the jurisdictional county to join as well. He’d been delayed by an accident on the way. She could still talk to Vick, but she had no authority to arrest him in this county. Hopefully, the deputy would arrive in time for that.
A female ranger in uniform with a Smokey Bear type hat passed them as she gave two families a tour of the center. It didn’t surprise Ryleigh that so many people were already there. With such rainy winters, Oregonians flocked to state and national parks in the summer to get their fill of sunshine.
A male who appeared to be in his fifties came out from a door in the back and strolled their way. He wore gray-green pants and a lighter gray short-sleeved shirt with a nametag and badge pinned to his chest. He had on a similar hat to the other ranger and greeted them with a smile. “Ranger Otis. How can I help?”
“I’m Deputy Steele.” She smiled to relax any concerns he might have about law enforcement asking questions and held out the temporary shield provided by Russ. “And this is my associate, Finn Durham. We’re looking for one of your rangers, Barney Vick.”
“Barney?” His eyebrows shot up. “He do something wrong?”
“We just have some urgent questions for him.”
“He’s guiding a tour right now.” Otis looked at his watch. “He would’ve left about ten minutes ago and won’t be back for nearly ninety minutes.”
“Already?” she asked. “You just opened.”
“The demand has been great this year, so we’re scheduling a tour before opening each day. You’ll have to wait until he gets back.”
Russ couldn’t wait for his answers. Not with the feds arriving on his doorstep any minute. “Any way we can catch up to Mr. Vick, and you can take over the tour so we can talk to him?”
Otis tilted his head. “We might be able to catch him. But we’ll have to hurry.”
“Then let’s go.”
He ran his gaze over them. “The cave is a constant forty-four degrees. I hope you brought jackets.”
“They’re in the truck,” Finn said.
“Go ahead and get them quickly while I grab mine and tell my ranger that I’m going into the cave.”
“Be right back.” Finn fled the room and down the outside stairs toward the parking lot.
Otis strode over to the other ranger.
