My voice caught in my throat. “The off-gridders?” Jaxson had warned me to steer clear of them and the entrance to their compound.
Emma dabbed at her eyes with the paper towel.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the local police, letting him know who I was, that I worked for Eagle Tactical, and what Emma had witnessed. If what Emma said was true, they needed a team to scout the compound for survivors.
Jaxson would have been called in along with the rest of the Eagle Tactical team if they’d have been in town. I’d call him later when things settled down for a bit. There was no reason to worry him. He was busy en route to Chicago.
* * *
The sheriff’s department paid us a visit after checking out the compound. “Emma, I need to bring you in for your formal statement.”
Emma reached for my hand. “Will you come with me?”
“Sure. Let me bundle Izzie up, and then we can follow you down to the station,” I said. I couldn’t say no. She was broken. I knew what that felt like to have your world crumble apart all around you.
I grabbed a snack from the vending machine at the police station for Izzie while we went into a separate room. “Come with me.” The sheriff opened the door to an adjoining room and flipped on the lights. “You’ll be able to see and hear everything. Make yourself comfortable. Hopefully, this won’t take long.”
Did he usually let people watch when statements were given? Had he given me special treatment because he knew that I worked for Eagle Tactical?
I let Izzie sit on a table with her back to the glass window as I watched through the one-way mirror.
The sheriff stepped into the room with Emma and shut the door. “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Water?”
“No, thank you.” Emma sat with her hands on the metal table. She looked incredibly calm after all that had transpired, but she was probably just in shock. Right?
He retrieved a pad of paper and pen. “Can you tell me what happened today?”
Emma exhaled a heavy sigh. “Yes.” She glanced from the table to the sheriff. “I was at home, at the compound, when two men came in with guns drawn and began shooting everyone in sight.”
“Do you know either of these men?” the sheriff asked.
“I’ve never seen them before.”
“Are you sure? Can you recall if you saw them at the resort?”
She shook her head. “No. I never saw them at the resort or anywhere before. They weren’t locals.”
He exhaled heavily out of his nostrils. “Interesting. Can you tell me anything else? Like what might have made two men, who have never been to the resort or possibly even this town, come up to your home and execute everyone?”
Emma didn’t answer.
My mouth went dry, and my hands trembled. I wrapped my arms around Izzie’s waist, holding her steady on the table, offering her a weak smile.
What was Emma hiding?
The sheriff retrieved his phone from his pocket and scrolled through it before placing it on the table for Emma to view.
“Do you know what’s on the video?” the sheriff asked.
Emma shook her head. She shifted on the metal chair. Her head bent down, staring at the phone screen.
The sheriff presumably pushed play. I couldn’t see the video, and the dialogue was too quiet to hear.
My fingers braided Izzie’s hair, trying to distract myself from the weight of what happened through the glass. Maybe Izzie and I should have left. Emma had wanted us to be there to support her, but if she was involved, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know about it.
“That’s you on the surveillance footage,” the sheriff said. “You were part of the team who took over the resort and held seventy-three people hostage.”
Emma pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest. “I was a victim.”